ASIC considering up to 40 court cases following Royal Commission; Self-driving cars will change the face of auto-insurance, and there’s a US-based start-up set to take advantage of it; and hedge funds load up on US tech stocks following Q4 sell-off. Here’s what’s happening in markets today.

What I’m reading

ASIC looks to bring criminal charges

The corporate regulator appears to have finally grown some teeth, with a reported 40 cases, including some criminal cases, being considered currently.

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Self-driving cars may kill the auto-insurance industry

Autonomous driving could reduce road accidents by up to 90% as they’re rolled out globally, completely changing the way auto-insurers manage risks. One small start-up in Southern California has come up with a way to take advantage of it.

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Hedge funds load up on tech stocks

Nine of the 50 largest hedge funds opened positions in Facebook last quarter as prices dropped, research from Citi Research shows. It’s not just Facebook either, the hedge funds also loaded up on Amazon and Alphabet.

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Stocks to watch

The following companies had reported results today at the time of writing:

• Data#3 (DTL)
• Regis Resources (RRL)
• Wisetech Global (WTC)
• Cue Energy (CUE)
• Crown Resorts (CWN)
• Scentre Group (SCG)
• Pact Group (PGH)
• St Barbara (SBM)
• Charter Hall Retail REIT (CQR)
• ARB Corporation (ARB)
• Medical Developments International (MVP)
• Lovisa Holdings (LOV)
• NRW Holdings (NWH)
• Stockland (SGP)
• Carindale Property Trust (CDP)
• APA Group (APA)
• Asaleo Care (AHY)
• Nearmap (NEA)
• Steadfast (SDF)
• The Reject Shop (TRS)
• Sims Metal Management (SGM)
• Oceana Gold (OGC)
• Woolworths Group (WOW)
• Joyce Group (JYC)
• Temple and Webster (TPW)
• McMillan Shakespeare (MMS)
• Ramelius Resources (RMS)
• Western Areas (WSA)
• Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DMP)
• Corporate Travel Management (CTD)
• Fletcher Building (FBU)
• Sky Network Television (SKT)
• Meridian Energy (MEZ)
• EBOS Group (EBO)
• Spark Infrastructure Group (SPK)
• Seven Group (SVW)
• The A2 Milk Company (A2M)

Key market data

• ASX Futures: 6,075.0 (-0.34%)
• AUD/USD: 0.7164 (+0.47%)
• ASX200: 6,106.90 (+0.28%)
• S&P 500: 2,779.76 (+0.15%)
• China A50: 11,844.47 (-0.17%)
• Australia 2-yr bond: 1.764 (-1.23%)
• Australia 10-yr bond: 2.121 (-0.24%)
• US 2-yr bond: 2.491 (-1.07%)
• US 10-yr bond: 2.636 (-1.41%)
• Gold (USD/oz): 1,344.10 (+1.09%)
• Copper (USD/lb): 2.873 (+1.23%)
• Brent Oil (USD/bbl): 66.48 (-0.03%)
• 62% Iron Ore (USD/t): 88.45 (+0.4%)

Upcoming releases and events

• Westpac Leading Index for January is released at 11:30am AEST
• Wage Price Index for Q4 is released at 11:30am AEST
• The US FOMC Minutes are released tomorrow at 6am AEST
• ABS employment data is released tomorrow at 11:30am AEST. 

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