Author: roymorgansocial

Big four banks improve satisfaction while smaller banks decline

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Aug-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that the customer satisfaction rating of Australia’s four major banks was 79.8% in the six months to June 2017, compared with 79.5% in the six months to June 2016. The combined satisfaction rating of all other banks declined by 0.9% points to 84.8% over this period. For more than a decade the big four banks have been gradually closing the gap on the lead held by the other banks. In 2005, the overall satisfaction level of the smaller banks was 77.7%, a lead of 11.1% points over the big four (66.6%), but it is now reduced to 5.0%. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank continues to have the highest customer satisfaction rating among the big four banks (81.0%), ahead of National Australia Bank (79.8%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK LIMITED, HERITAGE BANK LIMITED, BEYOND BANK AUSTRALIA

Customer satisfaction ticks up for big four

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 31-Jul-17

Teachers Mutual Bank enjoys the highest level of customer satisfaction among all Australian banks, according to Roy Morgan Research’s latest survey of the sector. It is followed by Heritage Bank and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, while Teachers Mutual Bank’s customers are most likely to recommend it to a friend. The Commonwealth Bank is the most highly rated of the big four banks in terms of customer satisfaction, followed by National Australia Bank. Collectively, customers of the big four banks are slightly more satisfied with them than they were a year ago, while customer satisfaction with other banks has fallen by 0.9 per cent.

CORPORATES
TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK LIMITED, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, HERITAGE BANK LIMITED, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Lone Star joins pack tuning into Ten

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 31-Jul-17

About nine potential buyers of the Ten Network have obtained an information memorandum and signed a non-disclosure agreement. They are believed to include US private equity firm Lone Star Funds, which boasts some $US70bn ($A87.7bn) worth of assets under management. Oaktree Capital Management, hedge fund Anchorage Capital and CBS Corporation have also expressed interest in buying Ten. Indicative bids for the failed network must be submitted by late August.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, LONE STAR FUNDS, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, CBS CORPORATION, FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP LLC, ASTRO JAPAN PROPERTY GROUP – ASX AJA, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, PPB ADVISORY, MOELIS AND COMPANY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Calls to rein in ABC and SBS

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 31-Jul-17

Media industry executives have expressed concern that the ABC and SBS are increasingly competing directly with commercial rivals for content and viewers, and urged the Federal Government to step in to ensure that the public broadcasters adhere to their charters. Criticisms of the ABC and SBS include the fact that they are not subject to the same media regulations as their commercial rivals and that SBS is using taxpayers’ funds to outbid commercial networks for US content.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, MELBOURNE PRESS CLUB

Mortgage stress growing: ME Bank

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 31-Jul-17

Almost 50 per cent of Australian mortgage holders are spending more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on repayments, according to a survey by ME Bank. It also found that borrowers are less confident than they were six months ago about their ability to meet minimum mortgage repayments, with investors more pessimistic than owner-occupiers. Similarly, borrowers are less confident than when previously surveyed about their ability to repay more than the minimum amount on their mortgage.

CORPORATES
ME BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Where are the Biggest Mortgages in Australia?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Jul-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Australians have one trillion dollars in mortgage debt overall. This equates to a median outstanding mortgage of $228,800 for every owner-occupier mortgage holder. The survey, which was carried out in the six months to April 2017, also shows that Sydney has the highest outstanding mortgages, with a median home loan outstanding balance of $293,000 (up 9.4% in a year). This is followed by Perth with $279,000 (up 2.4%) and Melbourne with $243,000 (up 1.6%). Country areas in all states have lower average outstanding amounts than their capitals, with Queensland Country having the highest ($224,000).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

China pullback won’t dent local M&A

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 31-Jul-17

Data from Dealogic shows that $US40.7bn ($A50.9bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions involving Australian companies have been announced so far in 2017. Minter Ellison partner Alberto Colla expects Japanese corporate raiders to continue to target local companies following a number of deals over the last 18 months. The law firm anticipates that US and Canadian companies will also be key drivers of M&A activity in Australia, particularly if Chinese deal-making is affected by China’s new regulations on financial outflows.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MINTER ELLISON, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, BRADKEN LIMITED, HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY LIMITED, ASG GROUP LIMITED, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED – ASX PRG, PERSOL, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, CORNERSTONE RESEARCH GROUP, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, QUINDELL PLC, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM

Rising job insecurity myth busted

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-17

Analysis of labour market data survey suggests that despite unions’ claims to the contrary, job security in Australia seems to be improving. The analysis by the University of Melbourne’s Jeff Borland shows that the proportion of women in particular who have had the same job for more than 10 years has increased since 1982. Meanwhile, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey data shows that the proportion of workers who are employed via labour hire firms fell from 3.1 per cent to 2.2 per cent between 2001 and 2015.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Chevron on the cusp of starting up Wheatstone

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 31-Jul-17

Chevron has advised that the first production train at the Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia is in the final stages of commissioning, and production is expected to begin in August 2017. Chevron’s Jay Johnson adds that the second production train is slated to become operational about 6-8 months later. He also says some efficiency improvements are likely when the second train begins production, as was Chevron’s experience at the Gorgon LNG project.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, APACHE CORPORATION

Terror cell ‘planned gas attack’

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Original article by Paul Maley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 31-Jul-17

Security has been boosted at Australian airports following the arrest of four men in Sydney on 30 July 2017. The four men, who are believed to be related, are suspected of plotting to bring down an aircraft by setting off a device that would have filled the plane with poisonous gas. It is understood that the arrests followed the receipt of information from a foreign intelligence service, and that the suspects were being assisted by Islamic State terrorists in Syria.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE