K: Financial and Insurance Services

Citi upgrades Australian, Euro stocks

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 10-Jan-23

Citigroup has upgraded its rating on Australian equities to ‘neutral’ and expects the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to reach 7,400 points in 2023. Citi also cautions that there is downside risk to consensus earnings forecasts of four per cent for the calendar year. Meanwhile, Citi has upgraded its rating for European shares to ‘overweight’, but its recommendation on US shares has been downgraded to ‘underweight’.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED,STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

ACCC calls on banks in merger probe

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 4-Jan-23

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is currently assessing the ANZ Bank’s proposed deal to acquire Suncorp Group’s banking arm. Sources have indicated that the ACCC has requested information and data from the nation’s major and regional banks as part of the process, using its compulsory powers under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. This information is said to include bank returns, net interest margins, funding costs and market share. The ACCC is seeking submissions on the ANZ deal by 18 January, and it aims to make a final decision on the transaction in June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ,SUNCORP BANK,SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN,AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Jury’s out on where to get best profit growth this year

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 16 : 4-Jan-23

The S&P/ASX 200 shed 5.5 per cent in 2022, ending the year at 7,038.7 points. Data from Bloomberg shows that energy, utilities and materials were the only sectors that posted gains for the calendar year. UBS equity strategist Richard Schellbach expects the benchmark index to end 2023 at 7,250 points, while AMP forecasts that it will finish the year at 7,600. In contrast, Credit Suisse expects the S&P/ASX 200 to retreat in 2023, ending the year at just 6,700.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX,BLOOMBERG LP,UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD,AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP,CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Banks demand buy now, pay later details for home loans

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 23-Dec-22

ING and Macquarie Bank have told mortgage brokers that they are now including buy now, pay later debts when assessing a person’s ability to repay a mortgage or other type of loan. ING has also advised brokers that outstanding Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) or Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt amounts need to be included in the loan serviceability assessment, while it is to increase the minimum required deposit from five per cent to 10 per cent to line up with its align with its lenders’ mortgage insurer’s policy on "high-risk postcodes".

CORPORATES
ING AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL

Bankman-Fried arrested in The Bahamas

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 14-Dec-22

The US government is expected to seek an extradition order for the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried has been taken into custody in The Bahamas, where FTX was based for tax purposes. Bahamas Attorney-General Ryan Pinder says his nation and the US have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with the collapse of FTX. Media reports have indicated that Bankman-Fried will face a range of criminal charges in the US, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering; the US Securities & Exchange Commission will also pursue charges against him. Pinder says The Bahamas will undertake its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX.

CORPORATES
FTX, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Inflation tipped to rise to highest level in 32 years

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Original article by Emma Rapaport
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 29-Nov-22

The latest monthly inflation data will be released on Wednesday. Catherine Birch from the ANZ Bank expects the data to show that the headline inflation rate rose from 7.3 per cent in September to 7.8 per cent in October. Birch also forecasts that the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of trimmed mean inflation will rise from 5.4 per cent to 5.9 per cent. The ANZ expects the quarterly headline inflation rate to peak at eight per cent in the final three months of 2022 and remain above the central bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent until the end of 2024. It also anticipates that the Reserve Bank will begin to ease monetary policy in November 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

NZ Reserve Bank nails our RBA’s failure

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Original article by Terry McCrann
Herald Sun – Page: 49 : 24-Nov-22

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has stated that wage outcomes must be consistent with the return of inflation to the central bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent. Increasing wages in line with the inflation rate would inevitably result in large-scale job losses and further boost inflation. Allowing inflation to remain well above the target range for too long would also heighten the risk of a wage-price spiral. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand recognises these risks; its cash rate was increased by 75 basis points on Wednesday, and it seriously considered a one per cent increase. In contrast, the RBA increased the cash rate by just 25 basis points in November, despite the inflation rate in both countries being nearly identical. NZ’s cash rate is now 4.25 per cent, but Australia’s cash rate will still be just 3.1 per cent if – as expected – the RBA announces a 25 basis point increase in December.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Economic turmoil to weigh on M&A: Goldman

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 : 14-Nov-22

Mark Sorrell of investment bank Goldman Sachs believes that global merger and acquisition activity will remain subdued until at least 2024. He notes that until recently, there had been widespread expectations that sentiment toward M&A deals would improve in the second half of 2023, but factors such as geopolitical tensions and aggressive interest rate increases have pushed back the likely time-frame for any rebound. Data from Refinitiv shows that there has been a 60 per cent decline in announced deals involving Australian companies in 2022, compared with the same time in 2021.

CORPORATES
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, REFINITIV AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Economists tip supersized Cup day rate rise

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 28-Oct-22

Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase the cash rate by 50 basis points in November, in response to the latest inflation data. Westpac now anticipates that official interest rates will peak at 3.85 per cent, a view shared by the Commonwealth Bank. National Australia Bank and ANZ in turn expect interest rates to peak at 3.6 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, financial markets have priced in a 25 basis point increase in November.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Superannuation fund returns go negative in September as markets weaken

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Original article by Rod Myer
The New Daily – Page: Online : 18-Oct-22

Data from SuperRatings shows that the average balanced superannuation fund lost 3.1 per cent in value during September and 5.7 per cent in the year to September. Factors such as rising inflation and interest rates have weighed on super returns in 2022. SuperRatings’ executive director Kirby Rappell anticipates a challenging calendar year for returns in the sector. However, Rappell emphasises that super is a long-term investment, and he notes that balanced funds have returned an average of at least seven per cent over time.

CORPORATES
SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD