INVESTMENTS

Spooked investors see local bond yields drop to record lows

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 24 : 8-Jan-15

The yield on 10-year Australian government bonds reached a record low of 2.65 per cent on 7 January 2015. Bond yields in Europe and the US have also fallen sharply amid a growing trend for investors to shun equities in favour of assets that offer lower risk. Charlie Jamieson of Jamieson Coote Bonds notes that Australian bonds remain appealing to global investors due to a relatively high yield and their "AAA" credit rating

CORPORATES
JAMIESONCOOTEBONDS PTY LTD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, ARDEA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FIDELITY WORLDWIDE INVESTMENT, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, CREDIT SUISSE AG

Mantra finds Bali is far from a holiday

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Original article by Lisa Allen
The Australian – Page: 18 : 19-Dec-14

Australian-listed Mantra Group has indicated that it will focus on management agreements for hotels in Bali rather than franchise arrangements. The group manages the 49-villa Peppers Sentosa Seminyak resort in Bali, and recently dropped plans to operate hotels that have just been built at Nusa Dua and Legian. However, Mantra will open a new hotel in southern Bali in December 2015

CORPORATES
MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, PEPPERS LEISURE LIMITED

US giant in $2bn bid for Recall

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Original article by Michael Bennet, Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 15 : 15-Dec-14

Australian-listed records management services provider Recall has become a takeover target, in an offer worth $A2.2bn by US-based rival Iron Mountain. The bid of about $A7 a share is tipped by experts to be rebuffed by the Recall board as undervaluing the business, and may be sweetened to as much as $A9. Previous speculation about a move by Iron Mountain has lifted Recall’s stock by 27% since September 2014. The cost synergies may amount to as high as $A270m, but institutional shareholders such as Maple-Brown Abbott and Australian Foundation Investment Company may seek a quarter or more of this

CORPORATES
RECALL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REC, IRON MOUNTAIN INCORPORATED, MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, ACCESS, CINTAS CORPORATION, BUSINESS RECORDS MANAGEMENT, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, CHINA COMMUNICATIONS CONSTRUCTION GROUP LIMITED, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI, JOHN HOLLAND PTY LTD, APA GROUP – ASX APA, BG GROUP PLC

BlackRock sees a wild ride for shares in 2015

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 12-Dec-14

BlackRock expects cyclical stocks in the US to perform better than defensive stocks in 2015, while the US economy and currency are also tipped to improve. Meanwhile, the firm anticipates increased volatility in global financial markets in the new year. It also says the downturn in the crude oil price should have a positive impact on global economic growth in the longer-term

CORPORATES
BLACKROCK INCORPORATED, BLACKROCK INVESTMENT INSTITUTE, BLACKROCK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BANK OF JAPAN, NIKKEI 225 INDEX

Surge likely for China investment

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Original article by Rowan Callick
The Australian – Page: 28 : 19-Nov-14

Ross Hamilton of Ernst & Young forecasts that Chinese investors will ramp up their investment in Australian commercial property to $A8bn a year due to the free trade agreement. He notes that Chinese investment in the sector has totalled just $A24bn over the last seven years. Greenland Australia MD Luo Xiaohua says the Chinese group has invested $A2bn in Australia to date

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, SHANGHAI GREENLAND GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, WANDA GROUP

Global dividends tipped to hit $1.4 trillion in 2015

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 17-Nov-14

Henderson Global Investors forecasts that $US1.19trn worth of dividends will be paid to shareholders globally in 2014, rising to $US1.24trn in 2015. Some $US288.1bn worth of dividends were paid globally during the September 2014 quarter, according to the Henderson Global Dividend Index. Australian-listed Westpac, ANZ Bank, BHP Billiton and Telstra were among the world’s 20 leading stocks in terms of dividend payouts during the period

CORPORATES
HENDERSON GLOBAL INVESTORS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK, GAZPROM, CHINA MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

Rinehart to milk China’s dairy fix

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Original article by Rick Wallace
The Australian – Page: 9 : 14-Nov-14

The new Hope Dairies joint venture is being launched by government enterprise China National Machinery Industry Corporation and Hancock Prospecting, the main vehicle of Australian mining heiress Gina Rinehart. The $A500m business will seek to cash in on the recently negotiated free trade agreement between Australia and China, by exporting powdered infant formula. Rinehart has also diversified from iron ore into beef cattle, with investments in Western Australia

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, HOPE DAIRIES PTY LTD, CHINA NATIONAL MACHINERY INDUSTRY CORPORATION, CUBBIE STATION, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, BEIJING AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT FUND

$A fall attracts Chinese buyers

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 11-Nov-14

Property investors in China are capitalising on the nine per cent fall in the value of the Australian dollar to buy into the domestic property market. Peter Li of CBRE notes that a lot of Chinese investors are opting to buy higher-priced apartments, as they have become more affordable due to the currency’s recent weakness. Jock Langley of real estate firm Abercrombys notes that may expatriate Australians are taking advantage of the lower dollar to buy into the property market

CORPORATES
CBRE PTY LTD, ABERCROMBYS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, COMPASS GLOBAL MARKETS PTY LTD, OZFOREX GROUP LIMITED – ASX OFX

Spaniards play hardball with Transfield

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 3-Nov-14

The directors of Australian-listed Transfield Services in mid-October 2014 rebuffed an indicative takeover bid worth $A1.95 a share, received from Spanish group Ferrovial. The latter is now refusing to sign a confidentiality agreement put forward by the facility management company, to gain access for due diligence. The suitor argues the terms and conditions are excessively onerous, while Transfield maintains they are standard procedure. The directors will detail the reasons for rejecting the offer at the AGM on 5 November. Ferrovial may yet sweeten the already fairly priced offer

CORPORATES
TRANSFIELD SERVICES LIMITED – ASX TSE, GRUPO FERROVIAL SA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, CIMB SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UGL LIMITED – ASX UGL, STEEL INGENIERIA LIMITADA, ENTERPRISE PLC

CCA soars as Coke takes stake in Indo

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 31-Oct-14

The Coca-Cola Company will pay $US500m ($A563m) for a 29.4 per cent stake in the Indonesian subsidiary of Australian-listed Coca-Cola Amatil. The deal prompted a rally in CCA shares, which peaked at $A9.25, although some analysts believe that the group should have sought a higher price for the stake. Meanwhile, CCA anticipates that it will achieve earnings growth in 2015

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY