Author: roymorgansocial

Exxon’s Dory could ease east coast gas shortage

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 8-Aug-17

Saul Kavonic of Wood Mackenzie says the Dory gas discovery in Bass Strait could potentially relieve pressure on east coast gas supplies in the long-term. However, he adds that this assumes that the contingent resource estimate of 2.2 trillion cubic feet is proven by further exploration work. Kavonic also notes that no major production at Dory would be likely until at least 2023. ExxonMobil acquired the Dory gas field from Liberty Petroleum earlier in 2017.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, LIBERTY PETROLEUM, WOOD MACKENZIE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, APACHE CORPORATION

ExxonMobil lands a whopper in Bass Strait with huge gas reserves

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 7-Aug-17

A deal for ExxonMobil to acquire the Dory gas field in Bass Strait could provide greater certainty of future energy supply to Australia’s east coast. US-based Liberty Petroleum recently sold the undeveloped gas field to ExxonMobil for an undisclosed price, which is believed to include a royalty agreement. Drilling work undertake by Liberty to date suggests that Dory could potentially yield up to 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas. It is believed that ExxonMobil’s Bass Strait joint venture partner BHP Billiton has an option to acquire an interest in Dory.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LIBERTY PETROLEUM, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, 3D OIL LIMITED – ASX TDOCA

Coal-fired power trade-off for new clean energy target

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Aug-17

With the Federal Government yet to take its amended energy policy to the Coalition partyroom, there are promising signs that gas prices are starting to come down. The Government has been able to get the Council of Australian Governments to agree to all but one of the Finkel energy review’s 50 recommendations, namely that of a clean energy target. It is believed that Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are willing to give a commitment to investing in "clean coal"-fired power plants in order to get the partyroom to approve a CET.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Leyonhjelm attacks anti-corruption bill

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-Aug-17

Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm has concerns about the Federal Government’s proposed union anti-corruption legislation. The legislation, which has been drawn up in response to the royal commission into union corruption, is due to be tabled in the Senate in the week beginning 7 August 2017. Leyonhjelm is worried that people who have made what they believe to be legitimate payments to a union could find themselves coming under the legislation, and could end up going to jail. He wants it amended to protect such situations.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Inflation data will be key to whether Fed can hike

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Original article by Brian Chappatta
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 7-Aug-17

New data shows that a higher-than-expected 209,000 jobs were created in the US during July, while the unemployment rate was at a 16-year low. However, the upcoming release of US inflation data is likely to influence the timing of any change in monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. Bill Gross of the Janus Henderson Global Unconstrained Bond Fund says the central bank is unlikely to increase short-term interest rates until the core inflation rate rises to its target of two per cent.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, JANUS HENDERSON GLOBAL UNCONSTRAINED BOND FUND, BMO CAPITAL MARKETS, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, TD SECURITIES, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF MINNEAPOLIS

Taskforce seeks tobacco blitz

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-Aug-17

The Black Economy Taskforce’s chairman Michael Andrew says he plans to urge the Australian Government to clamp down on the illegal tobacco industry. A spokesperson for cigarette and tobacco company Philip Morris estimates that the illegal tobacco industry costs governments almost $A4 billion a year in foregone tobacco excise. The spokesperson adds that greater co-ordination between law enforcement bodies and regulators is needed to tackle the problem.

CORPORATES
PHILIP MORRIS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ATA INTERNATIONAL

Small private health insurers lead in satisfaction and improvement – big funds lag

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Aug-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Teachers Federation Health (85.1%), Health Partners (84.6%) and CBHS (84.1%) were the top three performers among Australia’s fifteen largest private health insurance funds for customer satisfaction in the year to June 2017. These three funds all went against the overall negative satisfaction trend over the last year, with Teachers Federation Health up 2.1%, Health Partners up 1.1% and CBHS up 0.8%. Satisfaction with the two largest funds remain below the smaller players, with BUPA on 70.7% (down 2.8% over the last year) and Medibank Private on 68.4% (down 1.6%). Smaller funds also performed best on customer advocacy, with 73% of Teachers Federation Health members being "highly likely" to recommend their fund to friends or colleagues, followed by Defence Health (71.2%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, TEACHERS FEDERATION HEALTH LIMITED, HEALTH PARTNERS, CBHS FRIENDLY SOCIETY LIMITED, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, DEFENCE HEALTH LIMITED, LATROBE HEALTH SERVICES, TEACHERS’ UNION HEALTH

Is truth the first victim of research automation?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Aug-17

As artificial intelligence gets smarter, automated market research and survey programs are becoming ubiquitous. But is truth the first victim of automation. According to David Autor, an economist at MIT, this kind of automation is best applied to explicit, codifiable procedures where automation vastly exceeds human labour in speed, quality, accuracy and cost efficiency. Tasks that have proved most difficult to automate, he adds, are those that demand flexibility, judgment and common sense. Automated surveys are good at posing the questions and collecting, even organising the answers – that is a rational, codifiable procedure. But what about the analysis of oceans of data? That is where the human traits of flexibility, judgment and common sense come into play. According to the Roy Morgan Research Institute, trust and truth are treasures in a world of disposable, phoney information. The Australian Human Rights Commission trusted Roy Morgan’s human driven processes when it commissioned a study on sexual assault and harassment in Australian universities, while Roy Morgan has been trusted to manage the longitudinal data collection for the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey since 2009.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Business Confidence up in July to 117.0 driven by Agriculture, Construction, Information, Media & Telcos

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Aug-17

Business Confidence in Australia rose 5.2pts (+4.7%) to 117.0 in July, according to the Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. The rise in Business Confidence was driven by strong increases in several industries including Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Construction, and Information, media and telecommunications. Business Confidence increased on the back of rising expectations of the Australian economy, with a majority of businesses now expecting "good times" for the economy in both the short-term – 52.7% (up 5.8ppts) and long-term – 51.2% (up 1.6ppts). Expectations for their own businesses have also increased, with 44.5% (up 5.8ppts) saying the business is "better off" financially than this time last year and 47.4% (up 3ppts) expecting the business to be "better off" financially this time next year. The rise in Business Confidence mirrors a strengthening weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating, which increased by 5.9pts (+5.2%) in the last two weeks of July to 118.4.

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

Fifield to broker media deal with Greens or One Nation

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 7-Aug-17

The Australian Government’s cross-media ownership reform bill is slated to be debated in the Senate on 9 August. The Government is said to be confident of negotiating a deal with either the Greens or One Nation to support the bill. The Greens have previously been opposed to abolition of the "two out of three" rule. However, the party may be prepared to back the bill if there are measures to protect media diversity, which is also a key issue for the Nick Xenophon Team.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)