Author: roymorgansocial

Calls for action on Facebook data privacy

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Mar-18

The Australians Greens have sought support in the Senate for a motion which would require all political parties to reveal whether they had supplied any government data to Cambridge Analytica. Meanwhile, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says laws regarding copyright and online activity need to be constantly reviewed in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Lawyer George Newhouse notes that Australians do not have a constitutional right to privacy, and the position regarding a common law right to privacy is unclear.

CORPORATES
CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Crown execs support Packer exit

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker, Christine Lacy
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Mar-18

Shares in Crown Resorts closed almost one per cent lower at $A12.95 on 21 March, after major shareholder James Packer resigned from the board for personal reasons. Packer’s private company, Consolidated Press Holding, subsequently attributed his resignation to mental health issues. Crown Resorts has been under scrutiny in recent years over a series of scandals, including allegations that it had tampered with poker machines at Crown Melbourne and the arrest of Crown employees in China in 2016.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, CONSOLIDATED PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED, BEYOND BLUE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VICTORIAN COMMISSION FOR GAMBLING AND LIQUOR REGULATION, VICTORIA. AUDITOR-GENERAL’S OFFICE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

Google flags $400m for journalism

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 22-Mar-18

Technology giant Google hopes to improve its relationship with international media companies via its Google News Initiative. Google has committed to investing $US300m ($A389m) in a range of news-related projects, including changes to its search algorithms to ensure that "authoritative" news sources are displayed first in its search results. Meanwhile, the Subscribe with Google project will make it easier for Google users to take out subscriptions with news publishers via Google’s platform.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MAINCIHI, FIRST DRAFT, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

ACTU demands changes to lift workers’ power

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Mar-18

The Australian Industry Group has warned that a push by ACTU secretary Sally McManus for major changes to the industrial relations regime would result in job losses and reduced employment opportunities for young people. McManus has used a National Press Club speech to argue that restrictions on enterprise bargaining are hindering wages growth, and she has called for workers to be given the same bargaining rights as CEOs and multinational corporations. McManus has also claimed that the Fair Work Commission is no longer independent and the Fair Work Ombudsman has been politicised.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Tax cut will lift wages: CEOs’ push

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Mar-18

Ten of the nation’s largest companies have committed to increasing their investment in Australia if the Federal Government progressively reduces the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. They argue that increased investment will in turn result in the creation of more jobs and ultimately boost wages. Meanwhile, independent senator Steve Martin has agreed to support the Enterprise Tax Plan Bill, although fellow independent Tim Storer has yet to decide his position. The Government requires the support of nine Senate crossbenchers.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, JBS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

No quick return from coal sale

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Original article by Richard Gluyas, Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 22-Mar-18

Citigroup expects Rio Tinto to return the bulk of the proceeds from the sale of the Hail Creek coal to shareholders, after paying about $A300m in taxes on the $US1.7bn ($A2.2bn) deal. However, Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the resources group is unlikely to return capital to investors before the release of its full-year report in February 2019. He stresses that Rio Tinto is divesting its coal assets because commodities such as iron ore and aluminium offer better growth options.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PACIFIC ALUMINIUM PTY LTD

BHP content with iron ore grade boost for now

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 22-Mar-18

BHP Billiton is tipped to make an investment decision on the South Flank iron ore project in Western Australia by mid-2018. The company’s average iron ore grade is 61 per cent at present, but this would rise to 62 per cent if the project is approved. However, BHP’s Edgar Basto says that aside from South Flank, BHP is unlikely to increase its average iron ore grades in the near-term. He adds that factors such as the stronger Australian dollar and rising labour costs have contributed to an increase in the expected cost of the project.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA

Cracks emerging in the case for being bullish

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 22-Mar-18

The potential for a trade war has been identified as the biggest risk to the global bull market in a survey of fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The prospect of a trade war has topped the list of "tail risks" for the first time since January 2017, in the wake of the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump. A sharp rise in inflation and a slowdown in global economic growth were the other key risks identified by the survey of 176 fund managers. However, 58 per cent of respondents expect growth of at least 10 per cent in global earnings per share over the next 12 months.

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, BAIDU.COM INCORPORATED, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, TENCENT HOLDINGS LIMITED

Over two million superannuation members contribute above the compulsory level

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Mar-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey, which was conducted in the year to January 2018, has found that 2.2 million current superannuation members (20.8%) are paying more than the compulsory level of contributions into their fund. This compares with 25.5% of superannuation contributors in 2010 and 21.7% in 2013. The survey also shows that 45% of superannuation members with personal incomes of more than $150,000 per annum are paying beyond the Superannuation Guarantee rate, followed by those on incomes of $100,000 to $149,000 per annum (33.8%). In contrast, just 11.4% of people with earning below $25,000 per annum and 13.2% of those with annual income of $25,000 to $49,000 contribute more than the compulsory level to their super fund.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Regulator slams Facebook over breach

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Mar-18

Australia’s Information Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has advised that he is seeking clarification from Facebook as to whether the personal data of local users was compromised in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Cambridge Analytica registered an Australian office in 2015, and it has been revealed that executives of the data analytics firm held meetings with Social Services Minister Dan Tehan and Liberal Party officials in April 2017. The firm is also believed to have met with Australian Labor Party officials. The Greens’ Jordon Steele-John says MPs should disclose any links with the firm.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PRIVACY COMMISSIONER, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), BREITBART NEWS, SCL GROUP