Author: roymorgansocial

Mining towns send investors broke

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 18-Aug-15

The mining towns of Moranbah and Dysart in Queensland’s Bowen Basin have experienced sharp falls in property prices. Figures from CoreLogic RP Data show that the median value of a home in Morbanah has declined 66 per cent in the past three years, from $A404,006 to $A251,933. During the mining boom, investors pushed prices to ridiculous levels but now demand is almost non-existent.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MORANBAH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED

Oil sector profits to be dented as early recovery hopes fade

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13/18 : 17-Aug-15

Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Origin Energy will continue to be under pressure to cut costs as the oil price is expected to remain low. The US benchmark crude has fallen to $US42.50 a barrel which is its lowest level since early 2009. The International Energy Agency believes oil markets will remain oversupplied until late 2016 or early 2017.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Computershare pleads guilty to bribes in US

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 17-Aug-15

An adviser at US-based Institutional Shareholder Services has pleaded guilty to receiving bribes from two employees of shareholder communications business Georgeson. The US Department of Justice says the matter is continued to be investigated. Georgeson is owned by Australian-listed share registry group Computershare.

CORPORATES
COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, GEORGESON SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF JUSTICE, RISKMETRICS GROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Westpac takes tougher line on interest-only mortgages

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 17-Aug-15

Westpac will apply new standards to interest-only mortgages. The bank told brokers that borrowers will now have to show that they will be able to service an interest-only loan after the interest-only period had ended. The bank will also reduce the maximum interest-only period for owner-occupier home loans from 15 years to 10 years.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Labor gains ground as Coalition bickers

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1&8 : 17-Aug-15

The latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll shows that the Australian Opposition is ahead of the Coalition by 54 per cent to 46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. The poll was conducted on 13-15 August 2015. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s approval rating increased four points to 39 per cent. Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s approval rating declined a point to 35 per cent.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, IPSOS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Abbott misses target in climate policy poll

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Original article by Ben Potter, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 17-Aug-15

The latest Fairfax/Ipsos poll suggests that voters would like the Australian Government to be bolder in its emissions policy. The poll shows that the Government’s new target of reducing greenhouse emissions by 26 per cent to 28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 is considered as too low. Only seven per cent of voters believe the government displays excessive zeal in its response to climate change, while 58 per cent of voters believe the government is not doing enough.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, IPSOS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY

Yellow Pages has 10 years left in print: Sensis CEO

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Original article by Paul McIntyre
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 17-Aug-15

John Allan, the CEO of Sensis, believes The Yellow Pages will continue to be commercially viable at least for another 10 years. Sensis is in the process of being transformed into a digital marketing hub for small and medium-sized businesses. Allan revealed that more than half of Sensis’s revenue was generated from digital activities although he declined to disclose the group’s revenue.

CORPORATES
SENSIS PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, STW COMMUNICATIONS GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, OGILVY AUSTRALIA

Paywalled news sites head off foreign brigade

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 25 : 17-Aug-15

New figures from Nielsen suggest that international online portals are having problems with attracting Australian readers. Nielsen’s "Ratings by Unique Audience" report for July 2015 shows that "The Guardian" managed to increase its year-on-year unique audience by only two per cent. "The Daily Telegraph" and BBC increased their audiences by 3.8 per cent and four per cent respectively. Figures compiled by "The Australian" show that comprehensive paywall sites are more successful in growing their audiences, with "The Australian" recording a 10.6 per cent rise in unique visitors in the past 12 months.

CORPORATES
NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, THE HUFFINGTON POST

ATO eyes Gorgon’s tax-free profits

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1&8 : 17-Aug-15

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is investigating tax arrangements of the companies involved in the Gorgon natural gas project. The ATO is concerned that the interest on loans provided by Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell to their Australian arms is more than 10 times higher than the interest rate charged by third-party lenders in the US. The matter is also being investigated by the Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance, chaired by Senator Sam Dastyari, which will file an interim report in Parliament on 17 August 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, CHEVRON CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, CONSOLIDATED PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Gyngell cleared of insider trading claims

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 25 : 17-Aug-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has decided not to take further action against Nine Network CEO David Gyngell. ASIC officers examined a large number of email and text message records but found no evidence supporting insider trading allegations. The investigation was triggered by the sale of 700,000 Nine shares by Gyngell on 20 May 2015

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, CRICKET AUSTRALIA