Author: roymorgansocial

Fix it and get back to economy, says BCA

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-17

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has urged Parliament to resolve the standoff over marriage equality quickly in order to focus on economic policy. Westacott says the Federal Government must agree to a conscience vote if the majority of Australians support legalising same-sex marriage in the postal plebiscite. She has also criticised the "anti-business agenda" of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten regarding tax cuts for smaller companies and the taxation of trusts.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Atlas maps out port route to beef up exports

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 30-Aug-17

Atlas Iron has posted a 2016-17 net profit of $A48m, and its iron ore shipments totalled 14.4 million tonnes. Atlas forecasts that its shipments for 2017-18 will be within the range of nine to 10 million tonnes, and MD Cliff Lawrenson says the company will seek to utilise more of its capacity at the Utah Point bulk handling facility. This would allow Atlas to reduce its production costs, which averaged $A53 per tonne in 2016-17 and are forecast to be between $A54 and $A58 in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS

Union deals cut Sunday pay rates

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-17

The Shop Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association and United Voice have struck enterprise bargaining agreements with major employers that either abolish Sunday penalty rates or feature rates that are lower than the industry award. The EBAs cover some 410.000 employees of companies such as Bunnings, McDonald’s, KFC, David Jones and Big W. The EBAs of several large hotel chains also do not include Sunday penalty rates. However, all of the EBAs that were analysed by the Department of Employment trade off penalty rates in return for higher base hourly wage rates.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, UNITED VOICE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, DAVID JONES LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, DAN MURPHY’S, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, PRICELINE PTY LTD, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP, SHERATON MIRAGE GOLD COAST HOTEL, LANGHAM HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, PARK ROYAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GRILL’D PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, RACV CLUBS AND RESORTS, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence: volatility reigns

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Aug-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 3.9% to 113.5 in the week ended 27 August 2017, after three straight weekly falls. Sentiment rose across the board, with views towards personal finances showing a particularly solid improvement. Households’ views towards current financial conditions bounced 4.7%, more than reversing the 4.1% fall over the previous two weeks and bringing the index to an 11-week high. Similarly, sentiment around future financial conditions rose a solid 6.4%, following a 5.3% decline in the previous week. Consumers’ views towards current and future economic conditions rose 5.6% and 2.2% respectively. Despite these gains, views toward both current and future economic conditions are well below long-run averages.

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

Union staff apply to go on strike

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Original article by Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 30-Aug-17

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union is facing industrial action by clerical and administration employees at the head office of its mining and energy division in Queensland. About 15 members of the Australian Services Union are seeking an annual pay rise of 1.5 per cent as part of enterprise agreement negotiations. The existing agreement expired six months ago, and the staff are seeking approval to undertake protected industrial action. The pay claim has coincided with the CFMEU’s industrial dispute with coal miner Glencore.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Rio hunts for new diamond mine as clock ticks for Argyle operation

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 30-Aug-17

Rio Tinto’s diamonds division will ramp up exploration as it seeks to replace the ageing Argyle and Diavik mines. Rio CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the company will consider acquisitions in the sector, but its preferred option is to discover a new diamond deposit. He is optimistic that Rio can establish another diamond mine in Australia, and he would particularly like to find a new pink diamond mine, given the rarity of these diamonds and the premium prices they fetch.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, DE BEERS SA

No second TV option for News Corp

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Original article by Aaron Patrick, John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-Aug-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission recently indicated that it would not oppose the acquisition of Ten Network by Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon. However, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said a similar deal to acquire Seven or Nine may not necessarily have been approved, given that their news bulletins have higher ratings than Ten. Media industry sources also suggest that any bid by News Corp to acquire one of Ten’s rivals would be blocked on competition grounds.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CBS CORPORATION, PPB ADVISORY, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

NXT considers further media compromise

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Aug-17

The Federal Government requires the support of 10 crossbench senators for its cross-media ownership reforms when Parliament resumes in early September. There are indications that the Nick Xenophon Team may be prepared to accept a compromise on its proposed tax break for smaller media companies in return for supporting the reforms. The Australian Labor Party has not changed its stance on opposing the abolition of the "two-out-of-three" rule.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION

Foreign regulators focus on CBA

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 30-Aug-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s inquiry into the Commonwealth Bank of Australia continues to weigh on the banking sector. There is concern that CBA may come under scrutiny by APRA’s overseas counterparts in the wake of its money-laundering scandal. Credit Suisse has reduced its share price target for CBA by 10 per cent and warned of a governance crisis at the bank. Brian Johnson of CLSA notes that CBA could potentially incur much harsher penalties in offshore jurisdictions for breaching money laundering laws than in Australia.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, COMMINSURE, STORM FINANCIAL LIMITED, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HONG KONG (CHINA). MONETARY AUTHORITY, SINGAPORE. MONETARY AUTHORITY

Investors take cover from Kim’s missile over Japan

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 30-Aug-17

Sharemarkets in the Asia-Pacific region retreated on 29 August, after North Korea fired a missile over Japan’s main islands. Futures pricing suggests that the S&P 500 will also fall as geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula increase. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries reached a two-month low and the gold price peaked at a nine-month high of $US1,322.41 an ounce. Sue Trinh of RBC says financial markets’ initial response to the latest missile test was "relatively shallow" and short-lived.

CORPORATES
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, KOSPI INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED NATIONS. SECURITY COUNCIL, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, SPEEDCAST INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX SDA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD