Fonterra credit rating cut to A- by S&P on Beingmate debt, peak capex, price volatility

Fonterra credit rating cut to A- by S&P on Beingmate debt, peak capex, price volatility

By Jonathan Underhill Oct. 14 (BusinessDesk) - Fonterra Cooperative Group's long-term credit rating was cut by Standard & Poor's, which said its peak capital expenditure and rising debt levels had coincided with a high level of volatility in the global dairy market in fiscal 2...

Westpac to raise A$3.5B in discounted rights offer, reports 3% gain in cash earnings

Westpac to raise A$3.5B in discounted rights offer, reports 3% gain in cash earnings

By Jonathan Underhill Oct. 14 (BusinessDesk) - Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's second-largest lender, plans to raise A$3.5 billion in a discounted rights offer to meet new capital requirements and posted a 3 percent increase in full-year cash earnings driven by lending growt...

Funds inflow underpins Fisher Funds 2015 earnings in year of smaller bonuses

Funds inflow underpins Fisher Funds 2015 earnings in year of smaller bonuses

By Jonathan Underhill Oct. 14 (BusinessDesk) - Fisher Funds Management lifted funds under management by 10 percent to $6.6 billion in 2015, helping underpin earnings in a year when investment returns resulted in smaller performance fees. Fee income fell to about $61 million...

Wheeler says some OCR easing likely but wants to avoid stoking property demand

Wheeler says some OCR easing likely but wants to avoid stoking property demand

By Jonathan Underhill Oct. 14 (BusinessDesk) - Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler has reiterated that he is likely to cut interest rates again, although he is also conscious of the risk that low borrowing costs inflame the housing market and wants to retain some capacity to...