Author: roymorgansocial

APN is expected to demerge NZ business

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 25 : 18-Apr-16

Australian-listed APN News & Media is believed to be planning to spin off its NZME division in New Zealand as a separately listed company. The group had been considering options such as an IPO or trade sale, but it is said to favour distributing shares in NZME to current stockholders. Andrew McLeod of Morgan Stanley values NZME at between $A134m and $A264m. APN first mooted selling or floating its New Zealand business in 2014.

CORPORATES
APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NZME, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE AG, FIRST NZ CAPITAL EQUITIES LIMITED, FORSYTH BARR LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Australia’s cat people: a special breed

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Apr-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 38.4 per cent of Australians aged 14+ reported owning at least one dog and 23.6 per cent reported owning at least one cat. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2015, also shows that 11.7 per cent reported owning at least one dog and one cat, and 44.3 per cent reported owning neither. Meanwhile, male cat owners are 50 per cent more likely to be employed as a Department Head/Admin or Branch Manager than the average Australian man, while female cat owners are 45 per cent more likely to be employed in Sales than the average Australian woman.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

NBA and EPL’s dedicated viewers are the most open to paying for sports on demand

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Apr-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 12.25 million Australians aged 14+ (63 per cent) have at least one sport that they "almost always" watch on TV, and over 1 in 6 of these dedicated fans either already pay to watch sporting events on demand or say they would like to. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2015, also shows that 23 per cent of American NBA basketball viewers already pay to watch sport on demand and another 21 per cent agree that they would like to. Meanwhile, 25 per cent of English Premier League viewers already pay to watch some sport on demand, with another 16 per cent open to the idea.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION, SUPER RUGBY, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Bank bad debts to rise $1.2b, UBS downgrades earnings

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 15-Apr-16

Australian banks’ exposure to corporate failures will affect their financial results when they are reported in early May 2016. Jonathan Mott, an analyst at UBS, wrote in a note to clients that total exposures to companies such as Arrium, the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal, Dick Smith, McAleese and Slater & Gordon would be around $A899 million for National Australia Bank, $A809 million for Westpac, $A688 million for the ANZ Bank and $A657 million for the Commonwealth Bank.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, PEABODY COALTRADE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, McALEESE LIMITED – ASX MCS

Iron ore price reverses as Rio Tinto predicted

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Original article by Frik Els
Mining.com – Page: Online : 15-Apr-16

The Northern China benchmark import price of iron ore has fallen by 2.2 per cent to $US58.60 per dry metric tonne. However, the price of the steel input has still risen by 36.6 per cent so far in 2016, and by 58 per cent since mid-December 2015.

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

CFMEU fights Lendlease to fly flags

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 15-Apr-16

The removal of union flags from cranes at Lend Lease’s apartment project in Brisbane has triggered a strike by construction workers. Lawyers for the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union argued before the Fair Work Commission that Lend Lease’s action was an attack on "a workplace right", but the commission rejected this argument and ordered workers to return to work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MASTER BUILDERS OF AUSTRALIA, BUILDERS’ LABOURERS, PAINTERS’ AND PLASTERERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Drones, digital tech offer savings for oil firms

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 15-Apr-16

Unscheduled downtime at LNG projects is estimated to cost about $US11m per day, according to General Electric. Lorenzo Simonelli, the CEO of the conglomerate’s GE Oil & Gas division, says technology can be utilised to minimise such disruptions. This could include the use of drones to monitor the condition of offshore oil or gas platforms and detect leaks, and the use of predictive analysis to determine the likelihood that oil and gas equipment will break down.

CORPORATES
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, GE OIL AND GAS, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SIEMENS AG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Bank royal commission a drain on economy: Hirst

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Apr-16

Bendigo & Adelaide Bank CEO Mike Hirst says there is no need for a royal commission into the banking industry. He told a strategy briefing in Sydney that a royal commission would be a waste of money as there is no evidence of systemic failure. He also said a royal commission would also have a negative impact on the economy. Hirst favours self-regulation, and he argues that the poor conduct of certain banking employees can be rectified by the banks themselves.

CORPORATES
BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ASX ‘likely’ to choose a local chief executive

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Apr-16

ASX Limited has posted a statutory profit of $A317.4m for the first nine months of 2015-16, which is 6.2 per cent higher than previously. The stock exchange operator will shortly appoint an executive search firm to find a successor to CEO Elmer Funke Kupper. ASX chairman Rick Holliday-Smith says the highly regulated nature of the Australian market means a local candidate will probably be preferred, but he has not ruled out an offshore hire if they have the right skills and experience.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, RUSSELL REYNOLDS ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Spending and taxing failures risk AAA: Moody’s

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 15-Apr-16

Ratings agency Moody’s expects Australia’s debt to rise to about 38 per cent of GDP, compared with 35 per cent at present. Moody’s analyst Marie Diron notes that this has risen from just 11.6 per cent over the last decade, while the debt of other countries with a triple-A credit rating has averaged 41 per cent over this period. Diron adds that the Federal Government is unlikely to return the Budget to surplus by 2021 unless there is an increase in taxes.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY