Author: roymorgansocial

Oil’s bounce offers respite for producers

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 28 : 18-May-16

The price of Brent crude oil has rallied to almost $US50 per barrel in mid-May 2016, after falling to around $US28 in January. The rebound has in turn bolstered the share prices of Australian oil and gas producers such as Woodside Petroleum and Santos. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs forecasts that the oil price will rise to $US60 a barrel in the December 2017 quarter, although the firms says increased supply could result in it falling to around $US45 in the March quarter.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

Women more likely than men to wear prescription glasses and/or contact lenses

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

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 85.8 per cent of Australians aged 65+ wear prescription glasses and/or contact lenses, compared with just over three in 10 Australians aged 18-24. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2015, also shows that 65.2 per cent of Australian women aged 18+ wear prescription glasses/contact lenses, compared with 54.8 per cent of men. While the prevalence of vision impairment rises for both genders as they get older, women consistently outnumber men, particularly among the younger age brackets.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Gage Roads returns to its crafty roots

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-May-16

Australian-listed Gage Roads Brewing will supply private-label beers to Woolworths for at least another three years, although volumes will be reduced. Gage Roads will seek to offset this by increasing its production of craft beers. MD John Hoedemaker forecasts that these products will account for about 70 per cent of its sales by 2021, compared with 13 per cent in 2015 and 28 per cent so far in 2016.

CORPORATES
GAGE ROADS BREWING COMPANY LIMITED – ASX GRB, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, LION PTY LTD, BYRON BAY BEER COMPANY, ASAHI BREWERIES LIMITED, MOUNTAIN GOAT BEER PTY LTD

Hardware merger is ‘the better of two evils’

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 17-May-16

Mitre 10 boasts a three per cent share of Australia’s hardware market, but this would rise to five per cent if it acquired Woolworths-owned Danks. Hardware retailer John Dahlsen believes that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission should approve any merger between the two groups. He argues that an enlarged Mitre 10 could reduce its wholesale costs, which could in turn make the independent hardware retailers that it supplies more competitive against Bunnings.

CORPORATES
MITRE 10 LIMITED, DANKS HOLDINGS LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, JC DAHLSEN PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATBUILD PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, THRIFTY-LINK HARDWARE PTY LTD, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED

Lacaze puts struggling Lynas back on track

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 21 : 17-May-16

Shares in rare earths producer Lynas Corporation were trading at about $A0.14 when Amanda Lacaze became CEO in mid-2014, compared with a peak of $A2.25 in 2011. The stock is currently trading at around $A0.07, but Lynas has increased its output, reduced its operating costs and scaled back its workforce during Lacaze’s tenure. The group’s sales rose by 43 per cent rise to $A93m during the second half of 2015, and its operating loss fell to $A40m.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMANDER COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, NESTLE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, MOLYCORP MINERALS LLC

Double hit for Shorten on penalties

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Original article by Sid Maher, Joe Kelly, Mark Coultan, Paige Taylor
The Australian – Page: 1 : 17-May-16

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has ruled out introducing legislation to protect penalty rates if the Fair Work Commission rules that Sunday rates in sectors such as retailing and hospitality should be reduced. Shorten has reiterated his position that the Australian Labor Party will not oppose the FWC’s ruling, despite pressure from the Australian Greens and the union movement to take action to safeguard penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ACTU, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION

Morgan Poll finds: ALP grabs election winning lead after first week of the campaign – ALP 52.5% cf. L-NP 47.5%

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Original article by Gary Morgan, Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 16-May-16

The ALP 52.5% (up 1.5%) has an election-winning two-party preferred lead over the L-NP 47.5% (down 1.5%) after the first week of official campaigning. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the Federal Election just over a week ago and today’s Morgan Poll shows the first week has been won by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. The ALP increased support strongly in Western Australia ALP 54% (up 5%) cf. L-NP 46% (down 5%) and Tasmania ALP 57% (up 5%) cf. L-NP 43% (down 5%) after the first week and there were also smaller swings to the ALP in Victoria and Queensland. However, there is still a long way to go in the Federal Election campaign and the massive vote (30.5%) for the minor parties shows the minor parties will definitely hold the balance of power in the Senate and led by the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) could also control the balance of power in the House of Representatives. The strong performance of the minor parties in today’s Morgan Poll shows that neither Turnbull nor Shorten has successfully articulated clear policies and a plan that minor party supporters will vote for.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

IPOs bigger but small caps outperform

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 17-May-16

Data from fintech group OnMarket BookBuilds shows that 27 per cent of the 94 new listings on the Australian sharemarket in 2015 were technology companies, compared with just four of the 97 IPOs in 2010. In contrast, the number of IPOs in the energy and resources sector fell from 72 in 2010 to just four in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of companies being listed by private equity firms has fallen from 22 per cent of IPOs in 2014 to just six per cent in 2015.

CORPORATES
ON-MARKET BOOKBUILDS PTY LTD, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, AFTERPAY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AFY, REDBUBBLE LIMITED – ASX RBL, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH

Finding the best return in a low-return world

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 17-May-16

Research by Societe Generale’s global asset allocation strategy team has concluded that investors can expect an annualised total return of 5-7 per cent from the majority of developed equity markets in the medium- to long-term. The research also suggests that emerging market equities and bonds are likely to deliver the best returns, with Societe Generale preferring bonds issued by India. However, the group says Australian investors should favour shares rather than bonds.

CORPORATES
SOCIETE GENERALE SA

Optus defends controversial English Premier League plans

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 17-May-16

Optus has attracted criticism for restricting access to its English Premier League coverage to its own broadband and mobile customers. However, Optus’s Ben White says the telco aims to differentiate itself from rivals by offering exclusive content to its customers, and he notes that Optus is upgrading its infrastructure to ensure that its EPL coverage is of broadcast quality. Optus will also be the primary Australian broadcaster of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with SBS to broadcast some matches.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, SOCCEROOS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED