Author: roymorgansocial

Fund urges BHP board overhaul

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 14 : 5-May-17

The Tribeca Global Natural Resources Fund has outlined a four-point plan for BHP Billiton. Tribeca says BHP should use the retirement of chairman Jac Nasser to pursue boardroom renewal. It argues that the current board has overseen the loss of some $US30bn of shareholder wealth, adding that this could have topped $US80bn if more mergers and acquisitions had gone ahead. Tribeca favours retention of BHP’s dual listing, although it supports Elliott Associates’ proposal for BHP to offload its US onshore petroleum assets.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, TRIBECA GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCES FUND, ELLIOTT ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD

NAB downplays ‘inevitable’ AAA rating loss

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 23 : 5-May-17

National Australia Bank has conceded that the loss of Australia’s coveted triple-A credit rating would result in a corresponding downgrade of the bank’s credit rating. However, group treasurer Shaun Dooley says this would have no impact on the bank’s domestic funding costs, while the cost of international funding would rise by about 10 basis points. Dooley adds that international investors have indicated that they would continue to invest in Australian banks if the nation’s credit rating were downgraded.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ACCC concerned about oOh!media merger plan

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 5-May-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is scheduled to make a final decision on the proposed merger between oOh!media and APN Outdoor on 6 July. However, the ACCC’s statement of issues indicates that the regulator has concerns that the $A1.6bn deal would reduce competition in the out-of-home advertising sector. ACCC chairman Rod Simms notes that the combined entity would control more than 50 per cent of this market.

CORPORATES
OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN

Journalist cuts ‘will help drive Fairfax profits’

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Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-May-17

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood says back-office functions rather the editorial department have borne the brunt of its cost-cutting over the last five years. Hywood also says the latest round of redundancies will be the last, and he argues that Fairfax’s newspapers must be both profitable and sustainable in the long-term. Fairfax journalists hope that shareholders and advertisers will support their seven-day strike in response to the latest downsizing, which will result in the loss of 125 newsroom jobs.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Bumps in the road: no straightforward path to 6000

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 5-May-17

The S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated below the 5,900-point level on 4 May 2017, after closing within sight of 6,000 points earlier in the week. The consensus of market analysts is that it will rise to around 6,000 in the next year, while Bloomberg’s consensus target has been increased to 6,026.8 points. However, the local sharemarket faces a number of headwinds, including the prospect of interest rate rises in both Australia and the US at some point, while Tim Baker of Deutsche Bank anticipates an eventual correction of five per cent of more.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BLOOMBERG LP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE VOLATILITY INDEX, PACT GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX PGH, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, APA GROUP – ASX APA, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, ECLIPX GROUP LIMITED – ASX ECX, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC

Coffee Club franchisee accused of 457 visa rorts

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-May-17

The Fair Work Ombudsman is prosecuting a cafe franchisee for exploiting a foreign employee who was recruited on a 457 visa. Saandeep Chokhani, a Brisbane-based Coffee Club franchisee, has been accused of underpaying the 457 visa holder. It has also been alleged that Chokhani told the employee that his visa would be cancelled if he did not repay some $A18,000 of his wages. A cafe was fined more than $A530,000 earlier in 2017 for exploiting 457 visa holders via a cashback arrangement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, THE COFFEE CLUB PTY LTD, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fairfax journos strike as one in four jobs cut

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Original article by Stephen Brook, Mitchell Bingemann, Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 6 : 4-May-17

A Fairfax Media spokesman says the print and digital editions of "The Age" and "The Sydney Morning Herald" will continue to be produced during industrial action. Fairfax journalists have commenced a seven-day strike in response to Fairfax’s measures to reduce costs by an additional $A30m. This will include a downsizing of its newsroom staff, initially via voluntary redundancies. Some 125 jobs will be cut, which equates to about 25 per cent of Fairfax’s journalists.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

LVR loans aren’t bad: Genworth

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 4-May-17

Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia has posted a statutory net profit of $A52.2m for the March 2017 quarter, down from $A67.3m for the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, CEO Georgette Nicholas notes that mortgages with high loan-to-value ratios can be appropriate, provided there is sufficient oversight. Nicholas adds that loans with high LVRs are often essential for first-home buyers, and she warns that a crackdown on such loans may prompt people to seek higher-risk loans.

CORPORATES
GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Housing prices to drop 7pc, bank says

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Original article by Elizabeth Redman, Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-May-17

Data from REA Group shows that housing demand in New South Wales declined by 7.8 per cent month-on-month in April 2017, while demand among house buyers in Victoria fell 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, Citigroup has forecast that residential property prices could fall by up to seven per cent in 2018, with apartment prices in Melbourne and Sydney regarded as the most vulnerable to a correction. However, the investment bank adds that any downturn in the property market is unlikely to impact on the broader economy.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP

Budget to quell Labor’s Mediscare

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 4-May-17

The Australian Government’s May 2017 Budget will include a reduction in the cost of generic drugs under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The freeze on Medicare rebates will also be progressively abolished from the start of 2017-18. This will initially apply primarily to visits to GPs, and the freeze on rebates for visits to a range of specialists will be phased out over the following two years. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten argues that the freeze should be lifted immediately for all medical services.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE