Author: roymorgansocial

Fairfax steps up Domain hard sell

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Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 24 : 10-Jul-17

Domain is losing market share to REA Group in some markets, which may make it harder for Fairfax Media directors to convince shareholders to back a proposed demerger of the property listings business. Demergers also have a chequered history in Australia. Analysis by Credit Suisse in 2015 shows that spin-offs generally perform well in their first six months as a separately-listed company, while there is typically no significant benefit for shareholders of the parent company during this period.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TRADE ME GROUP LIMITED – ASX TME, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, ADSHEL PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, PAPERLINX LIMITED – ASX PPX, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, RINKER GROUP LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD

Coca-Cola Amatil loses Domino’s contract to Pepsi

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 7-Jul-17

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises says customer testing prompted it to replace Coca-Cola Amatil as its beverages supplier in Australia. Pepsi/Schweppes won the tender to supply soft drinks and bottled water. Michael Simotas of Deutsche Bank says Domino’s may be seeking to offset its move to start paying penalty rates, as Pepsi drinks tend to cost less than those of CCA. Woolworths recently advised that its supermarkets will not stock CCA’s latest sugar-free Coca-Cola product, on the grounds that consumers already have sufficient choice.

CORPORATES
DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, PEPSICO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SCHWEPPES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HUNGRY JACK’S PTY LTD, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SUBWAY SANDWICHES PTY LTD, RED ROOSTER FOODS, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NEXBA BEVERAGES PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

NAB acts to reduce riskiest lending

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 22 : 7-Jul-17

National Australia Bank will begin assessing the ability of interest-only mortgage borrowers to repay their loan when deciding whether to approve such applications. NAB already takes into account a customer’s loan-to-income ratio when assessing all loan applications, but it will reject applications from people with high loan-to-income ratios from 8 July. The major banks have increased the interest rates on interest-only loans in recent months.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, ING DIRECT

I was stooge for AWU: Blewitt

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Original article by Paige Taylor
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Jul-17

Former Australian Workers’ Union official Ralph Blewitt has appeared in the Perth Magistrate’s Court to face 31 charges of fraud. The charges relate to his alleged involvement with the AWU Workplace Reform Association in the 1990s. The Association was set up by then AWU senior official Bruce Wilson, who received legal advice from former prime minister Julia Gillard on its establishment. Blewitt said after his court appearance that the charges relate to monies of over $A300,000 linked to the fund. He claims that he was just the fund’s "bagman", and that he was set up to be the "fall guy".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, PERTH MAGISTRATE’S COURT, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION – WORKPLACE REFORM ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH

BHP chair under pressure to demerge oil assets

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 7-Jul-17

Paul Gait of Bernstein notes that BHP Billiton has underperformed since it spun off South32, and he says demerging its petroleum division would boost the value of its core mining business. Meanwhile, Paul Young of Deutsche Bank says BHP should revise its strategy under incoming chairman Ken MacKenzie, including putting a limit on capital expenditure and setting productivity targets for its iron ore and coking coal operations. Shares in BHP have shed 1.5 per cent so far in 2017, while Rio Tinto has gained 7.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BERNSTEIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Global bull market still charging ahead

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Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 7-Jul-17

Sentiment among Wall Street’s sell-side equity analysts rose by 2.4 per cent to a five-year high of 56.4 in June 2017, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Australian fund managers are also upbeat about the outlook for shares. AMP’s Shane Oliver notes that the long-running global bull market is unlikely to be affected when major central banks begin to increase interest rates. Citigroup also believes that the bull run will continue, with just two of its 18 risk indicators pointing to a bear market in the near-term.

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AMP LIFE LIMITED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

House prices face turning point: HSBC

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Jul-17

HSBC expects house prices in Sydney to rise by between 14 and 16 per cent in 2017, while apartment prices will rise by between 10 and 12 per cent. Growth in house and apartment prices is expected to moderate in 2018. HSBC’s forecasts for Melbourne are similar to Sydney for house prices, but it is predicting that apartment prices in Melbourne could fall by as much as three per cent in 2017 and by up to four per cent in 2018. Nationally, HSBC expects house prices to rise by between eight and 10 per cent in 2017, before rising by between three and six per cent in 2018.

CORPORATES
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

PM: our economy up with the best

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 8 : 7-Jul-17

The Australian Government expects real GDP growth of three per cent in 2018, according to documents on its economic agenda that have been submitted to the Group of 20 leaders’ summit. The document makes mention of the Government’s education package, but omits any reference to its bank levy. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said prior to leaving for Germany to attend the summit that energy policy, combatting terrorism and economic reform ae among the topics he is hoping to see discussed at the meeting.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

Disgruntled Libs line up to hear Bernardi

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-Jul-17

Peter Wells, the former secretary of the Liberal Party’s Roseville branch, is keen for Liberal defector Cory Bernardi to speak to its members on the issue of "Is the Party Over?". Wells, who says he is disenchanted with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and does not to intend to renew his membership of the party, contends that Turnbull’s government has undermined many traditional conservative values. The policies to which Wells objects include the bank tax and the schools funding package.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Iron ore dive hits revenue expectations

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 7-Jul-17

Australia’s revenue from resource and energy exports will peak at $A205bn in 2016-17, according to revised forecasts from the Department of Industry, Innovation & ­Science. This is 4.6 per cent lower than it had forecast earlier in 2017, and the new forecast takes into account a sharp fall in the iron ore price in recent months. The department is bearish about the outlook for the steel input, forecasting that the benchmark price will fall to $US48 per tonne in 2018 and $US47 in 2019. It also anticipates a fall in the price of coking coal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS