K: Financial and Insurance Services

RBA must cut again to weaken $A as Fed takes dovish view

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 19-Jun-15

Many Australian economists now expect the US Federal Reserve to delay a rate cut until December 2015, in the wake of its June monetary policy meeting. The central bank gave indications that any rate rises over the next several years will be at a slower pace than previously expected. This in turn has heightened expectations that the Reserve Bank will further reduce interest rates, in order to put downward pressure on the Australian dollar.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Former QBE executive faces fraud charges

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 21 : 19-Jun-15

US prosecutors will allege that James Shea and Eugene Fallon embezzled Australian-listed QBE Insurance Group of some $US2.6m ($A3.37m). Shea was a vice-president of QBE at the time of the alleged fraud, while Fallon was an external consultant. Shea has been accused of falsifying invoices and forging the signature of the insurer’s CFO. The Commonwealth Bank has also been embroiled in a fraud case.

CORPORATES
QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, DISTRICT COURT OF NEW YORK, COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION, SERVICMESH CSC, ACE FOUNDATION

Cash Converters to settle payday lending class action

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 18-Jun-15

Cash Converters is close to settling a class action in which it was alleged to have charged exorbitant interest rates on payday loans. Its shares are in a trading halt pending the settlement, and the stock is expected to resume trading on 19 June 2015. Law firm Maurice Blackburn, which led the class action on behalf of about 50,000 customers on low incomes, alleged that Cash Converters charged interest rates of between 145 and 633 per cent.

CORPORATES
CASH CONVERTERS INTERNATIONAL – ASX CCV. MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD. MONEY3 CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX MNY. AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Speculation rife about which companies Buffett will choose

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 18-Jun-15

US investment guru Warren Buffett plans to reinvest Berkshire Hathaway’s allocation of Insurance Australia Group’s annual gross written premium in local stocks. Australia’s four major banks satisfy many of Buffett’s strict investment criteria, while other stocks that could potentially comply with his investment standards include BHP Billiton, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search, GPT Group and Trade Me Group.

CORPORATES
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED. INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG. BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP. WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL. OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH. GPT GROUP – ASX GPT. TRADE ME GROUP LIMITED – ASX TME. BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN. WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC. BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT. JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED. WELLS FARGO BANK. THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED. BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION. EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION. BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTE FE CORPORATION. AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ. MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL. TESCO PLC. ALDI EINKAUF GMBH & CO OHG. LIDL GMBH & CO KG. WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW. APPLE INCORPORATED. GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Westpac sells down BT stake for $700m gain

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Thomson, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 17-Jun-15

TS Lim of Bell Potter suggests that Westpac’s move to trim its 59 per cent stake in BT Investment Management is primarily aimed at lifting the bank’s capital ratio. Westpac plans to offload about 82 million shares in BT, which will raise between $A600m and $A700m while reducing its stake in the listed fund manager to 31-40 per cent. The bulk of Westpac’s BT shares will be offered to institutional investors via a bookbuild, while about 27 million will be made available to the retail shareholders of both Westpac and BT.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Shriro warms investors’ hearts with barbecue

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 17-Jun-15

Shriro Holdings will have a market capitalisation of about $A125m when it debuts on the Australian sharemarket on 23 June 2015. The household appliances group’s IPO raised $A50.5m, with its shares issued at $A1 apiece. Shriro’s portfolio of brands includes Altise, Omega and Robinhood, while it is a distributor of brands such as Casio, Blanco and Pioneer. Shriro has forecast a net profit of $A10m and revenue of $A187m for 2015.

CORPORATES
SHRIRO HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SHM, BLANCO PTY LTD, CASIO COMPUTER COMPANY LIMITED, PIONEER ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OMEGA APPLIANCES, ROBINHOOD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALTISE, EVERDURE, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, SHRIRO PACIFIC, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BING LEE ELECTRICS PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, BREVILLE GROUP LIMITED – ASX BRG, GUD HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX GUD, REXEL AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HAGEMEYER BRANDS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ROCKPOOL BAR AND GRILL PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, GREENSTONE LIMITED, CARTER HOLT HARVEY LIMITED, IVE GROUP, METRO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, WILSON HTM INVESTMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX WIG, ANZ SECURITIES LIMITED

Banks shine says Credit Suisse note

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Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 17-Jun-15

Credit Suisse has upgraded its recommendation on the ANZ Bank from "neutral" to "outperform". The firm has cited factors such its higher growth in earnings per share than rival banks and the fact that ANZ shares offer value in the wake of the recent selldown. Meanwhile, eleven out of 19 analysts polled by Bloomberg have a "buy" recommendation on ANZ. Credit Suisse also has an "outperform" rating on National Australia Bank, and a "neutral" rating on Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BLOOMBERG LP

Buffett to play on the ASX

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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

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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

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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