K: Financial and Insurance Services

ASX200 payout slide set to dwarf counterparts

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 1-Mar-16

A number of companies in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 have increased their dividends in 2015-16, despite the financial market volatility. However, Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse expects the combined dividend payout of S&P/ASX 200 companies to fall from $A79bn in 2014-15 to just $A73bn. Meanwhile, the total capital returned to shareholders will be boosted by share buybacks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Higher dollar not enough to kill RBA’s chill

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires, Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Feb-16

There is general consensus among economists that the Reserve Bank will leave the cash rate unchanged at two per cent on 1 March 2016. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital is among the economists who expect an interest rate cut at some point in 2016. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank’s Michael Blythe does not expect the central bank to resume "jawboning" the Australian dollar in its monetary policy statement, despite its recent rise to a seven-week high.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN

Days of continuous dividend growth over

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 26-Feb-16

Australia’s top 200 stocks have recorded stronger growth in dividends per share than earnings per share in the last few years, but fiscal 2016 seems likely to see the situation reversed. Analysts attribute this to factors such as the abolition of the progressive dividend policies of both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, and expectations that the major banks’ dividend will be broadly in line with their previous payouts.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEXBHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHPRIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIOCOMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBAWESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBCNATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NABAUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZCITIGROUP PTY LTDGOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTDHENDERSON GLOBAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Australian Roy Morgan Business Confidence rises in February bringing a halt to three months of falls

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-16

A Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey has found that Australian business confidence rose by 2.7 points to 113.3 in February 2016, following a combined fall of 8.7 points over the previous three months. The stabilisation in business confidence comes after sharp falls on the Australian sharemarket early in 2016 levelled off in February. The level of business confidence in February is clearly positive for the economy overall, but below the five-year average (116.7), and the weakness of indicators related to the health of the Australian economy is a sign that confidence remains fragile and easily impacted by negative economic events.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITEDAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINETAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURYAUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZSTANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEXDICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSHMASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Resources uncertainty keeps ASX below 5000

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 25-Feb-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has failed to remain above the 5,000-point level so far in February 2016. The local market has been weighed down by continued weakness in the resources sector, while Julian Beaumont of Bennelong Australian Equity Partners adds that the market is likely to remain range-bound until concerns about the banking sector are alleviated. Meanwhile, Marcus Padley says any market rebound will be driven by an upturn in commodity prices.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BENNELONG AUSTRALIAN EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, PENGANA GLOBAL RESOURCES FUND, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence tracking up – now at 114.3

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Feb-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.6 per cent to 114.3 in the week ended 21 February 2016. The 2.8 per cent increase over the past three weeks partially retraces the declines recorded through January. With the negative impact from the financial market volatility in early January appearing to be short-lived, confidence is now tracking higher with most sub-indexes showing an improvement. Consumer confidence in the past few weeks shows that consumers’ views towards their current personal finances and the near term economic outlook were most sensitive towards the financial market rout, falling between 6-8 per cent in the last four weeks of January. They have, however, recovered in the past three weeks, with both rising a cumulative 4.2 per cent. Overall though, households’ confidence in the economic outlook remains much weaker than their view of their own finances.

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

Private equity floats lag for second year

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Feb-16

New figures show that Australian IPOs in 2015 that were backed by private equity firms delivered an average return of 13.1 per cent. In contrast, the average return of IPOs that had no private equity involvement was 19.3 per cent. Private equity-backed IPOs have not outperformed since 2013, when they achieved an average return of 19.6 per cent. However, they have comfortably exceeded the performance of non-private equity IPOs over a three-year period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GATEWAY LIFESTYLE – ASX GTY, CBL CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX CBL, BESTON GLOBAL FOOD COMPANY LIMITED – ASX BFC, PEPPER GROUP LIMITED – ASX PEP, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ECLIPX GROUP LIMITED – ASX ECX, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, McALEESE LIMITED – ASX MCS

ASX cracks 5000 to hit three-week high

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 23-Feb-16

The Australian sharemarket posted solid gains on 22 February 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding one per cent to close at 5,001.2. The Commonwealth Bank advanced 1.1 per cent to end the session at $A74.24 and BHP Billiton was 3.4 per cent higher at $A17.18. Brambles rose by 8.5 per cent to finish at $A12 and NIB Holdings was up 7.3 per cent at $A3.52.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX

Large rivals may spur nib M&A

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Feb-16

Australian-listed private health insurer NIB Holdings has posted a 2015-16 interim profit of $A43.4m, which is five per cent higher than previously. The group’s net premium revenue was up 10.5 per cent at $A781.3m, and gross margins rose from 13.4 per cent to 15.1 per cent. MD Mark Fitzgibbon says NIB would be open to acquisitions, particularly as Medibank Private and Bupa are becoming increasingly competitive.

CORPORATES
NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS HEALTH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Brokers confident of smooth shift to two-day settlements

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 22-Feb-16

Australia’s equities and debt markets are set to adopt a two-day settlement cycle on 7 March 2016. The ASX says that more than 100 market participants have indicated that they are prepared for the so-called T+2 system, which has been in test mode since August 2015. The New Zealand Exchange is also slated to make the transition on 7 March, while key Asian markets have either adopted T+2 or are planning to do so.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEW ZEALAND EXCHANGE LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, BNP PARIBAS EQUITIES (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED