Author: roymorgansocial

Australians still have appetite for drama after dinner

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Sep-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 30 per cent of Australians aged 14+ have a preference for drama in their weekday after dinner media, ahead of comedy (26 per cent), action and adventure (20 per cent), news (17 per cent), sports (10 per cent) and music (nine per cent). Television is still the dominant media after dinner, preferred by almost three in five Australians. Analysis by age shows that drama is the most popular among the 35-49 and 50+ age groups, while it ranks second among those aged 25-34 and fourth among those aged 14-24.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Seven West Media newspapers will reach 60% of WA

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Sep-16

The Roy Morgan Readership results for the year to June 2016 show that 37.4 per cent of Western Australians aged 14+ (800,000 people) read print editions of "The West Australian" in an average week. Meanwhile, 399,000 (18.7 per cent) read the print edition of the
"Sunday Times". Seven West Media’s deal to acquire the "Sunday Times" will increase the company’s print readership by 100,000, as 299,000 people currently read both newspapers. Overall, the total cross-platform newspaper reach of "The West Australian" across print and digital is now 1,058,000 (49.4 per cent), which will increase by 236,000 to 1,294,000 with the addition of the "Sunday Times" and the Perth Now website. As a result, three in five West Australians (60.5 per cent) will be reading newspaper content published by Seven West Media in an average week.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

High reliance on two incomes to repay home loans presents a potential risk

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Sep-16

Roy Morgan Research’s "State of the Nation – Spotlight on Finance Risk" report shows that Australian households with two incomes now account for 67.2 per cent of owner-occupied mortgages. Overall some 9.3 per cent of dual-income households are classified as "at risk" of mortgage stress. Meanwhile, 17.4 per cent of Australians (705,000) who have a mortgage on the home they are living in can be classified as being "at risk", based on an average interest rate of 5.4 per cent. Over the last 10 years, mortgage holders "at risk" peaked in May 2008 (32.7 per cent) when the standard variable home-loan rate was 9.45 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Jackson silent as 70 charges laid bare

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 20-Sep-16

The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court has imposed strict bail conditions on the Health Services Union’s former national secretary, Kathy Jackson. She will return to court for a committal hearing in January 2017, when she will face 70 charges of fraud and theft relating to the unauthorised use of the union’s funds. Amongst other things, Jackson is accused of transferring union funds to her personal bank account and paying for personal expenses with the union’s credit cards. Jackson could face up to 10 years in jail if she is convicted.

CORPORATES
HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE MAGISTRATES’ COURT, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, LAWSONS AUCTIONEERS AND VALUERS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys: satisfaction guaranteed?

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Sep-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that more than three million Australians aged 14+ made at least one purchase from JB Hi-Fi in an average four weeks in the year to June 2016. Over a million made at least one purchase from The Good Guys, while Harvey Norman, attracted nearly 1.3 million customers in the same time period. The survey also shows that JB Hi-Fi customers have a mean household income of $A115,000, compared with $A107,000 for Harvey Norman customers and $A98,000 for The Good Guys customers. Meanwhile, The Good Guys has triumphed in the Furniture/Electrical Store category of the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards every month this year with scores consistently over 90 per cent, and JB Hi-Fi has been close behind it in second place (also with scores hovering around 90 per cent and above).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, THE GOOD GUYS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Company tax cuts ‘make bracket creep inevitable’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Sep-16

The Australian Government is committed to limiting overall tax revenue to 23.9 per cent of GDP. Its plan to progressively reduce the company tax rate over 10 years is intended to have no impact on overall tax revenue. As a result, the lower company tax revenue will have to be offset by higher revenue from other taxes. The Grattan Institute warns that this most likely will mean an increase in income tax revenue, which CEO John Daley notes is the only source of tax revenue that increases as a percentage of GDP.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Orocobre tips ongoing demand for lithium

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 20-Sep-16

Australian-listed Orocobre has posted a 2015-16 loss of $US21.9m ($A29m). However, CEO Richard Seville is upbeat about the outlook for lithium, and he believes that producers will struggle to meet growing global demand. Orocobre produced 6,903 tonnes of lithium in 2015-16, and the group forecasts output of at least 15,000 tonnes in 2016-17. It has also advised that its Salar de Olaroz project in Argentina should reach nameplate capacity in the current financial year.

CORPORATES
OROCOBRE LIMITED – ASX ORE, GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, NEOMETALS LIMITED – ASX NMT

Record $9.7b port sale rides boom

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Durkin, Jenny Wiggins, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 26 : 20-Sep-16

The Victorian Government had expected to gain between $A5bn and $A7bn from the privatisation of the Port of Melbourne. The $A9.7bn deal with the Lonsdale Consortium reflects an EBITDA multiple of 25 times earnings, while the State Government will also receive a payment of $A1.45bn from its federal counterpart under the asset-recycling scheme. Proceeds of the sale of the port’s 50-year lease will be reinvested in road and rail infrastructure, including the Government’s level crossing removal program.

CORPORATES
PORT OF MELBOURNE, LONSDALE CONSORTIUM, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, QIC LIMITED, GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS, ONTARIO MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT BOARD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, PORT BOTANY, PORT KEMBLA, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, GIP AUSTRALIA

Woolies’ ‘plan B’ on Masters exit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Butler, Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 21 : 20-Sep-16

Documents filed in the Federal Court outline the strategies that Woolworths allegedly devised in order to withdraw from its Masters Home Improvement venture with Lowe’s. The US company is seeking to wind up the Masters joint venture company, Hydrox Holdings. Lowe’s claims that amongst other things, Woolworths made plans to terminate the joint venture agreement and sell Hydrox’s assets if the Lowe’s nominees on the Hydrox board did not agree to the sale of the joint venture company’s assets.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, HYDROX HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Two-thirds of funds beaten by the index

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 20-Sep-16

Data from Morningstar shows that 36.25 per cent of Australia’s actively-managed large-capitalisation funds matched or exceeded the return from the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index in the year to 31 August 2016. This compares with 37.16 per cent over a three-year period, and 35.9 per cent over five years. In contrast, the five-year performance of US actively managed large-cap equity funds against the S&P 500 was just 9.5 per cent. Julian Beaumont of Bennelong Australian Equity Partners notes that Australia’s large-cap funds are more likely to engage in so-called index hugging.

CORPORATES
MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 ACCUMULATION INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, BENNELONG AUSTRALIAN EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX SMALL ORDINARIES ACCUMULATION INDEX, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA