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Showing 101 - 110 of 683 results for "Spark"

COVID-19 sparks renewed fight for commissions

ELIZABETH MCARTHUR  |  MONDAY, 6 APR 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic slowdown has spurred a fight among financial advisers to retain commissions, amid news big institutions are turning them off earlier than the law requires. The Association of Independent Financial Professionals ...

Challenger shuffles life portfolio asset allocations

KANIKA SOOD  |  MONDAY, 30 MAR 2020
Challenger Life has tilted its investment portfolio away from equities and sub-investment grade fixed income and towards more liquid assets, as COVID-19 sparks volatility in most asset classes. Challenger Life has slashed equity holdings from 13% of ...

Will COVID-19 infect mortgages and RMBS?

ELIZABETH MCARTHUR  |  FRIDAY, 27 MAR 2020
The current market corrections caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns have sparked warnings from some not to forget the lessons of 2008 - especially, don't underestimate mortgage defaults. Thomas J. Barrack, a US private equity ...

Dow skyrockets in two-day winning streak

ALLY SELBY  |  THURSDAY, 26 MAR 2020
... begin their recovery, but investors need to remain cautious as major downside risks in markets are still prevalent and may spark when the economic damage from the sector closures reveals itself."

Platforms maintain cash rate on RBA cut

ALLY SELBY  |  FRIDAY, 20 MAR 2020
Netwealth and HUB24 have kept interest rates on cash accounts at 0%, following the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate cut of 25bps on Thursday. Both platforms confirmed the decision to maintain rates at 0%. "Nothing has changed since last week for ...

ScoMo launches $17b stimulus package

ALLY SELBY, ELIZA BAVIN  |  THURSDAY, 12 MAR 2020
The federal government has announced a $17.6 billion economic stimulus package, as it ramps up its efforts to dodge a coronavirus-sparked recession. It comes as the World Health Organisation regrades COVID-19 to a global pandemic, with 118,326 cases ...

Life insurers breach own code consistently

ELIZABETH MCARTHUR  |  WEDNESDAY, 11 MAR 2020
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has called out the life insurance industry, saying insurers breached their Code of Practice hundreds of times in just six months. The Life Code Compliance Committee (LCCC) conducted an investigation and found many insurers ...

Global stocks plunge as COVID-19 fear accelerates, oil crashes

ALLY SELBY  |  TUESDAY, 10 MAR 2020
Global markets, already feeling the burn from the spreading COVID-19 virus, have tumbled further, after Saudi Arabia sparked an oil price war which saw oil futures plunge more than 30%. Nearly $140 billion was wiped from the S&P/ASX 200 yesterday, as ...

Boutique dealer groups merge

ELIZABETH MCARTHUR  |  FRIDAY, 6 MAR 2020
Spark Financial Group and Aura Wealth Australia have agreed to merge, in a move impacting 80 financial advisers. Aura executive director Andrew Coloretti told Financial Standard that the merger was driven by a desire from both groups to achieve economies ...

Coronavirus no match for Future Fund

HARRISON WORLEY  |  WEDNESDAY, 4 MAR 2020
Future Fund chief investment officer Raphael Arndt is confident Australia's sovereign wealth fund can handle the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, thanks to its diversification. Appearing before the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation ...