Enrico Letta
Finally, Italians have a new government! Prime Minister Enrico Letta named a three-party coalition on Saturday which includes Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party. Letta and his 21 ministers were sworn in yesterday and the new PM is expected to unveil his program during parliament today and then the government will face a confidence vote in parliament tomorrow.
According to a consultant’s report superannuation funds are on track to deliver their best financial-year returns since the global financial crisis began. Median growth funds, which hold up to 70% of Australia’s $1.5 trillion in super savings, posted gains of between 4.3% and 4.5% during the March quarter and between 12.5% and 12.9% so far this financial year. Such growth would beat out the 9.8% growth seen in 2009-10.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has said that budget revenue has taken a $7.5 billion “sledgehammer” hit because of twin factors – a high dollar and lower terms of trade. The revelation comes as research from the Grattan Institute estimates structural changes in the economy are likely to leave governments across Australia facing budget deficits of around 4% of GDP for at least the next decade.
Andrea Slattery SPAA
By Hillary Dean | 22/04/2013 12:00:01 AM |
Last week ASIC revealed the findings of its taskforce into SMSFs, with focus on poorly-given advice and the danger of property spruikers. SPAA CEO Andrea Slattery said that while SPAA welcomes the report, “the limited nature of the report means not too much should be read into it”.
ASIC investigated 100 pieces of advice provided to low-balance (less than $150,000) SMSFs. The regulator found “pockets of poor advice”, including:
advice not sufficiently tailored to the needs of the investor
replacement product disclosure absent or inadequate
insurance recommendations absent or inadequate
an inappropriate single asset class was provided to investors
suitable alternatives to an SMSF were not considered
inadequate consideration of the investor’s long-term retirement planning objectives.
The report also focused on the proliferation of property spruiking and expressed concerns about the increased advertising of buying property through SMSF.
Slattery said, “This is a very small subset of SMSF advice, only addressing the really risking end of advice to the SMSF industry.
“What has to be remembered is that there are nearly half a million SMSFs so this research should not be regarded as defining all professional advice in the SMSF space.”
She said the information would still be useful in determining the risks that ASIC sees to watch out for, and for SMSF advisers to understand what the regulator expects of them. “The report also shows that consumers should seek SMSF Specialist advice to ensure that they are getting the best quality advice best suited to their individual circumstances,” said Slattery.
via SPAA rains on ASIC parade.
Italy’s parliament failed to elect a new President in the first two votes on Thursday prolonging the current political stalemate. Until a new President is elected, any attempts to cobble together a government will remain at a standstill and the chaotic day of voting further indicated just how far apart the political parties are. In spite of all this both Italian and Spanish bond yields have been falling sharply over the last month, with the Italian 10-year off 58 bpts to 4.2% and the Spanish down around the same to 4.65%.
Following the release of the Chinese data yesterday at 12pm AEST, there was a sharp fall in both local equities and the Aussie. The sell-off in equities immediately following the release initially saw further falls (reaching as low as 4933) but recovered somewhat later in the day to be down 0.91% at the close. The materials sector wasn’t so lucky, losing 4.17% for the day. The data release, coupled with the massive sell off in gold, also saw significant falls in the AUD which is currently trading around US$1.0315, down from US$1.0433 the previous session.
