Author: roymorgansocial

MPs slam ABC US election bias

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-JonesDarren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 14-Nov-16

ABC television and radio presenters are under scrutiny for posting comments that were critical of US president-elect Donald Trump in the lead-up to the election and on election day itself. Former chairman ­Maurice Newman says ABC MD Michelle Guthrie should seek to ensure that the public broadcaster has greater diversity of opinion, arguing that its current affairs and comedy programs have a "demonstrable" left-wing bias. Ex- prime minister Tony Abbott says the ABC lacks "intellectual diversity".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATIONTWITTER INCORPORATEDAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTSLIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIANETFLIX INCORPORATED

Stocks bounce back, buoyed by Trump’s fiscal optimism

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 34 : 11-Nov-16

The Australian sharemarket posted its largest single-day gain in more than five years on 10 November 2016, while Wall Street defied expectations of a big fall after the election of Donald Trump, finishing in the black. The Australian dollar also rallied, while local and US 10-year bond yields rose. Financial markets have scaled back the odds of a reduction in Australia’s cash rate by mid-2017, while there has been a slight easing of expectations of a rate rise in the US in December 2016.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, EURO STOXX 50 INDEX, PM CAPITAL LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, QIC LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

TPP dead but free-trade deal still on

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Nov-16

Australia’s Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has acknowledged that the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership is unlikely to proceed after Donald Trump won the US presidential election. Kim Beazley, Australia’s former ambassador to Washington, also says Trump’s victory has assured the TPP’s demise, but he stresses the need for Australia to retain strong trade ties, particularly with Asia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull does not expect the Trump presidency to have any effect on the Australia-US free-trade agreement, which came into effect in 2005.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Spending, tax cuts to buoy firms with US exposure

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Andrew White, Eli Greenblat, Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 & 26 : 11-Nov-16

Australian-listed companies with a significant presence in the US do not expect the election of Donald Trump as president to have much impact on their business. Brambles CEO Tom Gorman is upbeat about the logistics group’s outlook, noting that its US customers are primarily in sectors that are not affected by political and economic cycles. Orora CEO Nigel Garrard says the packaging group is optimistic about the economic impact of Trump’s policies on corporate tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

CORPORATES
BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, ORORA LIMITED – ASX ORA, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, EVANS AND PARTNERS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, BERINGER WINE ESTATES HOLDINGS INCORPORATED, DIAGEO PLC, NORTH STAR STEEL, PRATT INDUSTRIES (USA) INCORPORATED, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC

Investor home loans on the rise as building approvals hit peak

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Nov-16

Lending to residential property investors increased by 4.6 per cent to $A12.4 billion in September 2016, from the previous month. Lending to owners-occupiers, excluding refinancing of existing mortgages, declined slightly to $A13 billion. Jo Masters, a senior economist at the ANZ Bank, says house prices continue to rise, auction clearance rates are high and building approvals are also high, but this trend may not be sustainable.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FORUM, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Chaney lashes WA Nats’ iron tax plan

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Original article by Paul Garvey, Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 23 : 11-Nov-16

Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney has criticised a proposal by Western Australian National Party leader Brendon Grylls to increase the state’s iron ore levy. He argues that BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto already make a significant contribution to government revenue from taxes and mining royalties, and the existing arrangement for sharing GST revenue means WA’s income will not rise anyway. He adds that the levy increase would also result in job losses and reduced investment in WA, while Brazil would gain a greater share of iron ore exports at Australia’s expense.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

You’re fired: result shows the limits of the forecasters

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 11-Nov-16

Most public opinion polls had pointed to Hillary Clinton winning the US presidential election. Principal Global Investors’ Mark Farrington likens polling methods to the trading models used in financial market, noting that they both rely on historical predictions. In the case of Donald Trump’s election victory, and the Brexit vote earlier in 2016, traditional models did not reflect the forces that influenced voting trends. Meanwhile, Wall Street rallied and bond yields rose in response to Trump’s election victory.

CORPORATES
PRINCIPAL GLOBAL INVESTORS, UBS O’CONNOR LLC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Email trail led to Rio’s bribery investigation

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 26 : 11-Nov-16

Francois de Combret has been named as the consultant who received a $US10.5m ($A13.7m) payment from Rio Tinto in connection with its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. Rio Tinto executive Alan Davies has been suspended in the wake of revelations that the resources group is investigating the payment. It has also been revealed that former Rio Tinto CEOs Tom Albanese and Sam Walsh were involved in email discussions with Davies regarding the payment. Walsh was the head of the group’s iron ore division at the time.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE, GREAT BRITAIN. SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE, BSG RESOURCES LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SETTLEMENT OF INVESTMENT DISPUTES, LAZARD LLC, UBS AG, VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC

Iron ore price hits Hancock profits

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 11-Nov-16

Hancock Prospecting has revealed that its revenue fell from more than $A2bn in 2014-15 to $A1.72bn in 2015-16, while its net profit from operations was 33 per cent lower at $A443m. Hancock Prospecting has attributed the revenue and earnings deficit to a fall in the iron ore prices during the financial year. The group also notes that construction of the Roy Hill iron project resulted in its total debt rising to $A8.9bn.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HOPE DOWNS IRON ORE PTY LTD

Buck doesn’t stop with top execs

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 25 : 11-Nov-16

When the CEOs of Australia’s four major banks appeared before an economics committee in October 2016 they revealed that no senior executives have been sacked over scandals that have plagued the sector. National Australia Bank has sacked 43 financial planners, while Westpac has sacked 139 of the 885 employees it has investigated for potential breaches of its code of conduct. Meanwhile, just 16 of the employees that have been dismissed by the Commonwealth Bank were executive managers.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMINSURE, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA