Markets not worried about an early election

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

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

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

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

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

Myer leads ASX rally along with miners

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

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

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

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

Deutsche tips value stocks to outperform

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 15-Mar-16

Australian equities with high price-earnings ratios have significantly outperformed the broader sharemarket in the last several years. However, Deutsche Bank says investors should consider buying into value stocks, forecasting that they are set to deliver the best returns. Deutsche Bank favours stocks such as Boral, Harvey Norman, Flight Centre Travel Group and AGL Energy.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, FORAGER FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Aussie tests US76c as central banks ponder

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 14-Mar-16

Market watchers expect Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to gain 0.8 per cent when trading resumes on 14 March 2016. The market is likely to benefit from a positive lead from overseas bourses and encouraging economic data from China. Investors will also be awaiting the outcome of the monetary policy meetings of the US and Japanese central banks in coming days, as well as the release of the latest jobs data in Australia.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, EURO STOXX 50 INDEX, ROUBINI GLOBAL ECONOMICS LLC, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, BLOOMBERG LP

Vanguard sees lower returns

Original article by Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Mar-16

Vanguard Group CEO and chairman Bill McNabb is bearish about the outlook for global investment returns over the next decade. He expects returns to be around two per cent below the long-term average over this period, although he anticipates a subsequent upturn. Meanwhile, McNabb says there should be greater transparency regarding Australian superannuation funds’, while he argues that consolidation in the industry could also be used to put downward pressure on fees.

CORPORATES
THE VANGUARD GROUP INCORPORATED