Author: roymorgansocial

Myer director hits back at Lew over experience

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 21-Nov-17

Myer director Ian Cornell believes major shareholder Solomon Lew is wrong to claim that the Myer board lacks retail experience. Lew, whose Premier Investments owns 10.8 per cent of the department store chain’s shares, has been increasingly critical of the Myer board in recent months. Lew’s contention that it does not have enough retail experience has been one of his criticisms. Cornell’s retail experience includes over 20 years with Woolworths, and he is also on the board of retailer Baby Bunting. Myer will hold its AGM on 24 November, and Lew has promised to oppose all resolutions

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BABY BUNTING GROUP LIMITED – ASX BBN, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, BABY BUNTING GROUP LIMITED – ASX BBN, FRANKLINS LIMITED

$40bn yearly disaster toll tipped

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Nov-17

The Australian Business Roundtable has urged the federal government to spend more on mitigation and resilience when it comes to managing the impact of natural disasters. The Roundtable, whose members include Munich Re and Insurance Australia Group, argue that too much of the current focus of government spending when it comes to natural disasters is on recovery, and it believes this needs to change. Its research suggests that the cost of cleaning up after natural disasters could increase to nearly $A40 billion per annum by 2050, a figure that does not take into account the impact of climate change.

CORPORATES
MUNICH REINSURANCE COMPANY OF AUSTRALASIA LIMITED, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, THE INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES OF AUSTRALIA

Jackson faces 166 charges of graft

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 21-Nov-17

Former Health Services Union national secretary Kathy Jackson is to stand trial over claims she defrauded and stole just under $A500,000 in union funds from the HSU. Jackson is facing a total of 166 charges, relating to the years between 2003 and 2011. She could face a maximum jail term of 10 years if found guilty. A date for her trial is yet to be set, with it being possible that she might not go to trial until early 2019.

CORPORATES
HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Western Sydney Airport will not fail, minister says

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 21-Nov-17

Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher says he is very optimistic that the Western Sydney Airport will be a success when it opens for business in 2026. Fletcher, who was speaking at a business lunch on 20 November, noted that its rival Sydney airport, Kingsford Smith, will at some point run out of capacity. The federal government is building and paying for the $A5.3 billion airport. Fletcher said he was aware of overseas airports such as Madrid’s Mirabel that had been opened but then ended up closing because people did not want to use them, so it was important that Western Sydney Airport had a very strong business plan.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD

Bottleneck blitz: Liberals leader Matthew Guy promises to remove 55 road intersections

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Original article by Adam Carey
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Nov-17

Liberal leader Matthew Guy has committed to spending billions on reducing traffic congestion if he wins the next Victorian election, to be held in 2018. His plan involves removing more than 50 of the worst traffic intersections in Melbourne and Geelong, with underpasses to replace traffic lights and roundabouts. Guy cited figures that show that 74 per cent of Melburnians use cars each day to go to work as justification for his plan, with the Liberals aiming to remove the first 35 intersections between 2018 and 2022.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. LEVEL CROSSING REMOVAL AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Foxtel, Telstra and Apple launch TV-streaming devices to beat the Christmas non-ratings period

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Original article by Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
The Weekly Times – Page: Online : 19-Nov-17

Foxtel, Telstra and Apple all intend to launch new set-top boxes prior to the commencement of the Christmas non-television ratings period. All three devices will provide access to a range of video streaming services, and media analyst Peter Cox notes that Australian consumers have been very quick to adopt video streaming for both films and television. Roy Morgan Research has found that over seven million Australians had used Netflix as of June 2017, while Telstra research shows that more than 60 per cent of Australians are streaming their entertainment.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, APPLE INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Air NZ pips Singapore Airlines, Emirates & Etihad Airways for Customer Satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Nov-17

Air New Zealand is again Australia’s most satisfying international airline, having a customer satisfaction rating of 88.8% in September, according to Roy Morgan Research’s latest survey on the topic. It was followed by Singapore Airlines (88.3%) and Emirates (87.3%). Qantas was again the leading Australian-based international airline, with a customer satisfaction rating of 80.2%, ahead of main rival Virgin Australia on 74.9%. Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director at Roy Morgan Research, notes that Air New Zealand’s rating was unchanged from September 2016.

CORPORATES
AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, EMIRATES AIRLINES, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, THAI AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED, BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, TIGER AIRWAYS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS LIMITED, GARUDA AVIATION PTY LTD

Malcolm Turnbull flags tax cuts for low, middle-income earners

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 21-Nov-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull canvassed the prospect of tax cuts for those on low and middle incomes during a speech to the Business Council of Australia on 20 November. However, he said any cuts did not mean the government was abandoning its commitment to return the budget to surplus, nor would they come at the expense of the remaining reductions to company tax that the government is still trying to get approved.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Patties takes a hot shot at American pie market

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 21-Nov-17

Patties Foods has signed an multi-year deal with National Basketball Association team the Philadelphia 76ers to help it gain a foothold in the US pie market. The club is home to Australian basketball star Ben Simmons. Patties Foods CEO Paul Hitchcock says it will start by selling its famous Four’n Twenty beef pie to spectators at 76ers’ games, rather than trying anything fancy. Hitchcock notes that currently around 24 million Americans eat 21 million pies a year, so given that there are 320 million Americans, there is huge potential for growth.

CORPORATES
PATTIES FOODS LIMITED, NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION, PHILADELPHIA 76ERS, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, NIKE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN WHOLEFOODS, LEADER FOODS, THE MYER FAMILY COMPANY PTY LTD

Browse back on Shell’s agenda

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 18 : 20-Nov-17

Shell Australia chairman Zoe Yujnovich says the company remains committed to the development of the Browse gas fields off Western Australia. There had been speculation that Shell’s sale of its remaining 13.5 per cent stake in Woodside Petroleum may see its interest in having the Browse fields developed decrease. The Browse fields were discovered over 40 years ago, with the latest plan to develop them involving linking them to the North West Shelf LNG plant by an undersea pipeline. The cost of the plan is put at $US25 billion ($A33 billion)

CORPORATES
SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION, BG GROUP PLC