K: Financial and Insurance Services

Jetpack float set to take off with China backer

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 16-Jan-15

New Zealand’s Martin Aircraft Company will be listed on the Australian stock exchange in February 2015. The group announced in mid-January 2015 that Hong Kong investment fund KuangChi Science will invest up to $A50 million in Martin Aircraft within the next two and a half years. The funds will be used to commercialise Martin Aircraft’s new jetpack

CORPORATES
MARTIN AIRCRAFT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX MJP, KUANGCHI SCIENCE LIMITED, NEW ZEALAND AIRWAYS LIMITED

Tribeca takes honours as best share fund

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 24 : 16-Jan-15

Data from Mercer shows that Tribeca Investment Partners’ Alpha Plus Fund achieved a return of 15.7 per cent in calendar 2014. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 300 Index gained just 5.3 per cent. Qantas, Lend Lease and Arrium are among the stocks that helped the Tribeca fund to outperform other Australian share funds. Tribeca’s Sean Fenton is bearish about the mining and resources sector in 2015, and expects sectors that benefit from a higher US dollar to perform well

CORPORATES
TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD, TRIBECA ALPHA PLUS FUND, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, amp capital investors also use AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, KATANA CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX KAT, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX HGG, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, ACADIAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, AVEO GROUP – ASX AOG, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, SERVCORP LIMITED – ASX SRV, ANTARES CAPITAL PTY LTD, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CBG CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX CBC, LAZARD SELECT AUSTRALIAN EQUITY FUND, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED

Gerry Harvey upbeat on retail sales outlook

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 15-Jan-15

Citigroup’s Craig Woolford estimates that Australian retailers generally enjoyed same-store sales growth of 2-3 per cent during the 2014 Christmas and New Year period. Harvey Norman recorded strong growth in sales, according to chairman Gerry Harvey, and he is optimistic about the group’s prospects for 2015. Harvey Norman shares closed $A0.23 higher at $A3.69 on 14 January, and Merrill Lynch has upgraded its share price target to $A4

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, INCU PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, PETER ALEXANDER SLEEPWEAR PTY LTD, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, PORTMANS PTY LTD, SMIGGLE PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, NET-A-PORTER.COM LIMITED, MR PORTER

Business satisfaction with banks reaches new high – but big four lag behind smaller banks

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Jan-15

A Roy Morgan Research Business Single Source survey has found that the satisfaction level of the business customers of Australia’s four major banks was 67.6 per cent in the six months to November 2014. Satisfaction with non-big four banks was 72.2 per cent. The overall satisfaction level of Australian business banking customers is at a record high of 69.6 per cent, compared with 61.4 per cent in 2010. Westpac had the highest satisfaction rating in November (71.6 per cent). Meanwhile, the satisfaction level of the personal customers of Australian banks is now 82.8 per cent, a 6.5 per cent increase since 2010

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

ASX stocks tipped to lag world

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Jan-15

The MSCI World Accumulation Index has significantly outperformed Australia’s S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index over the last year and a five-year period. Fund managers expect international stocks to deliver better returns again in 2015, with Australian resources and banking stocks in particular likely to weigh on returns. PM Capital’s Ashley Pittard says that unlike global markets, the Australian sharemarket is in a corrective phase

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL WORLD ACCUMULATION INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES ACCUMULATION INDEX, PM CAPITAL LIMITED, PLATINUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX PTM, PETERS MACGREGOR INVESTMENTS LIMITED, ALTIUM LIMITED – ASX ALU, STREAM GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGO, MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX MFG

Home care costs to rise in ageing nation

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Original article by Nassim Khadem
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Jan-15

A report produced by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia examines the estimated household budget that retirees will need for both a "modest" and "comfortable" lifestyle in retirement. It concludes that people in their 90s will generally need less income in retirement than those in their 70s, although most will also require a higher level of care in their home. More than 50 per cent of older retirees still live in their own home

CORPORATES
THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Lower $A to fuel foreign profit growth

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 13-Jan-15

The eight per cent fall in the value of the Australian dollar during 2014 has been a boon for companies with a significant presence offshore, particularly in the US. The shares of companies with strong earnings in the US rose by 12.7 per cent in 2014, and Chris Nicol of Morgan Stanley is upbeat about the earnings outlook for stocks such as Macquarie Group, CSL, Goodman Group and Ansell in 2015

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, ANSELL LIMITED – ASX ANN, ALS LIMITED – ASX ALQ, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, NAVITAS LIMITED – ASX NVT, PHILO CAPITAL ADVISERS PTY LTD, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL

Rich Listers lose billions as sharemarket slides

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Nov-16 : 13-Jan-15

Some Australian billionaires have reasons to be unhappy, as falling shares have had a negative impact on their wealth. Andrew Forrest, James Packer and Kerry Stokes belong to a group whose losses over the past 12 months exceeded $A5 billion combined. Frank Lowy, chairman of Westfield Corporation, is an exception, with the stock gaining 50 per cent in 12 months

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, WESTRAC EQUIPMENT PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR INCORPORATED, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, MESOBLAST LIMITED – ASX MSB, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, FREELANCER LIMITED – ASX FLN, CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX CTD, TRANSFIELD SERVICES LIMITED – ASX TSE, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX BBG, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP

Bank profits to slow, says Fitch

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 13-Jan-15

Fitch Ratings notes that a decline in bad debts has contributed to the growth of Australian banks’ profits in recent years. However, a new report from Fitch warns that the banks are likely to face a rise in bad debts in 2015, which will result in lower profit growth. Factor such as rising competition in the home loans sector will also adversely affect growth in earnings

CORPORATES
FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Fewer, bigger trades block HFT growth

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 15 : 12-Jan-15

Australian stock exchange operator ASX has issued its trading data for December 2014, showing the first drop in the number of equity trades during a half-year since 2001. At the same time, the average value of each transaction rose 4% to $A5,663, bucking a trend caused mainly by the rise of automated high-frequency trading (HFT). Matt Williams, equities head at the Perpetual fund management firm that is the largest individual investor in ASX, says it appears that HFT is finding its "natural level". In Australia it accounts for just over a third of all trades, compared with twice that ratio in the US

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, LIQUIDNET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION