K: Financial and Insurance Services

Wild firestorms to trigger $700m in insurance losses

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 : 7-Jan-20

Australia’s insurance industry is expected to be hard hit by the bushfires, with some estimates suggesting that the total cost of claims could top $700m. The Insurance Council of Australia has advised that the industry has received more than 6,000 bushfire-related claims since September, with the bulk of them having been submitted between November and 3 January. S&P Global Ratings says insurers could ultimately receive more than 10,000 bushfire-related claims.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

ASX could hit 7000, but don’t get too excited

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Original article by Luke Housego
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 26 : 7-Jan-20

Market strategists are generally upbeat about the outlook for Australian equities in 2020, with the majority forecasting that the S&P/ASX 200 will reach 7,000 points. However, Chris Nicol of Morgan Stanley expects the benchmark to end the year at just 6,700 points, while Hasan Tevfik of MST Marquee has a year-end target of 7,100. Meanwhile, Damien Boey of Credit Suisse has forecast earnings-per-share growth of seven per cent.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MST MARQUEE, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Japan tipped to lead inbound M&A

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 6-Jan-20

Alex Cartel of Deutsche Bank expects Japanese companies to pursue more takeover deals in Australia during 2020, following bids for Carlton & United Breweries and DuluxGroup in 2019. He notes that Japan has replaced China as a key driver of inbound mergers and acquisitions deals in the last several years. Simon Ranson of JP Morgan adds that offshore private equity firms are cashed up, noting that factors such as the low Australian dollar will make the nation attractive to them.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, DULUXGROUP LIMITED, ASAHI GROUP, NIPPON PAINT, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

US rates likely to stay on hold, Fed indicates

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Original article by James Dean
The Australian – Page: 14 : 6-Jan-20

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting show that the US central bank expects official interest rates to remain unchanged for some time, although this is likely to depend on the economic outlook. Some Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that an extended low interest rate environment may encourage ‘excessive risk-taking’. Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve chairman contends that the central bank has options other than quantitative easing and forward guidance to stimulate the economy in the event of a downturn.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

One in five households facing mortgage stress

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jan-20

Around two million households are finding it hard to make mortgage repayments despite low interest rates, according to comparison website Finder. The number of households in this position has risen since May 2018, the month before the Reserve Bank made the first of its three cash rate cuts. Brendan Coates from the Grattan Institute notes that borrowers should be looking around more for better mortgage rate offers, while Kate Browne from Finder comments that "mortgages need constant monitoring"

CORPORATES
FINDER.COM.AU, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Call to regulate medical devices

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 2-Jan-20

Sheena Jack, the CEO of health insurance company HCF, has called for the creation of an independent regulator of medical devices. Jack says there should be a review of the ‘clinical efficacy’ of items that are on the prostheses list, similar to what is done for items on the pharmaceuticals list. Research conducted by Private Healthcare Australia indicates big price differences between medical devices in Australia and comparable products provided in other countries, while Jack claims public hospitals often have to pay much less for medical devices than private ones.

CORPORATES
THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Insurers seek changes to NSW funding

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 2-Jan-20

The Insurance Council of Australia has called for changes to the way that emergency services are funded in New South Wales. ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller claims the ’emergency services levy’, which is imposed on insurance companies, leads to underinsurance and is unfair on policyholders. Victoria had a similar levy, but scrapped it after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, replacing it with a broader property tax. NSW passed legislation in 2016 to enact a similar tax, but deferred its implementation not long before it was due to take effect in 2017. Fuller says that decision was "regrettable".

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ASIC next in line to be climate cop

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Dec-19

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission will begin to legally enforce a requirement that listed companies must inform their shareholders and customers of any material risks from climate change. ASIC has not yet used this enforcement power under the Corporations Act 2001, but it intends to do so in 2020. Woolworths and Treasury Wine Estates are among the companies that have warned of the potential impact of climate change in their financial reports.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Economy fear with credit in the doldrums

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Original article by David Rogers, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 24-Dec-19

Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that lending to businesses and property buyers increased by 0.1 per cent in November and 2.3 per cent in the year to November. This is the lowest rate of growth in private sector credit since April 2010. The figures also show that growth in home loans was 0.2 per cent in November and 2.9 per cent year-on-year, while non-housing credit fell by 0.5 per cent in November and 4.9 per cent year-on-year.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Paid leave for ANZ’s fire volunteers

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Original article by Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 14 : 24-Dec-19

The ANZ Bank has advised that its employees who are volunteer firefighters will be entitled to special paid leave in addition to their standard leave entitlements. ANZ provides its employees with up to five days of paid community service leave each year, and staff who use all of this leave during the current bushfire crisis will be able to access the bank’s special leave policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY