K: Financial and Insurance Services

Bull market not dead yet, says Citi

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 7-Jan-16

Citigroup is upbeat about the outlook for international shares in 2016, forecasting that global equities will gain 12 per cent. However, the investment bank says the Federal Reserve’s recent move to begin tightening monetary policy means other sharemarkets may offer more value for investors than US equities, particularly stocks in Japan and continental Europe. Citigroup also forecasts that Australia will record GDP growth of 2.75 per cent in 2016.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Investors downbeat on ASX growth prospects

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 6-Jan-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.3 per cent in 2015, and a survey by Investment Trends shows that investors expect the sharemarket to rise by less than five per cent in 2016. King Loong Choi of Investment Trends notes that investor sentiment is being affected by factors such as low interest rates, sharemarket volatility, the slowing Australian economy and the uncertain outlook for the Chinese economy.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICE, HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX HGG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence increases to 116.3 to start 2016

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jan-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.8 per cent to 116.3 in the week ended 3 January 2016. This reverses the fall seen in the last survey conducted in mid-December, leaving confidence above its long run average (+3.2 per cent). Consumers’ views towards their current finances have risen by 6.4 per cent in the last week, leaving the sub-index at its strongest level in the history of the weekly survey (which started in October 2008). However, consumers’ views towards their financial situation in the next 12 months fell by 1.4 per cent.

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

Deals boom set to gain new steam

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 4-Jan-16

Dealogic notes that some $US129.8bn ($A177.7bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions were announced in Australia during 2015. However, the value of completed deals fell from $US101.2bn to $US97.4bn. Tim Joyce of Macquarie Capital expects M&A activity to increase in 2016, while Aidan Allen of Citigroup anticipates that the retail sector will be among those to be targeted in 2016. He also expects more takeover activity among private equity firms.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, TRANSGRID, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB

Forget the index, it’ll be a picker’s game

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires, Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Jan-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended 2015 at 5,295.9 points. Goldman Sachs forecasts that it will rise to 5,600 in 2016, and Citi expects it to reach 5,900. Meanwhile, David Bryant of Australian Unity says factors such as low interest rates and sustained weakness in commodity prices will weigh on sharemarket returns in 2016. Bryant is particularly bearish about returns from resources and banking stocks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN UNITY LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PRIME VALUE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED

Resources stocks have huge interest, among their few fans

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 12 : 4-Jan-16

Garth Rossler of Maple-Brown Abbott says resources stocks could perform well in 2016 after a challenging year for the sector in 2015. Meanwhile, Randal Jenneke of T Rowe Price recently warned that the high yields from infrastructure and property stocks may not be sustainable. He says such stocks are likely to be impacted if the US Federal Reserve adopts an aggressive approach to increasing interest rates.

CORPORATES
MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

CBA’s heavily traded shares look to tip BHP from perch

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 60 : 23-Dec-15

Turnover in the Commonwealth Bank’s shares has totalled $A64.94bn so far in 2015, and the banking major seems poised to claim the title of the most heavily-traded stock by value for the year. BHP Billiton held this title for the previous five years, but just $A56.88bn worth of its shares have changed hands in the year to date, compared with $A152.9bn in 2010. BHP’s shares have fallen sharply in 2015, due to factors such as the downturn in commodity prices and the tailings dam disaster in Brazil.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

The good, the bad and the ugly of 2015

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 14 : 22-Dec-15

The rise in Blackmores’ share price from $A35 to more than $A200m was one of the highlights of 2015 for investors and financial markets. Others include the profit turnaround of Qantas, the US IPO of Atlassian, the sale of Toll Holdings to Japan Post for $A6.5bn and the commencement of exports from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore project. On the downside, a number of stocks have fallen sharply in 2015, including BHP Billiton, Dick Smith Holdings and Slater & Gordon, while embattled retailer Woolworths has issued several profit downgrades and is yet to stem losses at its Big W and Masters businesses.

CORPORATES
BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SWISSE WELLNESS PTY LTD, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, APPEN LIMITED – ASX APX, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, VOCATION LIMITED – ASX VET, AUSTRALIAN CAREERS NETWORK LIMITED, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Australia forecast to follow Fed on rates

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 22-Dec-15

The Australian dollar has strengthened in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest rates. There is growing speculation that the Reserve Bank will begin tightening monetary policy in 2016, with BT Investment Management forecasting that the cash rate will rise from two per cent to 2.5 per cent. Michael Blythe of the Commonwealth Bank expects monetary policy to remain unchanged, while the ANZ Bank has forecast that the cash rate will be cut to 1.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Easy money era coming to an end

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 18-Dec-15

The Australian sharemarket rose on 17 December 2015, in response to the US Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest rates from historic lows. However, the Australian dollar lost ground in local trading, while the US dollar gained 0.95 per cent. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has given indications that there could potentially be four interest rate increases in 2016, although Mark Bayley of AquAsia has questioned whether there will be scope for such aggressive monetary policy tightening. Many analysts believe that two rate rises are more likely.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AQUASIA PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SCHRODER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WELLS FARGO BANK