Author: roymorgansocial

Diversity key for ABC, says Guthrie

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 3-May-16

Former Google executive Michelle Guthrie officially succeeded Mark Scott as MD of the ABC on 2 May 2016. She has called for greater diversity in the ABC’s staff and its content, to ensure that the public broadcaster is relevant to all Australians. Meanwhile, Guthrie will appear before a Senate estimates committee on 5 May, while the ABC’s funding is likely to be retained at about its current level in the Australian Government’s Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SKY PLC, STAR TV, PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Chevron close to Gorgon LNG restart

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 2-May-16

Energy giant Chevron has advised that production at the Gordon LNG project should resume by the end of May 2016. Mechanical problems forced Chevron to shut down the Barrow Island processing plant shortly after production commenced in early March. Chevron is confident that the first LNG train will reach full production within 6-8 months. Meanwhile, Chevron still expects production at the Wheatstone project to begin in mid-2017.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, Z ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ZNZ

Demerger option looms for Origin

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 & 22 : 2-May-16

The commencement of production at the Australia Pacific LNG project means Origin Energy’s oil and gas business accounts for the biggest proportion of its operations. This will strengthen the case for those who advocate that Origin should spin off its electricity and gas retailing arm, which boasts 4.3 million customers. However, Origin has some $A9bn worth of debt, which would make a demerger difficult to pursue at present, particularly given the continued weakness of the crude oil price.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BG GROUP PLC, CONOCOPHILLIPS, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HONY CAPITAL, ENN HOLDINGS, SINOPEC CORPORATION, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Turnbull backs Kidman move as foreign cash drops

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 2-May-16

A report from the OECD indicates that foreign investment in Australia fell by 44 per cent in 2015, to US22.6bn ($A29.7bn). This compares with $US39.6bn in 2014 and $US55.9bn in 2013. Australia’s share of global foreign investment in developed economies has fallen to just 1.1 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent between 2011 and 2013. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says a preliminary decision by Treasurer Scott Morrison to block the sale of S. Kidman & Company to Chinese interests is justified given the sheer size of the landholding.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SKY NEWS

Pressure on dividends in bank earnings

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-May-16

The earnings and dividend payouts of Australia’s four major banks will come under scrutiny in the first week of May 2016, with three set to release their half-year results. Westpac is tipped to post an interim net profit of at least $A4bn, while the ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank are expected to report half-year profits of about $A3.58bn and $A3.34bn respectively. Hugh Dive of Aurora Funds Management says NAB is the most likely to reduce its dividend payout, although Mark Nathan of Arnhem Asset Management believes that all four major banks will leave dividends unchanged in the near-term.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION

Foxtel seeks delayed EPL coverage

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 2-May-16

Pay-TV group Foxtel is said to be negotiating a deal to broadcast the TV channels of some of the most popular English Football League teams. The channels provide delayed coverage of EPL matches, and were previously shown in Australia by FetchTV. Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh does not expect many EPL fans to cancel their Foxtel subscription when Optus’s exclusive three-year deal for live coverage of EPL matches begins in August 2016.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB, MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB, LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC, ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC, CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB, BEIN MEDIA GROUP, BEIN SPORTS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Ten and WIN deal expected shortly

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jake Mitchell, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 27 & 29 : 2-May-16

The Ten Network is said to be close to finalising an affiliation agreement with regional broadcaster WIN Corporation, which currently has a content supply deal with Nine Entertainment Company. Speculation that Nine will pursue a merger with Southern Cross Media Group has intensified since the two groups signed a five-year affiliation agreement on 29 April 2016. Nine will receive 50 per cent of Southern Cross’s advertising revenue under the new deal, compared with the 34 per cent that Ten receives at present.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, HIT NETWORK, WEST DIGITAL TELEVISION, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

China deal driving jobs and growth: Ciobo

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rowan Callick
The Australian – Page: 2 : 2-May-16

Australia’s Trade and Investment Minister, Steve Ciobo, says local businesses of all sizes have benefited from the free trade agreement with China, which took effect in late December 2015. He notes that the downturn in commodity prices reduced the total value of exports to China in the March 2016 quarter, although this was offset by a rise in non-resources exports. Products that recorded strong growth in export volumes during the quarter include bottled wine, fresh fruit and seafood.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Company tax cuts: in the future

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Patrick Durkin, Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-May-16

The Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget is expected to provide tax relief for small and medium enterprises. However, the Government is likely to opt to phase in a reduction in the corporate tax rate over a period of time. The Business Council of Australia continues to push for the tax rate for all businesses to be initially reduced to 28.5 per cent, and eventually to just 25 per cent. Meanwhile, some business leaders argue that a priority for the Budget should be ensuring that government spending is sustainable.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, AUSTRALIA POST, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NESTLE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SQUARE PEG CAPITAL PTY LTD

Super curbs to top up women

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-May-16

The Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget will include a scheme that is similar to the Low Income Superannuation Contribution, which provides people on low incomes with a government co-contribution. Treasurer Scott Morrison says the "top-up" scheme will be funded via a reduction in superannuation tax concessions. The Budget will also include an increase in the $A80,001 income tax threshold in order to combat so-called bracket creep.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE