Author: roymorgansocial

Online GST reprieve till next year

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Jun-17

The application of the goods and services tax to imported goods that cost less than $A1,000 has been delayed by 12 months, and will now take effect as from 1 July 2018. The measure has been welcomed by Australian retailers such as Harvey Norman, but slammed by online retail providers such as EBay and Amazon, which have threatened to prevent Australian consumers from using their portals if they were compelled to collect the GST.

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, EBAY INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ETSY INCORPORATED, ALIBABA.COM CORPORATION, DHL CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Work expense claims crackdown looms as ATO eyes rorts

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Jun-17

Richard Highfield, who provides guidance to the Australian Taxation Office on "revenue leakage" issues, suggests that tax deduction rorting could be costing the Federal Government up to $A1.2 billion per annum. He says that deductions on car expenses is the biggest cause of concern for the ATO and Treasury, while ATO commissioner Chris Jordan noted in April 2017 that excessive claims for work expenses is a bigger loss of revenue than tax evasion by multinationals. Taxpayers claimed $A21.8 billion in work-related deductions in 2014-15.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Campaign Monitor rocked by upheaval

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Original article by John McDuling
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Jun-17

Alex Bard has resigned as CEO of email marketing services provider Campaign Monitor. He joined Campaign Monitor in 2014. The company, which is valued at $A600 million, has over two million customers. Bard has indicated that he plans to seek a career in venture capital. Meanwhile, it is understood that Campaign Monitor founders Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson stepped aside from their day-to-day involvement in the company some months ago.

CORPORATES
CAMPAIGN MONITOR PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, ADIDAS-SALOMON AG, VICE MEDIA INCORPORATED, MAILCHIMP, EXACTTARGET PTY LTD, SALESFORCE, INSIGHT VENTURE PARTNERS, ACCEL PARTNERS, DILIGENT CORPORATION, DIGITAL ROOM, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Jungle king tears into groceries

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Original article by John McDuling
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 19-Jun-17

Robert Luciano of VGI Partners says Australian retailers should be concerned by Amazon’s purchase of grocery retailer Whole Foods. Amazon announced on 16 June 2017 that it will acquire the US grocery retailer for $US13.7 billion ($A18 billion), and that Whole Foods will continue to trade under its current name. Luciano suggests that the purchase represents a major evolvement in Amazon’s business model. Amazon is due to commence operating in Australia in 2018, and it is expected to have a major impact on the earnings of local retailers.

CORPORATES
VGI PARTNERS PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, WHOLE FOODS MARKET INCORPORATED, SOUQ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AMAZON WEB SERVICES LLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Formal bids for Fairfax due in next fortnight with Domain the target

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Jun-17

Hellman & Friedman and TPG Capital may seek more time to undertake due diligence on Fairfax Media, although they may submit formal bids by the end of June. Fairfax has also advised that businessmen John Singleton and Mark Carnegie have expressed interest in acquiring its controlling stake in radio stations owner Macquarie Media. They had previously made an approach to buy Fairfax’s radio assets in 2012.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, TPG CAPITAL LP, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Construction watchdog ‘is misleading bosses’

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Jun-17

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union may take legal action against the Australian Building & Construction Commission over alleged misinformation on its website. Dave Noonan, the national secretary of the CFMEU’s construction division, claims that the alleged inaccuracies on the ABCC’s website cover issues such as the rights of union officials to enter worksites and the investigations of alleged breaches of workplace laws.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Glencore chief pitches Hunter Valley plan to Rio Tinto bosses

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Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Jun-17

Rio Tinto will shortly decide which of two rival bids for its Hunter Valley coal assets it will support. Glencore has offered $US2.55bn ($A3.35bn) for the Coal & Allied assets, compared with a $US2.45bn offer from China-backed Yancoal. A team of Glencore executives led by global CEO Peter Freyberg held talks with Rio Tinto executives on the weekend of 17-18 June regarding the bid. Glencore expects significant synergies by combining the Rio assets with its existing coal mines in the Hunter Valley.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED, YANZHOU COAL MINING COMPANY LIMITED, PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES LIMITED

Telstra to maintain Foxtel content

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 19-Jun-17

Some 748,000 Telstra customers now subscribe to Foxtel via the telco, and 75 per cent of its media revenue is generated by reselling the pay-TV service. Telstra chairman John Mullen says the telco is "very committed" to Foxtel, in which it has a 50 per cent stake, and he has stressed the importance of having access to Foxtel content. Meanwhile, Foxtel is set to directly compete with Telstra TV with the looming launch of a rival "puck" video streaming device.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, ROKU INCORPORATED

Time running out for tax-loss selling

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 19-Jun-17

Katana Asset Management’s Romano Sala Tenna notes that Australian investors traditionally engaged in tax-loss selling in the final week of June. However, he says investors are increasingly selling underperforming stocks well before the end of the financial year. Quantitative analysis shows that stock which experience a sharp sell-off in May and June typically rebound over the first few months of the new fiscal year. Stocks that have been subject to tax-loss selling in 2017 include Mayne Pharma, APN Outdoor Group and Harvey Norman.

CORPORATES
KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

KordaMentha’s Ten role raises conflict issues

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 18 : 19-Jun-17

The appointment of Korda­Mentha as administrator of Ten Network is under scrutiny, as the insolvency firm has been acting as an adviser to the free-to-air broadcaster since early 2017. This may breach rules which prohibit an insolvency practitioner from becoming administrator to a company they have had a professional relationship with in the previous two years. The issue is expected to be examined by the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN RESTRUCTURING INSOLVENCY AND TURNAROUND ASSOCIATION, CBS CORPORATION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA