K: Financial and Insurance Services

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence falls further – down 0.6pts to 115.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Jul-16

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence has fallen for the third week in a row, down 0.5 per cent to 115.2 in the week ending 10 July 2016. Uncertainty related to the election result and lingering concerns over the global outlook likely remain key factors behind the recent decline. Last week’s downgrade from Standard & Poor’s to the outlook for Australia’s credit rating – from stable to negative – could also have weighed on sentiment. Consumers’ views of their current finances edged 0.3 per cent higher, but households’ views of the economic outlook in the next 12 months fell by 4.1 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Retirees urged to tap into home equity

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Jul-16

AustralianSuper CEO Ian Silk says the superannuation fund may seek to offer a broader range of retirement income products in coming years. This could include home equity release products, which allow homeowners to capitalise on the value of their home without the risks associated with reverse mortgages. Silk concedes that there are significant problems with some retirement income products that are currently available, and says the industry must work hard to address the issue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

‘Something’s gotta give’: rising stocks, bonds and gold sound alert

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 27 : 13-Jul-16

The Australian sharemarket has gained six per cent since reaching its recent low in the wake of Great Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has risen by 16 per cent since February 2016, and it reached a record high in mid-July. Traditional safe haven investment classes are also in strong demand, with the yield on 10-year Australian government bonds remaining close to a record low and the gold price testing its highest level in more than two years.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PLATINUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX PTM, BAKER STEEL CAPITAL MANAGERS LLP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, NIKKEI 225 INDEX

There’s still value on Wall Street, fund managers say

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 13-Jul-16

Perpetual’s Garry Laurence says the US sharemarket may have peaked, after the S&P 500 reached a new high in mid-July 2016. He anticipates further market volatility, and identifies Merck, Sanofi, Oracle, EMC and Zhaopin as the best buying opportunities among US-listed stocks. Wingate Asset Management’s Chad Padowitz notes that some sectors of the US sharemarket offer better value than others at present, and he favours stocks such as Citigroup, Bank of America, Allergan and Sanofi.

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, WINGATE ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MERCK AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, SANOFI PHARMACEUTICALS, ORACLE CORPORATION, EMC CORPORATION, ZHAOPIN LIMITED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, ALLERGAN INCORPORATED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, BANK OF ENGLAND, BANK OF JAPAN, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Expensive defensives ‘threatened’

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 12-Jul-16

Paul Ashworth of Cameron Harrison is among the financial market experts who question whether the rally in defensive stocks can be sustained. Defensive sectors such as healthcare, utilities and industrials have posted double-digit gains over the last year, while the broader Australian sharemarket has shed three per cent. Prime Value Asset Management’s ST Wong notes that some stocks such as infrastructure and utilities are now trading at high forward price-earnings ratios, but he says they could post further gains if the bond rally continues.

CORPORATES
CAMERON HARRISON PTY LTD, PRIME VALUE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ALTIUM LIMITED – ASX ALU, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, INFIGEN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX IFN, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, INTEGRAL DIAGNOSTICS LIMITED – ASX IDX, VIRTUS HEALTH LIMITED – ASX VRT, ORORA LIMITED – ASX ORA, VITA GROUP LIMITED – ASX VTG

ASX tipped to hit 5500 by end of 2016

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 11-Jul-16

Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse says Australian shares are relatively cheap at present, in comparison to alternative investments such as cash and bonds. Tevfik adds that the prospect of further official interest rate cuts should also prompt investors to switch to equities. Meanwhile, UBS notes that the market’s price-to-book value is now 13 per cent below the long-term average, and about 50 per cent lower in the case of resources stocks. UBS’s David Cassidy expects the market to be trading at around 5,500 points by the end of 2016.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC

PayPal takes $85m slice of SME lending pie

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 23 : 8-Jul-16

PayPal has written more than $A85 million worth of loans to about 3,000 small businesses in Australia since late 2014. Darrell Esch, the global general manager of small and medium business lending at PayPal, is amazed by the rate of growth at PayPal Working Capital. The program’s combined figure for loans in the US, Great Britain and Australia exceeds $US2 billion ($A2.6 billion).

CORPORATES
PAYPAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, SOCIETYONE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PROSPA FINANCIAL PTY LTD, MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD, ETTITUDE AUSTRALIA

Investors defy Brexit to scoop bargains

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 8-Jul-16

CYBG and Henderson Group are among the Australian-listed stocks that have been heavily sold down in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union. Some local fund managers have capitalised on the bearish sentiment to increase their holdings of unloved stocks that have exposure to the UK. However, Bennelong Australian Equity Partners’ Julian Beaumont remains cautious about such stocks, while some fund managers are increasing their holdings of gold stocks or real estate investment trusts.

CORPORATES
CYBG PLC – ASX CYB, HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX HGG, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, BENNELONG AUSTRALIAN EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, AVIVA PLC, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, PHOENIX PORTFOLIOS PTY LTD, DESANE GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DGH, BLACKWALL PROPERTY TRUST – ASX BWR, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CHARTER HALL RETAIL REIT – ASX CQR, VAN ECK ASSOCIATES CORPORATION, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, MOONSTAR INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, PANTERRA GOLD LIMITED – ASX PGI, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, GRYPHON MINERALS LIMITED – ASX GRY

Brexit II pushes Aussie bonds to record low

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 29 : 7-Jul-16

The yield on Australia’s 10-year government bond fell to a record low of 1.84 per cent on 6 July 2016. Bearish sentiment toward equities also prompted the yield on US Treasuries to fall to 1.34 per cent. The global shift to "safe haven" assets also prompted a rally in the gold price, which reached its highest level in two years. Meanwhile, the fallout from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union is continuing, with several British property funds moving to freeze redemptions.

CORPORATES
UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BANK OF ENGLAND, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 BANKS INDEX, AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS PTY LTD, M&G INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AVIVA PLC, STANDARD LIFE PLC, YOUGOV LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SPDR GOLD TRUST, COMMODITY EXCHANGE OF NEW YORK

Election logjam won’t force RBA rate cut

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 5-Jul-16

Paul Dales of Capital Economics expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave the cash rate unchanged on 5 July 2016. The general consensus of economists, including Dales, is that the central bank will reduce official interest rates to 1.5 per cent in August, due to weak underlying inflation. The inflation data for the June 2016 quarter is likely to be a bigger influence on monetary policy than the political uncertainty in the wake of the federal election.

CORPORATES
CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED