K: Financial and Insurance Services

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence has modest fall to 116.0

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Original article by Gary Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Mar-16

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence is virtually unchanged this week at 116.0, and Roy Morgan Government Confidence has increased slightly to 103.5, both signs that Australians believe the economy is going well, which augurs well for the Turnbull Government heading towards this year’s federal election. However, support for the L-NP Government has fallen in recent weeks – this week’s Morgan Poll shows the ALP 50.5 per cent cf. L-NP 49.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis – as the Government introduced reforms to change the Senate voting system and make it impossible for micro-parties to get elected to the Senate. In addition to forcing these contentious reforms through the Senate, Turnbull has gone back on his promises of tax cuts and this has resulted in a drop in support for the Government. Although Turnbull is using the restoration of the Australian Building & Construction Commission as a potential trigger to call an early election, the election will be fought on economic issues and taxation.

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

‘It’s not right, it’s unfair, it’s trial by media,’ says ASX CEO

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Original article by Perry Williams, Tony Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Mar-16

ASX Limited chairman Rick Holliday-Smith will become acting CEO of the stock exchange operator following the resignation of Elmer Funke Kupper, who has been CEO for more than four years. Funke Kupper says he stepped down to protect the company’s integrity, adding that his priority is the Australian Federal Police’s investigation into allegations of corruption at Tabcorp when he was CEO. Funke Kupper has stressed that he has not been told that he is personally under investigation.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, CAMBODIA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Dump complex regulation, urges former Bank of England boss

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 22-Mar-16

Ex-Bank of England governor Mervyn King says global regulation of the banking sector should be streamlined as it has become too complex. He argues that banks should be subject to a leverage ratio of no more than 10-15, while deposits should be backed by safe and highly liquid assets. King also questions the status of central banks as so-called lenders of last resort, arguing that they should instead be "pawnbrokers for all seasons".

CORPORATES
BANK OF ENGLAND, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Markets not worried about an early election

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 22-Mar-16

Matt Sherwood of Perpetual does not expect the 2016 federal election to have much impact on the Australian sharemarket. He adds that policies such as high taxes and high government spending are likely to have the biggest adverse effect on the market. Meanwhile, David Bassanese of BetaShares says the construction sector will benefit if the Federal Government succeeds in its bid to increase regulation of the industry, while the housing sector will face a less severe crackdown on negative gearing if it is returned to office.

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Rating – Slight fall in March to 118.0

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Index has fallen to 118.0 in March 2016, compared with 119.7 in February. However, consumer confidence remains in line with the historical average. The Current Conditions Index dipped three points to 120.8, and the Future Conditions Index fell from 116.7 to 116.2.

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

RBA give exporters no relief on $A

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Mar-16

The Australian dollar has risen above $US0.76 for the first time in eight months and this trend is bad news for exporters. Tourism operators, services providers and education companies cannot count on a corrective action from the Reserve Bank of Australia. A decline in the unemployment rate, which fell from six per cent to 5.8 per cent in February 2016, will make the central bank less willing to cut the official interest rate.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Myer leads ASX rally along with miners

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Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 18-Mar-16

The S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed one per cent to 5,168.2 points on 17 March 2016. Investor sentiment was positively influenced by higher commodity prices and the decision of the US Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged. Big mining companies recorded significant gains, with Fortescue rising nine per cent to $A2.65, BHP Billiton gaining 2.4 per cent to $A17.29 and Rio Tinto adding 2.4 per cent to $A43.73.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, OROTONGROUP LIMITED – ASX ORL, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

$A ignores RBA ‘jawboning’ and pushes to eight-month high

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires, Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 18-Mar-16

The Australian dollar was trading at $US0.7591 in late local trade on 17 March 2016. The local currency has been rising for some time and even words of caution by Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Guy Debelle failed to affect it. Debelle told a foreign exchange seminar in Sydney that Australia needs a weaker domestic currency.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence: Back to recent highs, up 1.6pts to 116.4

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Mar-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose 1.4 per cent to 116.4 in the week ended 13 March 2016, building on the 3.1 per cent bounce in the previous week. Confidence levels are now back to the highs seen in December, with the negative impact from financial market volatility in January now fully reversed. The subindex for "personal financial situation in the next 12 months" rose by 5.4 per cent to its highest level seen since October 2009. However, the subindex for "economic outlook in the next 12 months" fell 0.4 per cent.

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

Bank of Qld hit with second class action

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Original article by Georgia Wilkins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-Mar-16

Law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has launched legal action against Bank of Queensland, alleging that the bank "knowingly assisted" Sherwin Financial Planners in distributing-Ponzi-like products. The law firm is representing investors in the Petersen Superannuation Fund who invested in Money Market Deposit Accounts offered by Sherwin Financial Planners.

CORPORATES
BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART AND SULLIVAN LP, WICKHAM SECURITIES LIMITED, SHERWIN FINANCIAL PLANNERS PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DDH GRAHAM LIMITED, SHINE LAWYERS, BRISBANE MAGISTRATES’ COURT, PETERSEN SUPERANNUATION FUND