K: Financial and Insurance Services

Macquarie bulks up with Esanda

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 9-Oct-15

Macquarie Group will become one of Australia’s three largest vehicle financiers after paying $A8.2bn for the Esanda Dealer Finance business. The sale of Esanda will boost the ANZ Bank’s common equity tier one capital ratio. Macquarie will partially finance the acquisition via a capital raising, with plans to tap institutional investors for $A400m via a share placement. Macquarie shares traded at $A77.84 on 8 October 2015, prior to a trading halt.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED, AWAS AVIATION CAPITAL LIMITED, CROWN CASTLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED, MOTO, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CADENCE CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX CDT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HNA GROUP, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PEPPER GROUP LIMITED – ASX PEP

BoQ chief glimpses a sunnier state for bank

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 9-Oct-15

Bank of Queensland has posted 2014-15 cash earnings of $A$357m, which is 19 per cent higher than previously. Revenue was 17 per cent higher at $A1.08bn, while its home loan book increase by nine per cent to $A25.6bn. The value of all loans rose by seven per cent to $A40.9bn in total. CEO Jon Sutton is upbeat about the regional bank’s earnings outlook, noting that it should benefit from factors such as new capital requirements for its larger peers.

CORPORATES
BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Richest families make second fortunes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Oct-15

The Smorgon family has topped the 2015 "BRW Rich Families List", with estimated wealth of $A2.74bn. The combined fortunes of the 50 families on the 2015 list is $A41.18bn, compared with $A40.1bn in 2014. Many families on the list are expanding into the property development sector, after making their fortunes in other industries.

CORPORATES
BAIADA POULTRY PTY LTD, STEGGLES HOLDINGS LIMITED, LILYDALE, SWISSE WELLNESS PTY LTD, BIOSTIME INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, INTRAPAC PROJECTS PTY LTD, LEWIS LAND CORPORATION LIMITED, HARD YAKKA, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, BANNA PROPERTY PTY LTD

Banks shares set to rise as investors focus on dividends

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 8-Oct-15

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Banks Index has shed 20 per cent since April 2015, and Macquarie says the downturn in bank share prices has created a buying opportunity for investors. Macquarie expects the forthcoming dividend payouts by National Australia Bank, Westpac and the ANZ Bank will drive investor activity in the banking sector, which in turn should boost the share prices of bank stocks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 BANKS INDEX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

IOOF slapped with class action

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 8-Oct-15

Australian-listed financial services group IOOF Holdings faces a shareholder class action over claims that staff in its research department failed to comply with disclosure requirements. The legal action has been launched by law firm Maurice Blackburn with financial backing from UK-based Harbour Litigation Funding. The class action will be open to investors who bought IOOF shares between December 2013 and June 2015.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, HARBOUR LITIGATION FUNDING LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, LONSEC LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

$A tipped to reach US75c as rates call spurs rally

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 8-Oct-15

The Australian dollar was buying $US0.718 late in trading on 7 October 2015, and some analysts are upbeat about its near-term outlook. BK Asset Management’s Boris Schlossberg says the currency could test the $US0.75 level if there is an upturn in commodity prices during the final months of 2015. Richard Franulovich of Westpac Institutional Bank says the currency could also benefit from any decline in the US dollar on a trade-weighted basis.

CORPORATES
BK ASSET MANAGEMENT, WESTPAC INSTITUTIONAL BANK, GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ASX tipped to reach 6200 by end-2016

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 7-Oct-15

Citigroup is upbeat about the outlook for global sharemarkets, with equity strategist Robert Buckland suggesting that the market has entered a "maturing bull" phase. The S&P 500 in the US and Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 have risen strongly so far in October 2015, and Citigroup now expects the ASX 200 to top 6,200 points by the end of 2016. Its previous forecast for this date was 6,000 points.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence faces uphill battle – now at 110.0

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Oct-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.5 per cent to 110.0 in the week ended 4 October 2015. This takes the cumulative fall over the last fortnight to 3.9 per cent, which retraces almost half of the record bounce in response to the appointment of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister. Results across the sub-indices were mixed. Confidence in the economic outlook over the next five years fell by 5.6 per cent and remains well below average. In addition, views on household finances compared with a year ago declined 3.6 per cent to the lowest level since mid-June.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

RBA urged not to cut interest rate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Oct-15

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s "shadow board" believes that the cash rate should either be left at two per cent for the next six months or increased. Shadow board member Mark Crosby says economic reforms such as tax cuts would do more to stimulate the economy than further rate cuts. He adds that more rate cuts may increase the debt problem in Australia. Crosby also says the growing expectation that rates will soon rise in the US should prompt the Reserve Bank to leave rates on hold.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

November RBA rate cut gains traction

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 5-Oct-15

Data from Bloomberg shows that financial markets believe there is a 27 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce the cash rate by 25 basis points on 6 October 2015. Economists have cited factors such as the recent fall in the value of the Australian dollar and an improvement in business confidence as some of the factors that will influence the central bank’s decision. Citigroup anticipates a rate cut in November.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ