St Kilda Festival line up announced, led by the likes of synth-poppers Melbourne’s Client Liaison, Brisbane’s The Grates and event headliner Hayden James

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jan-16

After performing with Daryl Braithwaite last week at Beyond the Valley 2015-16 in Lardner (Phillip Island), Client Liaison will be performing at the 36th St Kilda Festival on 14 February 2016. Client Liaison comprises Harvey Miller and Monte Morgan, the son of Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan. The St Kilda Festival will host over 400,000 festival goers as it helps to promote Australian artists to the world. See the recent Client Liaison performance at Beyond the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2iIwuG7KgM

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, ST KILDA FESTIVAL

Retail chiefs resist super fund choice

Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Jan-16

Retail industry superannuation fund REST opposes new legislation giving workers a choice of super fund and making changes in the process of selecting default funds by employers. REST chairman Ken Marshman argues in a letter sent to the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption that employers do not want to be burdened with the obligation to choose a default fund, preferring to leave this task to those having expert knowledge of super.

CORPORATES
REST SUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INDUSTRY FUND SERVICES PTY LTD

Qantas and American to fly new trans-Pacific routes

Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 14 : 7-Jan-16

Qantas and American Airlines intend to expand their joint venture’s trans-Pacific routes. The airlines are seeking final regulatory approval for flights between Australasia and mainland North America, stating in a submission filed with the US Department of Transportation that they would add at least two new trans-Pacific routes. This will be possible once Boeing starts delivering its 787-9 aircraft to Qantas in 2017.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AMERICAN AIRLINES INCORPORATED, BOEING COMPANY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, AIR CANADA

North Korean H-bomb sparks nuke nightmare

Original article by Renee Viellaris
The Daily Telegraph – Page: 6 : 7-Jan-16

Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has criticised North Korea’s "provocative and dangerous behaviour", after it claimed to have successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb. Bishop said North Korea’s nuclear weapons program poses a risk to the peace and security of Australia’s allies. Reports of the hydrogen bomb test have yet to be confirmed, but an earthquake in North Korea registering 5.1 on the Richter scale were recorded by seismologists.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, UNITED NATIONS. SECURITY COUNCIL

ASX loses $50b in new year rout

Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Jan-16

A move by the People’s Bank of China to devalue the renminbi by 0.22 per cent weighed on the Australian sharemarket on 6 January 2016. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by around 1.2 per cent. It has now shed 3.3 per cent in the year to date, reducing the local sharemarket’s capitalisation by $A50bn. Global investor sentiment in 2016 has also been hit by factors such as concerns about the economic outlook for China, weak commodity prices and North Korea’s detonation of a hydrogen bomb.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, PEAK ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, HSBC BANK PLC, SOCIETE GENERALE, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BLOOMBERG LP

CFMEU will be spared delisting by the Turnbull government

Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: Online : 7-Jan-16

The Australian Government has ruled out any move to deregister the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union, which boasts more than 100,000 members. The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption made a number of adverse findings about the union, but did not recommend deregistration due to the impact on members who have not engaged in corrupt activity. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the Government’s priority in tackling corruption in the construction industry is to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, BUILDERS’ LABOURERS’ FEDERATION, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Rivals to gain from Dick Smith’s demise

Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Jan-16

Thomas Kierath of Morgan Stanley expects the collapse of Dick Smith to boost the annual sales of JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman by around $A200m apiece, and lift their net profits by up to $A20m. David Thomas of CLSA says JB Hi-Fi is likely to gain the most benefit from the closure of any Dick Smith stores, although Matthew Felsman of APP Securities notes that signs of slowing demand for Apple’s iPhone may hit JB Hi-Fi.

CORPORATES
DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, APP SECURITIES PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, THE GOOD GUYS, WOW SIGHT AND SOUND PTY LTD, FORAGER FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

December rally over as iron ore heads back to $US30s

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 7-Jan-16

The sharp downturn in the Chinese sharemarket on 4 January 2016 has in turn prompted the iron ore price to retreat from its recent high of $US44.37 per tonne. The price of the steel input fell to $US38.30/tonne in mid-December 2015, and Citigroup’s Ivan Szpakowski forecasts that slowing demand from Chinese steel mills will see it fall below $US40/tonne again. Recent data shows that there has been strong growth in iron ore stockpiles at Chinese ports.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, BLOOMBERG LP, MAIKE FUTURES, SHANGHAI STEELHOME INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LIMITED, GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR

Bull market not dead yet, says Citi

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 7-Jan-16

Citigroup is upbeat about the outlook for international shares in 2016, forecasting that global equities will gain 12 per cent. However, the investment bank says the Federal Reserve’s recent move to begin tightening monetary policy means other sharemarkets may offer more value for investors than US equities, particularly stocks in Japan and continental Europe. Citigroup also forecasts that Australia will record GDP growth of 2.75 per cent in 2016.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

The sporting year: did you pay attention in 2015?

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jan-16

Roy Morgan Research published a number of surveys on sports during 2015. Amongst other things, the findings show that soccer, cricket, basketball, netball and Australian Rules football are the most popular team sports played either regularly or occasionally by Australians aged +14. Meanwhile, some 40 per cent of Australians aged 14+ watch cricket on TV either occasionally or almost always, and 35 per cent of the population watches tennis on TV. The surveys also show that 10 per cent of men aged 65+ play golf regularly and 39 per cent of Australian girls aged 6-13 years now play soccer.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED