Do Australian women even care about the AFL?

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Mar-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 33.8 per cent of Australian women aged 14+ supported an AFL team in the year to December 2015, compared with 35.6 per cent in 2012. The proportion of women who watch AFL matches on TV fell from 34 per cent to 33.4 per cent over this period. However, the proportion of women who have a paid-up club membership has risen from 3.1 per cent to 3.6 per cent, and the proportion who attend AFL matches has risen from 9.8 per cent to 10 per cent. Meanwhile, the proportion of women who play Australian Rules football has fallen from 1.3 per cent to one per cent since 2012.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, FREMANTLE DOCKERS FOOTBALL CLUB, SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB, HAWTHORN FOOTBALL CLUB, PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB, WESTERN BULLDOGS FOOTBALL CLUB, BRISBANE LIONS FOOTBALL CLUB, ST KILDA FOOTBALL CLUB, WEST COAST EAGLES FOOTBALL CLUB, COLLINGWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB, GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB

Jean genies: shopping for denim jeans in Australia

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Mar-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that more than 1.7 million Australians aged 14+ buy at least one pair of denim jeans in any given four-week period. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2015, also shows that 11.4 per cent of Australians buy women’s jeans at Kmart in an average four weeks, while 12.5 per cent buy men’s jeans at the discount department store. Target is the second most popular store for buying women’s jeans (11.1 per cent), while Just Jeans (8.5 per cent) is the second most popular store for men’s jeans.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, JEANS WEST, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR

Junior miners ripe for picking, says Lanstead

Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 30-Mar-16

British fund manager Lanstead Investors aims to invest about $A300m in Australian-listed stocks over the next several years. Its portfolio currently comprises about $A50m worth of Australian shares, and co-founder Greg Kofford is bullish about local resources groups. He believes that smaller resources companies in particular offer good value at present. Lanstead director Andrew Sparke notes that lack of access to capital has forced many smaller miners to shelve quality projects.

CORPORATES
LANSTEAD INVESTORS PTY LTD, WESTERN MINING NETWORK LIMITED – ASX WMN, CARBINE TUNGSTEN LIMITED – ASX CNQ, MUSTANG RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MUS, LITHIUM AUSTRALIA NL – ASX LIT, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Booktopia pushes ahead with plans for $150m IPO

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 30-Mar-16

Australian online book retailer Booktopia may pursue a sharemarket float in the second half of 2016. CEO Tony Nash says the bulk of proceeds from the proposed IPO will be used to finance Booktopia’s expansion plans and invested in its supply chain processes. Booktopia’s sales are forecast to exceed $A100m in 2017, and Nash is not unduly concerned about competition from The Book Depository, which is owned by Amazon.

CORPORATES
BOOKTOPIA PTY LTD, THE BOOK DEPOSITORY LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, BOOKWORLD, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, TEMPLE AND WEBSTER GROUP LIMITED – ASX TPW, SURFSTITCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX SRF, IBISWORLD PTY LTD

Qube benefits from Brockman’s maverick move on Pilbara

Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 30-Mar-16

Australian-listed iron ore group Brockman Mining still aims to gain access to the rail network of Fortescue Metals Group in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Brockman has secured an agreement for logistics group Qube Holdings to transport iron ore from its Maverick project by road to Port Hedland, but large-scale production will require transport via rail. Brockman estimates that the project’s operating costs will be around $US35 per tonne.

CORPORATES
BROCKMAN MINING LIMITED – ASX BCK, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COURT OF APPEAL (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)

Crossbenchers open to negotiate stricter IR laws

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Mar-16

Seven of the eight crossbench senators say they are willing to hold talks with the Australian Government regarding its proposed industrial relations reforms. The Government requires the support of at least six crossbenchers for its reforms to be passed by the upper house. Senator Glenn Lazarus has indicated that he will support the bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission provided its powers are broadened to cover other industries. Senator Jacqui Lambie is the only crossbencher to have ruled out negotiating with the Government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Tax bracket creep to hit poorer half the hardest

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Mar-16

Economic modelling suggests that by 2020 so-called "bracket creep" is likely to wipe out Australian households’ gains from a series of tax cuts since 2004. The Australian Nat­ional University’s modelling indicates that unless the Federal Government’s May 2016 Budget includes income tax cuts, Australians on the lowest incomes may face the largest increase in their tax burden in the next four years. Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out personal income tax cuts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Woolworths needs to fix more than its Homebrands

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 30-Mar-16

Marketing Focus’s Barry Urquhart says Woolworths will need to market a change in branding for its entry-level private-label products in the same way it markets national brands. Woolworths intends to phase out the Homebrand name in favour of Essentials, in a bid to counter perceptions that the private-label products of rival grocery chains are of better quality. Melbourne Business School’s Mark Ritson says Woolworths should also seek to reposition its other private-label brands.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MARKETING FOCUS PTY LTD, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL, PRINCIPALS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Merged Foxtel, Fox Sports ‘easier’ to float

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 20 : 30-Mar-16

Credit ­Suisse media analyst Fraser McLeish says a proposed IPO for Foxtel would be more attractive to investors if the pay-TV group was merged with Fox Sports. McLeish estimates that a merged Foxtel-Fox Sports would boast an enterprise value of about $A8.5bn. Telstra and News Corp each own 50 per cent of Foxtel, and News Corp has full ownership of Fox Sports.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, EUROSPORT

Dividend lure keeps capex hungry

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 30-Mar-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 boasts a dividend yield of 4.98 per cent at present, and it is tipped to be 4.66 per cent for the 2016 calendar year. Yield-hungry investors continue to shun bonds in favour of equities, and Citigroup has suggested that this focus on yield is deterring companies from increasing their capital expenditure. Australian companies anticipate capex of $A124bn in 2015-16, and $A82.6bn in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED