K: Financial and Insurance Services

Rinehart aide ‘set to take Ten seat’

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Oct-14

The stock of Ten Network on 20 October 2014 closed $A0.02 higher at $A0.22, on news of merger talks by the free-to-air TV group with Fairfax Media. The Hancock Prospecting vehicle of mining heiress Gina Rinehart owns stakes of 14.99% and 10% in Fairfax and Ten respectively. Her seat on the board of the latter may soon be transferred to her chief development officer, John Klepec. Rinehart is believed to be positively disposed toward a merger deal, despite doubts about Fairfax’s management capabilities in the TV sector

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD

Tech funder on lookout for more start-ups

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 21-Oct-14

OneVentures will soon start making new investments through its Innovation & Growth Fund II, having already invested $A60 million in technology start-ups. OneVentures MD Michelle Deaker hopes the fund will reach the level of $A100 million by the end of 2014 or in early 2015. The fund will split its investments between technology companies and life sciences groups

CORPORATES
ONEVENTURES PTY LTD, THE MYER FAMILY COMPANY PTY LTD, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, THE CARLYLE GROUP, CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED, VAXXAS PTY LTD, AIRTREE VENTURES PTY LTD

Medibank sale to triple George Savvides’s pay with big bonuses

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-Oct-14

Medibank Private MD George Savvides will receive a huge pay rise when the company floats on the Australian stock exchange on 25 November 2014. His remuneration will triple from $A1.2 million to $A3.99 million. Savvides’s contribution to the IPO will deliver a bonus of $A750,000 for him, which some analysts believe is excessive

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP

Infrastructure needed ‘to pick up slack’

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal, Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-14

An Australian Institute of Company Directors forum has heard from Kevin McCann, chair of investment banking firm Macquarie Group. He said the national economy was likely to remain subdued, and there was an urgent need for major infrastructure projects by governments to provide a stimulus as capital expenditure in sectors other than energy declines. Such an approach has already been promised by the Federal Government, and will be promoted by it at the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in November 2014

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Sandfire wins recast of ‘incorrect’ profile

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 20 : 17-Oct-14

The Australian National University (ANU) recently announced that it would divest the shares of seven resources groups, after concerns about them were raised by adviser Centre for Australian Ethical Research (CAER). Among those affected was Sandfire Resources, but CAER has now said it will edit its assessment of the miner after talks with MD Karl Simich. He says his business has been unfairly tarnished by being included on the list despite factual inaccuracies in CAER’s report. Simich stresses that he backs ANU’s right in principle to make its own investment decisions

CORPORATES
SANDFIRE RESOURCES NL – ASX SFR, CENTRE FOR AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL RESEARCH PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Rollercoaster spells correction

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Original article by Michael Koziol
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 17-Oct-14

The US and European sharemarkets were heavily sold down on 16 October 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 173 points lower, after shedding 368 points early in the trading session. Sharemarket indices in countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Japan have officially entered correction mode, having shed more than 10 per cent, while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has fallen by more than eight per cent in recent weeks

CORPORATES
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, TOKYO STOCK PRICE INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, CAC 40 INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, PSI 20 INDEX, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

No-fault insurance proposal

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Original article by Alex Massey
The West Australian – Page: 14 : 16-Oct-14

The Western Australian Government will seek public comments on a proposal to adopt a no-fault compulsory third-party car insurance regime. The proposal has the support of Julie Waylen of National Disability Services, who is critical of the current fault-based system. However, a non-fault system is likely to increase the cost of compulsory third party insurance by $A109 per annum. Several Australian states already have a no-fault regime

CORPORATES
NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES LIMITED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, INSURANCE COMMISSION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Vintners toast Aussie’s falling value

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 16-Oct-14

Wirra Wirra Vineyards plans to capitalise on the recent fall in the value of the Australian dollar by increasing its export volumes to around 20 per cent in the next several years. Exports currently account for 10-15 of the South Australian wine producer’s output. Winemakers’ Federation of Australia CEO Paul Evans notes that the best outcome for the industry would be for the currency to fall to around $US0.80

CORPORATES
WIRRA WIRRA VINEYARDS, WINEMAKERS’ FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Silicon Valley start-up surges on ASX debut

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 & 32 : 16-Oct-14

Shares in online recruitment firm 1-Page closed at $A0.34 on 15 October 2014, capping a $A8.5m Australian sharemarket float for the US-based group. The stock was issued at $A0.20 apiece and listed at $A0.345. Amanda Moyes of ASX Limited says the sharemarket operator would like to see more US technology firms list on the local bourse. Australia’s R&D tax concessions regime contributed to 1-Page’s decision to list in Australia

CORPORATES
1-PAGE LIMITED – ASX 1PG, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, FOSTER STOCKBROKING PTY LTD, KTM CAPITAL PTY LTD, CYGNET CAPITAL PTY LTD, NASDAQ, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, FRANCE TELECOM SA

Hard times loom for Future Fund

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-Oct-14

David Neal, MD of the Future Fund, has unveiled a 2013-14 rate of return of 14.3% for the Australian Government’s civil service superannuation liabilities manager. This is up from the previous estimate of 13.9%, and follows a result of 15%-plus in 2012-13. However despite further growth of 2.9% in the first quarter of 2014-15, Neal warns that the performance will now level off due to the tapering of quantitative easing and rising interest rates in the US. This was backed by investment strategy and risk head Stephen Gilmore, while chief investment officer Raphael Arndt said the Future Fund may invest in infrastructure assets privatised by state governments

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY