Author: roymorgansocial

China bid to cool ore trading welcomed

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 28-Apr-16

A sharp rise in iron ores futures trading in China is believed to have contributed to recent volatility in the price of the steel input. Atlas Iron MD David Flanagan recently visited China, and says he was told that many so-called "mum and dad" investors are actively trading iron ore futures. The Dalian Commodity Exchange has sought to rein in futures trading activity by doubling its trading fees.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, DALIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, CLARKSONS PLATOU

Price struck for thermal coal export a ‘huge coup’

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 27-Apr-16

Australian thermal coal producers have secured an annual contract price of $US61.60 per tonne from Japanese buyers for the financial year that began on 1 April 2016. While this is 9.1 per cent lower than the $US67.80 for the previous Japanese financial year, Macquarie Wealth Management notes that it is about $US10.80 per tonne higher than the spot price. Australian shipments of thermal coal to Japan totalled 84.7 million tonnes in 2015.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, GLENCORE PLC, TOHOKU ELECTRIC POWER CORPORATION, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT INCORPORATED

Why Aldi’s red-hot on snow gear segment

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 27-Apr-16

Discount supermarket chain Aldi has become Australia’s largest retailer of skiwear and snow clothing, according to local CEO Tom Daunt. Aldi has launched a separate website for ski clothing, with the aim of attracting shoppers on higher incomes who would not usually visit one of its stores. Aldi currently boasts nine stores in South Australia, and Daunt says the group is pleased with its initial success in the state. Its first store in Western Australia will open later in 2016.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, SNOWSPORTS INDUSTRIES OF AUSTRALIA

Game of Thrones breaks records

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Original article by Max Mason
The Age – Page: 22 : 27-Apr-16

Pay-TV group Foxtel expects the season six debut episode of "Game of Thrones" to have attracted more than one million Australian viewers when Foxtel IQ and encore screening figures are taken into account. The first episode boasted a live viewing audience of 727,000 on 25 April 2016, with an average 396,000 people watching its initial broadcast during the day and an additional 285,000 viewers for the encore screening in prime-time.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HBO, BITTORRENT INCORPORATED

Shell to axe jobs as cost cuts hit home

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 27-Apr-16

Oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell is believed to be planning to retrench up to 250 employees across Australia as part of a global cost-cutting strategy. Shell recently advised its Australian staff of the proposed job cuts but has not quantified the number that will be lost. Many Shell Australia employees will also be required to re-apply for their jobs. Shell spokesman Paul Zennaro says projects such as the Prelude floating LNG venture and the expansion of the group’s LNG project in Queensland will eventually create jobs.

CORPORATES
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BG GROUP PLC, QUEENSLAND GAS COMPANY LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Adelaide-built submarines will cost more, Coalition concedes

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 27-Apr-16

The Australian Government’s decision to build a new $A50bn fleet of submarines in Adelaide will create 2,800 jobs in South Australia, including 1,100 direct jobs. RAND Corporation has estimated that building the 12 submarines overseas would have reduced the cost by 30-40 per cent, but notes that the cost will be reduced by having a continuous shipbuilding program. The submarine contract has been awarded to France-based DCNS, which edged out defence contractors from Japan and Germany.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, DCNS SA, RAND CORPORATION, JAPAN. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Dollar overvaluation won’t provoke rate cut, says NAB

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Original article by Jessica Sier, Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 27-Apr-16

The Australian dollar has risen by more than 12 per cent since mid-January 2016. National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril says the currency may be approaching previous levels at which the Reserve Bank had expressed "discomfort". The central bank responded to these concerns by reducing the cash rate, but NAB does not believe that the dollar’s current level will be sufficiently high for the RBA to cut interest rates in May. The latest inflation and jobs data will also influence the RBA’s monetary policy decision.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BLOOMBERG LP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

National vote lowest since 2014 Election as NZ First vote surges to 20 year high of 12.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 26-Apr-16

A New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention has found that support for the ruling National Party has fallen by 3.5 per cent to 42.5 per cent in April 2016. The poll also shows that support for a potential Labour/Greens alliance has fallen by 1.5 per cent to 40.5 per cent, while the NZ Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has fallen by five points to 127 points. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that support for the centrist party New Zealand First has risen by 3.5 per cent to a record high of 12.5 per cent, which is the highest level of support for the party since it captured 13.4 per cent of the vote at the 1996 New Zealand Election.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NEW ZEALAND FIRST PARTY, CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY, ACT NEW ZEALAND, INTERNET PARTY, MANA PARTY

Quickflix goes bust, blames Stan for demise

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 21 : 27-Apr-16

Listed subscription video-on-demand provider Quickflix has been placed in the hands of administrators from Ferrier Hodgson. Quickflix has attributed its decision to go into voluntary administration on the refusal of streaming rival Stan to endorse a proposal to restructure redeemable preference shares. They were issued to HBO in 2011 and subsequently sold to Stan’s joint owner Nine Entertainment Company in 2014. Quickflix says Stan’s terms for agreeing to the restructure were unacceptable.

CORPORATES
QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, HBO, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY

High earners may cop super tax rises

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Apr-16

The Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget might include reducing the income threshold for the 30 per cent tax rate for superannuation contributions from $A300,000 to $A250,000. This is the same threshold that was proposed by the Opposition in 2015. Meanwhile, the Government is believed to have ruled out reducing the level of super contributions that attract the concessional tax rate from $A30,000 a year to $A20,000. Other super changes include abolition of the anti-detriment payment and transition-to-retirement provisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD