Author: roymorgansocial

Jobs to go at NAB as banks face cost squeeze

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Apr-17

Australian banks are continuing to downsize their workforces amid rising costs, falling net interest margins and new capital requirements. The ANZ Bank has advised that it shed 35 IT jobs in early 2017, while National Australia Bank recently told staff that it intends to cut about 500 jobs. However, NAB will create 400 new jobs, with some displaced staff likely to be redeployed. There was a 2.4 per cent reduction in full-time staff in Australia’s banking industry in 2015-16.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence declining again – down 2.2pts to 112.6

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Apr-17

Headline ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 1.9% to 112.6 in the week ended 16 April 2017, partly reversing the previous week’s gain. This dragged the index back down below its long run average. The performance of the sub-indices was largely negative, with only one of the five sub-indices recording a rise. Households’ expectations for economic conditions over the next year fell 1.9%, while expectations for economic conditions over the next five years dropped a sharp 4.1%, to be at its lowest level since September 2015. Households’ views towards their current finances fell a modest 0.7%, while views about future finances improved 2.7%, to the highest level since February.

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

The rise of multi-destination travellers in the experience economy

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Apr-17

The Roy Morgan Holiday Tracking Survey has found that a third of the 2.5 million Australians aged 14+ who went overseas on their last trip visited multiple destinations. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2016, shows that 85 per cent of these experience economy travellers were intent on experiencing the local culture. They were also prepared to spend more ($215 per person per night) and stay away longer (32 nights on average) to ensure that their desire for a rich experience is met. Experience economy travellers were also almost six times more likely than average to travel on a cruise ship for at least some of their holiday and more than three times as likely to stay in luxury five-star accommodation. Meanwhile, in the traditional economy, of the 13.5 million Australians who took at least one holiday in 2016 the vast majority (84.5%) of them visited just one destination on their trip, were away for only six nights, and spent an average of $160 per person per night.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Big miners defy iron ore price slide to hold firm

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 20-Apr-17

The iron ore price has shed 33 per cent in the last month, and it has now fallen to a six-month low. However, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has upgraded its average price forecast for 2017 from $US55 per tonne to $US66. The firm has also upgraded Rio Tinto’s "A-" credit rating from "stable" to "positive", and flagged the potential for a further upgrade within 12-18 months. Shares in Australia’s three largest iron ore producers were resilient in local trading on 19 April, despite the falling iron price.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED

Networks baulk as ABC firms for soccer rights

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Original article by John Stensholt, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 20-Apr-17

The ABC is believed to be holding talks with Football Federation Australia regarding free-to-air broadcasting rights for the A-League and Socceroos matches. The current four-year deal with Fox Sports and SBS expires in 2017, and the Seven, Nine and Ten networks are said to have considered submitting bids. However, none of them are believed to have met the deadline for lodging formal bids. Factors such as the need to contribute to Fox Sports’ production costs are said to have been a deterrent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, SOCCEROOS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ADANA PARTNERS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, THE W-LEAGUE, MATILDAS, BIG BASH LEAGUE

Wealthiest 3pc of earners pay 30pc of tax

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Apr-17

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the Federal Government collected $A177bn in income tax revenue in 2014-15. People in the highest tax bracket contributed $A53bn to government coffers, which equates to 30 per cent of the income tax take. People in this tax bracket account for just three per cent of taxpayers. The Government also reaped $A69.3bn in income tax from people in the second-highest tax bracket in 2014-15, which equates to 39.1 per cent of total tax revenue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Banks take advantage and profit from ‘general advice’

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Apr-17

Financial Planning Association CEO Dante De Gori has expressed concern about the use of the term "general advice" in Australia’s financial services industry. He argues that many consumers are confused about what constitutes financial advice. The FPA advocates changing the phrase "general advice" to "general information", to ensure that consumers understand that they are being sold a financial product rather than receiving financial advice.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WESTPAC SECURITIES ADMINISTRATION LIMITED, BT FUNDS MANAGEMENT

Iron ore discounts take toll on Atlas

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 19-Apr-17

Iron ore miner Atlas Iron achieved an average price of $A62 per tonne in the March 2017 quarter, which is well below the average benchmark index price for the period. The company was affected by rising Chinese demand for higher grade ore, which widened the gap between the benchmark price and the lower-grade ore produced by Atlas. Adverse weather conditions in the Pilbara also resulted in Atlas’s shipments falling to 3.2 million tonnes, down from four million tonnes for the same period in 2016.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED

Women kick goals for television ad spending

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Apr-17

New data shows that the inaugural AFL Women’s league prompted strong growth in TV advertising sales in March 2017 and boosted the audience share of the Seven Network. Metropolitan TV ad sales rose by 15.5 per cent year-on-year in March, while TV ad sales rose by 12.7 per cent overall compared with the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, Seven’s audience share rose from 37.5 per cent in March 2016 to 39.2 per cent, with AFLW matches consistently attracting high ratings.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOX FOOTY CHANNEL, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Santos warns ‘hot air’ inflating gas debate

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 19-Apr-17

Executives from LNG producers will meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 19 April 2017. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher has cautioned against government intervention to address the gas crisis on the east coast, arguing that it is not the role of governments to "pick winners and losers". He adds that lack of sufficient development of gas resources is the main cause of the crisis. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten believes that the government should step in to resolve the crisis, saying domestic gas users should be prioritised over export customers.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD