Author: roymorgansocial

State GST backlash a headache for Turnbull

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Oct-17

Western Australia could receive up to $A3.63 billion more in 2017-18 from goods and services tax payments if the Federal Government adopts changes recommended by the Productivity Commission. However, the other states would get less money if changes to the way GST revenue is distributed are adopted, with Queensland set to lose up to $A1.6 billion. Politicians from the states that would be negatively impacted have reacted angrily to the Commission’s recommendations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, TASMANIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Short sellers set sights on Rio Tinto despite price spike

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 28 : 10-Oct-17

Rio Tinto ranks among the 20 Australian-listed stocks that are most frequently targeted by short sellers. Short positions now account for about nine per cent of Rio Tinto’s shares, compared with less than one per cent three years ago. The resources group’s shares have posted double-digit gains over the last seven weeks, which has coincided with a sharp fall in the iron ore price, and some analysts expect further weakness in the price of the steel input. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners says arbitrage trading may have contributed to the rise in short selling activity, given the price gap between Rio’s Australian and UK shares.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Gas finally starts to flow at Chevron’s $44bn Wheatstone project in WA

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Oct-17

Shipments from the Wheatstone LNG project will begin in coming weeks after production commenced. The project was marred by delays and cost over-runs, with its cost blowing out from $US29bn to $US34bn. The project’s two production trains will produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG a year at full capacity. Wheatstone, in which Chevron has a 64.1 per cent stake, is one of $A200bn worth of LNG projects that have been developed in Australia in recent years.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, KUWAIT FOREIGN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION COMPANY, APACHE CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Kaufland bid a shock to industry veteran

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 10-Oct-17

Businessman Roger Drake says Australia’s supermarket sector is the most competitive it has been in four decades. Competition is set to intensify with confirmation that Kaufland will enter the local market. It recently paid $A25m for a 3.6-hectare site in Adelaide, and Drake says he had expected the German group’s first store to be in Sydney or Melbourne. Drake notes that independent greengrocers appear to have been hit harder by Aldi’s entry to the South Australian market than the Foodland stores that he owns in the state.

CORPORATES
KAUFLAND STIFTUNG & CO KG, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, FOODLAND AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DRAKE FOODMARKETS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, CBRE PTY LTD

Forrest ruling wipes out mining lease applications

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Oct-17

A High Court ruling in August 2017 concerning mining lease applications lodged over pastoral land owned by Andrew Forrest in Western Australia has led to new mining legislation in that state. However, the legislation will not cover mining lease applications that are currently in progress, and Tony Bullen from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation & Safety says fresh applications will have to be submitted.

CORPORATES
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FORREST AND FORREST PTY LTD, YARRI MINING PTY LTD, ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED

CA inks subcontinent TV deal

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Oct-17

Sony Pictures Networks India has secured a deal for exclusive broadcasting and digital rights on the sub-continent to all international cricket matches in Australia for six years. The deal with Cricket Australia covers both men’s and women’s cricket matches, and Sony Pictures is believed to have paid slightly more than Star India paid under the current rights deal. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia hopes to finalise a new rights deal with Australian broadcasters by the end of the upcoming summer.

CORPORATES
SONY PICTURES NETWORKS INDIA PVT LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, STAR INDIA, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, BIG BASH LEAGUE, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Tension hits world merger activity

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 28 : 10-Oct-17

A new report shows that mergers and acquisitions activity in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, has fallen by 7.8 per cent so far in 2017. M&A activity in the region declined by 10.9 per cent in the September quarter, to $US157.8bn. There were some $A674bn worth of deals globally during the quarter, or 3,772 transactions in total. Macquarie Group advised on $US22.65bn worth of M&A deals in Australasia.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR, UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, ROCKWELL COLLINS INCORPORATED, BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO PLC, RJ REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY

Global shares still look best for capital growth

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 10-Oct-17

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has gained 1.3 per cent so far in 2017, compared with an 8.2 per cent gain for the MSCI All Country World index in Australian dollar terms. Most analysts expect global equities to continue to outperform Australian stocks in the near-term, although Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter remains upbeat about the outlook for the local market. He notes that investors are likely to reinvest some of the $A23.7bn worth of dividends that have been paid in recent weeks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

CBA faces investor class action

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Oct-17

Andrew Watson of law firm Maurice Blackburn says its class action against the Commonwealth Bank could be the largest ever in Australia. The firm will seek compensation for retail and institutional investors who bought the bank’s shares between 1 July 2015 and 3 August 2017. The class action centres on the bank’s failure to make adequate disclosures regarding the money-laundering scandal. Austrac’s revelation that it was investigating the bank prompted a sharp fall in its share price.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF

Ten report could spark challenge

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 24 : 9-Oct-17

Failed bidders for the Ten Network have until 13 October to challenge the transfer of its shares to US media giant CBS Corporation. A KPMG report to be released on 9 October may determine whether there will be a legal challenge to the CBS deal. The report concludes that Ten has negative net worth, but Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon are believed to have commissioned their own independent expert’s report which includes a positive valuation of Ten’s shares.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CBS CORPORATION, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, VIACOM INCORPORATED, CHANNEL 5 BROADCASTING LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD