Author: roymorgansocial

ASX gains despite election uncertainty

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 5-Jul-16

The Australian sharemarket posted solid gains on 4 July 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.7 per cent to close at 5,281.8. The knife-edge federal election result weighed on financial stocks, with Tristan K’Nell of Altair Asset Management noting that the Australian Labor Party will hold a royal commission into the banks if it wins office. However, resources groups benefited from a rise in commodity prices, while the yield on 10-year government bonds increased to 1.99 per cent after previously reaching a record low.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, ALTAIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SELECT HARVESTS LIMITED – ASX SHV, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL ASIA-PACIFIC INDEX

Numbers don’t stack up for joint sitting on unions crackdown

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Jul-16

Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg has conceded that the Federal Government would not have sufficient numbers to pass its industrial relations reforms in a joint sitting of parliament following the 2016 federal election. With the Coalition uncertain to be returned to office, it seems likely to have a combined maximum of 108 of the 226 seats in the upper and lower houses. Legislation to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission was a trigger for the double-dissolution election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

ABC boss expands Netflix content deal

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 29 : 4-Jul-16

ABC MD Michelle Guthrie has told the Crawford Australian Leadership Forum that the public broadcaster must continue to establish alliances with third parties to ensure that its content is accessible on any platform. The ABC has made more of its contents available to Netflix’s Australian subscribers, while some of its programs are also offered by Netflix in the US. Some of the ABC’s content is also available via Netflix’s local rivals, Presto and Stan.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, WORKING DOG PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, APPLE INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Turnbull policies face big Senate hurdle

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Jul-16

The Australian Government’s changes to the Senate voting system may result in more crossbenchers in the new upper house. The future of some key Coalition policies is uncertain, even if it is returned to office. These include superannuation reforms and plans to progressively reduce the company tax rate. The Coalition would need the support of the Opposition, the Greens or most of the crossbenchers.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, JUSTICE PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Turnbull must leave the Lodge and the parliament – now

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Original article by Terry McCrann
Herald Sun – Page: 3 : 4-Jul-16

Even if the Coalition is returned to office as a minority government, Malcolm Turnbull cannot be permitted to remain in the role of prime minister. He must either resign or be sacked by the Liberal Party, or the National Party must withdraw its support for the coalition if Turnbull remains at the helm. He has lost the healthy majority in parliament gained under predecessor Tony Abbott in 2013, while the Senate voting reforms have made the upper house even more dysfunctional and ensured that the Coalition cannot get its legislation passed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Election shock means tougher job for RBA

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 4-Jul-16

The Australian sharemarket is expected to lose ground when trading resumes on 4 July 2016. Uncertainly regarding the outcome of the federal election is likely to weigh on investor sentiment, while the Australian dollar is tipped to fall after peaking at $US0.7503 in local trading on 1 July. Stephen Walters of the Australian Institute of Company Directors says Australia’s "AAA" credit rating may be reviewed as a result of the election. Meanwhile, economists say the Reserve Bank is now unlikely to reduce the cash rate in July.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, FIIG SECURITIES LIMITED, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

New Rio boss signals end of iron ore wars

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Original article by James Chessell, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 24 : 4-Jul-16

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale have significantly increased iron ore production in recent years. However, Rio’s new CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has indicated that rather than increasing output, the group will prioritise productivity and operational gains at its iron ore mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Jacques also says Rio would be interested in acquiring quality assets, but only at the right price, and the group’s focus is likely to be on expanding its existing mines.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, CHINA. ASSETS SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION, ANGLO-ASIA PROPERTY, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, GLENCORE PLC, CHINA MOLYBDENUM COMPANY LIMITED, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, ANTOFAGASTA PLC

Goldman says iron ore imports into China to fall off

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Original article by Jasmine Ng
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Jul-16

A new report from Goldman Sachs forecasts a two per cent decline in China’s steel consumption in both 2017 and 2018. The investment bank also recently forecast that China’s iron ore imports will total 971 million tonnes in 2016, compared with 953 million tonnes in 2015. Iron ore imports are tipped to rise slightly in 2017, followed by a decline in subsequent years. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has maintained its long-term forecast of $US35 per tonne for iron ore.

CORPORATES
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, METAL BULLETIN LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA

Nine fades to black in the midnight hour

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 28 : 4-Jul-16

The Nine Network’s content was temporarily unavailable in regional areas of Western Australia after negotiations with West Digital Television regarding an affiliation deal stalled. WDT is a joint venture between WIN Corporation and Prime Media Group, and it had proposed to pay an affiliation fee of less than 20 per cent of its revenue. Nine in turn is believed to have sought a percentage of revenue based on audience share. WDT began broadcasting Nine’s signal nearly two days after the negotiations’ deadline of 30 June had lapsed.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WEST DIGITAL TELEVISION, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, IMPARJA TELEVISION PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Networks seek new strategy for Presto

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 28 : 4-Jul-16

Data from Telsyte suggests that the Presto video-on-demand service had about 418,000 subscribers in June 2016, including 112,000 paid subscribers. In contrast, rival Netflix boasted 1.29 million subscribers in total, while Stan had 640,000. Presto’s joint venture partners Foxtel and Seven West Media are said to be considering their options, which could include merging Presto with one of Foxtel’s other video-on-demand products.

CORPORATES
PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TELSYTE PTY LTD, HBO, SHOWTIME, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOX UK, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, SKY PLC