Author: roymorgansocial

Coal lobby our biggest spender

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Feb-18

The Liberal Party received $A95.1 million in political donations in 2016-17, according to the Australian Electoral Commission, while Labor received $A70.8 million. The Greens received $A16.3 million, and the National Party received $A12.2 million. ACA Low Emissions Technologies, a company founded by the Minerals Council of Australia, spent the most on political campaigning ($A3.6 million), while the Minerals Council of Australia itself spent $A1.3 million. Left-wing activist group GetUp! spent $A821,000 on political campaigns.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ACA LOW EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COAL ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE LEASING AND SALARY PACKAGING ASSOCIATION., THE PHARMACY GUILD OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, ECHO ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX EGP, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, CORMACK FOUNDATION PTY LTD, PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS PTY LTD, UNITED VOICE, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, ERNST AND YOUNG, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Living-wage bid could be death of businesses

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

Scott Barklamb of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry says small businesses in particular would face a big increase in wage costs if a future government adopted the ACTU’s proposal for a "living wage". The Federal Opposition has indicated that it may consider permanently setting the minimum wage at a proportion of the median wage, although it has not specified what this would be. The ACTU’s target for a living wage is 60 per cent of the median wage, and Workplace Minister Craig Laundy says implementing this target would force many businesses to close.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, THE WORLD BAR

Perfect storm hits apartments market

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 2-Feb-18

Approvals for new homes, apartments and semi-detached dwellings have recorded their biggest monthly fall since July 2012. Approvals for apartments fell in all mainland states in December 2017, while approvals for new attached dwellings declined by 39 per cent. Developers have cited a number of reasons for the decline, including increased investor taxes and tightened consumer credit. However, ANZ economist Daniel Gradwell said the bank is not overly concerned by the figures.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, EVOLVE DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, COSTA FOX, URBAN TASKFORCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Rio Tinto denies accusation of $700m Dutch tax dodge

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 2-Feb-18

Rio Tinto has denied claims that it and Turquoise Hill Resources tried to avoid tax in Mongolia and Canada in relation to the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. The accusations have been made by Dutch not-for-profit agency SOMO. The mine is operated by Oyu Tolgoi LLC, which is 66 per cent owned by Turquoise Hill and 34 per cent owned by the Mongolian government; Rio Tinto in turn owns 50.79 per cent of Turquoise Hill. SOMO’s claims relate to the use of Turquoise Hill subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Luxembourg to source funds for the mine project, with favourable tax treatment available in those countries.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED, OYU TOLGOI LLC, CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ON MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS, MOVEIT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. EXPORT FINANCE AND INSURANCE CORPORATION

Cynical voters struggle to believe official unemployment figures

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 2-Feb-18

Australia’s official unemployment rate fell from 5.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent in 2017, but research by Roy Morgan shows that nearly 60 per cent of Australians think the jobless rate is much higher. The survey found that people in South Australia and Queensland in particular believe that their state’s real unemployment rate is significantly higher than official figures suggest. Roy Morgan estimates that the real unemployment rate is around 10 per cent, and executive director Gary Morgan says politicians, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the general public know that the official figures are "nonsense".

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, SA BEST, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten faces factions showdown

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Original article by Troy Bramston, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 2-Feb-18

The Australian Labor Party faces the potential loss of the seat of Batman in Victoria following the resignation of David Feeney over dual citizenship concerns. Some Labor insiders believe that the Greens will win the by-election. Meanwhile, there are growing tensions between Labor’s left and right factions ahead of the party’s national conference in July. Frontbencher Mark Butler wants another term as national president, but he may face a challenge from the Transport Workers Union’s Tony Sheldon, who has argued that the role should not be open to members of the frontbench.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Spy law imperils journalists, ex-judge warns

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Feb-18

Transparency International Australia chairman and former Supreme Court of New South Wales judge Anthony Whealy has warned about the potential effects of the Federal Government’s proposed foreign interference laws. He says the new secrecy laws could be used to prosecute journalists if they receive classified ­information. Whealy has called for the Government to provide an exemption for journalists if they are acting in the public interest. The media industry has expressed similar concerns about the proposed laws.

CORPORATES
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CENTRE LIMITED

M&A talk as Gordon lifts Prime interest

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Original article by Dana McCauley, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 21 : 2-Feb-18

Sources have indicated that WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon has increased his stake in Prime Media Group from 14.99 per cent to 24 per cent. The transaction, which is believed to have been carried out via cash-settled equity swaps, has prompted speculation that Gordon could seek to merge the two regional TV broadcasters in the wake of cross-media ownership reforms. Meanwhile, Perpetual has reduced its stake in Prime from 13.1 per cent to 7.4 per cent.

CORPORATES
PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Investors follow Future Fund to lift share exposure

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Original article by James Kirby
The Australian – Page: 32 : 2-Feb-18

A report from Investment Trends shows that in early 2017 the average investor expected a return of just 1-5 per cent from Australian equities for the calendar year, but the ASX achieved a full-year return of 11.8 per cent. Investment Trends’ King Loong Choi says the firm’s annual survey shows that the proportion of investors whose main goal is to maximise capital growth has risen from 18 per cent to 25 per cent in 2018. Choi adds that retail investors who increase their exposure to equities in 2018 may choose to do so via investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds rather than directly buying shares.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Cabinet of secrets revealed

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Feb-18

The Federal Government has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the loss of confidential documents – including many that are classified as "top secret". The major breach in security was revealed after the documents were found in two ex-government filing cabinets that were sold to a second-hand furniture store in Canberra. The documents were obtained by the ABC, and include files from the National Security Committee of Cabinet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION