Author: roymorgansocial

Apprentices ripped off

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Renee Viellaris
The Courier-Mail – Page: 19 : 12-Jan-18

U to 10,000 apprentices in Queensland may have been underpaid since 2014 because the Fair Work Ombudsman published wage rates that were incorrect. The mistake could result in apprentices receiving wage increases of up to $A150 a week. It could also cost taxpayers up to $A30m, and the Queensland Government is refusing to contribute to its federal counterpart’s compensation package.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Sponsors’ hijacking warning

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 23 : 12-Jan-18

Michael Naraine of Deakin University’s Business School says political activists may "hijack" the hashtags of major corporate sponsors of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. He notes that there was a similar trend for social media users to use the hashtags of companies to make political statements during the 2014 Winter Oympics. Naraine adds that political tensions over North Korea may see activists ramp up their use of sponsors’ hashtags to make political statements during the upcoming Winter Olympics.

CORPORATES
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY. DEAKIN BUSINESS SCHOOL, McDONALD’S CORPORATION, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, VISA INTERNATIONAL, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY LIMITED, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, PANASONIC, LG ELECTRONICS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC

Ex-councillor may sue over Doyle articles

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Clay Lucas, Miki Perkins
The Age – Page: 3 : 12-Jan-18

News Corp Australia has rejected claims that articles published in the "Herald Sun" about former Melbourne City councillor Tessa Sullivan were defamatory. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has stood down pending the outcome of an investigation into Sullivan’s allegations of indecent assault and sexual harassment. Sullivan’s lawyers claim that the tone of the articles was intended to discredit her and sway public opinion in favour of Doyle.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, NEWGATE COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, WISEWOULD MAHONY

Iron ore futures rise as cyclone forces closure of Port Hedland

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 12-Jan-18

Iron ore exports from the Pilbara may potentially be disrupted by Tropical Cyclone Joyce. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the cyclone could hit the region on 13 January. The towns of Tom Price and Newman are likely to be within its trajectory, although it may miss the Port of Hedland. However, the Pilbara Ports Authority has ordered all vessels to leave the port, which is used by iron ore miners such as Fortescue Metals Group. The price of iron ore for delivery to the Chinese port of Dalian rose on 11 January in response to concerns about the cyclone.

CORPORATES
PORT OF PORT HEDLAND, PILBARA PORTS AUTHORITY, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BCI MINERALS LIMITED – ASX BCI, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

WA Lib leader issues political suicide GST warning to Turnbull

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 12-Jan-18

Western Australia’s Opposition Leader Mike Nahan is generally supportive of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations regarding the distribution of goods and services tax revenue. However, he has suggested that the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should be directly funded by the Federal Government, and GST revenue should be distributed solely to the states. Nahan also says any attempt by the Federal Government to make changes to the GST cannot succeed without the Australian Labor Party’s support.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER

Reworked tax package to include personal cut

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Jan-18

The Australian Labor will again vote against a bill to reduce the tax rate for all companies if it is reintroduced to the Senate. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen argues that there are greater priorities for the Budget. Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has urged Labor to support the legislation, which will return to the Senate when parliament resumes in February. There is speculation that both company and personal income tax cuts will feature in the May 2018 Budget if the upper house rejects the legislation again.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Industry funds set for swift growth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 14 : 12-Jan-18

Australia’s industry superannuation funds now boast 6.8 million members, according to Roy Morgan’s Superannuation and Wealth Management report. In contrast, retail super funds have 3.9 million members. The report also shows that while the median age of all super fund members is 42.7 years, the median age of industry and retail fund members is 39.6 years and 45.7 years respectively. Meanwhile, the median balance of industry funds members is $A38,500, compared with the market average of $A57,800, although Roy Morgan attributes this to the lower median age of industry fund members.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Satisfaction with performance of industry superannuation funds back on top of retail funds

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jan-18

Roy Morgan’s latest Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows that in November 2017, satisfaction with the financial performance of industry superannuation funds (59.2%) was higher than retail funds (57.5%) for the third consecutive month, after having trailed them for the seven months prior. Satisfaction with self-managed superannuation funds remained the overall leader with 71.9%, despite being down by 2.4% points over the last year. Across the fifteen largest super funds (based on number of members), Qsuper had the highest satisfaction with 70.0%, followed by Cbus (67.4%) and Unisuper (66.4%). The best performer among the largest retail funds was Colonial First State in sixth place overall with a satisfaction rating of 61.2%, followed by MLC (55.8%), BT (55.8%), OnePath (54.7%) and AMP (54.2%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, QSUPER LIMITED, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, UNISUPER LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

2.6m Australians unemployed or under-employed in December

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jan-18

A Roy Morgan survey shows that 1.312 million Australians were unemployed (9.8% of the workforce) in December 2017, an increase of 126,000 (up 0.6%) on a year ago. In addition, 1.288 million Australians (9.6% of the workforce) are now under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, a rise of 188,000 in a year. The figures also show that 12,098,000 Australians were employed in December, an increase of 392,000 over the past year. The Roy Morgan real unemployment figures are substantially higher than the current ABS estimate of 5.4% for November. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says more than 2 million Australians have been either unemployed or under-employed for 27 straight months stretching back to late 2015, and until the Government undertakes significant industrial relations reform to cut red tape, target the rorts of the "cash economy" and provide the proper incentives for employers to take on new employees, Australian wage growth will continue to lag expectations and historical averages.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Fastnet Rock colt hits the magic $1m on first day

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Jan-18

The Gold Coast’s annual Magic Millions yearling auction began on 10 January, with the total value of sales exceeding $A39m for the day. The average sale price was $A215,220, which is 10.2 per cent higher than the average for the 2017 auction. Tom Magnier of Coolmore Stud was the successful bidder for a colt that was sired by Coolmore’s "Fastnet Rock", paying about $A1m for the horse.

CORPORATES
MAGIC MILLIONS LIMITED, COOLMORE STUD, ARROWFIELD STUD, RACING NSW, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, THE CHINA HORSE CLUB