Author: roymorgansocial

Strategists see little to fire the ASX 200 past 5500 by end of year

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 9-Aug-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index closed at 5,537.8 points on 8 August 2016, but opinion is divided on the level at which it will be trading by the end of the year. Morgan Stanley still expects the ASX 200 to fall to 4,800 by years’ end, although Citigroup, UBS and Credit Suisse forecast that it will be trading at around 5,500. Meanwhile, Tony Brennan of Citigroup expects it to be trading at 5,750 in mid-2017.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Vale vows not to flood the iron markets

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 8-Aug-16

The annual capacity of Vale’s "S11D" iron ore project will be 90 million tonnes, which has prompted some analysts to forecast an iron ore oversupply in 2017. However, Vale’s Peter Poppinga has downplayed concerns about an oversupply, arguing that the Brazilian group will ramp up exports over several years, with its mine capacity to increase at a faster pace than its rail capacity. He also stresses that not all of the increased production will be exported to Asia.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR

CBA to hand down bumper $9.5bn profit

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 8-Aug-16

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is tipped to post a 2015-16 cash profit of $A434m on 8 August 2016, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is expected to report a full-year profit of $A9.5bn on 10 August. Scott Manning of JP Morgan says margins are likely to remain a significant focus for the banking major. However, the Reserve Bank does not expect banks’ margins to be adversely affected by recent moves to lift some term deposit interest rates while failing to pass on the full reduction in the cash rate to home loan and business customers.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MERLON CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, FIRST OIL PLC

Questions over IR judge’s role in CFA row

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-16

The role of Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross in the Victorian Country Fire Authority dispute is under scrutiny. Former CFA board member and farmer Michael Freshwater has questioned whether Ross acted impartially in the dispute over an enterprise bargaining agreement. He has written to Employment Minister Michaelia Cash requesting an independent inquiry. There have been suggestions that despite being a state issue, the CFA dispute may have affected Labor’s chances of winning the federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, EAST GIPPSLAND LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE, EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE COUNCIL, VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND REGULATION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Unhappy crossbenchers threaten IR laws

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 8-Aug-16

Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has accused the Coalition of reneging on a deal to include a sunset clause in legislation to extend a ban on the importation of the Adler A110 shotgun. He says that the Coalition may now not be able to count on his support for a bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission. Senator Leyonhjelm also intends to introduce legislation to scrap section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, a reform which the Coalition had backed down on.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Interest rate cut brings out home buyers

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Aug-16

Preliminary data from Corelogic shows that Sydney boasted a residential auction clearance rate of more than 80 per cent on the weekend of 6-7 August 2016, compared with 78.3 per cent at the same time in 2015. The clearance rate in Melbourne was 76.1 per cent, down from 78.5 per cent a year ago. The Reserve Bank’s move to reduce the cash rate to a record low of 1.5 per cent prompted renewed activity among first-home buyers, although auctioneer Damien Cooley notes that they are still being edged out by property investors.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOODYER DONNELLEY REAL ESTATE, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, CBRE PTY LTD, HOCKING STUART PTY LTD, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE

Reporting season may test resilience of ASX

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 8-Aug-16

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to gain 31 points when trading resumes on 8 August 2016, following a positive lead from Wall Street. The reporting season will continue to be a focus for investors in the coming week, with the Commonwealth Bank, REA Group, Telstra and Cochlear among the companies that are slated to release their latest financial result. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monthly board meeting and Chinese economic data will also attract investors’ attention.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, AGL PETROLEUM, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, TD SECURITIES

Morrison may block China sale

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Aug-16

The New South Wales Government’s partial privatisation of Ausgrid could be blocked on the grounds of national security. Cheung Kong Infrastructure and China’s State Grid Corporation are expected to pay about $A10bn for a 50.4 per cent stake in the electricity grid, via a 99-year lease. However, the deal must be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, and federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says national security will be the main consideration. Several MPs and senators have expressed concern about the proposed sale of Ausgrid.

CORPORATES
AUSGRID PTY LTD, STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA, CHEUNG KONG INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, ONE NATION PTY LTD, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TRANSGRID, S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, UNIONS NSW, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Network Ten’s recovery by design

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 8-Aug-16

The Ten Network’s shares of free-to-air TV advertising revenue rose to 25.2 per cent in the first six months of 2016, compared with just 20.1 per cent in early 2014. Maxus CEO Mark McCraith says the consistency of Ten’s programming has been a major contributor to the network’s increased ratings. Meanwhile, Ten’s chief programming officer Beverley McGarvey stresses the importance of selecting the right host for popular shows like "Family Feud".

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, MAXUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PHD CREATIVE PTY LTD, THINK TV, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Frustrated WIN targets Marks

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 18 & 20 : 8-Aug-16

Nine Entertainment Company’s share price has shed 36.2 per cent since Hugh Marks succeeded David Gyngell as CEO in November 2015. Meanwhile, its share of free-to-air advertising revenue fell from 38.6 per cent to 35.6 per cent during the first half of 2016. WIN Corporation is said to have lobbied fellow large Nine shareholder Perpetual to support a push to oust Marks and Nine’s board of directors.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE