Author: roymorgansocial

Calls for McGrath to resign

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann, Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 23 : 5-Jun-17

Former Australian Press Council chairman David Flint says GetUp’s deputy chair Carla McGrath should never have been considered for a position on the APC board. He adds that the media cannot have confidence in the APC and its judgments if there are any concerns about political conflicts of interest. Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance CEO Paul Murphy and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield have also questioned McGrath’s appointment, while more News Corp newspapers intend to boycott APC rulings in which McGrath participates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, NEW MATILDA PTY LTD

Trump pulls out of Paris climate deal

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: Online : 2-Jun-17

President Donald Trump has confirmed that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, although he is open to negotiating more favourable terms. Trump has stated that the climate accord in its current form is "very unfair" to the US and represents a "massive redistribution" of wealth from the US to other countries. He also said that the climate accord would have resulted in the loss of around 2.7 million US jobs by 2025. The US would have been required to reduce its carbon emissions by 26-28 per cent from 2005 levels by this date.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE

Whyalla steel mill rescue a step closer

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 2-Jun-17

Administrator KordaMentha hopes to finalise the sale of steel producer and iron ore miner Arrium by the end of June. The two final bidders, GFG Alliance and a consortium headed by private equity firm Newlake Alliance, will seek approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board. GFG comprises Liberty House and SIMEC, which are controlled by British businessman Sanjeev Gupta. Arrium collapsed in April 2016 with debts of $A4bn.

CORPORATES
ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, GFG ALLIANCE, LIBERTY HOUSE GROUP, SIMEC GROUP LIMITED, NEWLAKE ALLIANCE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, POSCO, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Wesfarmers faces hit from Amazon

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 2-Jun-17

Morgan Stanley forecasts that Amazon’s entry to the Australian market could slash Wesfarmers’ earnings by more than $A400m a year by 2026. The firm expects the Kmart and Target discount department stores to be more vulnerable than specialist retailers such as JB Hi-Fi. Morgan Stanley has reduced its valuation for Kmart and Bunnings, while it now has a zero valuation on Target. It share price target for Wesfarmers has been downgraded from $A41 to $A36.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS

ExxonMobil shareholders rebel on climate costs

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Original article by Steven Mufson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 2-Jun-17

ExxonMobil shareholders have voted in favour of a motion that requires the oil and gas company to disclose the impact that measures aimed at addressing climate change are having on its business model. Thomas Napoli, of the New York Common Retirement Fund, which co-sponsored the motion, says that climate change is one of the biggest "long-term risks" to investments within its portfolio. BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors are both understood to have voted in favour of the motion. Originally published in "The Washington Post".

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, NEW YORK COMMON RETIREMENT FUND, BLACKROCK INCORPORATED, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS INCORPORATED, THE VANGUARD GROUP INCORPORATED, BP PLC, TOTAL SA, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Offshore bank investors fret over housing: Elliott

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 2-Jun-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott says UK investors with stakes in Australian banks are worried that recent regulatory changes to housing policy in Australia may lead to a market correction. Elliott, who was speaking at a G100 conference in Sydney, also said that comments by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison that Australia’s large banks are "an oligopoly" were unhelpful, noting that there are other sectors in Australia that are just as concentrated as banking.

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

Trump’s eyes on Alaskan riches

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Original article by Jim Carlton
The Australian – Page: 31 : 2-Jun-17

ConocoPhillips and other oil companies have welcomed a move by US President Donald Trump to undertake a review of exploration and production in protected areas of Alaska. The Trump administration has commissioned new geological assessments of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve and part of a wildlife refuge, although it will face opposition from environmentalists. Originally published in "The Wall Street Journal".

CORPORATES
CONOCOPHILLIPS, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE INTERIOR, ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE

Older Australians are using more drugs while more teens just say ‘no’

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Original article by Rachael Eddie
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Jun-17

The 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey has revealed a two per cent increase in the number of Australians over the age of 40 using illicit drugs since 2013. The survey was undertaken by Roy Morgan Research on behalf of the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare. Julie Rae from the Australian Drug Foundation suggests thar the need to cope with stress could be one of the reasons for the increase. The survey also found that 98 per cent of teenagers have never smoked, up from 95 per cent in 2013, while the percentage of all Australians who have never smoked rose from 60 per cent in 2013 to 62 per cent in 2016.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN DRUG FOUNDATION, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND WELFARE

Oz will boycott decisions of ‘political stack’

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 2-Jun-17

The media sector has expressed concern that the appointment of Getup’s Carla McGrath to the board of the Australian Press Council could lead to a conflict of interests. McGrath is the deputy chair of the activist group, which has traditionally adopted a left-wing position when campaigning on issues such as mining, immigration and climate change. Paul Whittaker, the editor-in-chief of "The Australian", says the newspaper will boycott any rulings of the APC in which McGrath participates, given GetUp’s hostility toward News Corp Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD

Giant $8 billion offshore Victoria wind farm studied

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 2-Jun-17

Offshore Energy has been formed to examine the feasiblity of constructing a large wind farm off the Gippsland coast in Victoria. Andy Evans and Terry Kallis, the men behind Offshore Energy, believe that wind conditions off Gippsland are similar to those off Denmark, which is regarded as the world leader in offshore wind farms. The $A8 billion wind farm they are contemplating would take around 10 years to build, and would have the capacity to generate enough power for 1.2 million homes.

CORPORATES
OFFSHORE ENERGY PTY LTD, ACCIONA SA, ELECTRANET SA, PETRATHERM LIMITED – ASX PTR, WSP ENVIRONMENTAL PTY LTD, PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION