Author: roymorgansocial

Senate urged to pass tax reforms

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 28-Sep-16

The Federal Government’s bill to progressively reduce the company tax rate is being scrutinised by a Senate committee. The Business Council of Australia has used its submission to argue the case for Parliament to pass all of the tax reforms rather than restricting tax cuts to the small business sector. The Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group also favour implementing the tax cuts in full, although the latter concedes that providing tax relief to small businesses would be better than having the entire bill reject by Parliament.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

TPP to tackle protectionism

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Sep-16

Two federal parliament committees are examining the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. Andrew Hudson of the Export Council of Australia has told the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties that Australia must ratify the trade agreement, as failure to do so would bolster the protectionist movement, which he noted is gaining support in many parts of the world. However, the Electrical Trades Union has argued against ratifying the trade deal.

CORPORATES
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, EXPORT COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON TREATIES, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), FOOD AND BEVERAGE IMPORTERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle to take on ‘unholy alliance’ of opponents

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Original article by John Masanauskas
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 27-Sep-16

Team Morgan, Team Melbourne, the Greens and Phil Cleary have secured preference deals with each other in the lead-up to the Melbourne City Council election in October 2016. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle is seeking a record third term, and Team Doyle member Nick Reece says Melbourne could become "clown hall" if Doyle is defeated. However, lord mayoral candidate Gary Morgan says Melbourne is already "clown hall" under Doyle. The pollster argues that Doyle is not a suitable person to be lord mayor, noting that there are conflict of interest issues with Team Doyle.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED

Labor says bank profits are too high

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Sep-16

The profits of Australia’s four major banks will come under scrutiny when their CEOs front a parliamentary committee in early October 2016. Pat Conroy, an Australian Labor Party member of the committee, will seek an explanation for the banks’ high return on equity compared with their international peers. He notes that there has not been an influx of foreign banks despite the local industry’s high level of profitability. Labor and the Greens favour a royal commission into the banking sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, 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

Big business carries hefty burden as world moves to reform tax structures

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Sep-16

A new report shows that company tax revenue accounts for 4.9 per cent of Australia’s GDP, compared with an average of just 2.9 per cent among OECD nations. The report also notes that 28 OECD countries have a company tax rate that is lower than Australia’s 30 per cent rate, compared with just 12 when the current tax rate was introduced in 2000. In addition, the average company tax rate among OECD member nations is now 24.7 per cent, down from 31.6 per cent in 2000.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Satisfaction with banks improves marginally in August

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Sep-16

A Roy Morgan Research Single Source survey has found that the satisfaction level of personal customers of Australian banks rose to 81.6 per cent in the six months to August 2016, compared with 81.5 per cent in July. This is well above the long-term average and is just below the 20-year high of 82.9 per cent recorded in 2015. Meanwhile, the satisfaction level of the personal customers of the four major banks was unchanged at 79.7 per cent. The Commonwealth Bank continued to have the highest customer satisfaction rating of the four major banks, at 81.4 per cent, followed by the ANZ Bank (79.9 per cent). Outside of the big four banks, Greater Bank (95.2 per cent had the highest level of customer satisfaction, ahead of Bank Australia (94.8 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, GREATER BANK LIMITED, BANK AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK, TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK LIMITED, HERITAGE BANK LIMITED – ASX HBS, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, BENDIGO BANK, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SUNCORP BANK, ING DIRECT

‘Footy Friday’ a $1bn hit for firms

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Sep-16

An Australian Industry Group survey has found that the Victorian Government’s Australian Football League grand final eve public holiday will cost respondents an average of $A16,000 in revenue. PricewaterhouseCoopers has previously estimated that the total cost of the public holiday across the state economy would be between $A717 million and $A898m each year, while the increased wages bill would cost employers up to $A286m a year. Hazeldene’s Chicken estimates that public holiday penalty rates will increase its wages bill by around $A195,000.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, HAZELDENE’S CHICKEN FARM PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Another massive diamond at Lucapa

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 23 : 27-Sep-16

Australian-listed Lucapa Diamond Company has revealed that its Lulo project in Angola has yield a 172.7-carat diamond. Chairman Miles Kennedy has suggested that the diamond could potentially sell for at least $US8m. Lucapa’s other recent discoveries at the Lulo project include a 104-carat diamond and a 38.6-carat pink diamond. The Lulo project yield 98 diamonds of at least 10 carats during July and August 2016.

CORPORATES
LUCAPA DIAMOND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX LOM, ENDIAMA, ROSAS AND PETALAS

Shareholders blast CBA CEO’s diversity bonus

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 27-Sep-16

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has been criticised for adding new targets to its bonus plan. The Australian Shareholders’ Association is concerned that CBA executives will now be rewarded for meeting targets that are unrelated to performance, following the introduction of a 25 per cent target for "diversity, inclusion, sustainability and culture". The bank’s existing 25 per cent bonus for "customer satisfaction" is also controversial. CEO Ian Narev’s remuneration for 2015-16 comprised a base salary of $A8.77 million and performance-linked bonuses of $A3.53 million.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, INVESTA OFFICE FUND – ASX IOF, ISS – INTERNATIONAL SERVICE SOLUTIONS A/S

Bull market in bonds not over just yet: Citi

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Original article by Chris Kohler
The Australian – Page: 32 : 27-Sep-16

The yield on Australian 10-year government bonds peaked at 2.13 per cent on 21 September 2016, but it has since retreated to below the two per cent level. Citigroup does not believe that the recent spike in bond yields will signal the end of the three-decade bull market, and the firm does not expect the rise in yields to be sustained. Citigroup notes that financial stock are among those that should benefit from higher bond yields, while it says Australian stocks that are vulnerable include real estate investment trusts and utilities.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, APA GROUP – ASX APA, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK