BHP will shake up hiring to get to 50 per cent women

Original article by Joanne Gray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 8-Nov-16

BHP Billiton employs about 28,000 people worldwide, but only about 17.5 per cent of them are women. BHP’s Mike Henry concedes that it will be a challenge to lift the proportion of women in its workforce to 50 per cent by the target date of 2025. However, women now account for some 38 per cent of new hires at BHP, and Henry notes that the group was able to widen the field of applicants for jobs at its remote operations centre in Brisbane by waiving the requirement for 15 years’ experience in the mining sector.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LINKEDIN CORPORATION

Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun score increased Readership across the whole week

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Nov-16

Roy Morgan Research has released its Print Readership and Cross-Platform Audience results for Australian newspapers for the year to September 2016. Some 8.3 million Australians aged 14+ (42%) read print newspapers in an average week in the 12 months to September 2016, down 3.3% year-on-year. "The Daily Telegraph" is the big winner, with an increase in readers for all weekday and weekend editions, while the "Herald Sun" also scored a rare hat-trick, albeit with smaller gains right across the week. Meanwhile, "The Sydney Morning Herald" lost print readers across the week, while "The Age" recorded a fall in readership of weekday editions but a rise in readership of the Saturday and Sunday editions. "The Sydney Morning Herald" remains Australia’s most-read masthead cross-platform, reaching a combined audience of 4,187,000 in an average week, including a net 1,152,000 print readers and 3,609,000 digital readers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SCHWARTZ MEDIA PTY LTD

Magazines continue to accumulate more readers

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Nov-16

Roy Morgan Research has released the Australian Magazine Print Readership and Cross-Platform Audience results for the year to September 2016. Print magazines reached 12,575,000 Australians aged 14+, up 2.7% compared with the 12 months to September 2015. "Coles Magazine" remained the most widely-read print magazine during the period, with an average readership of 3,672,000 per issue (an increase of 31 per cent). Meanwhile, "Better Homes & Gardens" and "Australian Women’s Weekly" have the highest Cross-Platform Audiences, at 2,125,000 and 1,975,000 respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Labor to back Coalition super changes

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 7-Nov-16

Sources within the Australian Labor Party have indicated that it is likely to support most of the Federal Government’s proposed superannuation reforms. The Government has made a number of compromises in order to gain support for its reforms; amongst other things, it agreed to abandon a push to introduce a $A500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions. Meanwhile, the Senate’s legislative agenda for the week beginning 7 November includes the bill to hold a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Shorten’s power policy switches

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Nov-16

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg says the Australian Labor Party has changed its stance on energy policy more than 10 times over the last decade. He has criticised the Opposition for adopting a policy of sourcing 50 per cent of Australia’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2030 when it had provided owners of coal-fired power stations with millions of dollars worth of taxpayers’ funds when it was in government. Labor had also given some $A268m worth of free carbon permits to the owners of the Hazelwood power station in Victoria.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ENGIE SA, FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

I won’t vote on any bills, vows Culleton

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Nov-16

One Nation senator Rod Culleton has indicated that he will abstain from voting in the Senate while the constitutional validity of his election in July remains uncertain. The High Court may be asked to determine whether Culleton was entitled to be elected, as he had been convicted of a criminal offence at the time of the 2016 federal election. Meanwhile, there has been speculation of a rift between Culleton and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Credit won’t predict next crisis, but gives protection

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 7-Nov-16

Alexander Funds Management MD Chris Black notes that credit markets anticipated the global financial crisis well before equity markets. He says the GFC was primarily a credit-driven event, but this will not be the case with the next financial market crash. He adds that credit will be a safer asset class when the next financial market downturn comes. Alexander Funds has delivered a return of 16.64 per cent since it was founded as Laminar in 2009, but Black cautions that investors should not expect returns similar to those in the years immediately after the GFC.

CORPORATES
ALEXANDER FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Fifield tops AdNews Power 50 list

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 7-Nov-16

AdNews magazine will relaunch its list of the most powerful individuals in the Australian advertising, media and marketing sector after a three-year absence. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield heads the AdNews Power 50 list, which will be published on 8 November 2016. He is followed by News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller, Omnicom Media Group CEO Peter Horgan, Dentsu Aegis Network CEO Simon Ryan and Seven West Media’s chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS LIFE MEDIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, IPG ASIA-PACIFIC

Ingham shares hatch to wary IPO market

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 7-Nov-16

Inghams Group’s listing on the Australian sharemarket on 7 November is likely to be closely scrutinised by investors after the IPO had to be repriced. The stock has been issued at $A3.15 per share, compared with initial hopes of between $A3.57 to $A4.14. Bravura Solutions and the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT have also been forced to scale back the issue price of their stock. Some fund managers note that investor sentiment has changed in recent weeks, particularly with regard to IPOs.

CORPORATES
INGHAMS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ING, BRAVURA SOLUTIONS LIMITED – ASX BVS, CHARTER HALL LONG WALE REIT – ASX CLW, APOLLO TOURISM AND LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ATL, PENGANA EMERGING COMPANIES FUND, TPG CAPITAL LP, THE CARLYLE GROUP, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, AUTOSPORTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ASG

Media bill in hands of crossbench

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 7-Nov-16

The Senate Environment & Communications Legislation Committee’s report on its inquiry into proposed cross-media ownership reforms is slated to be released on 7 November 2016. The committee is expected to recommend that the upper house should vote in favour of the bill. However, the Federal Government is likely to require the support of nine crossbenchers, as the Australian Labor Party and the Greens may oppose abolition of the "two out of three rule".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION COMITTEE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA