Author: roymorgansocial

Syrah’s battery hopes hit US hurdle

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Jan-18

Australian-listed Syrah Resources is confident that it will be able to secure a new site for its proposed graphite beneficiation plant in the US. The South Tangipahoa Parish Port Commission has terminated Syrah’s lease over the site in New Orleans where it had proposed to build the plant, after local residents expressed concern about the plant’s potential impact on air and water quality. Syrah will consider other sites in the state of Louisiana, and it remains hopeful of achieving its previously-stated target for commencing production.

CORPORATES
SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, SOUTH TANGIPAHOA PARISH PORT COMMISSION, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, HILL END GOLD LIMITED – ASX HEG

Rio could surprise on ore exports

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 23 : 11-Jan-18

UBS estimates that Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore shipments rose to a record 90.2 million tonnes in the December 2017 quarter, putting it on track to meet its full-year guidance of 330 million tonnes. According to UBS’s forecast, Rio Tinto’s shipments rose by 17 per cent month-on-month in December, to 32.5 million tonnes. Rio Tinto ultimately aims to lift annual shipments to 360 million tonnes, although its Pilbara rail network currently has a capacity of about 330 million tonnes. UBS estimates that the Pilbara shipments of BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group for the quarter totalled 71.3 million tonnes and 40.5 million tonnes respectively.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Charities fear donations bill a muzzle

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Jan-18

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has rejected claims that the Federal Government’s move to ban foreign donations to political parties will limit the ability of charities to engage in public debate on social issues. Charities would be required to register as a political campaigner if their "political expenditure" has exceeded $A100,000 in any of the last four years. John Falzon of the St Vincent de Paul Society says the bill is targeting organisations that are critical of government policy, and it will increase the compliance burden for charities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY, COMMUNITY COUNCIL FOR AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Minerals Council: End rigid industrial laws

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 11-Jan-18

The Minerals Council of Australia has used its pre-Budget submission to urge the Federal Government to pursue industrial relations reforms. Amongst other things, the MCA has proposed changes to workplace right-of-entry rules for unions, new restrictions regarding protected industrial action and an overhaul of the rules governing enterprise bargaining. Interim CEO David Byers has warned that Australia’s productivity and competitiveness will be adversely affected if there are no changes to the nation’s "outdated" workplace practices.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, GLENCORE PLC, ACTU

ATO beefs up internal processes after scandal

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 11-Jan-18

The Plutus Payroll fraud has prompted the Australian Taxation Office to review and strengthen its internal integrity and fraud controls. The ATO has also revamped its fraud awareness training programs, while senior executives have participated in regular meetings of the Inspector-General of Taxation’s review of fraud control management. The son and daughter of former deputy commissioner Michael Cranston are facing criminal charges over his role in the Plutus fraud, while Cranston himself has been charged with abuse of public office.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, PLUTUS PAYROLL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

Backlash as foreign buyers flee

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 29 : 11-Jan-18

South Australia was the only state that did not record a downturn in sales of residential properties to foreign buyers in the December quarter, according to a new ANZ/Property Council survey. Property developers say factors such as restrictions on access to credit and higher taxes on foreign buyers have contributed to the downturn in demand, and prompted some developers to withdraw from the residential market. Meriton founder Harry Triguboff says his company is having to resell many apartments that had been pre-sold to Chinese buyers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD, REALESTATE.COM.AU, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, CROWN GROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Company tax cuts benefit all: OECD

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Jan-18

Treasurer Scott Morrison has signalled that company tax cuts will be a legislative priority for the Federal Government when parliament resumes in February. Labor, the Greens and Senate cross-benchers have previously opposed the Government’s push to provide tax relief for companies with turnover of more than $A50m. Meanwhile, a new study by the OECD has concluded that across-the-board corporate tax cuts result in increased business investment and "substantial" income gains for all wage and salary earners.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION LIMITED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Health, retail leading surge in jobs growth

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Elizabeth Redman
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-Jan-18

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that there was 2.7 per cent growth in job vacancies in the three months to November 2017, and 16.1 per cent growth in the year to November. The annual growth in job vacancies was the strongest in seven years, while Australia recorded its strongest growth in new jobs for more than 12 years. Meanwhile, there was 17.2 per cent growth in private sector job vacancies over the 12 months, compared with 4.9 per cent growth in public sector job vacancies. Economists forecast that wages will begin to rise in 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Stumble may be start of bigger global pullback

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 11-Jan-18

The S&P/ASX 200 recorded its largest fall in six weeks on 10 January, after posting strong gains over the last three months. Factors such as a rise in US 10-year bond yields to a 10-month high and a slight reduction in the Bank of Japan’s quantitative easing program weighed on the Australian market. Meanwhile, tax-loss selling is a major risk for the US market in January, as the Trump Administration’s capital gains tax reforms now allow US investors to defer tax liabilities until April 2019.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BANK OF JAPAN, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

ACTU seeks change to lockout rules

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 9-Jan-18

Australia’s peak union body will push for changes to provisions of the Fair Work Act regarding the right of employers to lock out workers in the wake of an industrial dispute at the Port Kembla coal terminal. ACTU secretary Ged Kearney says the dispute demonstrates that the industrial relations system is "broken" and gives employers too much power. The Port Kembla terminal has imposed a five-day lockout in an ongoing dispute with the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union over enterprise agreement negotiations.

CORPORATES
ACTU, PORT KEMBLA COAL TERMINAL, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GLENCORE PLC, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32