Author: roymorgansocial

ASX dives below 5000 amid Fed rate jitters

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 15-Dec-15

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 14 December 2015, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 100.9 points to close at 4,928.6. The Commonwealth Bank eased 1.9 per cent to end the session at $A77.44, BHP Billiton was down 3.5 per cent at $A16.60 and Woolworths fell 1.8 per cent to finish at $A22.59. However, Regis Resources advanced 8.6 per cent to close at $A2.28.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS LIMITED – ASX LNG, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, THIRD AVENUE FOCUSED CREDIT FUND, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX

Iron ore’s red streak hits 11 days

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: Online : 14-Dec-15

The price of benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to China’s port of Tianjin has fallen by 1.3 per cent to $US37.00 a tonne, compared with $US37.50 previously. The iron ore price has risen in just four of the last 45 trading sessions, and it has now fallen for 11 consecutive sessions. The downturn in the iron ore price has prompted BC Iron to put production at its Nullagine mine in Western Australia on hold, while Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest has again criticised the expansion plans of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

CORPORATES
PORT OF TIANJIN, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Bank branches under threat

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 14-Dec-15

Gerard du Toit of Bain & Company says Australian banks may close 10-30 per cent of their bank branches within five years, as the trend toward mobile banking gathers pace. He notes that the number of visits to branches fell by nearly 10 per cent year-on-year in the September 2015 quarter. However, du Toit cautions banks against shifting their focus to digital banking before it is fully accepted by customers, particularly those in older age demographics.

CORPORATES
BAIN AND COMPANY, ABN AMRO BANK NV, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Rio Tinto closes in on $US4b financing deal for Oyu Tolgoi

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 14-Dec-15

Rio Tinto has declined to comment on speculation that it could finalise a funding deal for the $US6bn Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia in mid-December 2015. The resources group had been widely tipped to secure the $US4bn financing deal with up to 15 banks in early 2016. Oyu Tolgoi’s annual output is slated to be 500,000 tonnes of copper and up to 600,000 ounces of gold when production reaches full capacity.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, GLENCORE PLC

Price fall to test Fortescue’s bid to reduce debt

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Dec-15

Australian-listed Fortescue Metals Group has repurchased some $A1.1bn of its debt so far in 2015. This includes paying $US618m for debt with a face value of $US715m in November. The iron ore producer has reduced its annual interest costs by $US88m by repurchasing its debt. Meanwhile, the downturn in the iron ore price has prompted speculation that Atlas Iron could breach its debt covenants, while BC Iron recently advised that its Nullagine mine will be shut down.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, BLOOMBERG LP

Harris Scarfe tips growth through Debenhams deal

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 14-Dec-15

Australian department store group Harris Scarfe has secured an alliance with UK-based Debenhams. Harris Scarfe expects its sales to be boosted by about $A100m by the deal to open about 10 stand-alone Debenhams stores in Australia via a franchise agreement. Harris Scarfe also expects revenue to be bolstered by a deal to sell a range of Debenhams’ brands in its stores. The group also intends to open up to 15 new stores in coming years.

CORPORATES
HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, DEBENHAMS RETAIL PLC, PEPKOR SOUTH EAST ASIA PTY LTD, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, THE GAP INCORPORATED, TOP SHOP, J SAINSBURY PLC, HABITAT, MOMENTUM CORPORATE SOLUTIONS PTY LTD, POSTIE PLUS GROUP LIMITED, STEINHOFF INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

Pressure on fossil fuels

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 14-Dec-15

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the Australian Government will make changes to its Direct Action policy, after delegates at the United Nations climate summit in Paris secured an agreement to reduce carbon emissions. However, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged the Government to abandon the Direct Action policy. The agreement has set a goal of ensuring that growth in global warming remains significantly below two degrees Celsius.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED NATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CLIMATE INSTITUTE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, INDIA. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

Seven serving up streaming

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Original article by Max Mason
The Age – Page: 25 : 14-Dec-15

Seven West Media’s tennis coverage during January 2015 was streamed 4.4 million times, with the bulk of viewers using tablets or mobile phones. The media group will stream more than 2,100 hours of tennis during January 2016, and will use its experience of the previous year to improve its coverage. Seven’s new and existing tennis sponsors have bought packages for both its traditional TV broadcasts and online coverage.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, HOPMAN CUP PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WILLIAM HILL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, INDUSTRY SUPERANNUATION FUND, KIA MOTORS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, THE EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP

Hopes high for a better year in media

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Dec-15

Data from ZenithOptimedia shows that advertising expenditure across all media is expected to reach a record $A13.4bn in Australia during calendar 2016. Meanwhile, a survey of the CEOs of 23 media companies has identified key issues for the industry in 2016. They include cross-media ownership reform, government measures to stimulate economic growth following the end of the resources boom, and the need for Australia to become more innovative.

CORPORATES
ZENITH OPTIMEDIA, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, IPROPERTY GROUP LIMITED – ASX IPP

Budget deficit blown to $38b

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Dec-15

The Australian Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will include a significant reduction in Budget forecasts for the price of iron ore in 2015-16. The downturn in the price of the steel input will contribute to the deficit blowing out to around $A38bn. Meanwhile, government spending will rise to 26.2 per cent of GDP in 2015-16, compared with expectations of just 25.9 per cent in the May 2015 Budget. The Government is also tipped to significantly reduce its projections for longer-term economic growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE