Author: roymorgansocial

Bundled reforms await return

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 26 & 28 : 16-May-16

The Australian Government will have to reintroduce its bill on cross-media ownership reform to Parliament if it wins the 2016 election. It is likely to package the reforms with a bill to reduce TV broadcasting licence fees, changes to the anti-siphoning for sports events and the pricing and allocation of broadcasting spectrum. The Government has previously ruled out introducing separate bills to abolish the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three rule".

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Cross-Platform Newspaper Readership for March 2016

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-May-16

Roy Morgan Research’s Cross-Platform Readership data for the 12 months to March 2016 shows that all national and capital city Australian metro newspaper mastheads now reach more readers in digital than print. "The Sydney Morning Herald" remains Australia’s most-read newspaper across print and digital combined, with 4,087,000 readers in total in an average week. Some 3,489,000 Australians now access the SMH through digital channels in an average week, which is 85 per cent of the masthead’s total cross-platform audience. "The Age" has a cross-platform audience of 2,860,000 , with 83 per cent reading it in digital form. Meanwhile, the "Herald Sun" and the "Daily Telegraph" reach the most Australians in print in an average week, and their total cross-platform audience is 2,837,000 and 3,120,000 respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Cross-Platform Magazine Readership for March 2016

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-May-16

Roy Morgan Research’s Cross-Platform Readership data for the 12 months to March 2016 shows that "The Australian Women’s Weekly" is Australia’s most-read magazine across print and digital combined, with a total cross-platform audience of 2,070,000. It is followed by "Better Homes & Gardens", with 2,054,000 readers across print and online combined. Unlike newspapers, nearly all cross-platform magazines are still read by more Australians in print than in their digital forms. Only three titles have more people reading online than in print: "Vogue" (406,000 digital and 315,000 print readers); "Gourmet Traveller" (238,000 digital and 225,000 print); and "The Monthly" (161,000 digital and 154,000 print).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Westfield Corp will still call Australia home

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 13-May-16

US-focused Westfield Corporation has ruled out shifting its primary listing from the Australian sharemarket to the US, although the group will consider a dual-listed structure. Chairman Frank Lowy says the board decided that there would be minimal benefit from relocating Westfield’s primary listing at present, and said he does not intend to retire from the board. Meanwhile, Westfield has advised that specialty retail sales at its shopping centres rose by 4.4 per cent in the year to March 2016.

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG

WA in $16b asset sale to fix budget

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague, Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 13-May-16

The Western Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget forecasts that the state’s deficit will blow out to $A3.9bn in 2017, while net debt will rise above $A40bn by 2019. Treasurer Mike Nahan has flagged plans to privatise some $A16bn worth of state assets, including Western Power, the TAB and Fremantle Ports. Nahan has stressed the need for asset sales to reduce the Budget deficit and to invest in new infrastructure.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, WESTERN POWER CORPORATION, TOTALIZATOR AGENCY BOARD (WESTERN AUSTRALIA), FREMANTLE PORTS, HORIZON POWER, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION

Company tax drop will pay off, says McKibbin

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 13-May-16

Prominent economist Warwick McKibbin has urged the Coalition to proceed with its proposed reduction in the company tax rate despite its high cost. The policy is estimated to cost $A48 billion over 10 years but McKibbin says it will add $A160 billion to GDP in the long-term. He disagrees with the assessment of the policy’s future benefits by Victoria University’s Janine Dixon, who calculated that a company tax cut would increase GDP while reducing gross national product by between $A800 and $A2,000 per capita.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY. CENTRE OF POLICY STUDIES

PM urged to tread carefully on steel

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-May-16

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) wants Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to proceed cautiously when dealing with the problem of the overproduction of steel in China. Turnbull said he spoke about the issue with US President Barack Obama on 12 May 2016. The Chinese Government is under pressure globally to prevent steel makers from flooding the market with their products. MCA CEO Brendan Pearson said Turnbull should also pay attention to the interests of Australian mining companies engaged in the production of iron ore and metallurgical coal used in steel production in China.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, US STEEL CORPORATION, ALLEGHENY TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, EUROPEAN UNION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN CHINA, CHINA. MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Coalition sells policy changes as ‘fair’

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 13-May-16

The Australian Government has defended its May 2106 Budget measures on the taxation of superannuation, with Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos and ex-prime minister Tony Abbott stressing that the changes are not retrospective. Sinodinos says the fact that some wealthy people are concerned about the changes demonstrates that the proposed reforms are fair. Abbott describes the reforms as a "gutsy call" by the Government and the right course of action.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED

Companies need to come up with growth strategies

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 13-May-16

Many Australian-listed companies have prioritised dividend yields in recent years, rather than investing in growth strategies. However, Macquarie Securities’ Jason Todd believes that investors are poised to reward companies that pursue growth via strategies such as acquisitions and capital expenditure. He identifies a number of stocks that could benefit from a growth strategy, including Transurban Group, Wesfarmers, Amcor, Carsales.com, CSL and Orora.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, ORORA LIMITED – ASX ORA, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

TV still a strong ad earner: Howcroft

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 22 : 13-May-16

The Ten Network’s executive general manager in Melbourne, Russel Howcroft, will become the inaugural chairman of Think TV. The industry body has been established by Australia’s free-to-air commercial networks and Foxtel in order to promote the benefits of traditional TV to advertisers in an era of digital disruption. Statistics highlight the continued market power of broadcast TV, which was viewed by 87.4 per cent of Australians each week in the December 2015 quarter.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, THINK TV, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, THINKBOX, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, OZTAM PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED