Author: roymorgansocial

Strike limits may extend to service sector – expert

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 29-Jan-18

Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey says the Fair Work Commission’s decision to suspend strike action by Sydney train drivers has set a "worrying precedent". The ruling was based on a section of the Fair Work Act which allows protected industrial action to be suspended if the welfare of the public could be at risk. The University of Sydney’s Professor Shae McCrystal says the ruling could potentially apply to a broad range of service industries, such as schools, childcare centres and medical clinics. The Rail, Tram & Bus Union’s national secretary Bob Nanva claims that the FWC ruling signals the "death of the right to strike" in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIONS NSW, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, SYDNEY TRAINS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Steel mills put the sizzle back into Fortescue

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 29-Jan-18

The price discount between benchmark iron ore and lower-grade iron ore has widened in recent months, amid the Chinese Government’s push to reduce air pollution. However, Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power believes that the price gap is not sustainable. A strong rise in steel prices contributed to the increase in the price discount, although the price of lower-grade iron ore has risen more strongly than the price of ores with 62 per cent iron content since early December. This has coincided with a seven per cent fall in steel prices.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Stronger $A a bump for RBA rate hike

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 29-Jan-18

The Australian dollar rose above $US0.81 in offshore trading on the weekend of 27-28 January, extending its gains since early December to eight per cent. Factors such as a falling US dollar and strengthening commodity prices have contributed to the Australian currency’s recent rally. However, the dollar’s rise may affect the timing of any change in official interest rates. Meanwhile, Citigroup expects the currency to be trading at around its current level at the end of 2018, although Westpac anticipates a fall of around $US0.09.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Miners ride high into new profit season

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 29-Jan-18

Data from Deutsche Bank shows that Australian-listed companies are forecast to achieve earnings-per-share growth of seven per cent in 2017-18. Kogan, Noni B and Lovisa are among the companies that have upgraded their earnings forecasts ahead of the February 2018 reporting season. The outlook for resources stock in particular is good, with Macquarie Group recently upgrading its share price targets for BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and South32 on the strength of its bullish price forecasts for commodities such as iron ore and coking coal in 2018.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, PINNACLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX PNI, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, PRICELINE PHARMACY, ORIGIN ASSET MANAGEMENT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Murdoch backed over Facebook fees

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 22 : 29-Jan-18

There is growing support in Australia and abroad for Rupert Murdoch’s proposal for digital companies such as Facebook and Google to pay for the news content that they redistribute. Nine Entertainment Company CEO Hugh Marks says the issue needs to be addressed urgently, adding that there are several other options that are worth considering. Murdoch’s proposal has also received a favourable response from NewsMediaWorks CEO Peter Miller, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell and North America’s News Media Alliance.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, WPP PLC, NEWS MEDIA ALLIANCE, FEDERATION OF GERMAN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

$1bn battle for cricket broadcast rights

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 20 : 29-Jan-18

One of Australia’s free-to-air TV networks could potentially bid for cricket broadcasting rights in partnership with Fox Sports. Telcos and technology companies are also believed to be interested in a broadcasting deal, with Cricket Australia set to commence negotiations in the next week. The total cost of the next five-year deal for cricket broadcasting rights could approach $A1bn, with expectations that the Big Bash League rights may cost up to $A250m, compared with $A100m under the current deal.

CORPORATES
FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, BIG BASH LEAGUE, CBS CORPORATION, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, BT PLC, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Netflix hits top ranking in Australian brand survey

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 22 : 29-Jan-18

Netflix and YouTube have topped YouGov’s annual list of the top 10 consumer brands in Australia. Other brands in the YouGov BrandIndex 2017 include Aldi, Kmart, Google, Bunnings and Coles. Netflix entered the Australian market in 2015, and while it does not provide data on local subscription numbers, Roy Morgan estimates that about three million Australian households subscribe to the streaming video service.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, YOUGOV LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN

Satisfaction with electricity providers declining

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jan-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that customer satisfaction with electricity providers was 57.6% in the year to November 2017, compared with 61.8% in the previous 12 months. Red Energy (with a satisfaction rating of 68.2%) remains in top position among the largest providers, narrowly ahead of Lumo Energy (67.4%) and Simply Energy (65.6%). Both of the largest players showed a drop in satisfaction, with Origin down 7.9% points (to 57.6%) and AGL down 2.6% points (to 62.5%). The survey also shows that approximately 1.2 million households are considering switching electricity providers over the next 12 months, up from around one million in early 2017.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RED ENERGY PTY LTD, LUMO ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SIMPLY ENERGY, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ERGON ENERGY CORPORATION LIMITED, AURORA ENERGY PTY LTD

JB Hi-Fi wins again, but Freedom biggest improver

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jan-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that JB Hi-Fi is again Australia’s leading electrical and furniture retailer, with a customer satisfaction rating of 90.9% in November 2017. JB Hi-Fi’s customer satisfaction improved 0.5% from a year ago to hold off a fast improving Ikea on 89.6% (up 5.2% from a year ago), and ahead of JB Hi-Fi stablemate The Good Guys on 88.7%. However, the biggest improver over the past year was Freedom, which increased its customer satisfaction rating by 6.4% to 81.8% in November – its highest rating since April 2014. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says JB Hi-Fi is in the box seat to win its fourth Roy Morgan Annual Customer Satisfaction Award at the 2017 Awards in February, adding that between them JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys have won a total of 8 Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards since 2011.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, THE GOOD GUYS, FREEDOM FURNITURE, FANTASTIC FURNITURE, STEINHOFF INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED

Consumers are in surprisingly sunny mood

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 41 : 25-Jan-18

UBS forcasts that Australian retail sales will rise by 2.6 per cent overall in 2018, while growth in discretionary spending is expected to slow to just two per cent. Craig James of CommSec notes that consumers were upbeat leading into 2018, citing factors such as historically low interest rates, the strong growth in jobs in 2017 and the recent rise in the value of the Australian dollar. However, the ANZ/Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index has eased 3.3 per cent to 119.9, although consumer confidence is still higher that its long-term average of 112.9.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, ADAIRS LIMITED – ASX ADH, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, THE PAS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PGR, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, PRICELINE PHARMACY, MICHAEL HILL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX MHJ, EMMA AND ROE, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD