Author: roymorgansocial

Sydney auction success slips, but Melbourne holds its own

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Mar-16

Sydney’s residential property market boasted an auction clearance rate of 73.3 per cent on the weekend of 5-6 March 2016, compared with 76.9 per cent one week earlier. The clearance rate in Melbourne rose from 75.3 per cent to 75.8 per cent, and Andrew Wilson of Domain expects a large rise in auction listings for the "super Saturday" ahead of the Easter break.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS PTY LTD, ABERCROMBYS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, SIMEON MANNERS PROPERTY, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TOGA PTY LTD

Crowdfunding gay retirement village

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 4-Mar-16

DomaCom intends to use crowdfunding to raise funds for the construction of a gay and lesbian retirement village near Ballan in Victoria. CEO Arthur Naoumidis says crowdfunding for property development is a form of internet-based syndication. The proposed development involves constructing 120 dwellings on a 30-acre block of land, at a cost of $A10 million to $A12 million.

CORPORATES
DOMACOM LIMITED, S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD

Mobile travel bookings quadruple (and then some) since 2011

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Mar-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 511,000 Australians aged 14+ (3.8 per cent) who took a trip in the year to December 2015 booked part of their last holiday via mobile internet. This compares with 121,000 in 2011. The survey also shows that 7.2 per cent of travellers aged between 18 and 24 and 6.3 per cent of those aged 25-34 booked at least part of their last trip via mobile internet. In contrast, just 2.6 per cent of the 50-64 year-old bracket and 1.3 per cent of the 65+ group booked part of their last trip via mobile internet.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB, WOTIF.COM HOLDINGS LIMITED, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Union mergers a failure, says ex-ACTU official

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 4-Mar-16

The ACTU’s former assistant secretary Tim Lyons says mergers between trade unions have failed to arrest a decline in union membership. He argues that most mergers have been unsuccessful, and unions should develop strategies to ensure that the outcomes of future mergers meet expectations.

CORPORATES
ACTU, PER CAPITA AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Abbott attacks fuel fears of election loss

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Mar-16

Former prime minister Tony Abbott is increasingly perceived among his colleagues as a burden. Coalition MPs are concerned about his potential to alienate voters. Abbott’s contribution to the public discourse on issues such as tax cuts and the submarine contract has been judged to be damaging the chances of the Coalition for re-election.

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

Origin Energy chief open to discuss merger offers

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 24 : 4-Mar-16

Market watchers have suggested a number of future strategies for Origin Energy, including a demerger or merging its oil and gas assets with Santos. Origin MD Grant King says the group has not ruled out any of the options that have been mooted, but he notes that all such deals would be complex and take time to complete. Meanwhile, King has downplayed concerns about a modest delay in progress on completing the first two production trains at the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SINOPEC CORPORATION, BECHTEL GROUP, KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Wrong way to do tax: key adviser

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-Mar-16

More resources should be allocated to the bodies engaged in the tax reform process, says Board of Taxation chairman Michael Andrews. He told a tax conference in Melbourne on 3 March 2016 that the debate about tax is highly politicised, which is regrettable. The timing of the debate is not auspicious because people are distracted by political considerations during an election year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. BOARD OF TAXATION, BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

BHP surges on dam compo deal

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 4-Mar-16

Shares in BHP Billiton closed 3.1 per cent higher at $A17.25 on 3 March 2016. The stock rallied after its Samarco iron ore joint venture secured an agreement with the Brazilian Government and two state governments regarding compensation and remediation work following the November 2015 tailings dam disaster. The deal could potentially allow the Samarco joint venture with Vale to resume production in 2017.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

Graphite junior in shock collapse

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 4-Mar-16

Australian-listed Triton Minerals has been placed in the hands of administrators from Ferrier Hodgson. The group had recently released an update assessment of the prospects for its Mozambique graphite project, and it is not believed to have any significant debt. However, three directors have left Triton since December 2015, including former CEO Brad Boyle. Triton’s shares reached a high of $A0.54 in April 2015, and last traded at just $A0.061.

CORPORATES
TRITON MINERALS LIMITED – ASX TON, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, GMP SECURITY PTY LTD, YICHANG XINCHENG GRAPHITE COMPANY LIMITED

Investors advised to widen stocks horizons

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 4-Mar-16

The Australian sharemarket has shed five per cent so far in 2016, with the market volatility adversely affecting exchange-traded funds in particular. However, experts say investors who use an active investment strategy can diversify their portfolios by gaining exposure to passive investment options such as exchange-traded funds. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF has delivered the best performance among such funds in the year-to-date.

CORPORATES
MARKET VECTORS GOLD MINERS ETF – ASX GDX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, ISHARES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BETASHARES AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES STRONGBEARHEDGEFUND – ASX BBO, MARKET VECTORS CHINAMC A-SHARE ETF – ASX CET, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, PROTEGE FUNDS LLC, VANGUARD S&P 500 ADMIRAL INDEX FUND