Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ to take lead in state levy fight

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 29-Jun-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott says the South Australian Government’s bank levy is "unfair", as it will apply to bank customers in other states. He warns that the will adversely affect the state’s economy, when the government should be pursuing policies that encourage investment in SA. Elliott held talks with Premier Jay Weatherill and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis on 28 June. Elliott also says the Federal Government’s bank levy is "wrong".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Migrant nation born as Christian heritage fades

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Original article by Rick Morton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 28-Jun-17

Data from the 2016 Census shows that the proportion of Australians who identify as Christian has fallen to 52 per cent. The data also shows that 49.3 per cent of Australians were either born overseas or have at least one parent who was not born in Australia. Meanwhile, a growing number of migrations originate from Asia rather than Europe, with people from India and China accounting for 27 per cent of migrants since 2006. The Census data also indicates that the ageing of the nation’s population is gathering pace, with the number of Australians aged 65+ rising by 57 per cent since 2006.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH AND METHODS

Demand for PM to purge frontbench

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Jun-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to make changes to his frontbench team in late 2017, but some members of the Coalition’s conservative faction want a cabinet reshuffle to be undertaken much sooner. They are pushing for moderates George Brandis and Marise Payne to be dropped from cabinet and replaced with conservatives. The leaking of a speech at a private function by moderate Christopher Pyne provided the impetus for the conservative faction to push for change, with some suggesting that Turnbull’s leadership may at risk if they are not given more representation in cabinet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Melbourne Rare Book Week: For the love of books

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jun-17

The annual Melbourne Rare Book Week will be held from 30 June to 9 July 2017, and features more than 60 free events at libraries, literary societies, historical societies and bookshops throughout Melbourne. Events include lectures, seminars, tours, panel discussions and reading sessions, as well as the Melbourne Rare Book Fair, which will be held at the University of Melbourne’s Wilson Hall from 7-9 July. Admission to all events is free.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE RARE BOOK WEEK

CBA joins peers in raising rates

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 26 : 28-Jun-17

The Commonwealth Bank will increase the interest rates on its owner-occupier and interest-only mortgage loans by 30 basis points. This follows a similar move by its major rivals, while interest rates on principal-and-interest loans for owner-occupiers will be reduced by three basis points. Commonwealth Bank hopes the rate adjustments will prompt more customers to switch from interest-only loans to principal-and-interest loans.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

New chief postie to get half the pay of her predecessor

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 4 : 28-Jun-17

Australia Post’s incoming CEO Christine Holgate will receive a base salary of $A1.375m when she takes the helm in October. She will also be entitled to performance bonuses, although her remuneration will be well below that of current CEO Ahmed Fahour. Holgate’s salary as CEO of Blackmores is around $A3m, and she says the issue of pay had not been raised in her discussions with Australia Post’s board. Chairman John Stanhope says Holgate was the "outstanding candidate" among those considered for the role.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA POST, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COLLINGWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Expansion takes REA into mortgage broking

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 28-Jun-17

Australian-listed REA Group will pay $A67m for an 80 per cent stake in mortgage broker Smartline. REA, which owns the realestate.com.au property listings business, has also established a partnership with National Australia Bank to provide mortgage broking services and realestate.com.au-branded home loans. REA forecasts that the acquisition of Smartline and the alliance with NAB will boost group revenue by $A26m to $A30m in fiscal 2018.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, SMARTLINE HOME LOANS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CHOICE HOME LOANS

Media rules ‘utterly outdated’

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Jun-17

The support of the Greens or One Nation will be crucial to the passage of the Australian Government’s media cross-ownership laws in the Senate, but both parties have concerns about the impact on media diversity. However, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull argues that Google and Facebook are the main competitive threat to local media groups, rather than each other. He notes that the existing media laws pre-date the internet and pay-TV.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Fortescue conveyor belts to lower costs

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 28-Jun-17

The introduction of self-driving haulage trucks has increased productivity at Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon mining hub by about 20 per cent since 2012. The pure-pure iron ore miner has 56 autonomous trucks at Solomon, with plans to convert another 12. Fortescue will also begin converting 100 trucks at its Chichester hub in fiscal 2018. It also intends to undertake a trial of relocatable overland conveyor belt technology at the Cloudbreak mine, which could allow its fleet of haulage trucks to be reduced.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence edges lower again to 111.8 (down 0.6pts)

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jun-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence edged 0.5% lower to 111.8 in the week ended 25 June 2017, down for the second week in a row. The sub-indicators continue to show volatility. Households’ views around current financial conditions were largely unchanged (down 0.2%), while views towards future conditions fell 1.7%, following four consecutive weeks of gains. Households’ confidence in future economic conditions ticked 0.4% lower last week, while expectations of current economic conditions edged 2.4% higher, up for the second consecutive week.

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