Author: roymorgansocial

Rio investors tipped for mighty big win

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 23 : 6-Feb-18

Rio Tinto will release its full-year results on 7 February, and Macquarie Wealth Management forecasts that it will reveal underlying earnings of $US8.88 billion, up 74 per cent, and that cash from operations will rise by 63 per cent to $US13.809 billion. Macquarie also predicts that Rio shareholders will receive a final dividend of $US1.96 per share. This would bring Rio’s total dividend payment for 2017 to $US3.06 per share.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Lib MP growls over layer of BEAR red tape

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 6-Feb-18

The Greens will seek amendments to the Federal Government’s Banking Executive Accountability Regime in the Senate, after the legislation was passed by the lower house on 5 February. Liberal MP Nicolle Flint opposed the BEAR regime, arguing that it will further increase the compliance burden for the financial sector, noting that it has been subject to a spate of new rules and regulations in recent years. The BEAR regime, which is slated to take effect in July, has the support of the Australian Labor Party.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Wesfarmers hit as Bunnings UK bleeds

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 6-Feb-18

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has announced some $A1.3bn worth of writedowns associated with the Target discount department store chain and the fledgling Bunnings operations in the UK. Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott is optimistic that Bunnings UK can become profitable, but a sweeping review of the business will be undertaken which could potentially result in its sale or closure. Scott has vowed that Wesfarmers will act quickly and decisively on the outcome of the review of its Bunnings UK business.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIQUOR, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG

Fairfax and NZME fight for merger

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 6-Feb-18

NZME says an appeal against the High Court of New Zealand’s decision to block a proposed merger with Fairfax NZ will focus on the court’s assessment of the deal’s impact on media plurality. The court upheld the NZ Commerce Commission’s decision in May 2017 to block the deal, although NZME notes that the court found that the merger would have more quantifiable net benefits to the public than had been estimated by the NZCC. Fairfax Media will also challenge the court’s decision.

CORPORATES
NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FAIRFAX NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

Union living wage an $8bn hit on bosses

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Feb-18

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry estimates that the ACTU’s proposal for a "living wage" would cost between $A5bn and $A8bn a year. The ACCI’s Scott Barklamb warns that fixing a living wage at 60 per cent of the median wage by 2020 would require annual increases in the minimum wage that are double the 3.3 per cent rise announced by the Fair Work Commission in 2017. He adds that the living wage proposal would result in job losses and could threaten the viability of some businesses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

$30bn shares wipeout prompts fears bull run at an end

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 1 : 6-Feb-18

Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter says the global equities market sell-off will create excellent buying opportunities when it has run its course. Futures pricing suggests that Wall Street will shed a further 0.6 per cent when trading resumes, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.5 per cent on 2 February. The Australian bourse is likely to follow its lead, after shedding 1.6 per cent on 5 February.

CORPORATES
BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, CSI 300 INDEX, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PENGANA CAPITAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX PCG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Why the RBA will hike interest rates

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Original article by Karen Maley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 6-Feb-18

Ellerston Capital’s Tim Toohey expects the Reserve Bank to increase official interest rates by 125 basis points over the next three years, beginning in the second half of 2018. He says the prospect of higher interest rates will have relatively little impact on consumers, despite rising household debt, arguing that the net worth of Australian households has risen strongly over the last decade. Meanwhile, he attributes a slump in retail spending in the September 2017 quarter to the Federal Government’s changes in the rules on voluntary superannuation contributions rather than negative consumer sentiment.

CORPORATES
ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

New spy laws to hinder legitimate work of media

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Feb-18

Attorney-General Christian Porter has conceded that some changes to proposed foreign interference laws may be needed to alleviate the concerns of the media industry. Robert Todd of law firm Ashurst has warned that the laws as presently drafted could potentially make a wide range of persons criminally liable for dealing with confidential information. He says the proposed laws provide very limited protection for journalists, while there would be almost no protection for other people, including social media users.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

2.59m Australians unemployed or under-employed in January

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Feb-18

A Roy Morgan survey shows that 1.219 million Australians were unemployed (9.1% of the workforce) in January 2018, a decrease of 76,000 (down 0.6%) on a year ago. In addition, 1.371 million Australians (10.2% of the workforce) were under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, a rise of 264,000 in a year. In total, 2.59 million Australians were unemployed or under-employed in January. The figures also show that 12,236,000 Australians were employed in January – an increase of 116,000 over the past year. The Roy Morgan real unemployment figures are substantially higher than the current ABS estimate of 5.5% for December 2017. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says jobs growth in calendar year 2017 was driven entirely by growth in part-time employment, which may partly explain why Australians do not believe that the monthly ABS unemployment estimates are accurate.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Builders facing bans for displaying Eureka flag

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Feb-18

The Australian Building & Construction Commission says construction firms may be ineligible to tender for federal government projects if workers display union slogans or logos on employer-issued clothing and equipment. The revised national construction code, which was released in 2016, includes more strict restrictions on displaying union-related logos and slogans than the 2013 code. Dave Noonan of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union says the ABCC’s "anti-union ideology" has not changed since Stephen McBurney replaced Nigel Hadgkiss as commissioner.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED