Author: roymorgansocial

Active fundies struggle as passive index huggers deliver

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Apr-17

Data from S&P Dow Jones Indices shows that more than 75 per cent of Australia’s actively-managed large-cap equity funds failed to match the performance of their benchmark index in 2016. Independent Asset Management and Hyperion Asset Management are among the active fund managers to have underperformed in recent years, as investors have increasingly embraced passively-managed index funds.

CORPORATES
S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLP, INDEPENDENT ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, HYPERION AUSTRALIAN GROWTH COMPANIES FUND, MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 ACCUMULATION INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 ACCUMULATION INDEX

Abolish TV licence fees, tax Google and Facebook: Xenophon

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 26-Apr-17

The Australian Government’s May 2017 Budget is tipped to include a further reduction in TV broadcasting licence fees. Independent senator Nick Xenophon says the fees are "anachronistic" and should be scrapped for free-to-air networks. Xenophon supports increased restrictions on gambling advertisements during live sports broadcasts, but he rejects suggestions that he has struck a deal with the Government on the issue. Xenophon also favours imposing a turnover tax on Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Goldman turns bearish on BHP

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Apr-17

The London-listed shares of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have fallen by around 16 per cent in the last two months. Goldman Sachs has reduced its share price targets for the UK stock of both companies. The firm now has a "sell" recommendation on BHP, citing factors such as the downturn in the price of iron ore and coking coal. Goldman Sachs also has sell ratings on Antofagasta and Kumba Resources.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, ANTOFAGASTA PLC, KUMBA RESOURCES LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Energy giants to be grilled over tax minimisation tactic

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 26-Apr-17

Executive from major oil and gas producers will appear before the Senate economics reference committee on 28 April 2017. They include executives from Chevron, which recently lost a transfer pricing dispute with the Australian Taxation Office regarding a $A2.5bn inter-company loan. The case centered on the interest rate on the loan made by US-based Chevron to its Australian subsidiary, which is expected to prompt the ATO to issue new guidelines regarding interest rates for such loans.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BP PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, TAX JUSTICE NETWORK, GETUP LIMITED, MINTER ELLISON, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CLAYTON UTZ

Australians prefer to make mobile calls than get them

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Apr-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 14.2 million Australians aged 14+ (72 per cent) agree that "I love being able to contact my friends wherever I am". The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2016, also shows that only 10.8 million of them also agree that "I enjoy people contacting me on my mobile phone". Meanwhile, women are more likely than men to enjoy contacting others (75 per cent vs 69 per cent) or being contacted themselves (63 per cent vs 56 per cent). Generation Z are the most likely to enjoy mobile phone contact either way (87 per cent and 76 per cent), but the pleasure of both making and receiving calls declines with age: to 83 per cent and 71 per cent among Gen Y, and 72 per cent and 58 per cent among Gen X.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Amazon will eat your business, e-tail entrepreneur warns

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 24-Apr-17

Many Australian e-commerce retailers are likely to be tempted to join Amazon Marketplace when it becomes established. However, Caroline McCulloch is not one of them. McCulloch, who is the co-founder of Frankie4, a Brisbane-based footwear designer and e-commerce retailer, says the likely negatives of joining Amazon Marketplace outweigh the possible benefits.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, FRANKIE4 PTY LTD

‘Calling the top’ of the boom in property

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 3 : 24-Apr-17

UBS is of the view that the Australia housing market may have reached its peak, although any easing will amount to a correction rather than a collapse. Auction clearance rates on the weekend of 22-23 April 2017 suggest that UBS’s forecast may be on the mark, with Sydney recording its lowest auction clearance rate since the beginning of the year. However, not everyone agrees with UBS, with analyst Louis Christopher saying it is too early to tell.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE, DOMAIN.COM.AU, DEVINE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD

Fifield targets budget for enhanced media package

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 24-Apr-17

Changes to the anti-siphoning list for sports and a reduction in TV broadcasting licence fees are expected to be included in the Australian Government’s revised cross-media ownership reform bill. The Government hopes to gain the support of independent senator Nick Xenophon for its media bill, while it is also seeking to ban gambling advertisements during live sports broadcasts. The proposed media reforms are expected to be included in the May 2017 Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Foxtel’s new streaming service is Now ready

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 24-Apr-17

The Foxtel Play subscription video-on-demand service is tipped to be relaunched as Foxtel Now. Pay-TV company Foxtel is expected to relaunch the service in coming weeks, backed by a marketing campaign. Foxtel is also still on track to launch its "puck" device by the end of 2017. Arris, which makes Foxtel’s iQ3 set-top box, is believed to have secured the contract to supply the puck, which allows consumers to view streaming video via a TV.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL PLAY, ARRIS GROUP INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SKY PLC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, DISCOVER, VIACOM INCORPORATED, ROKU INCORPORATED, TECHNICOLOR INCORPORATED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, IPRIMUS, DODO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD

Ciobo to chase Hong Kong FTA

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-Apr-17

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo says Australian services industries in particular would benefit from a proposed free trade agreement with Hong Kong. An FTA with Hong Kong is expected to focus on services industries such as finance and education. Ciobo notes that Asia’s middle-class is forecast to increase from 600 million people to three billion by 2035. Two-way trade in goods and services between Australia and Hong Kong totalled $A15.3bn in 2015-16.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE