Author: roymorgansocial

Clinton victory and divided Congress ‘best for shares’

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 1-Nov-16

UBS suggests that in terms the outlook for equities, the best outcome of the US election would be if Hillary Clinton becomes president but neither party has control of Congress. Wingate Asset Management’s Chad Padowitz notes that health stocks in particular could be sold down if the Democrats control both houses. Historical analysis by AMP Capital shows that since 1927, US equities have delivered better returns when a Democrat has been in the White House but one or both houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WINGATE ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES), REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, SANOFI PHARMACEUTICALS, DELTEC ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE VOLATILITY INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

BHP stalwart stands down after 40 years

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 28-Oct-16

BHP Billiton veteran Dean Dalla Valle is expected to seek other roles in the corporate sector when he steps down as COO in March 2017. He does not intend to retire when he ends a four-decade career with the resources giant, and may opt for a senior executive position at a smaller company. BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie has praised Dalla Valle’s contribution to the company. He had been regarded as a candidate to eventually succeed Mackenzie.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MAVERICK DRILLING AND EXPLORATION LIMITED – ASX MAD, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, VALE SA

Chicken wars not just between Coles and Woolworths

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Oct-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 84.4% of Australians consume chicken in an average week, while 77.0% drink milk and 70.0 % eat bread/toast in the same period. The survey also shows that 89.0% of people who mainly shop at Coles and 88.5% of those who mainly shop at Woolworths eat chicken in any given seven days. Meanwhile, 28.4% of Australians visited at least one fast-food chicken restaurant in any given four weeks in the year to June 2016, compared with 29.2% in the year to June 2015. The proportion of Woolworths and Coles shoppers who visited at least one fast-food chicken restaurant in any given four weeks has fallen from 33.1% to 30.4% and from 30.8% to 30.0% respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, IGA, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KFC, RED ROOSTER FOODS, NANDO’S AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Dreamworld’s dud damage control

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 13 : 28-Oct-16

Ardent Leisure planned to re-open parts of the Dreamworld theme park on 28 October 2016 but, upon the advice of Queensland police, the company decided to postpone it. Ardent Leisure CEO Deborah Thomas told shareholders at the company’s AGM on 26 October that the accident which resulted in four deaths on 25 October would have a "significant impact" on the 2016-17 financial results.

CORPORATES
ARDENT LEISURE GROUP – ASX AAD, DREAMWORLD LIMITED, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Iron ore won’t drop to $US40: Fortescue CEO

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 28-Oct-16

The iron ore price has rallied to more than $US60 per tonne, compared with just $US38/tonne in late 2015. Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power says his company expects the price of the steel input to trade within a range of $US40-$US60 in 2017. He adds that an improvement in sentiment could prompt a further rise, adding that there is unlikely to be a large enough fall in demand for iron ore in China for the price to retreat to around $US40. Morgan Stanley forecasts that iron ore will average $US42 in the December 2016 quarter.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA

Welfare pays more than work

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Oct-16

Data from the Australian National University shows that the nation’s median overall wage was $A46,500 in 2014-15, or $A39,841 after tax. In contrast, Federal Government data shows that some 43,000 welfare recipients who are also paid family allowances received more than $A45,000 in tax-free government payments in 2014-15. Social Services Minister Christian Porter has stressed the need for policies aimed at ending welfare dependency and encouraging parents to enter the workforce.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Widening wage gap blamed on bias

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-Oct-16

KPMG Australia has released a report which concludes that gender discrimination accounted for 38 per cent of the gap between the wages of men and women in 2014. This compares with 35 per cent in 2007. The report also notes that 30 per cent of the pay gap is due to the fact that more men tend to work in certain industries, in which the wages are typically higher than those for industries where women are over-represented. Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons stresses the need for action to address the gender pay gap.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Banks charged customers $180m for no financial advice

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 28-Oct-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has released a report on the dubious practices of financial advisers aligned with the "big four" banks and AMP. ASIC found that many customers had been charged for financial advice between August 2013 and December 2015, but they did not receive any such advice. ASIC noted that most of these cases occurred prior to the implementation of the Future of Financial Advice reforms. It is estimated that about 200,000 customers will be entitled to total compensation of some $A178m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION

Scene set for Kidman bidding war

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian, Sue Neales
The Australian – Page: 4 : 28-Oct-16

Directors of S. Kidman & Company have endorsed a $A386.5m offer for the pastoral business from Gina Hancock’s Hancock Prospecting and China-based Shanghai CRED. However, the BBHO consortium has signalled that its $A386m offer could potentially be increased. The Hancock-Shanghai CRED deal must be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, and Rinehart has indicated that Hancock will acquire full ownership of Kidman if the joint bid is rejected. BBHO has emphasised the all-Australian nature of its bid.

CORPORATES
S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, SHANGHAI CRED REAL ESTATE STOCK COMPANY LIMITED, BBHO, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GLOBAL FARMLAND FUND, SHANGHAI PENGXIN GROUP COMPANY LIMITED

Dr Doom says ‘a serious recession desirable’ for the West

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 31 : 28-Oct-16

Investment expert Marc Faber notes that global economic power has shifted from the developed world to emerging economies in recent decades. He adds that trade between Asian countries has also become much bigger than the region’s exports to the US. Faber also suggests that the financial sector still accounts for too much of the economy in Western nations, and a major recession may be beneficial for developed countries. He says mining stocks and emerging market equities offer good value at present compared with their peers.

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG LP