K: Financial and Insurance Services

Harvey Norman cooking with gas as housing booms

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Original article by Madeleine Heffernan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 9-Apr-15

Australian retail sales topped $A24bn in February 2015. Sales were 0.7 per cent higher than in January, and 0.4 per cent higher than the same period in 2014. UBS is upbeat about the outlook for homewares and furniture retailer Harvey Norman, due to its exposure to the residential property market. However, UBS has "sell" recommendations on grocery groups Woolworths and Metcash

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, INDEPENDENT GROCERS OF AUSTRALIA, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN BUFFALO INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Economists stumped by RBA’s moves

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Apr-15

None of the economists polled by Bloomberg News have been accurate in their forecasts for the monetary policy decisions of all three Reserve Bank of Australia board meetings so far in 2015. Several economists have, however, successfully predicted the outcome of two interest rate decisions, while five have failed to predict any. Meanwhile, the financial market’s forecasts have been right on one occasion in 2015

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BLOOMBERG LP, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, TD SECURITIES, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BANK OF ENGLAND, LABOUR PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN)

ANZ banks big win in class action fees battle

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Original article by Katie Walsh, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 9-Apr-15

Law firm Maurice Blackburn may launch a High Court appeal against the Federal Court’s rejection of a class-action lawsuit against the ANZ Bank. The case centred on the question of whether bank fees were excessive, with more than 43,000 ANZ customers participating in the class action. Other major banks are subject to separate class actions over bank fees, with about 180,000 customers in all taking part

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, JONES DAY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BABCOCK AND BROWN LIMITED, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

Beston IPO to follow lobster, dairy stakes

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 9-Apr-15

Former WorleyParsons executive Sean Ebert has become CEO of Beston Global Food Company ahead of its proposed Australian sharemarket float in July 2015. Beston has also appointed GrainCorp chairman Don Taylor and formers Santos chairman Stephen Gerlach to its board. Meanwhile, it has acquired stakes in live lobster exporter Ferguson Australia and biodynamic dairy firm B.-d. Paris Creek

CORPORATES
BESTON GLOBAL FOOD COMPANY LIMITED, FERGUSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, B D FARM PARIS CREEK PTY LTD, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, INDEPENDENT GROCERS OF AUSTRALIA, BESTON WINE INDUSTRY TRUST, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence: Bumpy Ride for Confidence

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Apr-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 2.3 per cent to 109.7 in the week ended 5 April 2015, its lowest level in almost eight months. The weakness was broadly based, with four out of the five sub-indices declining. The sub-index for confidence in the economic outlook over the next year fell by 2.9 per cent, while confidence in the economic outlook over the next five years fell by 1.3 per cent

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

RBA baulks at 2pc cash rate, for now

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Apr-15

The Australian dollar rallied to $US0.7690 on 7 April 2015, after the Reserve Bank left the cash rate on hold at 2.25 per cent. There was widespread expectation among financial market watchers that the central bank would reduce the cash rate, but they have priced in a 76 per cent chance of a rate cut in May. Vimal Gor of BT Investment Management and Paul Dale of Capital Economics both believe that the Reserve Bank missed a chance to put downward pressure on the dollar

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JAMIESONCOOTEBONDS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Pre-emptive $A spike attracts ASIC interest

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 8-Apr-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission will investigate further unusual currency trading activity on 7 April 2015. The Australian dollar again rose suddenly shortly before the Reserve Bank revealed that it had left the cash rate on hold. The corporate regulator is looking into similar trading activity in the previous two months. The dollar was buying $US0.7699 late in trading, and Richard Yetsenga of the ANZ Bank expects it to remain at around this level in the near-term

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF INDIA, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Keep tax credits, raise GST

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 7-Apr-15

A poll conducted among more than 560 members of the "Australian Financial Review" Business Leaders Panel suggests that Australians do not want the dividend imputation system to be abolished. They also expressed their opposition to proposals to remove tax concessions for superannuation and to reintroduce estate taxes. An increase in the goods and services tax rate is supported by 60 per cent of the panel

CORPORATES

Shares to open lower as RBA considers cut

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 7-Apr-15

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to shed 0.15 per cent when trading resumes on 7 April 2015. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell by 0.4 per cent during the previous week. The Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting will be a focus for investors, with Credit Suisse data showing that financial markets have priced in a 75 per cent chance of a rate cut. Retail sales, construction and mortgage lending data will also be released in coming days

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLOOMBERG LP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, SOCIETE GENERALE, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

CBA customers face deposit tax hit

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Original article by James Eyers, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 2-Apr-15

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has expressed its support for the financial system inquiry’s recommendation to introduce a tax on deposits to cover the costs of any bank collapse. The proposed tax would amount to $A500 million a year in total for the sector. In a submission to Treasury in response to the inquiry’s recommendations, CBA stated that the tax might be passed on to its customers

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA