K: Financial and Insurance Services

Queue for new share listings shrinks after 18pc loss last year

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 31-Jan-19

HLB Mann Judd expects Australia’s IPO market to remain subdued in 2019, after a poor performance in 2018. Companies that listed in 2018 had shed an average of 18 per cent of their value by the end of the year. IPO activity was also lower, with the number of floats falling from 110 in 2017 to just 93. Marcus Ohm of HLB Mann Judd notes that the 17 companies that have applied to list on the sharemarket so far in 2019 are seeking to raise just $179m in total.

CORPORATES
HLB MANN JUDD, IFLIX LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, VIVA ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX VEA, CORONADO GLOBAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED – ASX CRN, L1 LONG SHORT FUND LIMITED – ASX LSF, ADRIATIC METALS PLC – ASX ADT, EXOPHARM LIMITED – ASX EX1, ELIXINOL GLOBAL LIMITE – ASX EXL

Rates rise tipped but not soon

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Original article by James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 27 : 31-Jan-19

There is general consensus in financial markets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep official interest rates on hold at 1.5 per cent in February. However forme RBA board member John Edwards says the next movement in the cash rate will be up rather than down, although this is will not happen in the near-term. He adds that the RBA’s economic growth and inflation forecasts for 2019 are "quite plausible".

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Tough earnings season ahead as pressure builds

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 31-Jan-19

Tony Brennan of Citigroup says earnings guidance in the February 2019 reporting season is likely to be influenced by factors such as the slowdown in Australia’s housing market and falling business sentiment. Brennan says companies in a range of sectors have downgraded their earnings forecasts in recent months, and this may be reflected in the upcoming profit reporting season. The S&P/ASX 200 has gained 4.3 per cent so far in 2019, and Citigroup still expects it to test the 6,300-point level by the end of the year.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Banks under fire: investigations laid bare by regulator

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 30-Jan-19

Documents released by the financial services royal commission show that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s enforcement committee approved the prosecution of National Australia Bank for breaching its financial services licence in June 2018. The committee found that NAB had repeatedly failed to comply with laws requiring it to report serious breaches of its licence within 10 days. NAB’s compliance record also came under scrutiny by the royal commission in August.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TENNIS AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TRIO CAPITAL LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, VAN EYK CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Next rates move will be up: RBA’s Harper

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Original article by James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 24 : 30-Jan-19

Reserve Bank of Australia board member Ian Harper has downplayed suggestions that the central bank could further reduce the cash rate. He says the strength of the domestic economy means that interest rates will rise, but stresses that this is his personal view. Meanwhile, Harper adds that there are no indications as yet that the downturn in residential property prices has prompted consumers to reduce their spending. Financial markets have priced in a better-than-even chance that the RBA will reduce the cash rate during 2019.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED

Storm clouds gathering after a promising start

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 24 : 30-Jan-19

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has gained more than four per cent so far in 2019, putting it on track to achieve its best performance in the month of January in five years. However, the local market could face a number of headwinds in the near-term, including the outlook for US interest rates and trade negotiations between the US and China. There is growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will pause its monetary policy tightening in 2019, and the exact timing of the next move in the cash rate remains uncertain.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, PEPPERSTONE GROUP LIMITED, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED

Sharemarkets burst out of blocks

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 29-Jan-19

The S&P/ASX 200 has gained 4.6 per cent so far in January 2019, and it has risen eight per cent since reaching a two-year low in December. Jason Steed of JP Morgan says the benchmark index could test the 6,300-point level by the end of 2019, which implies a 12 per cent gain for the year. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank expects the S&P/ASX 200 to finish the year at 6,150 points. Overseas sharemarkets have also started the year strongly, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average having risen for five consecutive weeks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, RELIANCE WORLDWIDE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX RWC, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE

Baird defends NAB interest rate hike

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 25-Jan-19

Sally Tindall of RateCity expects other major banks to increase their mortgage interest rates after National Australia Bank announced a rise in its rates for owner-occupiers and investors. NAB has indicated that a rise in wholesale funding costs was the main driver of the rate hike, but chief customer officer Mike Baird notes that it is the first increase in its standard variable interest rate since March 2017. NAB chose to leave its mortgage rates on hold when other banks lifted theirs in September.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RATECITY PTY LTD, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

RBA will ignore gloom and stay a growth hawk

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Original article by James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 23 : 25-Jan-19

The Reserve Bank of Australia is tipped to scale back its economic growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020, after GDP growth was just 2.8 per cent year-on-year in the December 2018 quarter. The RBA had previously forecast growth of 3.5 per cent for 2018. However, the central bank is expected to maintain its hawkish stance, given that the unemployment rate eased in December. The strong labour market also means an increase in the cash rate is more likely than a cut.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Aussie tipped to dive 15pc this year

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Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 25-Jan-19

Capital Economics has downgraded its forecast for the Australian dollar in 2019. The firm has warned that the currency could test $US0.60 and remain at around this level in 2020. It had previously expected the currency to trade at about $US0.65 in 2019 and $US0.70 in the following year. Capital Economics is also bearish about the outlook for Australia’s key export commodities, iron ore and coal, while it expects official interest rate cuts in 2019.

CORPORATES
CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED