Author: roymorgansocial

RBA in no hurry to follow Fed on interest rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 21-Mar-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia has previously forecast that economic growth would average around three per cent in 2018. However, the minutes of the central bank’s latest monthly board meeting show that it expects economic growth to exceed "potential growth" in 2018. Bill Evans of Westpac notes that the Reserve Bank deems potential growth to be 2.75 per cent. Meanwhile, there seems to be little prospect of a rise in Australia’s cash rate in the near-term, while the Federal Reserve is widely tipped to increase US rates in March.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

Truth to triumph in Google’s new news algorithm

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Mar-18

Technology giant Google has announced a range of initiatives that are designed to assist news publishers to gain more revenue from their content. Amongst other things, Google will change its algorithms to ensure that
"authoritative" news sources are given precedence in its search results, while it will also launch a program which will allow people to subscribe to a wide range of digital newspapers via their Google account.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BUZZFEED INCORPORATED, WPP PLC

Hanson ponders tax cuts switch

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Mar-18

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has indicated that she may be open to backing the Federal Government’s company tax cuts package. Hanson notes that many companies in the US are hiring additional staff in the wake of the corporate tax reforms of President Donald Trump. The Nick Xenophon Team, which boasts two senators, opposes the tax cuts, which will require the Government to gain the support of the other nine crossbench senators for its tax bill.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

New Senate push to kill union merger

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Mar-18

The Federal Government hopes to secure the support of Senate crossbenchers for legislation to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Nick Xenophon Team has signalled that it is open to negotiations regarding amendments to the Ensuring Integrity Bill, while the Liberal Democratic Party’s David Leyonhjelm say he is holding talks with the Government. The CFMEU-MUA merger will proceed on 27 March unless the bill is amended.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

ACTU in big push to fix insecure work

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Mar-18

ACTU secretary Sally McManus will use a National Press Club speech on 21 March to advocate major changes to workplace laws. She will stress the need for reforms that provide Australians with increased job security, particularly for people who work for labour hire companies. Amongst other things, McManus will call for the creation of a national labour hire licensing system, allow casual workers to become permanent employees after six months of continuous service and increase the workplace rights of people who are classified as independent contractors.

CORPORATES
ACTU, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOODORA

Police material likely to back claims Shorten donation investigation improper

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 21-Mar-18

The Federal Court has postponed a trial concerning the Registered Organisations Commission’s investigation into the Australian Workers’ Union, and ruled that the AWU should be granted access to documents pertaining to the case. The Australian Federal Police want the documents to be subject to public interest immunity, but Justice Tony North ruled that it would be unfair for the union to go to trial without having access to the documents. He said the redacted sections could support the AWU’s claim that the ROC’s investigation was undertaken for an "improper purpose". The ROC is investigating donations to the Australian Labor Party when Bill Shorten was the union’s national secretary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

Flaw in Shorten’s $2.5m cash refund claim exposed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Mar-18

SMSF Association chair Deborah Ralston says that contrary to claims by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, relatively few self-managed superannuation funds receive $A2.5m worth of cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits each year. She adds that SMSFs would need to hold at least $A100m worth of Australian shares that pay fully franked dividends to qualify for such cash refunds. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused Shorten of targeting people on low incomes.

CORPORATES
SMSF ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2.5pts to 118.5

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Mar-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 2.2% to 118.5 in the week ended 8 March, largely reversing the previous 2.5% decline. The improvement in sentiment was broad based, with households particularly optimistic about near-term financial conditions. Views towards current economic conditions edged up 0.3%. This subindex remains well above its long-term average. Sentiment around future conditions rose 1.2%, undoing much of the 1.9% decline in the previous week. Household sentiment towards current and future financial conditions improved materially (6.4% and 2.6% respectively), following consecutive falls in the two previous weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Rio Tinto sells Hail Creek to Glencore

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Mar-18

Glencore will acquire Rio Tinto’s 82 per cent stake in the Hail Creek coking coal mine and its stake in the Valeria coal project in Queensland. The $US1.7bn ($A2.2bn) deal follows Rio Tinto’s sale of its Hunter Valley coal assets in New South Wales to Yancoal Australia for $US2.69bn in 2017. The sale of the Queensland assets has prompted speculation that Rio Tinto could use the proceeds to return capital to shareholders, as it did after the Yancoal deal.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, EMR CAPITAL PTY LTD, ADARO ENERGY

Melbourne ports dispute set to escalate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 24 : 20-Mar-18

Qube Ports wants the Fair Work Commission to terminate an enterprise agreement for dock workers in Melbourne, but the Maritime Union of Australia has warned of further industrial action if Qube succeeds. Workers at Qube’s terminal in Melbourne have staged a 48-hour strike and imposed work bans, and the MUA’s Warren Smith says workers will not return to work if the FWC terminates the enterprise agreement. Qube has rejected the MUA’s push to reinstate a 2014 roster whereby employees worked for seven weeks and had one week off, arguing that it is uneconomic.

CORPORATES
QUBE PORTS, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MIRRAT, ACTU