K: Financial and Insurance Services

Thriving US equities tipped to defy global risks

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 11-Feb-20

Kevin Anderson of State Street Global Advisors expects US economic growth to slow in 2020, but he says the country is unlikely to go into recession. Anderson adds that the asset manager has an overweight exposure to equities, and it is particularly upbeat about US shares. He says earnings will be a major driver of returns from equities in 2020, and the US is less vulnerable to an earnings shock than other markets. Meanwhile, Anderson is not unduly concerned about a recent flattening of the US yield curve, saying it was primarily due to 10-year bonds being regarded as a safe-haven investment.

CORPORATES
STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS INCORPORATED

CBA under pressure to deliver perfect result

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Original article by James Frost, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 10-Feb-20

The consensus of analysts polled by Bloomberg is for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to post a 2019-20 interim cash profit of $4.34bn. This compares with $4.68bn for the first half of 2018-19. The bank’s share price has gained 10 per cent in the last three months, leaving the stock vulnerable to a pullback if investors are disappointed by the interim result. Most analysts do not expect CBA to announce a special dividend or a share buyback.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BLOOMBERG LP

AMP wins Chinese approval for life sale

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 10-Feb-20

The China Banking & Insurance Regulatory Commission is understood to have given its approval for AMP’s $2.5 billion divestment of AMP Life to Resolution Life. However, the transaction still has a number of hurdles to overcome, including approval from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. Hamish Carlisle from Merlon Capital Partner says that if Chinese regulators have approved the transaction then this should be disclosed to the Australian sharemarket

CORPORATES
CHINA BANKING AND INSURANCE REGULATORY COMMISSION, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AMP LIFE LIMITED, RESOLUTION LIFE GROUP LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, MERLON CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Caution urged after euphoric stock recovery

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 26 : 7-Feb-20

Global sharemarkets have rebounded quickly from a sharp fall in response to the coronavirus, with Wall Street reaching a new high and the Australian bourse approaching its record peak. However, equity strategists have warned that the rally may not be sustained; they note that it has been driven by factors such as indications that the coronavirus’s spread may be slowing and the recent move by the People’s Bank of China to increase market liquidity.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA

Bank concerns don’t apply to us: super funds

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 6-Feb-20

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has questioned the need to expand the Banking Executive Accountability Regime to include super funds and insurers. ASFA CEO Martin Fahy describes the proposal as an ‘overkill’, and he argues that the super industry is already subject to tough regulation. He adds that the proposal will discourage product innovation and affect funds’ returns. Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh has expressed support for extending the regime beyond the bank sector.

CORPORATES
THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Virus fears, rate uncertainty push $A to worst January since 2015

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Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 3-Feb-20

The Australian dollar has shed 4.7 per cent so far in 2020, and factors such as the coronavirus and the prospect of further interest rate cuts could see the currency test a new post-global financial crisis low. The Reserve Bank of Australia is now widely tipped to reduce the cash rate in April, although Prashant Newnaha of TD Securities says a rate cut in March is still possible. The RBA is expected to downgrade its economic growth forecasts on 7 February, and National Australia Bank economist Kaixin Owyong says this means that further rate cuts will be necessary.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, TD SECURITIES, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Hayne casualties in limbo a year after the inquiry

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Original article by James Frost, Aleks Vickovich, James Eyers, Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 31-Jan-20

Terry McMaster claims the Hayne royal commission, which handed down its final report in February 2019, was a waste of time and money. McMaster, the former head of Dover Financial, is the only person to be convicted as a direct consequence of the commission thus far. A number of high-profile executives left the financial services sector after appearing before the commission, or being implicated in evidence presented to it; only a small number of those individuals have returned to corporate life. One witness has stated they felt they were abandoned by their company after appearing before the commission, while some hold the view that women wore the burden of the commission disproportionately to men.

CORPORATES
DOVER FINANCIAL ADVISERS PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Consensus shifts to April cut after NAB relents

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 31-Jan-20

The futures market is currently pricing in a 10.4 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce the cash rate on 4 February, compared with a 53 per cent chance in mid-January. National Australia Bank’s chief economist Alan Oster previously expected a rate cut in February, and while he still believes that the RBA should so, he says the next rate cut is now likely to be in April. The other major banks also expect an official interest rate cut in April.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

IPO drought expected to continue into the new year

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 30-Jan-20

Research by HLB Mann Judd shows that 28 companies with a market capitalisation of less than $100m listed on the Australian sharemarket in 2019, compared with 72 in 2018. In total, just 62 companies debuted on the local bourse in 2019, collectively raising $6.91bn. The downturn in IPO activity has carried over into 2020, and HLB Mann Judd partner Nicholas Guest says many owners of high-growth businesses are likely to seek private equity backing rather than an IPO in the current environment.

CORPORATES
HLB MANN JUDD

Home loan customers reward ME Bank with highest satisfaction rating

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jan-20

New Roy Morgan banking data shows that ME Bank has the leading satisfaction rating (91.4%) among home loan customers. ING remains in top position among non-home loan customers with a rating of 89.8%. Among home loan customers, ME Bank is followed by ING (89.3%), Bendigo Bank (83.3%) and Bankwest (77.1%). For non-home loan customers, leader ING is followed by Bendigo Bank (87.8%), ME Bank (83.5%) and Suncorp (81.0%). The institution with the largest discrepancy between home loan and non-home loan customer satisfaction is Suncorp, where the satisfaction rating among home loan customers (72.6%) is more than 8 percentage points below its rating among non-home loan customers (81.0%). The ratings are taken from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, compiled by in-depth face-to-face interviews with around 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ME BANK, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BENDIGO BANK, BANKWEST, SUNCORP BANK