Author: roymorgansocial

‘White elephant’ desalination plant placed on ratings watch

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-Jan-17

Fitch Ratings has placed Victoria’s Wonthaggi desalination plant on negative watch. The credit rating agency stated on 6 January 2017 that the negative watch move is related to the recent equipment failure, which raised doubts about the plant’s financial position. The plant is owned and operated by Aquasure, which has debts of $A3.65 billion. Fitch rates Aquasure’s senior debt "A-" and S&P Global Ratings rates it "BBB+".

CORPORATES
FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AQUASURE, UNISUPER LIMITED, SUEZ ENVIRONMENT, KOOKMIN BANK LIMITED, ITOCHU CORPORATION, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM

What’s a Telstra? Who’s Optus? More immigrants choose global brand Vodafone as first Australian mobile provider

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jan-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that Vodafone is the most popular telco among the 5.3 million Australian mobile phone owners aged 14+ who were born overseas. Vodafone claimed 32 per cent of the mobile market among immigrants overall in the six months to November 2016. The survey also shows that 47 per cent of immigrants who have lived in Australia for less than two years choose Vodafone as their local provider, ahead of Optus (24 per cent) and Telstra (12 per cent). In contrast, Telstra is used by 39 per cent of immigrants who have lived in Australia for more than 20 years, and 47 per cent of people who were born in Australia.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Renovation Nation: home improvement in Australia

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jan-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 62 per cent of Australia’s 13.6 million home owners did some kind of renovations in the year to September 2016. This compares with 57 per cent in the year to September 2013. The survey also shows that 43 per cent of home-owners did minor repairs/alterations in the last 12 months, while 27 per cent painted internal and/or external walls, window sills, ceilings and the like. Meanwhile, 17 per cent of home-owners spent more than $5,000 renovating or extending their home in the last year. This rises to 26 per cent for those who have been living at their current address for less than 12 months. In contrast, just 14 per cent of those who have been at the same address for five or more years have paid big bucks for home improvements.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Thank me for miners’ GST push: Grylls

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 10-Jan-17

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Brendan Pearson has rejected suggestions that its proposal for changes to the system for distributing GST revenue was influenced by Western Australian National Party leader Brendon Grylls. The MCA’s submission to the Productivity Commission argues that the system disadvantages states that encourage the development of resources projects. Grylls urged the mining sector to lobby for GST reform in 2016, when he proposed to increase the state’s iron ore levy from $A0.25 per tonne to $A5.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

New year headache hits PM

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sid Maher, Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Jan-17

Some Coalition MPs expect that embattled Health Minister Sussan Ley will be forced to resign over the controversy regarding travel expenses. Ley’s future is uncertain after she was temporarily stood down from the ministry pending two separate inquiries into her use of travel expenses. Cabinet Secretary ­Arthur Sinodinos will assume responsibility for her portfolio until the inquiries are completed. The Opposition has called for Ley to be sacked, while a number of Coalition MPs believe that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should pursue a ministerial reshuffle.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES

Hopes for investor pay dirt look grim

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 10-Jan-17

The rebound in the price of iron ore and coking coal will boost the profits of mining companies in fiscal 2017. Anna Kassianos of Platypus Asset Management says investors should not expect a significant rise in dividends, arguing that some of the increased earnings are likely to be retained to invest in growth strategies and maintenance work that was deferred when commodities prices retreated. Bloomberg expects BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and South32 to be among the miners that increase their dividends.

CORPORATES
PLATYPUS ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BLOOMBERG LP, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Bleak year for Regal as returns in signature funds plunge 25pc

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 10-Jan-17

Regal Funds Management delivered disappointing returns for investors during the first 11 months of calendar 2016. Its Long Short Australian Equity Fund achieved a return of negative 7.37 per cent, while the Tasman Market Neutral Fund posted a return of negative 25.5 per cent. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index posted a gain of more than seven per cent over the same period. Stocks held by Regal funds that underperformed in 2016 include Estia Health and Syrah Resources.

CORPORATES
REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ACCUMULATION INDEX, ESTIA HEALTH LIMITED – ASX EHE, SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, GREENCROSS LIMITED – ASX GXL, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD

NAB client data sent to adult website owner

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Jan-17

An error at National Australia Bank (NAB) has resulted in the transfer of the personal details of 60,000 clients to David Weissenberg’s Real Assets Limited. The business owns domain names of a sexual nature such as sexpornhost.com, porncocktail.com, supersleazy.com and adultorientatedmaterial.com. NAB has reported that Weissenberg responded positively to the bank’s request to correct the error.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, REAL ASSETS LIMITED

Housing approvals post small rise but trend points downwards

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-Jan-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that there was seven per cent growth in dwelling approvals in November 2016, in seasonally-adjusted terms. House approvals were consistent with the data for October, although there was 17.3 per cent growth in approvals for units. Meanwhile, in trend terms dwelling approvals declined in the six months to November.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

ACCC caps pricing for NBN competitors

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 10-Jan-17

The competition regulator has released a draft decision on the prices that retail broadband ISPs can charge wholesale customer for using their networks. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has capped the aggregation charge at $A15.25 per megabit per second per month. ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the wholesale prices are likely to fall over time to reflect growth in traffic in superfast broadband.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, NBN CO LIMITED