Author: roymorgansocial

Scrap outdated media laws: Seven boss

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Nov-15

Seven Group chairman Kerry Stokes has called for the Australian Government to take action on TV broadcasting licence fees and increase the producer offset for TV drama as part of its changes to media industry regulation. He supports abolition of the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three rule", but argues that these changes must be part of a broader package of reforms. However, Stokes favours retaining the anti-siphoning list for broadcasting sports.

CORPORATES
SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Qantas back from ‘junk’ credit rating

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 18-Nov-15

Standard & Poor’s has upgraded the credit rating of Qantas to "BBB-" with a "stable" outlook. Qantas had lost its investment-grade credit rating in December 2013 due to its financial problems. Meanwhile, CEO Allan Joyce is upbeat about the outlook for the airline, forecasting that average annual growth in the domestic market will rise to three per cent in the fiscal years from 2016 to 2020. Qantas shares rose by $A0.21 to $A3.76 on 17 November 2015.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA AG, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES COMPANY, ALASKA AIRLINES, RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC, WESTJET AIRLINES, ETIHAD AIRWAYS

Hotel giants’ tie-up opens luxury doors

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 18-Nov-15

JLL’s Mark Wynne Smith anticipates further consolidation in the global accommodation industry in the wake of the proposed merger of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The combined group will boast 5,500 hotels and 1.1 million rooms worldwide, including 16 hotels and 5,000 rooms in Australia. The two companies plan to add an additional 2,500 hotel rooms in Australia during the next five years.

CORPORATES
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL HOTELS INCORPORATED, STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE INCORPORATED, JONES LANG LASALLE INCORPORATED, ACCOR ASIA PACIFIC, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, THE RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY LLC, SHERATON HOTELS, W HOTELS, WESTIN HOTELS AND RESORTS, FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON, SAVILLS (AUST) HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BRIGHT RUBY RESOURCES PTE LTD, SUNSHINE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS AND RESORTS, HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION

Call for lifetime $580k super cap

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Nov-15

A new report from accounting firm Deloitte has proposed limiting concessional superannuation contributions during a fund member’s working life to $A580,000. At present there is an annual cap on personal contributions that attract a lower tax rate of just 15 per cent. Deloitte estimates that the average working Australian would have to contribute $A580,000 to their super fund to ensure a retirement balance of $A1m.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Government to debate media reform format

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 18-Nov-15

The Australian Government’s proposed cross-media ownership reforms are expected to be presented to cabinet in late November 2015. The Government is initially expected to focus on scrapping the so-called "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three rule", but it is still to decide whether to pursue both reforms in a single bill or put two separate bills to Parliament. The Opposition favours abolishing the reach rule, although there is less support for scrapping the two-out-of-three rule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Breakthrough on Indonesia trade deal talks

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Original article by Greg Earl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 18-Nov-15

Australia’s Trade Minister Andrew Robb has indicated that negotiations over a bilateral trade agreement with Indonesia will resume in early 2016. Robb aims to finalise a trade deal with Indonesia within 12 months, which is the time-frame used in negotiating free trade agreements with other nations. Australia and Indonesia formally commenced negotiations for a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement in September 2012, but the process stalled in 2013.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, INDONESIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE, ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

Treasurer hints at lower economic growth trend

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Nov-15

The Australian economy’s trend growth rate has traditionally been regarded as being around 3.25 per cent. Treasurer Scott Morrison says the economy is currently expanding by 2.3 per cent, but this would need to rise above three per cent for government revenue to be sufficient to balance the Budget. The Treasury has previously forecast that the Budget will return to deficit by the early 2020s, although this is based on an economic growth rate of 3.5 per cent over the five years from 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

Frequent customers most satisfied with quick service restaurants

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Nov-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 57.1 per cent of Australians aged 14+ bought food at a quick service restaurant during an average four-week period in the year to August 2015. The survey also shows that 29.3 per cent of Australians visited a McDonald’s outlet in an average four weeks, followed by KFC (20.3 per cent) and Subway (16.4 per cent). McDonald’s and KFC had customer satisfaction ratings of 83.3 per cent and 85 per cent respectively among heavy customers (people who dine in or take away five or more times in an average four weeks), while Subway’s satisfaction rating among heavy customers was 96.6 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, SUBWAY SANDWICHES PTY LTD, HUNGRY JACK’S PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP

Iron ore drops to four-month low

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 18-Nov-15

The price of iron ore for delivery to the port of Qingdao in China has fallen by 0.83 per cent to $US47.74 per tonne. This is the steel input’s lowest level since early July, when it reached a low of $US44.59 per tonne. Analysts expect a further downturn in China’s demand for iron ore as its economic growth slows and infrastructure development winds down.

CORPORATES
UBS AG, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 115.9

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Nov-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.6 per cent to 115.9 in the week ended 15 November 2015. This follows confidence reaching the highest level in almost two years in the previous week, while the four-week moving average continues to trend higher. The fall in confidence was mainly attributed to consumers’ views towards the economic outlook. The sub-index "economic conditions in the next 12 months" was down 3.7 per cent, and "economic conditions in the next five years" was down 2.4 per cent. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says consumer confidence remains virtually unchanged, and all indicators of general confidence in Australia – including ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence, Roy Morgan Business Confidence and the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating – have improved substantially over the past two months.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY