K: Financial and Insurance Services

Selfie investors snub cash, shares

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Original article by Kate Cowling
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 22-Jul-15

The investment portfolios of Australian self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) have usually been focused on assets such as local shares, cash and term deposits. However, AMP Capital and BlackRock are among the groups that have noted greater interest in their absolute return funds among SMSFs. Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse says SMSFs often change their asset allocations in order to boost income, although he adds that this typically means increased exposure to shares.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, BLACKROCK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TOWERS WATSON, PERPETUAL PRIVATE CLIENTS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

ANZ eyes Esanda sale to raise $1.5b

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 22-Jul-15

The ANZ Bank aims to offload its Esanda personal finance business by mid-2016, while the banking major has also flagged the sale of some Asian assets. The sale of Esanda is likely to be worth about $A1.5bn, which will significantly boost ANZ’s capital ratio ahead of the introduction of new capital requirements in July 2016. It is estimated that ANZ will need to lift its capital by around $A2.3bn in total.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED, PT PANIN BANK, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Upbeat run-in to reporting season puts 6000 target back on radar

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Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 22-Jul-15

Just 16 Australian-listed companies have issued earnings downgrades in the lead-up to the August 2015 profit-reporting season. Nader Naeimi of AMP says there is potential for the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index to reach the 6,000-point level during the reporting season, although he doubts that it will rise much further. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse has scaled back its end-of-year forecast for the S&P/ASX 200 from 6,500 to 6,000 points.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, AFFINITY EDUCATION GROUP LIMITED – ASX AFJ, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Bounces

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jul-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 4.5 per cent to 111.8 in the week ended 19 July 2015, partially reverses the eight per cent fall over the previous two weeks. The bounce was likely driven by easing concerns around international events, as the Chinese stock market rebounded and Greece reached an agreement with its creditors. The sub-index on "economic conditions in the next year" rose by 10.8 per cent, and the sub-index on "economic conditions in next five years" rose by 7.1 per cent.

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

Higher bank capital to bite investors, clients

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 21-Jul-15

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has ruled that the nation’s major banks – and Macquarie Group – will need to hold more capital against residential mortgages. The average risk weighting on mortgage loans will rise from around 16 per cent to at least 25 per cent from 1 July 2016. Jarrod Martin of Credit Suisse estimates that the increased capital requirements will result in a modest rise in mortgage interest rates, while Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley forecasts that dividend payouts will be reduced as a result of the reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Dipping Australian dollar tipped to drop below US60c

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 21-Jul-15

Deltec International Group’s Atul Lele says further interest rate cuts and fiscal policy easing are needed in Australia due to the country’s uncertain economic outlook. He says the economic downturn in Canada is likely to be replicated in Australia, and forecasts that the Australian dollar will fall below the $US0.70 level by the end of 2015. He also warns of the potential for it to fall below $US0.60.

CORPORATES
DELTEC INTERNATIONAL GROUP, BANK OF CANADA

QSuper’s skew strikes right balance

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 20-Jul-15

Data from Chant West shows that QSuper’s balanced option achieved a return of 12.3 per cent for 2014-15, topping the performance charts. Brad Holzberger, the superannuation fund’s chief investment officer, attributes QSuper’s performance to its portfolio’s high exposure to long-term sovereign bonds and its lower allocation toward domestic shares. The MTAA My AutoSuper fund delivered a return of 11.7 per cent, while all of the balanced funds in the top 10 achieved a double-digit return.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, QSUPER LIMITED, MOTOR TRADES ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA SUPERANNUATION FUND PTY LTD, STATEWIDE SUPERANNUATION PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, VICSUPER PTY LTD, UNISUPER LIMITED, HOST-PLUS, INTRUST SUPER FUND, MLC LIMITED, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, REST SUPER PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence – Cold Snap

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Index has fallen from 119.9 in June 2015 to 113.9 in July, which is its lowest level in almost three years. Sentiment has fallen by 15 points so far in 2015 and is now below its historical average of 119.1. The Current Conditions Index has fallen from 122.6 to 119.0, while the Future Conditions Index has eased from 118.1 to 110.4. Meanwhile, a net four per cent of New Zealanders believe that they are financially better off compared with last year.

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

Medibank accused of bullying in contract talks

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 17-Jul-15

The Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) has criticised Medibank Private over its dealings with private hospital operator Calvary Health Care. Medibank abandoned negotiations over a new contract with Calvary in early July 2015, and the APHA has claimed that the private health insurer used bullying tactics. Medibank has rejected the accusations and says it acted appropriately in its negotiations with Calvary.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, CALVARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE HOSPITALS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

Aussie banks ready for Apple Pay

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Jul-15

Apple is believed to be seeking a 0.15 per cent share of banks’ credit card interchange fees when it launches the Apple Pay service in Australia. The mobile payments service was officially launched in the UK on 14 July 2015, and is being supported by most of that nation’s lenders. David Gunn of Bain & Company notes that Australian banks have considerable bargaining power as they have already made a major investment in contactless payment technology.

CORPORATES
APPLE INCORPORATED, BAIN AND COMPANY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORNING COMPANY LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA