K: Financial and Insurance Services

Bank rush for fixed-rate loans

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 18-Aug-14

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has matched recent moves by several rivals to reduce their most popular fixed interest rate home loans. CBA’s three-year interest rate has been reduced by 15 basis points, to 4.94 per cent, while its four-year fixed rate has been cut by 50 basis points to 5.09 per cent. CBA’s Clive van Horen notes that there has been a spike in customers opting for fixed-rate loans since its five-year rate was cut in July 2014

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CANSTAR PTY LTD

Investors queueing for elusive dairy farms

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 18-Aug-14

The Australian Dairy Farms Group plans to list on the Australian sharemarket in October 2014. However, there are relatively few opportunities for investors to buy into companies that own dairy farms, despite the strong growth in demand for dairy products in recent years. Corporate and Chinese investors account for more than 50 per cent of investors who will attend the Australian Dairy Farm Investment Forum in September

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN DAIRY FARMS LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER FACTORY COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX WCB, PACTUM DAIRY GROUP PTY LTD, HARVEY FRESH, DAIRY AUSTRALIA, KIDDER WILLIAMS LIMITED, ACE FARMING PTY LTD, VALAD PROPERTY GROUP, BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS LLC, DUXTON ASSET MANAGEMENT PTE LTD, NORCO CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED

Business satisfaction with Big Four banks highest in four years, Westpac the clear leader

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Aug-14

A Roy Morgan Research Business Single Source survey has found that the overall satisfaction level of the business customers of Australia’s four major banks was 66.7 per cent in July 2014, which is 2.4 per cent higher than 12 months earlier. Westpac has the highest satisfaction rating at 71.4 per cent, ahead of National Australia Bank’s 67.1 per cent. However, smaller banks continue to outperform the "big four" in terms of business customer satisfaction, with Bendigo Bank recording a satisfaction rating of 82 per cent

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

Resources outdo yield kings early in reporting season

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 15-Aug-14

The results reported so far during the current reporting season suggest that Australian-listed companies remain committed to financial prudence. There have been few buybacks and big dividends, with the exception of Telstra announcing a $A1 billion stock repurchasing scheme. Analysts believe companies do not want to return capital to shareholders because they need to have enough cash on hand to fund possible acquisitions

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fundies move to cash as risks increase

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Aug-14

A survey of 224 fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows that 27 per cent have an overweight position on cash investments, compared with 12 per cent in July. Factors such as geopolitical tensions and renewed volatility in equity markets has prompted many fund managers to rebalance their portfolios in favour of cash rather than shares. There has also been a sharp fall in the number of investors who are overweight on equities

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AQUASIA PTY LTD

Whisky investment not a bad drop

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Original article by Simon Evans, Nassim Khadem
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Aug-14

Australian investors have turned their attention to rare aged whisky, which they believe can be a worthwhile addition to their portfolios. Demand for this type of asset is strong, with investors willing to pay up to $A30,000 a bottle. Malt Whisky Society of Australia chairman Craig Daniels says speculators have entered the market. CPA Australia policy adviser Michael Davison warns about risks associated with investing in whisky by self-managed superannuation funds

CORPORATES
MALT WHISKY SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, CPA AUSTRALIA, DAN MURPHY’S, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, MARIN ACCOUNTANTS PTY LTD

ATO chasing multi dippers

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Original article by Nassim Khadem
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 14-Aug-14

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) intends to crack down on taxpayers who engage in so-called "dividend washing". The tax agency issued warning letters in March 2014, which prompted some 1,300 recipients to make voluntary disclosures. It will shortly follow this up with further letters to taxpayers who failed to respond. The ATO has warned that taxpayers who ignore the letter could be audited and face large tax penalties

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

It’s not a bubble, says CBA

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 14-Aug-14

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has posted a record cash profit of $A8.68bn for the 2013-14 financial year. The banking major wrote about $A12bn worth of new home loans during the year, and its mortgage book is now worth nearly $A400bn. It has benefited from low interest rates, which in turn has prompted a sharp rise in house prices, but CBA has downplayed concerns about a housing bubble. CBA shares closed 0.9 per cent lower at $A80.96 on 13 August 2014, although the stock has gained 8.6 per cent in the last year

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Fails to Consolidate Recent Gains

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Aug-14

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 5.7 per cent to 108.5 in the week ended 10 August 2014. Consumer confidence is now back below its long-run average. There was a 9.1 per cent fall in households’ perceptions about economic conditions in a year’s time, and an 8.9 per cent fall in perceptions about economic conditions in five years’ time. The ANZ Bank still expects growth in consumer spending to remain moderate in 2014, before improving in 2015

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

Wall Street wolves go quiet as junk bonds are trashed

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 13-Aug-14

The yield on junk bonds has fallen to about five per cent, compared with nearly 23 per cent at the peak of the global financial crisis. Dealogic figures show that some $US210bn ($A226.5bn) worth of junk bonds were sold in the first seven months of 2014, a level not seen since 2000. Demand for corporate bonds has also been weak, with less than $US60bn worth of these bonds having been sold during the first eight days of August

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC HOLDINGS PLC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, EMERGING PORTFOLIO FUND RESEARCH INCORPORATED, LIPPER ANALYTICAL SERVICES, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, BLOOMBERG LP