Author: roymorgansocial

Federal Voting Intention virtually unchanged – L-NP (56.5%) leads ALP (43.5%) – biggest lead for L-NP since April 2013

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 3-Nov-15

A multi-mode Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention has found that support for Australia’s ruling Liberal-National Coalition on a two-party preferred basis is at 56.5 per cent (up 0.5 per cent) compared to the Australian Labor Party’s 43.5 per cent (down 0.5 per cent). If a Federal Election were held now the Coalition would win easily. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 24-25 October 2015 and 31 October – 1 November 2015, also shows that the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is unchanged at 112, with 48 per cent (up one per cent) of Australians saying Australia is "heading in the right direction" and 36 per cent (up one per cent) saying Australia is "heading in the wrong direction". Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the Turnbull Government’s honeymoon continues.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

NAB does 10-year deal with Visa

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Nov-15

National Australia Bank has terminated its alliance with MasterCard in favour of rival credit card provider Visa. The two groups will co-operate in the development of new payment solutions as the trend toward the use of mobile devices for making payments gathers pace. Australian banks are also holding talks with Google regarding the introduction of its Android Pay system.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORPORATION, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

Sellers forced to meet the market as housing slowdown takes hold

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Nov-15

Sydney boasted a preliminary residential auction clearance rate of 63.5 per cent on the weekend of 31 October and 1 November 2015, compared with 61.3 per cent for the previous weekend. The clearance rate in Melbourne was 65.4 per cent, with just 611 properties going under the hammer, after 1,690 homes were auctioned on the previous weekend for a clearance rate of 69.7 per cent. The national clearance rate was 63.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Budget bottom line to take $5b hit

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 2-Nov-15

The Australian Government’s mid-year Budget review is expected to include lost revenue and spending costs of about $A5bn over the next four years. Some informed sources have suggested that this figure could even be within the range of $A6bn to $A8bn. Much of the cost blowout is expected to be included in the 2015-16 Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

BHP says China coal tests hurt free trade

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 2-Nov-15

China’s introduction of quality-testing for imported coal has had no direct impact on BHP Billiton, whose shipments have been cleared. However, BHP executive Shaun Verner believes that some coal exporters have had to sell coal at significantly lower prices in other markets after failing to pass China’s new quality control requirements. He notes that the slump in the price of metallurgical coal means it is costly for a coal producer to have a shipment rejected.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Bank profits feel the heat of increased competition

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Nov-15

Factors such as low interest rates and growing competition are putting downward pressure on the lending margins of Australia’s major banks. Westpac has reported flat net interest margins for fiscal 2015, while the rival "big four" banks reported lower margins. Julie Coates of PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts that the banks’ margins will fall below the record low of 2.05 per cent recorded in 2008.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Government prepares to move on reach rule

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Original article by Dominic White, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 2-Nov-15

The Australian Government is believed to be planning to legislate to abolish the so-called "reach rule" before the end of 2015. However, it is uncertain whether scrapping the "two-out-of-three" rule is also on the agenda at present. The Government’s proposed changes to cross-media ownership laws have some support within the Australian Labor Party, although there are some concerns within both the Opposition and the Australian Greens about the impact on media diversity if the "two-out-of-three" rule is abolished.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, PALMER UNITED PARTY, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, IMPARJA TELEVISION PTY LTD

Tech fund rush to hit $1b

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Nov-15

Square Peg Capital will launch a $A200m venture capital fund that will invest in technology start-ups. Square Peg Capital was co-founded by Paul Bassat, who was also the joint founder of jobs website SEEK. Other recent initiatives in Australia’s venture capital space include a $A200m fund launched by Blackbird Ventures and Atlassian Software founder Michael Cannon-Brookes. Brandon Capital also launched a $A200m fund earlier in 2015.

CORPORATES
SQUARE PEG CAPITAL PTY LTD, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, BLACKBIRD VENTURES PTY LTD, ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, BRANDON CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HEALTH EMPLOYEES’ SUPERANNUATION TRUST AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STATEWIDE SUPERANNUATION PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, THE GROUP OF EIGHT LIMITED, AIRTREE VENTURES PTY LTD, ACCEL PARTNERS, 99DESIGNS PTY LTD, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, GOCATCH, ROCKT, VEND LIMITED, SCRIPTROCK PTY LTD, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD

Marks set to replace Gyngell at Nine

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 2-Nov-15

Nine Entertainment Company is expected to announce that Media Venture Partners MD Hugh Marks will succeed CEO David Gyngell. Marks is a director of Nine, and his previous roles in the media industry include CEO of Southern Star and director of Nine Films & Television. Nine is also believed to be keen to retain Gyngell’s services in some capacity, which could include becoming a director or a consultant to the media group.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE FILMS AND TELEVISION PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MEDIA VENTURE PARTNERS PTY LTD, SOUTHERN STAR CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, RGM ARTISTS PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL

Alarm bells for Aussie drama

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 29 : 2-Nov-15

Australia’s free-to-air commercial networks are increasingly relying on New Zealand dramas to meet local-content quotas. Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner and Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason argue that the rules should be changed so NZ content does not qualify as first-run Australian drama. They have also called for the TV producer offset to be increased to 40 per cent.

CORPORATES
SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA, SCREEN AUSTRALIA, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)