Author: roymorgansocial

News pushes for full reform

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Mar-16

News Corp CFO Bedi Singh has told a conference in the US that the Australian Government must abolish both the "reach rule" and the "two-of-three rule". The Australian Labor Party may oppose the latter, but Singh says abolishing both would provide consumers with greater choice. Singh also says the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts should also have been on the Government’s agenda for cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

New car market starts 2016 with intention uptick

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Mar-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 585,000 Australians aged 14+ intend to buy a new car in the next 12 months. The survey, which was carried out in January 2016, also shows that 2,210,000 Australians intend to buy a new car in the next four years. Jordan Pakes of Roy Morgan Research notes that around 30 per cent of Australia’s new car intenders plan to buy either a Toyota or Mazda in the next four years – up almost three per cent compared with a year ago. Other volume makes with more potential buyers now than a year ago include Ford and Hyundai.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MAZDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FORD MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Westpac execs quizzed in rate-rig probe

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Mar-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is believed to have interviewed about 25 Westpac employees to date as part of its investigation into allegations that banks manipulated the bank bill swap rate. The ANZ Bank is already the subject of legal action by ASIC over the scandal, while the corporate regulator is said to have identified about 120 Westpac employees and executives that it wants to interview. Westpac has stressed that it is co-operating fully with the investigation.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ALLENS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Optus could say Yes to name change

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Original article by David Ramli, John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 8-Mar-16

Australian telco Optus has used market research and focus groups to determine whether consumers would embrace a move to rebrand itself under the "Yes" banner. Optus has been actively securing trademarks using the Yes theme, although the cost of rebranding is seen as one of the problems associated with adopting its long-running tagline as its corporate name. Meanwhile, Optus is planning a major marketing drive ahead of launching its exclusive English Premier League coverage.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Early budget talk, election options narrow

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 8-Mar-16

The Australian Government is considering moving the Budget forward one week to 3 May 2016. Should it opt to call a double-dissolution election, it must do so no later than 11 May in order to hold such an election on its preferred date of 2 July. A half-Senate election in August is also being considered. The bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission remains a potential trigger for a double-dissolution election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Federal Voting Intention virtually unchanged: L-NP 53% maintain clear 2PP lead over ALP 47% as Parliament debates Senate reform

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 7-Mar-16

A multi-mode Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention has found that support for Australia’s ruling Liberal-National Coalition on a two-party preferred basis has risen by 0.5 per cent to 53 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 27-28 February and 5-6 March 2016, also shows that the Coalition’s primary vote has fallen by 0.5 per cent to 43 per cent, while the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has fallen by three points to 102. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says this week’s strong result for the L-NP comes after a good week for the Australian economy. GDP for the December 2015 quarter came in above expectations at 0.6 per cent, for an annual GDP growth rate of three per cent. In addition, last week the All Ordinaries Index increased by 4.2 per cent to close at 5,151.10 on Friday and the Australian dollar increased to over $US0.74- its highest since July 2015.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Soaring BHP still has room to run

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 8-Mar-16

A rebound in the iron ore price prompted renewed investor support for BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group on 7 March 2016. BHP shares closed 4.98 per cent higher at $A18.55, compared with $A15.57 one week earlier. Shaw & Partners and UBS are the most bullish about the outlook for BHP, with 12-month share price targets of $A27 and $A22 respectively. In contrast, JP Morgan has a share price target of just $A13.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CLARKSONS PLATOU, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, STANDARD BANK LONDON LIMITED, SBG SECURITIES, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, VALE SA

Citi expects bank dividends to be ‘significantly lower’

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-Mar-16

Citi Global Markets’ Sebastien Bland has warned that hedge funds and long-only fund managers in the UK and Europe are not convinced that Australian banks’ dividend payouts are sustainable given their current capital levels. He says hedge funds believe that the banks will need to reduce their dividend payout ratios, but he adds that long-only funds expect the banks to maintain dividends via measures such as dividend reinvestment plans.

CORPORATES
CITI GLOBAL MARKETS, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, VARIANT PERCEPTION

Australia lags in female CFOs

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-Mar-16

Boral, Origin Energy, Dexus Property Group, Perpetual, GPT Group and Magellan Financial Group are the only top-100 listed companies in Australia that have a female CFO, according to research by Conrad Liveris. In contrast, 11 of the 100 largest companies globally boast a female CFO. The research also shows that women now account for 13 of the CFOs at Australia’s 200 largest listed companies, compared with 10 in 2012, while 12 of these companies have a female CEO.

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX MFG, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC INSTITUTIONAL BANK, DIVERSITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, ARETE EXECUTIVE PTY LTD

Iron ore leads commodities bounce as high-cost producers exit

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 32 : 8-Mar-16

The iron ore price has risen by 41 per cent since late December 2015, reaching a high of $US52.40 per tonne in early March 2016. The price of the steel input has averaged $US51.60 per tonne over the last 12 months. The rebound is partly attributable to the withdrawal of iron ore miners with high production costs from the market. According to Rio Tinto, supply of high-cost iron ore fell by around 130 million tonnes in 2015, while just 75 million tonnes of new supply will enter the market in 2016.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED