Author: roymorgansocial

Westpac in so deep it ‘fixed rate pricing’

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 1-Nov-17

The Federal Court has heard a series of recorded conversations in which Westpac staff allegedly discussed strategies for manipulating the bank bill swap rate. The taped conversations were part of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s evidence against the bank, which has elected to contest the allegations of market manipulation rather than agree to a settlement. Other evidence tendered in court by ASIC included email messages from Westpac staff and the minutes from Australian Financial Markets Association meetings.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Iron ore market doesn’t warrant extra supply: Fortescue

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 1-Nov-17

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques recently told staff via an internal communication that its Pilbara iron ore shipments could eventually top 400 million tonnes a year, compared with its 2017 target of 330 million tonnes. However, Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power questions whether there is sufficient demand for iron ore at present to justify a large increase in supply, noting that shareholder returns will be adversely affected if resources projects are over-developed. Meanwhile, Power expects the price discount for Fortescue’s lower-grade iron ore to narrow over time.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, LIBERTY HOUSE GROUP, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED, METALICITY LIMTED – ASX MCT

Electric cars drive Fortescue’s lithium push

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 25 : 1-Nov-17

Growing global demand for lithium has prompted pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group to diversify by revealing plans to explore tenements near existing lithium deposits in Western Australia. Shares in Australian-listed lithium miners have rallied in recent months, amid rising demand for electric cars and plans by some car makers to phase out traditional petrol-only vehicles. Meanwhile, Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter says lithium could follow the same price trajectory as iron ore in the mid-2000s.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, KIDMAN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX KDR, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VOLKSWAGEN AG, AUDI AG, DR ING HCF PORSCHE AG, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, FORD MOTOR COMPANY

Kinghorn facing jail over $30m tax fraud

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Original article by Geoff Winestock, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-17

RAMS Home Loans founder John Kinghorn has pleaded not guilty after being charged with two counts of tax fraud. The Australian Federal Police will allege that Kinghorn avoided tax liabilities totalling $A30m after claiming that he did not control any companies that were registered in the Jersey Islands. He could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail if he is convicted. Kinghorn gained $A650m from the sale of an 80 per cent stake in RAMS via an IPO in 2007.

CORPORATES
RAMS HOME LOANS PTY LTD, ALLCO FINANCE GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, LOCAL COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, KALOMA CORPORATION, KALOMA PACIFIC LEASING, TRYDEN ENTERPRISES, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Home loans break trillion dollar barrier

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 1-Nov-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has reported that the value of mortgage loans written for owner-occupiers rose by 0.5 per cent in September, to $A1.03bn. Meanwhile, there was 0.3 per cent growth across the mortgage lending sector during the month. Separate data from the Reserve Bank shows that there was 0.5 per cent growth in housing loans in September, while year-on-year growth rose from 6.4 per cent to 6.5 per cent. In contrast, annual growth in business lending was 4.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ME BANK, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

NBN needs subsidies: Sims

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 1-Nov-17

The national broadband network’s uniform pricing policy means capital city users are effectively subsidising the provision of NBN’s fixed wireless and satellite services in regional and rural areas. ACCC chairman Rod Sims argues that these unprofitable services should instead be subsidised via the Budget, adding that the Federal Government should make a decision on whether to do so in mid-2018. Sims adds that it may be appropriate to write down the value of the NBN.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NBN CO LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 113.4

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Nov-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence edged 0.1% higher to 113.4 in the week ended 29 October 2017, after an 0.8% rise in the previous week. The steady headline result masks some variation between the sub-indices. The outlook on economic conditions in the next year fell 4.5%, more than entirely unwinding the previous 4.3% rise and bringing the sub-index to its lowest value in seven weeks. Consumers were also less optimistic about future economic conditions. This sub-index slipped 1.5%, partially reversing the 3.5% increase in the previous week. In contrast, views about current financial conditions rose a solid 5.3% to 108.4, the highest value since mid-June. The outlook for future financial conditions fell by 1.9%, following a 0.9% fall the previous week. Both sub-indices remain above their long-term averages.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

British link drops top Lib in crisis

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-17

Federal Parliament’s dual citizenship crisis has deepened after Senate president Stephen Parry revealed that he may hold British citizenship by descent. He is the first Liberal whose eligibility for parliament has come under scrutiny, after the party had previously criticised its Coalition partner for the citizenship crisis. Senator Parry has indicated that he will resign from parliament if he is deemed to be a British citizen, rather than allow the matter to be referred to the High Court. Other parliamentarians may attract greater scrutiny in the wake of Parry’s revelation.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, GREAT BRITAIN. HOME OFFICE

More mergers from media changes: ACCC

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 1-Nov-17

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims expects cross-media ownership law reforms to prompt further consolidation in the media sector. However, he has told a Communications & Media Law Association event that any such merger proposals must ensure that media diversity is maintained. He added that media diversity is already being affected by the growing market power of digital giants Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA LAW ASSOCIATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Fairfax clean bowled by Gayle force victory

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-Oct-17

Fairfax Media has advised that it may appeal against a court ruling that it defamed West Indian cricket player Chris Gayle in a series of articles which claimed that he had exposed himself to a female masseuse. The four-person jury also found that Fairfax published the contentious articles out of malice. Amongst other things, Gayle had sought aggravated and special damages from the media company.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION