Over the past year, Australia’s big four banks – Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), Westpac (ASX: WBC), ANZ (ASX: ANZ) and NAB (ASX: NAB) have fallen anywhere from 14% (CBA) to 21% (NAB) excluding dividends. As a result, all four big banks now trade at attractive yields (which are all fully franked too): Bank Historical yield…
In a stunning rebuke to Telstra (ASX: TLS), nearly 62% of shareholders voted against the company’s 2018 Remuneration Report at yesterday’s AGM. This is despite CEO Andy Penn’s total compensation falling by 28%, from $5.2m to $3.7m, in 2018 due to a reduction in his short-term incentive compensation and him receiving zero long-term incentive compensation.…
After starting with a solitary office in Manhattan eight years ago, shared office space provider WeWork now rents 265,000 desks in 287 buildings around the world. As quickly as its business has grown, though, its valuation has grown even faster. In 2017, Japanese firm Softbank, led by Masayoshi Son, committed to providing US$4.4bn of equity…
Listed property trust (or A-REIT) Dexus (ASX: DXS) today announced that it taken a small stake in Heathley Limited, the manager of Heathley Healthcare REIT. Heathley Healthcare REIT owns 42 healthcare assets across Australia and Dexus will also take a cornerstone investment in it. This transaction is another step by Dexus, Australia’s largest office landlord,…
Electric car manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been at the forefront of the transition away from internal combustion engines to electric cars. CEO and largest shareholder Elon Musk initially pursued a strategy of producing luxury vehicles before more recently moving down market and concentrating on producing a cheaper vehicle for the masses. While Tesla’s Model…
Cancer therapy maker Sirtex Medical was recently acquired by Chinese fund manager CDH Investments and China Grand Pharmaceutical for $33.60 per share. Before the company delisted from the ASX (ASX: ASX) two weeks ago, however, former Sirtex shareholders had experienced a bumpy ride over the previous two years. After a profit warning was issued on…
Earlier this week, Brickworks (ASX: BKW) and W.H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL) released their 2018 results. Controlled by the Millner family, both companies strangely own stakes in each other: Brickworks owns 42.7% of Soul Patts while Soul Patts owns 43.9% of Brickworks. This cross-shareholding has existed since 1969 and, while the Corporations Act now forbids…
After competitors Commonwealth Bank(ASX: CBA), Westpac(ASX: WBC) and ANZ(ASX: ANZ) raised variable home loan rates to compensate for rising funding costs, it seemed only a matter of time before NAB(ASX: NAB) followed suit. Yet ultimately it didn’t. Our new Prime Minister approved, suggesting NAB “gets it” for not raising variable home loan rates “out of…
The Financial Services Royal Commission continues to reveal startling examples of questionable and even potentially criminal behaviour by various companies in the financial services sector. And this week’s hearings on insurance really upped the ante. Whether it is potential breaches of the anti-hawking laws or selling life insurance to someone with Down Syndrome, the actions of…
Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia elected to keep the official cash rate on hold at 1.50% for a record 23rd consecutive meeting. Yet an unchanged official cash rate hasn’t stopped the big banks increasing variable home loan rates recently. After Westpac (ASX: WBC) moved first, raising standard variable home loan rates by…