Author: roymorgansocial

Students’ skills no issue for employers

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Original article by Stephen Fitzpatrick
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-Jan-18

Universities Australia’s Catriona Jackson has downplayed the findings of an employer satisfaction survey which showed that many graduates do not think their degree has much relevance to their job. Jackson argues that employers’ satisfaction regarding all key graduate metrics has increased since the survey was undertaken in 2017, and more than four out of five employers are satisfied with the graduates whom they employ. National Tertiary Education Union president Jeannie Rea in turn says the focus should be on whether graduates consider their degree to be relevant after they have been in the workforce for several years.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITIES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL TERTIARY EDUCATION INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Labor to stick with negative gearing policy

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-Jan-18

The Australian Labor Party has argued that a Treasury analysis produced almost two years ago demonstrates that its policy on negative gearing will boost housing affordability. The analysis, which was obtained under Freedom of Information laws, concluded that Labor’s proposed changes to the negative gearing and capital gains tax regimes would have relatively little negative effect on house prices. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has indicated that the proposed reforms will be part of Labor’s policy platform at the next federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

More come forward over actor

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Original article by Kate McClymont, Michael Lallo, Rob Moran
The Age – Page: 4 : 9-Jan-18

The Gordon Frost Organisation has advised that actor Craig McLachlan will withdraw from its current production of "The Rocky Horror Show" in the wake of sexual harassment and indecent assault allegations. Victorian police have launched an investigation into the allegations made by three female members of the 2014 production of the musical, while several other people are believed to have lodged complaints with police. Production of McLachlan’s popular TV series, "The Doctor Blake Mysteries", has also been put on hold pending the investigation into the allegations against him.

CORPORATES
GORDON FROST ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, DECEMBER MEDIA, VICTORIA POLICE

ACCC seeks fines, jail for cartels

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jan-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will ramp up its crackdown on cartel activity in 2018. Chairman Rod Sims expects the ACCC to launch criminal cartel proceedings against up to four Australian companies and their executives, although he has declined to identify them. Senior executives face massive fines and up to 10 years in jail for engaging in cartel activity. Meanwhile, Sims anticipates an increase in merger activity in 2018, particularly in the media sector in the wake of the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA LINE, KAWASAKI KISEN KAISHA LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, CAMP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JAG, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, SAPUTO INCORPORATED, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, ACCOR SA

Super raids to pay for health bills

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Original article by Sean Parnell, Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jan-18

Government funding for the health system is under scrutiny following the release of data showing that more Australians are accessing their superannuation to finance medical procedures. The figures show that there were around 22,000 applications to draw upon super savings to pay medical bills in 2016-17, compared with just 4,000 in 2010-11. The Federal Government will review the existing rules regarding the early release of super savings, as well as out-of-pocket medical fees, which comprise about 20 per cent of spending on healthcare,

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, CONSUMERS’ HEALTH FORUM OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Rinehart’s Roy Hill to lift output

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 14 : 9-Jan-18

Roy Hill Holdings is seeking to lift its iron ore export capacity at Port Hedland to 60 million tonnes a year. The company reached its annual production target of 55 million tonnes in September 2017, less than two years after shipments from its namesake mine began. Roy Hill says the increased production can be achieved without investing in additional infrastructure. Meanwhile, a Federal Government report has forecast strong growth in Australia’s iron ore exports in 2018 and a fall in the price of the steel input.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Hutchy’s merger with radio network

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 18 : 9-Jan-18

Australian-listed Pacific Star Networks has revealed plans to merge with TV and radio sports content group Crocmedia, which was co-founded by sports broadcaster Craig Hutchison. Crocmedia currently supplies content to Pacific Star Network’s sports-focused radio station in Melbourne, 1116 SEN. Hutchison will become CEO and MD of Pacific Star Network if the merger is approved by shareholders in March.

CORPORATES
PACIFIC STAR NETWORK LIMITED – ASX PNW, CROCMEDIA PTY LTD, SEN 1116 AM

Taxes, royalties take half of miners’ profits

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 9-Jan-18

The Minerals Council of Australia’s interim CEO David Byers says a new survey by Deloitte Access Economics demonstrates the need for corporate tax reform. The survey, which was undertaken on behalf of the MCA, shows that taxes and royalties accounted for 51 per cent of the profits of Australian mining companies in fiscal 2016, compared with the nation’s company tax rate of 30 per cent. Byers adds that the survey refutes the widely-held view that mining companies do not pay much tax.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Still more riches to be unearthed by miners

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 9-Jan-18

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index has outperformed the broader Australian sharemarket over the last two years, and Macquarie Equities is bullish about the outlook for mining stocks in 2018. The firm believes that major resources groups will have the scope to increase their capital returns to shareholders if the spot prices of key commodities remain at around current levels. Macquarie has maintained its "outperform" rating for both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, while Fortescue Metals Group is its preferred stock among pure-play miners.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 MATERIALS INDEX, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, METALS X LIMITED – ASX MLX, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, NEOMETALS LIMITED – ASX NMT, OROCOBRE LIMITED – ASX ORE, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC

KPMG chair: chiefs should admit to errors

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 13 : 3-Jan-18

New KPMG chairwoman Alison Kitchen has urged corporate Australia to be more proactive when it comes to condemning bad behaviour within its ranks. Kitchen says companies should not wait for whistleblowers to disclose their problems, and that the community is tired of businesses not being prepared to own up to their mistakes. She says that if companies were willing to admit they had problems and had taken steps to fix them, that this might help to restore a level of community trust in the business sector.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION