Author: roymorgansocial

TPG-News mulled sale of AFR

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian – Page: 29 : 16-Oct-17

Fairfax Media’s former suitor TPG Capital approached News Corp about on-selling "The Australian Financial Review" if its takeover bid succeeded. The approach is believed to have been made before TPG submitted its first indicative bid for Fairfax, although the private equity firm eventually decided to retain all of Fairfax’s assets. Although TPG was primarily interested in the Domain property listings business, it ultimately submitted a $A2.7bn bid for the whole of Fairfax.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN.COM.AU, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Gold exploration spending needs to double, report finds

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 16-Oct-17

Australia’s gold production totalled 9.7 million ounces in 2016, but a report from Minex Consulting warns that a big rise in exploration expenditure is needed to avert a sharp downturn in production within five years. The Office of the Chief Economist is also bearish about the outlook for the nation’s gold sector, forecasting that the value of gold exports will fall to $A17.1bn in 2017-18 and $A16.9bn in 2018-19. This compares with around $A18bn in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
MINEX CONSULTING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST, LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

‘Market vulnerable to 1987-style crash’

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 16-Oct-17

With the 30th anniversary of the Black Monday stock market crash of October 1987 approaching, experts warn that there is the potential for another sharemarket rout. Former ASX chairman Maurice Newman was the head of Bain & Company at the time of the 1987 crash. He notes that sharemarket valuations are again highly inflated, and share prices are now well above those that prevailed immediately before previous crashes. The former CEO of the Sydney Futures Exchange, Les Hosking, also warns that financial markets are vulnerable to another crash.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, SYDNEY FUTURES EXCHANGE LIMITED, BAIN AND COMPANY

Senator baulks at Turnbull union bill

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Oct-17

The future of the Federal Government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill is in doubt after Senator Nick Xenophon warned that union officials could be subjected to higher standards than company directors. The Opposition has expressed similar concerns regarding the bill, which would increase the government’s powers to deregister unions, block union mergers and disqualify union officials. The bill has also been criticised by ACTU secretary Sally McManus, who says it would result in lower growth in wages. Parliament will debate the bill in coming days.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Rise in insurer requests for full medical records

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Oct-17

The federal parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services is investigating the $A44 billion life insurance sector. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has told the committee that its members are receiving increased requests for full patient records, while it believes strongly that such requests should not be allowed. MDA National believes that patients should be informed if an insurance company has made a request to access their records.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT COMMITTEE ON CORPORATIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS, MDA NATIONAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AIA AUSTRALIA LIMITED

345,000 Aussie mortgage holders have no real equity in their homes

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 8% (345,000) of mortgage holders in Australia had little or no real equity in their home in the year to August 2017, compared with 7.1% in the year to August 2016. This is based on the fact that the value of their home is only equal to or less than the amount they still owe, placing them at considerable risk if they have to sell or prices decline. The survey also shows that Western Australia has the highest proportion of mortgage customers with no real equity in their home, at 14% (71,000), while Tasmania has the lowest proportion of mortgage holders with little or no equity in their home, at only 4.9% (4,000).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

CBS to take Ten as rivals submit

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Original article by Stephen Brook, Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 26 : 16-Oct-17

Lachlan Murdoch failed to lodge a legal challenge to the transfer of Ten Network’s shares to CBS Corporation by the deadline of 13 October, and Bruce Gordon is also believed to have not done so. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says Ten’s acquisition by the US media group now seems to be inevitable, and he has told the Radio Alive conference that News Corp would be willing to produce local content in partnership with CBS.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, COMMERCIAL RADIO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VIACOM INCORPORATED, CHANNEL 5 BROADCASTING LIMITED

Australians don’t want the Adani mine

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Oct-17

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey taken on 6-8 October has found that 53.5% of Australians do not think the Adani mine should go ahead. Only 16% that say the Queensland mine should go ahead while a further 30.5% either have not heard of the Adani mine or did not indicate a preference for whether it should go ahead or not. Analyses by voting intention shows that supporters of all the major parties are against the Adani coal mine going ahead, while analyses by gender shows that 51.5% of women and 56% of men are against the mine going ahead. Analysis by State shows that far more Australians in each State are against the Adani coal mine going ahead than those in favour, including 50% per cent of respondents in Queensland.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Australians are voting in favour of same sex marriage

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Oct-17

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey taken on 6-8 October shows that 61.5% of Australians are voting "Yes" in favour of same-sex marriage in the postal plebiscite. Some 17.5% are voting "No", while a further 21% did not answer the question or have no intention of voting. Although these results are slightly inconclusive on the exact margin of the final result, they do provide a degree of certainty that the plebiscite will be carried nationwide. Analysis of supporters of various political parties shows that 92% of Greens supporters and 77% of ALP supporters are voting "Yes", compared with just 40.5% of Liberal supporters and 33% of Nationals supporters. Support for the change is also consistent across the country, with clear majorities in all six States opting to vote "Yes". The State with the largest support for the change is Victoria, in which 69.5% of respondents are voting "Yes", ahead of Western Australia and Tasmania (63.5%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Chevron drops $400m Bight drilling plans

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 13-Oct-17

Chevron has cited the low price of crude oil for its decision to shelve plans to undertake a four-well drilling program in the Great Australian Bight in 2018. Chevron says it was a commercial decision that was not influenced by factors such as environmental concerns or government policy. Chevron intends to focus on exploration off the coast of Western Australia, where it can utilise its existing infrastructure. BP abandoned plans to drill two wells in the Bight in October 2016, citing similar reasons for its decision.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BP PLC, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, STATOIL AS