Author: roymorgansocial

Badgerys airport plan: build, operate and sell

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-May-17

The Australian Government’s May 2017 Budget will include funding for the proposed Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, which is slated to cost between $A5bn and $A6bn. The Government has also signalled that it will seek a buyer for the new airport after it becomes operational. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has emphasised the airport’s contribution to the economy and growth in jobs. Australian-listed Sydney Airport has ruled out developing the airport, citing the high level of risk associated with the project.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, KINGSFORD SMITH AIRPORT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, NBN CO LIMITED

Chevron tax ruling to ‘hit investment’

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 3-May-17

Chevron’s chief financial officer, Patricia Yarrington, has told investors in the US that the oil and gas group may appeal a Federal Court of Australia ruling on the tax status of a $A2.5bn inter-company loan. She warned that the ruling will have implications for international transfer pricing guidelines, while it is likely to impact on future investment in Australia. However, Chevron’s Stephen Green has welcomed the findings of a review which recommended that any changes to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax should not be retrospective.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

ANZ shares pummelled by ‘lower for longer’ outlook

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 3-May-17

The ANZ Bank has posted a 2016-17 interim cash profit of $A3.4bn, which is 23 per cent higher than previously. However, most analysts had expected a half-year profit of between $A3.5bn and $A3.8bn. CEO Shayne Elliott is confident that ANZ can outperform its rivals in terms of profit growth, but he says the low-growth environment means it no longer expects revenue growth to outpace that of rival banks. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $A0.80 per share.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE RESEARCH EQUITIES, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence unchanged ahead of the budget

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-May-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged in the week ending 29 April 2017, rising from 111.2 to 111.3. Consumer confidence is now just below its long-run average. The uptick in confidence was underpinned by some improvement in households’ views towards the economic outlook. After falling sharply the previous week, households’ expectations for economic conditions in the next 12 months rose 2.0%, while expectations for economic conditions over the next five years rose 0.7%. Households’ views towards their finances were mixed: sentiment about current finances rose 2.6%, while views about future finances fell 3.6%.

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

Upbeat RBA signals end to cuts

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 3-May-17

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave official interest rates unchanged on 2 May was widely expected. However, an upbeat outlook for the domestic and global economies has prompted speculation that there will be no more rate cuts in the current monetary policy cycle. RBA governor Philip Lowe noted that the resource sector’s exports are rising while higher commodity prices are resulting in an increase in national income.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Coalition out for big uni savings

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Original article by Tim Dodd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 1-May-17

Education Minister Simon Birmingham will reveal changes to the Federal Government’s policy on higher education on 1 May 2017. The changes, which are understood to include a tightening of the HELP loan system and a moderate increase in student fees, are expected to result in savings of around $A1 billion a year. Birmingham will then have the tough job of trying to persuade the Senate to pass the changes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Rate hikes deferred by slow US growth

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Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 1-May-17

The Federal Reserve is tipped to leave interest rates on hold in May 2017, in the wake of GDP data showing that US economic growth slowed to a three-year low of 0.7 per cent in the March quarter. Some 70 per cent of futures traders expect the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy in June. The Reserve Bank of Australia is also expected to leave rates on hold in May, and Paul Brennan of Citigroup says the central bank’s revised quarterly forecasts are unlikely to be unduly affected by data showing that inflation is within its target range.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, THINKMARKETS, REUTERS HOLDINGS PLC, SOCIETE GENERALE SA

Deficit repair slips even with profit surge: Access

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 1-May-17

Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics is predicting a 2016-17 federal Budget deficit of more than $A38.3 billion, which is $A1.8 billion worse than predicted in the Government’s mid-year forecast. Richardson says that while a rise in company profits will eventually result in improved corporate tax collection, poor wages and jobs growth means that there will not be a comparable rise in personal tax collection. He forecasts that tax revenue will grow by 6.2 per cent in real terms in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

US miner lauds activist campaign against BHP

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 1-May-17

Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves contends that the recent fall in the price of iron ore is in part the fault of BHP Billiton CFO Peter Beaven. He had forecast that the iron ore price would weaken in a speech on 9 March 2017, and the price has been in decline since then. Goncalves has welcomed the activist campaign being waged against BHP by Elliott Associates, while also accusing BHP of over-production of iron ore.

CORPORATES
CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELLIOTT ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, VALE SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ARCONIC INCORPORATED, CASABLANCA CAPITAL LP, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD

Pilbara deluge cuts BHP output

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 1-May-17

The revenue of BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto and Woodside Petroleum was slashed by about $A2.9bn in the March 2017 quarter, due to heavier than usual rainfall in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. BHP has attributed its 11 per cent downturn in iron ore production in the Pilbara to the wet season. Likewise, production at the North West Shelf LNG project was 12.7 per cent lower. Meanwhile, the State Government’s iron ore royalties are likely to have been reduced by about $A170m as a result of the adverse weather conditions.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, AUSTRALIA. BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY