Author: roymorgansocial

Melbourne Rare Book Fair 2017

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

The 45th ANZAAB Australian Antiquarian Book Fair will be held at the University of Melbourne’s Wilson Hall from 7-9 July 2017. The event is part of the annual Melbourne Rare Book Week, and a range of early printed books, maps, prints, literature, art, militaria and other items will be exhibited and offered for sale by leading Australian and international antiquarian booksellers. Entry to the Melbourne Rare Book Fair is free.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE RARE BOOK FAIR, AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Licence fee win boosts TV, radio

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Jun-17

Free TV chairman Harold Mitchell and Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner have welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to waive broadcasting licence fees for the 2016-17 financial year. The Government proposes to permanently replace broadcasting licence fees with a spectrum charge as part of its media cross-ownership reforms. Shares in listed media companies rallied after the one-off waiver was announced. It is expected to save broadcasters about $A127m.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMERCIAL RADIO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Fortescue confident of even more cost cutting

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 29-Jun-17

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group aims to achieve a "C1" unit cost of production of between $US12 and $US13 per tonne in 2016-17, compared with $U50/tonne several years ago. Greg Lilleyman, Fortescue’s director of operations, is confident that the company can further reduce its costs. While he acknowledges that it will be hard to match its recent cost performance in coming years, he says there are still opportunities for more cost savings. Lilleyman also expects the price discount of lower-grade iron compared with the benchmark price to narrow.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

News praises ‘game-changing’ Google fine

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Jun-17

The European Commission’s anti-trust ruling against search engine giant Google has been welcomed by News Corporation. The media company hopes further action will be taken to address Google’s "shameless abuse" of its market power in the search category. Google has been ordered to pay a fine of EUR2.42bn ($A3.5bn) and take remedial action within 90 days to end the practice of giving priority to Google Shopping in search results. News Corp has also criticised Google for facilitating the dissemination of so-called fake news and "commodifying content".

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, EUROPEAN CONSUMER ORGANISATION, TRIPADVISOR LLC, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED

Geelong jobless disaster

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Original article by Harrison Tippett
Geelong Advertiser – Page: 9 : 29-Jun-17

Data from Roy Morgan Research shows that the underemployment rate in Geelong is 8.5 per cent, while 17 per cent of people in the Victorian regional city are either unemployed or seeking more work. Roy Morgan executive chairman Gary Morgan says underemployment is the biggest problem facing Australia, and failure to take action will see the Australian dollar slump and the economy go into recession. Meanwhile, Geelong Trades Hall secretary Colin Vernon says the increase in underemployment could result in workers being exploited.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, GEELONG TRADES HALL, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Flower power: state blocks iron ore projects

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 27 : 29-Jun-17

Minerals Resources remains hopeful that its J5-Bungalbin East iron ore project will be approved by Western Australia’s Environment Minster, Stephen Dawson. The state’s Environmental Protection Authority has recommended that both J5-Bungalbin East and Sinosteel’s Blue Hills project should be blocked, citing their likely impact on rare wildflowers and microscopic subterranean prawns. The Wilderness Society notes that the EPA has ruled against the projects twice in the last two years.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, SINOSTEEL CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION, THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY WA INCORPORATED, THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

News Corp takes majority stake in major mortgage broker

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jun-17

News Corp-controlled REA Group is taking an 80.3% stake in a major mortgage broker, Smartline. Roy Morgan Research data shows that Smartline is the number three player behind Mortgage Choice and Aussie. In addition, it has a different customer profile than the two majors, giving it a unique and strong market positioning. Currently, 30.1 % of mortgage holders in Australia (2.04 million) source their mortgage through a mortgage broker, well up on the 22.9% (1.39 million) recorded a decade ago. Among those who took out their mortgage in the last 12 months, 40% used a mortgage broker. Meanwhile, 88.9% of Smartline customers do one or more banking and finance activities online in an average four-week period, well above the mortgage broker customer average of 77.3%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, SMARTLINE HOME LOANS PTY LTD, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Morrison’s GST threat to boost gas

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Original article by David Uren, Andrew Burrell, Matt Condon, Emily Ritchie
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Jun-17

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Productivity Commission’s review of the formula for distributing goods and services tax revenue will take into account state-based bans and restrictions on gas exploration. He says it is not fair that states which are open to gas exploration and production receive a lower share of GST revenue than those which ban exploration. The Federal Government has argued that restrictions on gas exploration in some states and territories is contributing to the shortage of gas for domestic consumption.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Do you want a rise with that

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Original article by Lanai Scarr
The Advertiser – Page: 25 : 29-Jun-17

Modelling by the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry shows that the take-home pay of most workers in sectors such as retailing and hospitality will increase from 1 July, when Sunday penalty rates are reduced. The lower penalty rates – to be progressively phased in over three years – will be offset by a 3.3 per cent increase in the award wage rate, which also takes effect on 1 July. ACCI CEO James Pearson has urged unions to end their "deliberate" campaign of misinformation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Boral risks ban after ‘no’ code vote

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 29-Jun-17

Two-thirds of De Martin & Gasparini (DMG) employees have rejected a new enterprise bargaining agreement for the Boral subsidiary. The EBA has been revised to ensure compliance with the Federal Government’s new building code, and it removes a number of provisions that would not comply with the code. Companies with non-compliant codes may be ineligible to tender for federally-funded construction projects, and the outcome of the secret ballot at DMG may have implications for the broader Boral business.

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT