K: Financial and Insurance Services

FSI should focus on transparency, says fundie

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 2-Sep-14

The Australian Government’s financial system inquiry should focus on transparency and conflicts of interests. David Booth, co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, says governments tend to over-react when the banking system is under strain. Over-regulation will not prevent future problems if the potential for conflicts of interests is not eliminated. Dimensional Fund Advisors does not pay commissions to financial advisers

CORPORATES
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS INCORPORATED, THE VANGUARD GROUP INCORPORATED

Hope for September

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 2-Sep-14

The Australian sharemarket rose by 0.02 per cent in the June 2014 quarter, which may bode well for the market’s outlook in September. Perpetual notes that while it was the first time since 2009 that the market has finished in the red in the June quarter, it has posted gains eight times in the last decade during the September quarter. Meanwhile, the month of September is traditionally seen as a bearish one for sharemarkets, although the Australian bourse rose in both September 2012 and 2013

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, CITIBANK PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Local shares tipped to fall as spring begins

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 1-Sep-14

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to fall by 0.2 per cent when trading resumes on 1 September 2014. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 0.1 per cent during August, and the downward trend is tipped to continue at the start of September. Factors such as the upcoming release of Australian and Chinese economic data are likely to weigh on investor sentiment, while a number of blue-chip stocks will commence trading without a dividend in the coming week

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BANK OF ENGLAND, BANK OF JAPAN, BANK OF CANADA

APRA hints at shifting capital

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 16 : 1-Sep-14

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has lodged its submission to the Federal Government’s financial system review. The watchdog wants global rules for the banking sector that require greater capital reserves for mortgage lending to apply locally. It is also sharing concerns of the Reserve Bank of Australia that more liberal lending standards could create unsustainable prices in the residential real estate market. Banks using advanced systems can access public guarantees at a lower cost

CORPORATES
BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Business as usual at Medibank: MD

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-Sep-14

The Australian Government’s Medibank Private IPO will proceed in December 2014 and is expected to be worth up to $A4bn. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann notes that an independent scoping study concluded that premiums are unlikely to increase when Medibank is privatised. Medibank CEO George Savvides has assured members that the quality of service will not be affected by the privatisation

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED

Big things expected from small players

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Original article by Tim Boreham
The Australian – Page: 17 : 1-Sep-14

At the end of the August 2014 corporate profit reporting season, analysts say small- and medium-capitalisation stocks are set to outperform larger ones again in 2014-15. Earnings per share growth for the smaller groups was 17.7% as compared to 7% for blue chips, and is set to reach 21.7% in the current year. This is despite downgrades of between 1.5% and 3%. Among the strongest stocks have been Webjet, Slater & Gordon, G8 Education, Specialty Fashion and Nick Scali

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX SMALL ORDINARIES INDEX, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, G8 EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX GEM, SPECIALTY FASHION GROUP LIMITED – ASX SFH, NICK SCALI LIMITED – ASX NCK, CAPILANO HONEY LIMITED – ASX CZZ, SELECT HARVESTS LIMITED – ASX SHV, TASSAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX TGR, TRANSFIELD SERVICES LIMITED – ASX TSE, ACRUX LIMITED – ASX ACR, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX CMG, NANOSONICS LIMITED – ASX NAN, BREVILLE GROUP LIMITED – ASX BRG, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY, BOART LONGYEAR LIMITED – ASX BLY, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, SUBZERO GROUP LIMITED – ASX SZG, PULSE HEALTH LIMITED – ASX PHG, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, SHAW STOCKBROKING LIMITED, PITCHER PARTNERS CORPORATE ADVISORY PTY LTD, LINCOLN INDICATORS PTY LTD

Macquarie hits political opposition in US network plan

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 19 : 1-Sep-14

The Utah Taxpayers Association opposes Macquarie Group’s proposal to complete the construction of an open-access broadband network in the state. Work on the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) project started about 10 years ago, and Macquarie wants to finance completion of the network. The original proposal was for the network to cover 11 cities in Utah

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UTAH TELECOMMUNICATION OPEN INFRASTRUCTURE AGENCY (UTOPIA), UTAH TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION, CENTURYLINK, COMCAST CORPORATION, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC, ECONOWEST ASSOCIATES

Murray focus ‘on capital reserve requirements’

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Aug-14

Smaller regional banks have in their submissions to the Australian Government’s new financial system review called for less onerous rules on the capital requirements to back mortgage loans. At the same time the four major banks have argued against any increase to the levels that apply to them. However the latter is believed to be the more likely recommendation by the review, as the Reserve Bank of Australia is wary of further strong growth in an already booming residential real estate market

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Perpetual returns to global equities

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 29-Aug-14

Listed fund manager Perpetual has reported a 2013-14 net profit of $A81.6m, which is 34 per cent higher than previously. Funds under management increased by 18 per cent to $A29.8bn. Perpetual will make a new push into international shares following the appointment of Garry Laurence to head its Global Share Fund. Perpetual shareholders will receive a final dividend of $A0.95 per share

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, PERPETUAL’S GLOBAL SHARE FUND, THE TRUST COMPANY LIMITED, PM CAPITAL LIMITED, WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PLATINUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX PTM, MAGELLAN ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TYNDALL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Reserve Bank takes aim at mortgages

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Aug-14

The four major as well as smaller regional banks have lodged their submissions for the second round of the Australian Government’s financial system review. The main lenders are arguing against stricter capital requirement rules, while the minor banks want access to public guarantees on the same favourable terms enjoyed by their competitors. However both lobbying efforts have now been criticised by the Reserve Bank of Australia. It is concerned about any moves that would lead to even greater mortgage lending, as consumers may default when interest rates rise again

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, BBY LIMITED, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ