Author: roymorgansocial

Analysts ease fears over Basel

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 12-Dec-17

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byers has welcomed finalisation of the Basel IV reforms governing the global capital requirements for banks. He says Australian banks are in a good position to meet the Basel IV reforms, a comment echoed by Victor German of Macquarie. Craig Williams of Citigroup says the reforms have a longer implementation time (2027) than was expected, while they are not as onerous as had been forecast.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Department stores set for decade-long tumble

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Original article by Luke Misthos
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Dec-17

The value of Australia’s department store sector will decline to $A16.7 billion (excluding the value of GST) in 2027, according to Morningstar. The sector is currently valued at $A17.5 billion. Morningstar predicts that sales earned by "bricks and mortar" department stores will decline by two per cent annually between now and 2027, while the number of physical stores will fall by 26 per cent. Morningstar contends that Kmart is best-equipped to meet the challenge posed by Amazon.

CORPORATES
MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

Widening inequality leaves low-skilled out

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Dec-17

Skilled workers such as engineers and doctors have enjoyed average annual wage increases of 1.4 per cent for the past seven years, according to modelling by economists Janine Dixon and Nhi Tran. However, low-skilled workers such as cleaners and labourers have not seen any increase in their wages. Dixon says workers in this category will no doubt be tempted to blame trade or immigration for their plight, but the problem lies with automation and with not having the right skills to seek other jobs. Tran and Dixon contend that inequality in Australia will get worse if more effort is not made to boost the skills of low-paid workers.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY. CENTRE OF POLICY STUDIES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

IPA advocates income tax power be given to states

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Dec-17

The distribution of goods and services tax revenue between the states and territories continues to attract scrutiny. The Institute of Public Affairs has proposed the adoption of a system of "competitive federalism", whereby the states would be responsible for setting their own GST rate and retaining the revenue. IPA executive director John Roskam suggests that the states and territories could also be allowed to impose their own income taxes, but notes that they baulked at this when the idea was put forward by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

News Corp tipped to cut print circulations 30pc

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Dec-17

There is speculation that News Corp Australia will reduce the print circulation of some newspapers by 25-30 per cent following its decision to cease reporting print sales data. Industry sources have suggested that News Corp may also have decided to stop distributing bulk copies of its newspapers, which Fairfax Media has already done. Fairfax Media also reduced the print circulation of some titles in 2014.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS

Shorten weighs up move on Dastyari

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Original article by Simon Benson, Andrew Clennell, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Dec-17

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is under growing pressure to take action regarding senator Sam Dastyari, who is continuing to attract scrutiny over his links with China. Opinion within Labor’s ranks is divided, with Tony Burke and Anthony Albanese publicly supporting Dastyari, while Catherine King and Linda Burney are among those who believe that he should resign. Former Labor leader Kim Beazley has urged Dastyari to act in the best interests of his party and the nation, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described Shorten’s lack of action on the issue of Dastyari as a scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY. AUSTRALIA-CHINA RELATIONS INSTITUTE

I’ve revived economy: Turnbull

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Dec-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull say he hopes to have all of the states and territories signed up to the national energy guarantee by the middle of 2018. Turnbull also says that 2018 will see his government focus on the economy, including trying to get parliament to approve the rest of its corporate tax reduction program, as well as looking at the possibility of income tax cuts. He expects that there will be more to come concerning the scandal involving Labor’s Sam Dastyari.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Coalition cautioned on super ministry

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Dec-17

There is growing speculation that the Federal Government could create its proposed ministry of home affairs before Christmas. The so-called super-ministry was slated to be set up by mid-2018, and will place federal agencies such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force within a single ministerial portfolio for the first time. Labor’s Mark Dreyfus says Immigration Minister Peter Dutton should not be sworn in as the home affairs minister until the enabling legislation has been passed by parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Mineral Resources in scrip offer for AWE

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Dec-17

Shares in Mineral Resources closed eight per cent lower at $A16.39 on 11 December after it launched a $A510m takeover bid for AWE Limited. The scrip bid was initially pitched at $A0.80 per share, but the downturn in Mineral Resources’ stock reduced the value of its bid to $A0.73, in line with the rival bid from China Energy Reserve & Chemical Group. Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison says AWE’s stake in the Waitsia gas field is of primary interest to his company, both to supply its own operations and Western Australian gas users.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MINERAL RESOURCES LIHIR PTY LTD, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, SHA ENERGY, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Social media drives up insurance costs

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Dec-17

The insurance sector is seemingly an industry under siege, with its inclusion in Australia’s royal commission into the financial services sector its latest woe. Online calculators and comparison sites are making it easier for consumers to switch policies. Richard Enthoven, the chairman of insurance company Greenstone and the founder of insurance firm Hollard, points to social media as another cause of the industry’s problems. He contends that the practice of unhappy insurance customers complaining about their experience on Facebook and the like is pushing up the cost of insurance premiums.

CORPORATES
GREENSTONE LIMITED, HOLLARD INSURANCE GROUP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, COMMINSURE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD