Author: roymorgansocial

Exiting Bunnings UK is the least bad outcome for Scott

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Mar-18

The recent Arctic-like weather that afflicted the UK and Ireland was a mixed blessing for Wesfarmers’ struggling Bunnings business there. The inclement weather did not help its nursery operations, but it did lead to increased demand for products like sand, salt and snow shovels. The impact of the bad weather may extend the time needed for the strategic review that Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott announced into Bunnings UK and Ireland in February to be completed. JP Morgan has concluded that it will cost Wesfarmers less to pull out of the UK and Ireland than it will for it to stay there.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Distrust driving rise in minor party vote

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-18

The proportion of votes received by minor political parties in Australia has continued to increase in recent years, according to a study by the Grattan Institute. The study contends that if the major parties want to reverse this trend they need to come up with policies that help to restore voters’ trust in government, rather than resort to populist policies. The Grattan Institute notes that while an increase in support for minor parties overseas has tended to coincide with economic problems, this has not been the case in Australia.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

BCA seeks end to states’ green energy targets

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 13-Mar-18

The Business Council of Australia has called on business to get behind the Federal Government’s proposed National Energy Guarantee. It has also urged state and territory governments to abandon their renewable energy targets, claiming that they will undermine the NEG and increase energy prices. The BCA notes that the NEG must be sufficiently flexible to allow energy retailers to be in compliance with carbon emission requirements. Smaller retailers are worried that the NEG will increase power prices, and that it will help larger retailers to further increase their market dominance.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Labor to cut dividends cash refund

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 13-Mar-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will unwind changes to the dividend imputation system that were introduced by the Coalition in 2000 if Labor wins the next federal election. The move would affect around 1.2 million taxpayers and about 200,000 members of self-managed superannuation funds, who would no longer be entitled to receive a cash refund for excess dividend imputation credits. Shorten has emphasised that nobody will pay more tax as a result of the changes, while Australians will still be able to reduce their tax via dividend imputation. The policy is forecast to boost government revenue by $A59bn over the next decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

NAB first up at banking royal commission

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-18

National Australia Bank executive Anthony Waldron is scheduled to be the first banker to appear before the financial services royal commission. He is expected to be quizzed about NAB’s "introducer program" and fraudulent mortgage loan applications. It is understood that he will tell the commission that NAB has now made the eligibility criteria for the program more stringent. Waldron is also expected to rebut claims by the Finance Sector Union that NAB did not discipline senior staff in regard to the fradulent loan applications.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

$750m wiped off Newcrest as quake rocks goldminer’s forecasts

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 28 : 13-Mar-18

Shares in Newcrest Mining closed 4.6 per cent lower at $A20.60 on 12 March, after the company advised that its 2017-18 earnings will be hit by another earthquake at its Cadia gold mine. Newcrest had previously forecast that gold output for the full year would be within the range of 2.4 million and 2.7 million ounces. Production at the New South Wales mine has been put on hold after part of the tailings dam wall collapsed. A previous earthquake disrupted production in April 2017.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Unions in push for $50-a-week minimum pay rise

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-18

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the ACTU’s proposal for a 7.2 per cent increase in the minimum wage would result in fewer job opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed, while people on low incomes would have less job security. He has urged the Fair Work Commission to limit the 2018 increase in the minimum wage to 1.8 per cent, which equates to $A12.50 a week. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in turn supports a 1.9 per cent increase, or $A13.20 a week. The FWC approved a 3.3 per cent rise in the minimum wage in 2017.

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Bear market might be just around corner

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 13-Mar-18

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 has gained 90 per cent since reaching a low in March 2009. US markets have been the driving force behind the nine-year global bull market. However, Morgan Stanley has identified a number of factors that could be an indicator of a looming bear market. These include strong gains in the last 12 months of a bull market, outperformance by emerging market equities and a widening of credit spreads. Meanwhile, John Higgins of Capital Economics expects the S&P 500 to fall to 2,300 points by the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, HANG SENG INDEX, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Another billion-dollar blow adds to woes for Sino Iron project

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Mar-18

China-based CITIC has advised of another massive write-down in the value of its Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia. The latest write-down is expected to around $US1bn ($A1.27bn), similar to other write-downs in recent years. Sino Iron has been plagued by a legal dispute, which prompted CITIC to warn in 2017 that it could put production on hold. The closure of Sino Iron could affect Fortescue Metal Group’s decision on whether to proceed with its Iron Bridge magnetite project.

CORPORATES
CITIC LIMITED, MINERALOGY PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORMOSA PLASTICS GROUP, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION, GINDALBIE METALS LIMITED – ASX GBG, ANSHAN IRON AND STEEL COMPANY, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Super sows seeds in agriculture

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 18 & 22 : 12-Mar-18

Hostplus chief investment officer Sam Sicilia says the $A700 billion industry superannuation fund sector wants to boost its investment in agriculture. However, it does not want to do so in an ad-hoc fashion, such as by acquiring individual dairy farms, as investing in this fashion yields lower returns than from other investments, such as infrastructure. He says that the sector is thinking of setting up a joint investment company that would have the backing of major industry funds.

CORPORATES
HOST-PLUS, VICSUPER PTY LTD, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FIRST STATE, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, RETAIL EMPLOYEES SUPERANNUATION PTY LTD