Author: roymorgansocial

Miners face $150m hit from blackout

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 4-Oct-16

OZ Minerals has advised that electric power is unlikely to be restored at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia for at least another week, while its 2016-17 gold production forecast may not be met as a result. The recent state-wide power outage also halted production at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine and Arrium’s Whyalla steelworks. Meanwhile, the suspension of production at Nyrstar’s lead smelter at Port Pirie is believed to have contributed to a spike in the price of lead on the London Metal Exchange.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD

ATO culture put to the test

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 32 : 30-Sep-16

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has taken a married couple to court on the charge of tax evasion. The couple operates a business at Port Hedland, Western Australia, as a 50/50 partnership. The tax case before the Federal Court will have ramifications for other partnerships formed by tradespeople with their spouses. Many ATO officers seem to be hostile to small business. They often use their power to destroy businesses by making unfair accusations of tax evasion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Three-week high for $A on new pact

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Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 30-Sep-16

The Australian dollar rose above $US0.77 in early trading on 29 September 2016, reaching a three-week high. The local currency benefited from OPEC’s decision to limit oil production by between 0.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day. Other commodities have already been rising lately.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Quadrant muscles up with Fitness First buy

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 30-Sep-16

Quadrant Private Equity has bought gym chain Fitness First from Oaktree Capital Management. Quadrant has recently been quite active in the gym market, acquiring the Goodlife Health Clubs network, Jetts Fitness and HYPOXI. Quadrant’s Fitness & Lifestyle Group, which is believed to be worth about $A800 million, comprises now 224 company-owned gyms and 188 franchised outlets.

CORPORATES
QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, FITNESS FIRST AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, GOODLIFE HEALTH CLUBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JETTS FITNESS PTY LTD, HYPOXI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

It’s working-class hero v corporate titan in AFL clash

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 30-Sep-16

Sydney Swans will play against the Western Bulldogs in the grand final of the Australian Football League on 1 October 2016. The match could be seen as a clash between the clubs representing the corporate elite (Sydney Swans) and the working-class (Western Bulldogs). Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham is unperturbed by this perception. Fittingly, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will support the Swans while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will be supporting the Bulldogs on 1 October.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB, WESTERN BULLDOGS FOOTBALL CLUB, MOELIS AND COMPANY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CITI PTY LTD, VOLKSWAGEN AG, WEST COAST EAGLES FOOTBALL CLUB, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, MISSION FOODS CORPORATION, CARNIVAL AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

‘Most obvious bubble on planet’

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Original article by Geoff Winestock, Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 30-Sep-16

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has warned about a correction in property prices. A sharp fall in prices is likely to occur because of a high level of household debt, at 163 per cent of disposable income, and an excessive exposure of NZ banks to housing. Mortgage loans constitute around 55 per cent of the banks’ total assets. In Australia, the household debt exceeds 180 per cent of disposable income and mortgages make up 62 per cent of the banks’ assets.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD

ASIC slaps ex-Deutsche trader with lifetime ban for $50m fraud

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 30-Sep-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has imposed a lifetime ban on providing financial services on former Deutsche Bank trader Andrew Donaldson. ASIC found that Donaldson made "false entries" in order to cover his losses in 2013 and 2014. He was at that time employed as a foreign exchange options and futures trader at the bank.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, ABBEY LIFE, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE

SA crisis: PM demands cut to renewable targets

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 30-Sep-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has used the blackout in South Australia (SA) to stress the need for a new national renewables target. He said on 29 September 2016 that the Labor state governments of SA, Queensland and Victoria adopted targets that are "extremely unrealistic". Queensland has a renewable target of 50 per cent, while the current level of renewables is only about 4.5 per cent. Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the matter will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of state energy ministers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

OPEC deal sparks energy stocks rally

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Original article by Jessica Sier, Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 30-Sep-16

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose one per cent to 5,471.3 points on 29 September 2016. Energy stocks performed strongly following a decision of OPEC members to reduce production in the coming months. The energy sector closed 6.3 per cent higher, with Beach Energy gaining 10 per cent and Santos, Origin and Woodside all climbing more than seven per cent.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, SPARK INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP – ASX SKI, MIGME LIMITED – ASX MIG, SOSV, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

‘Loaded’ hourly rates could replace penalties

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Original article by James Thomson, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Sep-16

Australia’s penalty rates system needs to be modernised. In its current form, it is incompatible with a 24-hour retail world. Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross suggested at "The Australian Financial Review"’s retail summit on 29 September 2016 that weekend penalty rates should be abolished in exchange for a higher hourly rate for workers employed at retail and fast-food outlets. Ross gave an example of the Hospitality Industry Award as a model that could be used in the retail sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ACTU, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION