Author: roymorgansocial

Turnbull (76%) clearly preferred Australian PM cf. Shorten ‘Mr. 14%’. December 1988: Hawke 69% cf. Howard ‘Mr. 18%’.

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 23-Oct-15

A special telephone Morgan Poll, which was carried out on 20-22 October 2015, has found that 76 per cent of Australian electors favour Malcolm Turnbull as the "Better Prime Minister", an increase of six per cent since 15 September. In contrast, 14 per cent prefer Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as "Better PM" (down 10 per cent). The poll also found that 94 per cent of Coalition supporters and 58 per cent of Australian Labor Party supporters rate Turnbull as the Better PM. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that 79 per cent of Coalition supporters and 60 per cent of Labor supporters also approve of Turnbull’s job performance after a month as Prime Minister.

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

Anti-gay marriage campaign cruel: Shorten

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Oct-15

The Australian Government will provide funding for both the Yes and No campaigns on the issue of same-sex marriage in the lead-up to a proposed plebiscite. The Australian Labor Party favours a parliamentary vote on gay marriage rather than a plebiscite, and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has expressed concern that the No campaign could prompt a rise in mental health problems in the gay community.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GAY AND LESBIAN HEALTH VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Iron ore tipped to hit $US40 by March after Chinese woes

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 23-Oct-15

The iron ore price fell by 0.3 per cent to $US52.79 per tonne on 22 October 2015. Ivan Szpakowski of Citigroup forecasts that the iron ore price will fall to $US50/tonne by the end of 2015 and around $US40/tonne in the first quarter of 2016. He attributes the bearish outlook to factors such as slowing demand for iron ore in China and an increase in global supply.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION, METAL BULLETIN PLC, PRESTIGE ECONOMICS

Optus pads up with Cricket Australia

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 23-Oct-15

Singtel Optus has secured a three-year digital broadcasting rights deal with Cricket Australia, which will allow the telco’s customers to access the Cricket Australia Live Pass from late October 2015. Optus CEO Allen Lew says that in addition to live streaming of cricket matches, the telco plans to offer a range of interactive content. He has also signalled that Optus will pursue digital rights deals for other sports.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, THE A LEAGUE PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

7-Eleven workers’ back-pay begins

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Original article by Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Oct-15

The Allan Fels-led Wage Fairness Panel has begun processing the wage claims of current and former 7-Eleven employees. The panel will invite 15,000 past and present 7-Eleven workers to submit claims for back-pay in the wake of the wage exploitation scandal. Fifty claims for back-pay have been processed so far, and these employees will collectively be paid around $A1.1m. It is estimated that 7-Eleven could potentially have to pay around $A300m to settle all claims.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

CBA hike undercuts Westpac

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Phillip Coorey, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 23-Oct-15

The Commonwealth Bank will increase its standard variable mortgage interest rates for owner-occupiers and property investors by 15 basis points, to 5.60 per cent and 5.87 per cent respectively. The move has been criticised by federal Treasurer Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, and follows Westpac’s recent decision to lift its home loan rates by 20 basis points. The interest rate rises are in response to new capital requirements for the banking sector.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Goode choice, David Jones!

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Oct-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has confirmed that department store chain David Jones has made a savvy move by recruiting recently retired indigenous AFL player Adam Goodes as one of seven new brand ambassadors. The survey, which was carried out in the year to June 2015, shows that 78.1 per cent of Australians aged 14+ who shop at DJs in an average four weeks agree that "Aboriginal culture is an essential component of Australian society". This compares with 73.1 per cent of Australians aged 14+ overall.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB

Santos rejects Scepter’s $7bn takeover bid

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 23-Oct-15

Shares in oil and gas producer Santos closed 16 per cent higher at $A6.32 on 22 October 2015, in response to a takeover approach from Scepter Partners. The Bermuda-based private equity firm’s $A7.14bn non-binding offer is pitched at $A6.88 per share, which has been described as "opportunistic" by Santos. Romano Sala Tenna of Katana Asset Management agrees with this assessment, although Mark Samter of Credit Suisse believes that Scepter’s offer represents good value for Santos investors.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, GLENCORE PLC, XSTRATA PLC, VODAFONE GROUP PLC, BLACKSTONE ADVISORY PARTNERS ASIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Coles spends $100m on keeping food prices low

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Oct-15

Wesfarmers-owned Coles has reported that its food and liquor sales rose by 4.7 per cent to $A7.6bn in the September 2015 quarter. Grocery prices at Coles supermarkets fell by 1.3 per cent during the period, with the group spending $A100m on price cuts. Coles intends to maintain this level of spending in the next several quarters, in the wake of Woolworths’ plans to spend $A500m on cutting grocery prices. The Bunnings, Kmart and Target businesses also recorded sales growth in the quarter.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTH CORPORATION, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Foxtel-Ten deal gets ACCC green light but watch this space

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Oct-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has approved an equity alliance between Ten Network and pay-TV group Foxtel. The competition regulator ruled that the deal is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition. However, chairman Rod Sims says the ACCC could intervene if future transactions between the two groups raise competition concerns, such as making a joint bid for the rights to sports broadcasts. Sims has also questioned whether streaming of TV broadcasts has reduced the effectiveness of the "reach rule".

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ILLYRIA PTY LTD