[Weekly Wrap] No relAXAtion just yet

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Often the last few weeks of December are a very busy time for news. This year is no exception and I suspect there are still some more big stories to go in the week before Christmas.

Friday, December 18th 2009, 4:08PM

Often the last few weeks of December are a very busy time for news. This year is no exception and I suspect there are still some more big stories to go in the week before Christmas.

The big ones this week included National Australia Bank’s bid for AXA, the Hanover vote and the release of the Capital Markets Development Taskforce.

Today’s newsletter takes a slightly different format in that we have added links to many of the Good Returns stories at the end. Also, we have included a couple from some of our other websites.

The big story for me this week is the unfolding bidding battle for AXA. One thing is for sure: the company won’t be around in its current form for much longer. No doubt there will also be many people looking for new jobs.

The Hanover meeting gained a lot of media attention so we have taken a different approach and looked at how the protagonists performed at the meeting.

My thoughts are that the meeting generally went well, but the chairman nearly blew it at the end when he allowed investors to make statements rather than ask questions. That was a pretty silly thing to do just before investors voted.

We haven’t done too much on the task force report which was released this week. However it did have a fair bit to say about advisers and we will provide more coverage next week. Our initial story here has some useful points about advisers, their use of the word independence and some ideas about how financial products should be marketed.

Related to that, today we report on some submissions made to Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee looking at finance companies. Of course, they were told commissions should be banned. One of the submitters to the enquiry was none other than that famous sharebroker from the Kapiti Coast.

Many thanks to all our readers who have completed the Good Returns readership survey. We have had a great response and your feedback will help us further develop the site next year.

All readers who completed the survey went into the draw for a 6 bottles of wine. Congraulations, to our winner, R. Donaldson.

Investors sell Tower, although analysts say buy
Keep the imputation regime: Task Force
Strategic Finance now unsure of first payment
Investors to get power to put finance companies into receivership
Lifetime to buy Swains
ING reaches $1 billion mark with KiwiSaver
Tower looks to double adviser numbers in next two years
Financial advisers' independence needs regulation 
Hanover investors vote to accept Allied Farmers shares
Hanover investors say yes to Allied
BNZ, Rabo boost long-term deposit rates
AXA accepts NAB's offer
Insurance groups opt for AFA standards
Investment managers favour equities
PGG Wrightson sets up banking syndicate
Commissions must go: Inquiry told


Have a great weekend
Philip

« Commissions must go: Inquiry told

Sovereign takes regulation bull by the horns »

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