Author: roymorgansocial

Australian Inflation Expectations up to 4.3% in July

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Aug-17

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.3% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for July 2017. This is up 0.1% in a month, and inflation expectations are up 0.2% from a year ago in July 2016. However, despite the recent uptick, Australian inflation expectations remain well below average inflation expectations over the last seven years of 5.1%. Analysis by State shows that inflation expectations are highest in South Australia at 4.6%, closely followed by New South Wales and Victoria, both at 4.5%. Inflation expectations in Australia’s other States were below the national average: Queensland and Tasmania both at 4.1% and Western Australia at 3.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Accuracy doubt on uni rape research

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 6 : 3-Aug-17

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins says Roy Morgan Research has confirmed that the results of a survey on sexual assault at Australian universities are statistically valid. Roy Morgan undertook the survey on behalf of the Australian Human Rights Commission. Jenkins adds that an independent expert has reviewed the survey methodology and data. The survey found that 1.6 per cent of respondents had been sexually assaulted at university and 26 per cent had been sexually harassed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION COMMISSION, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Labor to re-arm unions in inequality fightback

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Aug-17

The Opposition’s industrial relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor has flagged a greater role for unions in enterprise agreement negotiations if the Australian Labor Party wins the next federal election. He has used a Sydney Institute speech to argue that employers now have too much bargaining power in wage negotiations, and noted that there has been a marked shift toward industrial award at the expense of collective agreements since 2008. He also questioned the effectiveness of the Fair Work Act and whether the Fair Work Commission’s powers are sufficient.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, SYDNEY INSTITUTE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Cut power prices or ‘firms will go bust’

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Aug-17

Glencore executive Peter Freyberg has called for a national energy policy that exempts heavy industry from carbon emission targets. He has warned that government intervention is needed to ensure that the rising cost of electricity does not make such industries economically unviable in Australia. Amongst other things, Freyberg says federal and state renewable energy targets should be scrapped, while he has questioned whether a clean energy target – as recommended by the Finkel review – would be sufficient to combat climate change without other measures.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, RHEEM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Nation ‘more equal than the 70s’

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Aug-17

The Melbourne Institute’s Roger Wilkins has disputed claims by Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten than inequality in Australia is at its highest level in 75 years. Professor Wilkins is the author of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) study, which found that average living standards across all income groups have increased since the annual survey began in 2001. He suggests that equality in Australia is now higher than it was four decades ago.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Noble Group to challenge Yancoal raising

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 3-Aug-17

Glencore will buy $US300m worth of shares in Yancoal Australia via the latter’s $US2.5bn ($A3.1bn) equity raising, which will be used to finance its acquisition of Rio Tinto’s coal assets in the Hunter Valley. However, Noble Group claims that the capital raising will "oppress" minority shareholders such as itself, with their stakes to be diluted as a result of the new capital. Yancoal estimates that acquiring the Rio Tinto assets will generate synergies of $A120m to $A145m.

CORPORATES
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, GLENCORE PLC, NOBLE GROUP LIMITED, SENRIGAN CAPITAL GROUP LIMITED, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED, YANZHOU COAL MINING COMPANY LIMITED, SHANDONG TAIZHON ENERGY COMPANY, GENERAL NICE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED, CINDA ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, SHANDONG LUCION INVESTMENT HOLDINGS GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Hanson warms to media reform

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 3-Aug-17

Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh says Amazon’s deal to acquire the exclusive British rights to ATP tour tennis rights demonstrates the need for Australia’s anti-siphoning laws to be reviewed. The Federal Government intends to reduce the number of sports events on the list as part of its broader media reform package. Meanwhile, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has signalled that the party may be open to supporting the reforms if the Government agrees to address its concerns about the package.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, SKY PLC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Labor tax hike on trusts ‘risks hurting economy’

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Original article by Adam Creighton, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Aug-17

Former Commonwealth Bank chairman John Ralph says the Federal Opposition’s proposal to impose a tax rate of 30 per cent on the distributions of discretionar­y trusts appears to be aimed at increasing tax revenue. Ralph, who headed a business tax review in 1999, adds that taxing trusts at the same rate as companies could merely prompt growth in the use of alternative structures to reduce tax liability. He also says the measures – which Opposition Leader Bill Shorten claims are aimed at addressing the issue of inequality – will have an adverse effect on economic growth and Australia’s competitiveness.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Domain launches ad blitz using phrase rival REA tried to ban

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 3-Aug-17

Fairfax Media’s Domain property listings business will launch a cross-platform advertising campaign promoting itself as "Australia’s #1 Property App". Domain first used the tagline in early 2016, but rival REA Group challenged this claim in court. The Federal Court upheld REA’s complaint about two of Domain’s ads, ruling that they included false or misleading representations. However, the court ruled that Domain was entitled to claim in ads that it has the nation’s leading property app.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, DDB SYDNEY PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN

Rio hands out China bonanza

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Original article by James Thomson, Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 22 : 3-Aug-17

Rio Tinto has posted a 2017 interim net profit of $US3.3bn, which is 93 per cent higher than previously, while underlying earnings rose by 152 per cent to $US3.9bn ($A4.9bn). The strong result was driven by its iron ore division, whose earnings rose by 87 per cent to $US3.3bn. Shareholders will receive a record interim dividend of $US1.10 a share, compared with just $US0.45 for the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques is upbeat about the outlook for the Chinese economy.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BARCLAYS BANK PLC