Author: roymorgansocial

Alinta’s plan to rattle AGL and Origin

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 23 : 16-Jan-18

Alinta believes that its purchase of Victoria’s Loy Yang B coal-fired power station for around $A1.2 billion can help it boost customer numbers. Alinta MD Jeff Dimery notes that it has around 800,000 to 900,000 customers at the moment, and that it is capable of coping with around two million customers. He says Alinta is still committed to expanding its renewable energy generation capacity, despite its purchase of Loy Yang B.

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ENGIE SA, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHOW TAI FOOK ENTERPRISES LIMITED, ECOGEN ENERGY, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

Chocolate maker Darrell Lea sold for a lip-smacking $200m

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Original article by Nick Toscano, Sarah Danckert
The Age – Page: 5 : 16-Jan-18

Tony and Christina Quinn have sold the Darrell Lea confectionery business to Quadrant Private Equity in a deal worth $A200m. The couple, who acquired Darrell Lea from administrators in 2012, previously sold VIP Pet Foods to the private equity firm in 2015. Quadrant has flagged plans to expand the Darrell Lea brand in Australia and offshore. Darrell Lea booked an after-tax profit of $A8.75m in 2016-17, with revenue of $A81.2m.

CORPORATES
DARRELL LEA CONFECTIONERY COMPANY PTY LTD, QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, VIP PET FOODS

Nine to make a loss on Ashes despite record commercial interest

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Original article by Arvind Hickman
Ad News – Page: Online : 16-Jan-18

The 2017-18 Ashes Test series has been a ratings hit for the Nine Network, whose coverage of the five-match series attracted 14.8 million viewers nationwide, including 10.4 million in the capital cities. Nine also expects its revenue from advertising and corporate sponsorship packages to be 15-17 per cent higher than in 2016-17, and 7-8 per cent higher than its Ashes coverage in 2013-14. However, Nine sales director Sam Brennan concedes that the network will book a loss on its cricket coverage when production costs and the cost of its broadcasting rights are taken into account.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

Life yet in department stores says Macy’s exec

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Age – Page: 20 : 16-Jan-18

Terry Lundgren, the executive chairman of US department store chain Macy’s, says Australian retailers should aim to compete with Amazon by offering unique products and a unique shopping experience. Lundgren is upbeat about the outlook for department stores, and says they can survive by adapting their business models to reflect changes in the sector. Macy’s has scaled back its store numbers in recent years and opened discount outlets in some of its stores. Myer Holdings has adopted the same strategies in Australia.

CORPORATES
RH MACY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BLOOMINGDALES, BLUEMERCURY, TJ MAXX, NATIONAL RETAILERS FEDERATION

Bank probe a funding risk

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Jan-18

Fitch Ratings says Australian banks may face an increase in wholesale funding costs if the Federal Government’s royal commission further erodes trust in the sector. The ratings agency notes that the Australian banking sector is particularly reliant on offshore funding. Meanwhile, royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne is expected to seek public submissions shortly, but Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says the inquiry must avoid being swamped by submissions. Financial services providers must lodge 50-page reports with the commission by the end of January.

CORPORATES
FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Interest-only loans plummet as banks clamp down on mortgage risk

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 16-Jan-18

New data suggests that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s crackdown on interest-only mortgage loans is having an impact. Australian Fin­ancial Group’s latest mortgage index shows that 19 per cent of new mortgage loans in the December 2017 quarter were interest-only loans, compared with 47 per cent for the corresponding period in 2016. However, the size of the average mortgage loan rose by 2.8 per cent nationwide in the year to November, and by 4.3 per cent in Victoria.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX AFG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Lithium prices to peak as local exports soar

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 16-Jan-18

Roskill MD Robert Baylis has warned of a looming oversupply of lithium as Australian producers ramp up output. Baylis notes that production of spodumene in particular is now much higher than global demand. Western Australia’s spodumene export volumes have risen by 84 per cent in recent years, with Tawana Resources, Altura Mining and Pilbara Minerals all set to open new mines in WA during the next six months. Baylis says it will take up to five years for global demand to catch up to supply.

CORPORATES
ROSKILL INFORMATION SERVICES, TAWANA RESOURCES NL – ASX TAW, ALTURA MINING LIMITED – ASX AJM, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, NEOMETALS LIMITED – ASX NMT, GANFENG LITHIUM COMPANY LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CRU, GLENCORE PLC

Resurgent Aussie dollar heads back above US80c as commodity prices boom

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 16-Jan-18

The Australian dollar rose above $US0.79 in local trading on 15 January, and National Australia Bank estimates that the currency’s fair value in the near-term is $US0.80. Ray ­Attrill of NAB says the currency could reach its 2017 peak of $US0.8125 unless the US dollar rebounds, while Sean Callow of Westpac is also upbeat about the currency’s near-term outlook. Aside from US dollar weakness, the Australian dollar has benefited from a rally in the price of key commodities over the last month.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, IG MARKETS LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Only one-in-three South Australians believe ABS unemployment estimate

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jan-18

A special Roy Morgan SMS Survey taken on 11-12 January shows that only 32% of South Australians believe that unemployment in the State is close to 5% or less, while two-thirds believe the figure is closer to 10% or higher (41% say closest to 10%, 15% say closest to 15% and a further 12% say closest to 20%). The latest South Australian Roy Morgan real unemployment and under-employment figures for the December 2017 quarter show unemployment of 10.9% and under-employment of 9.5%, for a total unemployment and under-employment rate of 20.4%. This compares to the latest ABS unemployment figure for South Australia of 6.1% for November 2017. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the South Australian electorate is divided about who to vote for at the State Election in March. The party that can put forward believable policies addressing the key issues of jobs and a guaranteed energy supply will win Government. Since the Labor Government was first elected in 2002 they have not sought to deal with the major issue of "real" South Australian unemployment. Instead they’ve "covered it up by" increasing Government jobs and Government spending – like other State Governments across Australia – a "false" economy and unsustainable.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Confidence rises as WA turns corner

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 15-Jan-18

Western Australian Treasurer Ben Wyatt is upbeat about the outlook for the state economy, after it was hit hard by the downturn in the mining industry. The Chamber of Commerce & Industry has released the findings of a survey which shows that 76 per cent of WA residents expect the economy to improve or remain unchanged during the next quarter, compared with just five per cent three months ago. Meanwhile, labour shortages are forcing some mining companies to recruit workers from Queensland.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INCORPORATED), RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD