Author: roymorgansocial

Investor sentiment hits a record low

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 3-Feb-16

A survey by Investment Trends has found that the average investor expects the Australian sharemarket to gain just 1.2 per cent in 2016. However, Recep Peker of Investment Trends notes that 33 per cent of investors still intend to invest in equities. The survey also shows that 70 per cent of respondents have identified the outlook for the Chinese economy as their biggest concern, while the potential for another global financial crisis or market crash was cited by 54 per cent.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, HLB MANN JUDD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, CSI 300 INDEX

Bring back the ABCC: Cole

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 2-Feb-16

Legislation to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC) will be a priority for the Federal Government when Parliament resumes on 2 February 2016. Its reinstatement has been supported by Terence Cole, who headed the Royal Commission into the Building & Construction Industry in 2001. He argues that the ABCC’s crackdown on unlawful union conduct had resulted in cost savings of about $3.1bn a year by 2007. The ABCC was abolished by the Australian Labor Party in 2012.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Woolies turns to Saatchi for brand refresh

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Feb-16

Andrew Hicks has been appointed as the director of marketing at Woolworths, a role he has held in an acting capacity since the resignation of chief marketing officer Tony Phillips in May 2015. Meanwhile, Woolworths has hired advertising agency M&C Saatchi to develop a new marketing campaign for its supermarkets business. Leo Burnett has been the retailer’s creative agency for the last two years, and was responsible for revamping the long-running Fresh Food People campaign. It also developed the not-so-successful Cheap Cheap campaign.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, M&C SAATCHI AGENCY PTY LTD, LEO BURNETT PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Plea for NSW tenancy laws to embrace email

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 2-Feb-16

The New South Wales’ Residential Tenancies Act 2010 should be amended to reflect the growing popularity of electronic conveyancing. The state’s Real Estate Institute CEO Tim McKibbin says new forms of communication, such as electronic mail and text messages, are ubiquitous and this fact should be recognised by legislators. The institute expressed its views on this matter in a submission to the state’s residential tenancy laws review.

CORPORATES
THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES

1 in 7 Australians now watch no Commercial TV, nearly half of all broadcasting reaches people 50+, and those with SVOD watch 30 minutes less a day

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Feb-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 14.9 per cent of Australians aged 14+ did not watch any commercial TV on a normal weekday in the year to December 2015, compared with 4.9 per cent in 2008. The survey also shows that 20.7 per cent of Australians aged 25-34 watched no commercial TV in 2015, up from 7.6 per cent in 2008. Likewise, the number of 14-24 year-olds who do not watch any commercial TV has risen from seven per cent to 18.8 per cent since 2008, although Australians in the 35-49 and 50+ age groups have been slower to abandon commercial TV. Meanwhile, Australians aged 14-24 or 25-34 with Subscription Video On Demand now watch 13 minutes less TV on average per day than their counterparts without it, and the difference is even starker among older groups.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, FOXTEL PLAY

Palmer tops list of political generosity

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Edmund Tadros, Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 2-Feb-16

Mining magnate Clive Palmer donated almost $A10 million to his own Palmer United Party in 2014-15. Annual disclosure returns, released by the Australian Electoral Commission, show that Palmer was the largest political donor in 2015. The total amount of political donations fell significantly, with the Liberal Party of Australia recording a 40 per cent decline in receipts.

CORPORATES
MINERALOGY PTY LTD, PALMER UNITED PARTY, QUEENSLAND NICKEL PTY LTD, COOLUM RESORT PTY LTD, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BRUNSWICK PROPERTY VENTURE PTY LTD, EVER BRIGHT GROUP PTY LTD, CORMACK FOUNDATION PTY LTD, PHILIP MORRIS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC, ENERGY, INFORMATION, POSTAL, PLUMBING AND ALLIED SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRATT HOLDINGS, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Iron ore price descends towards Roy Hill’s break-even threshold

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Feb-16

POSCO has estimated that the Roy Hill iron ore project’s break-even price is currently in the low $US40 per tonne range. The South Korean steel producer, which has a 12.5 per cent stake in the project, expects Roy Hill’s marginal cost of production to fall to the mid-$US30/per tonne range when it reaches full capacity in 2017. The benchmark iron ore price has fallen below $US42/per tonne in early February 2016. Fortescue Metals Group’s break-even price is said to be between $US28 and $US32 per tonne.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, POSCO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, MARUBENI CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Blackstone expects oil price to ‘self-correct’

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 2-Feb-16

The price of Brent crude oil was trading at $US35 a barrel in early February 2016, having reached a low of $US28 in January. Blackstone Group president Hamilton James says the current price of crude oil is unsustainable and he expects it to rebound to around the $US75 level in coming years. James adds that the global oil surplus may not be sustained, as US oil supply is likely to fall if the crude oil price remains low.

CORPORATES
THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP

Reporting season ups and downs

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 2-Feb-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has shed five per cent so far in 2016, and share price performances are likely to come under scrutiny during the February reporting season. Matt Ross of Goldman Sachs says price-earnings multiples are five per cent lower than they were in the lead-up to the August 2015 reporting season. He adds that growth in earnings-per-share is now at its lowest level since the global financial crisis.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BEGA CHEESE LIMITED – ASX BGA, COLES GROUP LIMITED, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, MG UNIT TRUST – ASX MGC, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, ISENTIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX ISD, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, ARB CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX ARB, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, IRESS LIMITED – ASX IRE, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TRADE ME GROUP LIMITED – ASX TME, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, SELECT HARVESTS LIMITED – ASX SHV, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND

Labor cigs tax plan a ‘budget risk’

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Feb-16

Professor Sinclair Davidson of RMIT University is among experts who have questioned the Federal Opposition’s proposal to fund services such as education via a sharp rise in the tax on tobacco products. He notes that fewer people are smoking, and he adds that raising the cost of cigarettes too much could reduce tax revenue as more people opt for illegal tobacco. Grattan Institute CEO John Daley has also expressed doubts that increasing tobacco excise would generate sufficient revenue to pay for services whose cost is rising faster than GDP.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RMIT UNIVERSITY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA