K: Financial and Insurance Services

Buffett to play on the ASX

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 13 : 17-Jun-15

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) shares rallied on 16 June 2015 in response to a deal for US investment guru Warren Buffett to acquire a 3.7 per cent stake in the general insurer for $A500m. As part of the deal, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will be paid 20 per cent of IAG’s annual revenue for the next decade, which will be reinvested in a number of large Australian-listed companies. Buffett has indicated that bank stocks may be included in the portfolio.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PETERS MACGREGOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WELLS FARGO BANK, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Back to Recent Highs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rise by 2.1 per cent to 114.5 in the week ended 14 June 2015, reversing the falls in the previous three weeks. Confidence now stands above the long-run average and just a touch below the post-Federal Budget reaction. The sub-index for households’ finances in the next year has risen by 3.6 per cent, while the sub-index for expectations of the economic outlook in the next year rose by 4.1 per cent.

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

Pockets full of dollars: M&A rise for Japan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Jun-15

Corporate Japan is becoming increasing active in global mergers and acquisitions in 2015. Data from Dealogic shows that the value of such deals has topped $US50bn to date. The CEO of ANZ Bank’s Japanese operations, Peter Davis, expects the nation’s financial services providers to seek further acquisition opportunities in Australia. Meanwhile, he notes that relatively few Australian companies are pursuing growth in Japan.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEALOGIC HOLDINGS PLC, TOKIO MARINE AND FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, HCC INSURANCE, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, THE DAI-ICHI MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, TAL LIMITED, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, DBS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED, MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, MIZUHO BANK LIMITED, SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, MARUBENI CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

National Vet Care dogs ASX-listed Greencross

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 15-Jun-15

It is estimated that Australians spend around $A2.6bn on veterinary services every year. National Veterinary Care aims to capitalise on this via a sharemarket float, which is slated for July 2015. The company is headed by Tomas Steenackers, a former general manager at listed veterinary services group Greencross. Steenackers’ firm comprises one veterinary clinic in Brisbane at present, but it plans to buy an additional 34 clinics if the IPO proceeds.

CORPORATES
GREENCROSS LIMITED – ASX GXL, NATIONAL VETERINARY CARE, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, TERRY WHITE CHEMISTS, G8 EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX GEM, HEALTH DIRECT PTY LTD, ONCORE GROUP, WILSON HTM INVESTMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX WIG, SHAW STOCKBROKING LIMITED

Crackdown on super inducements

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-Jun-15

The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act prohibits Australian financial institutions from offering employers incentives to choose them as their superannuation fund provider. Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has flagged stricter penalties to discourage such behaviour, a move that has been welcomed by Financial Services Council CEO Sally Loane.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Tough times present high-quality opportunities, says Clime

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 12-Jun-15

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rebounded to 5,557 points on 11 June 2015, having fallen below the 5,500-point level earlier in the week. Clime Asset Management’s Clime John Abernethy notes that the local market is now at its level of mid-2014, and says some stocks now offer value. Abernethy favours National Australia Bank, Telstra, Woolworths, Wesfarmers and CSL. He cites factors such as healthy earnings, strong dividends and expectations of a double-digit rate of return for each of these stocks in the next year.

CORPORATES
CLIME ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EVIDENTE, MONEY MATTERS FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS PTY LTD

Westpac faces management overhaul

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 24 : 11-Jun-15

Westpac has revealed an internal restructuring which will result in the creation of two new divisions. George Frazis will head the consumer banking division, while David Lindberg will be at the helm of the commercial and business banking division. TS Lim of Bell Potter says some Westpac or St George bank branches that are in close proximity might eventually be closed now that the two brands are within the same division of the banking major.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RAMS HOME LOANS PTY LTD, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Big four won’t need to seek capital: analysts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 11-Jun-15

JP Morgan has suggested that Australia’s four major banks will have to undertake equity raisings totalling $A14bn to comply with proposed capital requirements. However, Citigroup believes that the banks can comply with any changes to capital rules via their dividend reinvestment plans. National Australia Bank recently raised $A5.5bn via a rights issue.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Hopes fade for IPOs as Greenstone deal sinks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 24 : 11-Jun-15

ASX Limited’s Max Cunningham says fewer companies are pursuing IPOs compared with the same period in 2014, but he adds that the IPO market remains healthy. However, the outlook for IPOs is uncertain following Greenstone’s decision to abandon its $A900m float after lack of support for investors at the stock’s proposed issue price. Upcoming floats include Gateway Lifestyle, Adairs and QMS Media.

CORPORATES
GREENSTONE LIMITED, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, GATEWAY LIFESTYLE – ASX GTY, ADAIRS LIMITED – ASX ADH, QMS MEDIA LIMITED – ASX QMS, LINK MARKET SERVICES LIMITED, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, SHRIRO HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SHM, DONGFANG MODERN AGRICULTURAL HOLDING GROUP LIMITED – ASX DFM, MITULA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MUA, ARGO GLOBAL LISTED INFRASTUCTURE LIMITED – ASX ALI, INDIA FUND LIMITED – ASX INF, GARDA DIVERSIFIED PROPERTY FUND – ASX GDF, HOLLARD INSURANCE GROUP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COSTA GROUP OF COMPANIES PTY LTD, SMALLCO INVESTMENT MANAGER LIMITED, CARTER HOLT HARVEY LIMITED, PEPPER HOMELOANS PTY LTD, WISETECH GLOBAL PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Retraces

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jun-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 1.2 per cent to 112.1 in the week ended 7 June 2015, further retracing some of the Budget bounce. While the index is now 0.6 per cent below its long-run average, it remains around 10 per cent above levels seen a year ago. The sub-index for households’ confidence in the economic outlook over the next year fell by 2.4 per cent, while confidence in the economic outlook over the next five years fell by 6.7 per cent.

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