K: Financial and Insurance Services

IAG lifts full-year profit margin outlook

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 25-Jul-14

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has upgraded its full-year profit margin forecast for 2013-14 to between 18 per cent and 18.3 per cent, from the previously announced range of 14.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent. The new estimate takes the group’s profit margin to its highest levels since the company listed on the sharemarket in 2000. CEO Mike Wilkins said IAG benefited from warm weather and a lack of claims

CORPORATES
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG|ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX|NRMA INSURANCE LIMITED|CGU INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED|COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA|BKI INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX BKI|TYNDALL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED|GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD|WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES

ASX faces income loss after fee cuts

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 25-Jul-14

Analysts do not expect a move by ASX Limited to cut some fees to have much long-term impact on the stock market operator’s earnings. The ASX will reduce fees on over-the-counter derivatives and interest rate futures in October 2014. The changes include a shift from flat rate fees to a system of volume-based fees for derivatives clients. Ryan Fisher of Goldman Sachs expects the new fee structure to enhance the ASX’s competitiveness

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX|GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD|LCH.CLEARNET SA|CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD|COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS

Insolvencies fall but not for all

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 24-Jul-14

New Australian Securities & Investments Commission data show that the rate of insolvencies among businesses has declined 19%, to now be below that of new company incorporations. Brendon Watkins, insolvency partner at law firm Minter Ellison, says one factor is the increased vigilance on lending risk at the major banks after the global financial crisis. The assessment is backed by Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association CEO John Winter. However, the construction and personal services sectors still have elevated rates of insolvencies

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION|AUSTRALIAN RESTRUCTURING INSOLVENCY AND TURNAROUND ASSOCIATION|MINTER ELLISON|COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA|CRS WARNER KUGEL PTY LTD|AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BUILDING|COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED|KELL AND RIGBY PTY LTD|ST HILLIERS CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD|WALTON CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD|REED CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD|HASTIE GROUP LIMITED|SOUTHERN CROSS CONSTRUCTIONS|NATIONAL BUILDPLAN GROUP PTY LTD

Boards ‘hungry for growth’

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-Jul-14

A Business Leaders Forum in Perth on 23 July 2014 heard from Michael Chaney, chair of National Australia Bank and Woodside Petroleum. He said company boards were once more interested in pursuing growth via acquisitions or capital investment in new developments, as stockholders were also ready to fund such initiatives. However there was often a lack of suitable takeover targets, Chaney added. Recent mergers and acquisitions moves have featured Goodman Fielder, Treasury Wine Estates, David Jones, SAI Global and Aquila Resources

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL|NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB|TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS|RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO|GOODMAN FIELDER LIMITED – ASX GFF|TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE|DAVID JONES LIMITED – ASX DJS|SAI GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX SAI|AQUILA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX AQA|SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK|DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Mortgage rates hit record lows

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro|Clancy Yeates|Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jul-14

Three of Australia’s four major banks reduced their fixed mortgage interest rates on 23 July 2014, after the five-year swap rate fell to just 3.11 per cent in the previous week. The Commonwealth Bank’s five-year fixed rate has fallen to a record low of just 4.99 per cent, with Westpac and National Australia Bank reducing their rates for new customers to the same level. Meanwhile, market watchers expect the Reserve Bank to leave the cash rate on hold after inflation rose to three per cent in the second quarter

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA|WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC|NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB|RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA|AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ|BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED|BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG|UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD|MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEMS|AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS|RATECITY PTY LTD|MOZO PTY LTD|MEMBERS EQUITY BANK PTY LTD|UBANK

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Returns

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Jul-14

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 4.4 per cent to 113.5 in the week ended 20 July 2014. Consumer confidence has almost completely retraced the sharp deterioration seen in the weeks around the Federal Government’s May 2013 Budget and is returning to long-run average levels. The improvement in confidence has been driven by large increases in households’ perceptions regarding economic conditions over the next year and their financial situation in both a year’s time and compared with a year ago

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

The future of mega-cap stocks

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Original article by James Frost|Matthew Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 23-Jul-14

The S&P/ASX 20 Index has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 in the last 12 months, as well as the last three and five years. The composition of the ASX 20 has changed significantly over the last five and 10 years, and astute investors can potentially enjoy big returns by backing the right stocks. Johan Carlberg of Alphinity Investment Management says companies whose focus is the domestic market could be displaced by peers that pursue growth offshore. Paul Taylor of Fidelity says healthcare and technology stocks could potentially be elevated to the top 20 index in coming years

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX|STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX|ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD|FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD|PERENNIAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT|AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT LIMITED – ASX AEF|NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS|FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED|ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED|SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK|WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES|WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW|APPLE INCORPORATED|EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION|FIDELITY AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND|FACEBOOK INCORPORATED|GOOGLE INCORPORATED|HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO|MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED|NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM|FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG|WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL|ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG|SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO|OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH|BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP|RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO|TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL|S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLP|WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD|SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG|SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD|MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Soul Patts chief blasts attacks on company’s board

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 22-Jul-14

The Australian Taxation Office has issued a private ruling that states a capital gains tax charge of $A311m would be created by an unwinding of the cross-shareholdings of Brickworks and Washington H Soul Pattinson. Brickworks has 42.7% of Soul Patts and the listed investment company 44.3% of the building materials group. Soul Patts chair Robert Millner has criticised fund management firm Perpetual and activist shareholder Mark Carnegie for pursuing the split plan, noting that it has caused costs of several millions of dollars

CORPORATES
WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL, BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, BKI INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX BKI, MILTON CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX MLT, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, MH CARNEGIE AND COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

M&A ‘explosion’ may not rattle Australia

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 22-Jul-14

GMO co-founder Jeremy Grantham is expecting a "veritable explosion" in mergers and acquisitions activity in Australia. He says that three factors will lead to a record number of mergers and acquisitions deals, namely cheap capital, the economic recovery and high profit margins. JPMorgan is not convinced. The firm believes that foreign investors will be deterred by the high value of the Australian dollar

CORPORATES
GRANTHAM MAYO VAN OTTERLOO AND COMPANY LLC, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED – ASX DJS, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, TIME WARNER INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Treasury says lower $A to avoid income crunch

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Feb : 22-Jul-14

The Melbourne Economic Forum has warned of the need for a reduction in real wages and higher productivity to avert a decline in Australians’ standard of living. However, Professor Ian McDonald of Melbourne University believes that the economic modelling has too much emphasis on productivity. Meanwhile, federal Treasury economist David Gruen told the forum that the Australian dollar is likely to fall in coming years, which will assist the transition from the mining boom

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE ECONOMIC FORUM, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY. CENTRE OF POLICY STUDIES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA