There are a good number of dividend shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market. Which certainly is good news given the low interest rate environment we’re living in.

Two that I think would be great options right now are listed below. Here’s why I think income investors ought to buy them:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Due to a sharp pullback in the Bravura share price over the last 12 months, I think it has now become a really good option for income investors. Bravura is a leading wealth management and transfer agency software solution provider. The key product in its portfolio is the Sonata wealth management platform. It is the biggest contributor to earnings, but is being supported by a number of other increasingly popular solutions. This includes the Rufus transfer agency solution, the Garradin back office solution, and the Midwinter financial planning solution.

Although its growth has been stifled by the pandemic, I remain confident that it will accelerate again once it passes. I expect this to result in strong earnings and dividend growth over the 2020s, which could make it a great buy and hold option for income investors. For now, I estimate that it will pay shareholders an 11.5 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the current Bravura share price, this equates to an attractive 3.75% dividend yield.

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

Another option to consider is BWP. It is the largest owner of Bunnings Warehouse sites in Australia, with a portfolio of 68 stores. At the end of FY 2020, the company had an occupancy rate of 98% and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 4 years. From this, it was generating annual rental income of $151.4 million. 

And while having such a reliance on a single tenant can be a dangerous thing, I see it as a strength on this occasion. This is due to the quality of the Bunnings brand, its positive growth outlook, and the fact that Bunnings’ owner, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), is a major BWP shareholder with a ~23.6% stake. I believe this means Wesfarmers is unlikely to do anything that would have a negative impact on its investment. Finally, based on the current BWP share price, I estimate that it offers investors a forward 4.4% yield. 

More reading

• 3 of the best mid cap ASX shares to buy right now
• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Buy these ASX dividend shares if the RBA cuts rates again
• Is the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price a buy for growth or dividends?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and managed to record a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.1% to 6,057.7 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to crash lower.

The Australian share market looks set to crash notably lower this morning following a terrible night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 82 points or 1.35% lower. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 2.9%. the S&P 500 has dropped 3%, and the Nasdaq is also down 3%. COVID-19 and U.S. stimulus concerns are weighing heavily on investor sentiment.

ANZ full year results.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price will be on watch when it releases its full year results this morning. A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that it expects the bank’s second half cash earnings (from continued operations and pre-one offs) to be down 19.1% to $2,351 million. The broker has also pencilled in a final partially franked dividend of 38 cents per share. Goldman reduced its estimates earlier this week to reflect ANZ’s remediation update.

Oil prices sink to three-week low

COVID-19 concerns have sent oil prices down to a three-week low, which could be bad news for the likes of Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) on Thursday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 5.3% to US$37.49 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 4.8% to US$39.24 a barrel.

Link takeover update.

The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price will be one to watch this morning after the release of an update on its takeover approach. The Link board advised that it does not believe the updated proposal ($5.40 per share) represents compelling value for shareholders. It feels further work is required to determine the viability and attractiveness of the separation of the PEXA and Link (ex PEXA) assets. However, it has granted the consortium due diligence.

Gold price drops lower.

Much to the dismay of gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR), not even a market selloff on Wall Street could support the safe haven asset overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has sunk 1.8% lower to US$1,878.0 an ounce after the U.S. dollar strengthened amid the market volatility.

More reading

• Link (ASX:LNK) share price on watch on Thursday following takeover update
• Hayne Commission continues to haunt the Big Four banks
• Today was mixed for the ASX 200, ending 0.1% higher
• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• After sliding 3% this week, is Sydney Airport’s (ASX:SYD) share price a buy?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Link Administration Holdings Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price will be one to watch tomorrow after the release of an after-market update on its takeover approach.

What did Link announce?

Late last week the administrations services provider rejected a non-binding takeover proposal from a consortium comprising Pacific Equity Partners, Carlyle Group, and their affiliates.

After careful consideration and discussions with advisors and shareholders, the Link board decided that the offer of $5.20 cash per share materially undervalued the company and was not in the best interests of shareholders.

It didn’t take long for the consortium to come back with a better offer. On Monday it tabled a non-binding indicative proposal of $5.40 cash per share, up 20 cents from its previous offer. It also gave Link until 5pm today to respond to the approach.

After the market close, Link revealed that its board has carefully considered the revised proposal.

It advised that it does not believe the proposal represents compelling value for shareholders. It feels further work is required to determine the viability and attractiveness of the separation of the PEXA and Link (ex PEXA) assets.

Nevertheless, the board considers that it is appropriate to provide the consortium with due diligence information on a non-exclusive basis. This is so that it can develop a proposal that may be capable of being recommended to shareholders.

The due diligence information will be provided subject to entry into an appropriate confidentiality agreement containing suitable protections for Link, including a standstill clause.

It has warned shareholders that there can be no certainty that such a proposal will eventuate and that they do not need to take any action at this stage.

In addition to this, the board is continuing to examine structural alternatives, including a potential separation and demerger of PEXA.

In the meantime, if there are material developments in the future, Link intends to inform shareholders as required under its continuous disclosure obligations.

More reading

• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• Takeover of Link Administration (ASX:LNK) is looming
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Coca-Cola Amatil rockets on takeover approach, Westpac’s $1.2bn earnings hit
• Why Coca-Cola Amatil, CSR, Link, & Qantas shares are storming higher
• 5 major ASX 200 events this week

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Link Administration Holdings Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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As well as checking out the most popular ASX shares Aussies have been buying, we Fools also like to have a periodical look at which US shares have been piquing the interest of ASX investors.

The data is provided by Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) CommSec platform, which covers 19-23 October.

Most popular US shares on the ASX

The 5 most popular US shares last week were the following:

1.  Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 9.4% of total trades with a 91%/9% buy-to-sell ratio.
2.  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 4.1% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
3.  Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 3.1% of total trades with an 85%/15% buy-to-sell ratio.
4.  Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) – representing 2.2% of total trades with an 84%/16% buy-to-sell ratio.
5.  Fastly Inc (NYSE: FSLY) – representing 1.5% of total trades with an 81%/19% buy-to-sell ratio.

The next five most traded shares were these:

      6.  Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

      7.  Square Inc (NASDAQ: SQ)

      8.  NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)

      9.  Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM)

      10. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NASDAQ: AMD)

What can we learn from these trades?

Tesla once again dominates the most popular US shares list, maintaining the dominant position we have seen virtually all year. Tesla did report its quarterly earnings this week, which seemed to be positively received by investors, despite not much happening in the Tesla share price (it’s up 0.83% over the past month). Still, it helped Aussies hop aboard the Elon Musk train with a 91% buying percentage.

We also see investors’ love of electric vehicle makers spill over into Chinese ‘Tesla-killer’ Nio. Nio has had an incredible year over the past 12 months. This time last year, the company was at an all-time low of US$1.36. Today, it’s trading for US$28.44 – a 1-year return close to 2,000%. Apparently ASX investors think it’s time to hop on this wagon, rather than off it, given the 85%/15% buy-sell ratio.

Amazon is never far from ASX investors’ minds these days, given that (like Tesla) it never seems to be far from the top of the table.

But a rarer entrant is present this week: Fastly. Fastly is a US-based cloud computing services provider which only IPOed last year. Since then, the shares are up 210%, including 229% in the past 6 months. However, they are also down 42% since 13 October, which probably explains why we were seeing some buying pressure last week.

AMD also is a rare entrant and squeaked in last week at the 10th place. AMD manufactures computer chipsets and graphics cards and competes with companies like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and NVIDIA. AMD shares are down around 9% since 7 October, but are up an incredible 3,600% over the past 5 years.

More reading

• Hayne Commission continues to haunt the Big Four banks
• Amazon to hire 100,000 seasonal workers as demand is expected to soar
• Cloud computing and gaming boost Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) earnings results
• ASX stock of the day: Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) surges 170% on new self-charging battery
• A look into Mike Cannon-Brookes’ share portfolio

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla and Intel. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Square, Tesla, and Zoom Video Communications and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft, short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA, and Zoom Video Communications. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price gained 5.6% today, outpacing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gains of 0.2%.

This follows the company’s quarterly activities report, released this morning.

Today’s gains see the Champion Iron share price well into the green for the year, up 15% since 2 January. That’s despite the shares falling more than 50% from late January through to 24 March. Since then shares are up 119%.

What does Champion Iron do?

Champion Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company. Through its subsidiary, Quebec Iron Ore, the company owns and operates the Bloom Lake Mining Complex. This is located in the southern Labrador Trough in Quebec, Canada’s largest source of iron ore.

Champion Iron also owns the Gullbridge-Powderhorn property in Northern Central Newfoundland. The company sells its iron ore concentrate around the world with customers in China, Japan, the Middle East, Europe, South Korea and India.

Why is the Champion Iron share price up today?

Champion Iron announced record production, net income and net cash flow from its operations in the second quarter of FY21.

Atop revealing that it had suffered no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the company reported revenue of $311 million for the 3-month period ending 30 September. This is up from $164 million over the same quarter in 2019.

Net income was also up, coming in at $122 million compared to a net loss of $1.7 million for the second quarter in 2019.

This left Champion Iron with a strong balance sheet, reporting cash on hand of $426 million. That compares to cash on hand of $346 million on 30 June. The company said that comes despite a dividend payment of $17 million made during the second quarter, and $97 million in mining taxes and payments.

Cpommenting on the results, Champion Iron CEO David Cataford said:

Our team’s agility in adapting operations is unlocking the full potential of our flagship Bloom Lake Mine, resulting in record quarterly production and financial results for our company.

I am proud to be leading such a highly motivated workforce, dedicated to the success of our company, despite the challenging environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic… With our cash on hand rapidly growing, our company continues to diligently advance the Phase II expansion project, increasing the cumulative budget to $120 million, which is expected to further de-risk the project.

With the iron ore price strong at US$115 per tonne today, and Champion Iron reporting record production, I think the Champion Iron share price will be one to watch.

More reading

• Why the Evans Dixon (ASX:ED1) share price is up 7% as the All Ords slides
• Why the Probiotec (ASX:PBP) share price is trading higher
• Why the Danakali (ASX:DNK) share price is down 7% today
• Why the Adairs (ASX:ADH) share price is swinging lower today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX snaps winning streak… just

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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In the mid cap space I continue to believe there are a good number of shares that have the potential to grow strongly over the next decade, potentially generating market-beating returns for shareholders.

Three which I think would be great options for long-term focused investors are listed below:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Bravura is a leading provider of software solutions for the wealth management and funds administration industries. I’m a big fan of the company due to its growing portfolio of solutions that are both high quality and have significant market opportunities. This is particularly the case for the Sonata wealth management platform. This is used by a number of large financial institutions, such as Aware Super. In fact, Australia’s second largest super fund just signed a 7-year agreement for Sonata.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

Another mid cap share to consider buying is Collins Foods. It is one of the largest quick service restaurant operators in the ANZ region. At the last count, it had 240 KFC stores in Australia, 40 KFC stores in Europe, and 12 Taco Bell across Queensland and Victoria. Although this is a sizeable network, management stills see plenty of room to expand in the coming years. I expect this and the continued popularity of its brands to underpin consistently solid earnings and dividend growth for the foreseeable future. 

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

Finally, Damstra is a growing integrated workplace management solutions provider to multiple industry segments. Its cloud-based workplace management platform is used by businesses globally to track, manage and protect their workers and assets. This appears to have left it for well-placed to benefit from changes to working conditions in the post-pandemic world. Particularly given solutions such as fever detection and mobility tracking. The company also recently bolstered its offering with the acquisition of Vault Intelligence. It is a software company offering solutions which combine health, safety, compliance, and risk management.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why is the Bravura (ASX:BVS) share price dropping today?
• Why the Damstra (ASX:DTC) share price is climbing higher today
• 5 top ASX shares to buy with $5,000
• Beat the rate cuts with these ASX dividend shares

James Mickleboro owns shares of Collins Foods Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd and Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The aftermath of the Banking Royal Commission (also called the Hayne Commission) continues to spill over, almost two years after it concluded.

After much soul-searching and lessons learnt in these last two years, the big four banks are still grappling with various write-down in profits related to the findings from that inquiry. 

Here we take a look at how the inquiry has financially impacted the big four banks over the last two years.

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

ANZ Bank announced yesterday that its second half 2020 cash profit would be impacted by a charge of $528 million as a result of large notable items. 

One of the items includes remediation to customers, which makes up $188 million of the total figure. This charge relates to remediation programs the bank had conducted in response to recommendations made by the commission.

Earlier this year, ANZ had already paid a $10 million penalty for wrongly charging 69,000 customers more than $3 million in fees.

The figures announced yesterday will only add to the misery.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Earlier this month, the Federal Court ordered Westpac to pay a $1.3 billion penalty for its breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Acts. The penalty was the highest ever civil penalty in Australian history, reflecting the seriousness of internal control failures at Westpac.

The compliance failures were levelled by AUSTRAC, a government financial intelligence agency set up to monitor financial transactions.

In response, Westpac admitted to the court that it failed to report 19.6 million international transactions within 10 days. The bank also admitted to 48 instances where it didn’t perform adequate customer due diligence, and failure to flag 262 customers for making transactions that fitted the pattern of child exploitation.

It remains to be seen whether more write-down will be reported in the future as the bank recently reshuffled its management team. 

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Last week, NAB also announced a hit to profits totalling $450 million. This includes payment of refunds to customers of $245 million, and a whopping $128 million in backdated payments to remediate staff underpayment.

This figure is on top of the $297 million in penalties the bank has already paid since 2018.

NAB revealed 12 months ago that it was investigating a payroll mistake responsible for short-changing 730 NAB employees of about AU$850,000. That number had grown to 1,500 staff and $1.3 million by June, but it was a surprise for the market to hear the number had now increased to $128 million. 

NAB was also accused of charging customers fees without providing them with services, as well as providing its wealth clients with non-compliant advice.

The bank recently announced a startling forecast that the cost of compensating customers could eventually be as high as $2.2billion, which it already reported as provisions during the half year reporting.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

In 2018, the prudential regulator APRA slammed CBA’s board and senior management in a scathing report that chided the bank for its widespread “complacency and excessive complexity and insularity”. The regulator also identified serious failures in the bank’s internal controls to prevent anti-money laundering and terrorism-related activities.

CBA agreed to pay AU$700 million in penalties, as well as agreeing to carry an additional $1 billion in regulatory capital and to undertake a comprehensive review of its operations. 

Earlier this year, CBA denied reports that it was facing fines in the billions of dollars for selling superannuation products through bank tellers. That saga is still ongoing and the bank may still be imposed a fine for that breach.

So what lies ahead for the big four banks?

With all that’s happening, it’s clear that FY20 will not be the best year for banking sector investors. Many banks will be throwing everything but the kitchen sink when they close the books for FY20, by including other write-down charges in a year that’s already lost. Investors may need to be patient and focus on the FY21 results.

More reading

• Today was mixed for the ASX 200, ending 0.1% higher
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price on watch after revealing $528 million earnings hit
• Douugh and Ioupay were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week

Motley Fool contributor dsunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The ResApp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP) share price soared higher today following the release of a positive market announcement.

During market open, shares in the digital health company surged to an intra-day high of 12 cents. However, a portion of those gains have been given back, with the ResApp share price closeing at 11.5 cents, up 9.5%.

Let’s see what news ResApp updated investors with.

A new software app for Android

ResApp advised that it has now launched its software application ResAppDx on select Android devices.

The smartphone-based acute respiratory diagnostic test has been developed for use by clinics for a range of health issues. These include lower respiratory tract disease, croup, pneumonia, asthma/reactive airway disease exacerbation, COPD exacerbation and bronchiolitis.

It is estimated that there are more than 2.5 billion active Android devices worldwide, thus expanding ResApp’s addressable market. Android users in Australia and Europe number more than 11 million and 450 million, respectively.

The company said the launch followed extensive testing and met high standards identifying respiratory diseases. ResApp will work with its existing partnerships with Coviu and Phenix Health.

The company will now focus its efforts on launching SleepCheck for Android. This will allow users to assess their risk of sleep apnoea on almost all smartphone devices. It is expected the rollout will be in the coming months.

What did management say?

ResApp CEO and managing director Tony Keating said launching ResAppDx on select Android devices was a major achievement for ResApp:

The company has undertaken extensive testing to ensure our offering continues to meet the high standards set by regulative bodies and provides clinicians with a best in class solution to test for respiratory disease during telehealth consultations.

ResApp has established partnerships in the Australian telehealth sector through both Coviu and Phenix Healthcare and we will now pursue the launch of ResAppDx for Android across their respective platforms. Further, we will continue to pursue similar partnerships in Europe, which have the potential to give us access to a much larger and established telehealth market.

More reading

• Why the ResApp (ASX:RAP) share price is up almost 20% today
• The ResApp (ASX:RAP) share price is soaring 10% today. Here’s why.

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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There is a category of ASX shares that have been pummelled by COVID-19, but have very bright prospects in the next year or so.

That’s according to analysis firm Moody’s Investors Service, which has picked Australian real estate investment trusts (REITs) positioned for a revival in the next 12 to 18 months.

The entire sector saw share prices tumble in late February and March as investors panicked over the potential economic impacts of the coronavirus.

And many nations around the world have indeed gone into recession, which is usually a death knell for real estate.

But Moody’s Investors Service reported on Wednesday that Australian REITs would see their aggregate net operating income grow 2% to 3% over the next year or 18 months. 

This sparks a potential for the share prices to once again pick up.

Exactly which REITs will bask in glory?

Industrial real estate would lead the way in the post-COVID world, said Moody’s senior credit officer Matthew Moore:

A renewed focus on supply chains because of coronavirus disruptions and limited space availability will support demand for industrial assets, benefiting A-REITs active in this space.

ASX-listed REITs that invest in industrial properties include Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) and Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC).

Will work-from-home kill office real estate?

The white-collar shift to work-from-home arrangements is a risk for the office space subsector.

But prospects still remain solid, according to Moody’s senior analyst Saranga Ranasinghe:

In the office space, performance remains for now supported by low vacancy rates and low near-term lease expiries, but there is a clear longer-term risk in the form of a potential structural shift to remote work that could affect demand.

The Moody’s report listed GPT Group (ASX: GPT), Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) and DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS) as the REITs with the highest exposures to the office market.

It noted all three have “high-quality assets with stronger and larger tenants, staggered lease maturities and leases that mostly have built-in rental escalations”.

What about retail and residential real estate?

The fortunes for retail REITs will vary according to whether the tenants sell discretionary or non-discretionary goods.

Shopping malls with discretionary spending as a focus would see their fortunes improve over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Moody’s– albeit off a very depressed base. REITs in that space include Westfield operator Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) and Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX).

Meanwhile REITs such as Charter Hall Group and Shopping Cntrs Austrls Prprty Gp Re Ltd (ASX: SCP), which have more non-discretionary retail exposure, would remain stable.

Residential real estate demand sunk when COVID struck. But government stimulus and relaxed lending rules will fire it up again, according to Moody’s.

The big federal subsidy coming out of COVID is the $25,000 available to all owner-occupiers for renovations. There is also the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.

At the state and territory level, first home owner grants of varying amounts and stamp duty discounts help stoke demand.

Unfortunately, apartments were already in oversupply before the pandemic and are in even less demand now with zero immigration. This means the major beneficiary will be the standalone housing market.

“We expect that single family dwellings, particularly outside of major metropolitan areas in Sydney and Melbourne, are best placed to benefit from ongoing stimulus initiatives.”

By September, successful mortgage applications had already picked back up to pre-pandemic levels. That was despite Melbourne still being in the middle of its second lockdown.

More reading

• 3 of the best blue chip ASX shares to buy in November
• AMP (ASX:AMP) asset sales part of wealth sector transformation
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 shares hit by multiple takeovers
• Reject Shop (ASX:TRS) share price tumbles but it’s property stocks that should be worried

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished 0.1% higher today to 6,058 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) business announced its FY21 first quarter update today.

It said that it generated strong growth with underlying sales increasing 115% to $4.1 billion. This was also 9% higher than the underlying sales achieved in the fourth quarter of FY20.

Afterpay said that its annual run rate in the first quarter reached $16.4 billion.

Merchant revenue margins remained in line with what was achieved in FY20. The trend of lower gross losses continued in the first quarter with customer default payments remaining below historical rates in all regions. This resulted in net transaction losses as a percentage of underlying sales also remaining low.

As a result of the above factors, Afterpay boasted that its net transaction margins have remained strong in the first quarter.

Active customers increased globally by 98% to 11.2 million, up from 5.7 million in the first quarter of FY20. The US now has over 6.5 million customers. Afterpay said that there has been an 18% increase of the daily average number of new customers in the month to date (in October) compared to the average for the first quarter of FY21.

Active merchants also grew strongly, up by 70% to 63,800. Afterpay said that a number of major enterprise retailers launched in October.

The company said that the rollout of in-store Afterpay in the US is progressing well with a number of high profile retailers now live in open stores across the country. The launch into Canada has also progressed well with a number of large retailers now live. Some retailers include Aritzia, Lush, Ardene and Goop.

The Afterpay share price went up by more than 7% today.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)

Yesterday evening the big four ASX 200 bank announced a number of hits to its FY20 second half profit. The combined impact is an after-tax charge of $528 million, which will impact its CET1 capital ratio by 5 basis points.

Remediation charges relating to the Hayne royal commission in the second half of 2020 will be $188 million after tax, largely relating to an acceleration of remediation programs and product reviews across the business.

Changes to how ANZ amortises its software resulted in a $138 million after-tax charge being recognised in the second half of FY20. These changes were made to reflect the increasingly shorter ‘useful’ life of various software assets with rapidly changing technology and business requirements.

The remaining charges of $202 million after tax include the writedown of goodwill in ANZ’s Pacific business, the impacts of AASB 9 accounting changes on ANZ’s investment in PT Panin and restructuring charges.

The ANZ share price fell 1.7% today.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)  

The ASX 200 retailing giant released its update for the first 13 weeks of FY21.

It said that its supermarkets grew total sales by 9.8% to $8.46 billion. This was driven by comparable sales growth of 9.7%, with significant growth from Victoria due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Excluding Victoria, comparable sales growth was 7.7%. Online sales grew by 73%.

Total liquor sales was 17.4% higher to $852 million. Again there was strong comparable sales growth, with a rise of 17.8%.

Coles Express sales went up by 10.3% to $291 million, largely thanks to comparable sales growth of 10.2%.

Overall, the Coles business delivered total sales growth of 10.5%.

Coles CEO Steven Cain said: “We have made further progress executing our strategy to ensure the long-term growth of Coles, particularly in digital and online. This is despite significant COVID related restrictions in Victoria related to our main store support centre, our distribution centres, our meat suppliers and of course, our customers”.

The Coles share price went up by 2.7% today. 

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• Why Afterpay, Blackmores, Coles, & Super Retail shares are charging higher

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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