Here are the news headlines from the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(ASX: XJO) and Australian finance circles on Monday morning.
First, here are the data points:
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 70.55 US cents
Dow Jones (DJI): down 0.7%
Oil (WTI): $US74.29 per barrel
Gold: $US1,206 per ounce
Australian Finance News
An impending Royal Commission into aged care has many commentators talking about the implications for industry funding and staffing levels. Consumers are also bracing for, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison put it, “real mistreatment”.
As Rask Media reported in September, according to Government figures, there was a 177% increase in the number of aged care homes identified as posing a serious risk to residents.
ASX-listed aged providers Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC), Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE) and Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG) have seen their share prices fall steeply since the Government’s announcement.
In economic news this week, ANZ job advertisements, NAB’s business conditions and Westpac consumer confidence figures are all due out over the next five days.
In sharemarket news, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) announced it will incur $374 million for customer refunds and remediation in the second half of its 2018 financial year.
ANZ will also take a $206 million hit in the form of software costs which relate to its international business. The decision to accelerate the rate at which it incurs software costs follows a recent review.
Together with Royal Commission legal costs ($55 million) and restructuring charges ($104 million) ANZ said the combined impact will be approximately $697 million over the full year.
Finally, Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYD) announced that it had successfully completed a $400 million debt placement in the US.
Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said he was “pleased” to return to the US funding markets and strengthen the company’s balance sheet.
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