Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence stutters

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Aug-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell 0.4 per cent to 112.5 in the week ended 9 August 2015, after rising 5.5 per cent over the previous three weeks. Households’ views of their current finances declined 2.7 per cent while expectations of the economic outlook declined over both the next year and next five years, by 1.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively. ANZ Bank chief economist Warren Hogan says that the Australian consumer confidence "remains highly vulnerable to a negative economic or financial shock".

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

Innovators want states to do more

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 11-Aug-15

Technology entrepreneurs have voted Sydney the start-up capital of Australia. It remained on top because of its proximity to funding and availability of services, IoT Group CEO Simon Kantor said. Innovate NSW offers support, including matched funding of up to $A15,000 to help small to medium enterprises demonstrate an idea, prove a concept or develop a prototype.

CORPORATES
CITY OF SYDNEY, CITY OF MELBOURNE, IOTECH, SHARESIGHT PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND INVESTMENT, AEERIS LIMITED – ASX AER, DROPBOX INCORPORATED

Union took money from rehab centre

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 11-Aug-15

The building industry union kept half the money raised for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic, the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption has been told. Foundation House in Sydney was funded by employers, who agreed to pay $A3 a week for each employee under a workplace agreement with the union. Master Builders Association CEO Brian Seidler said he and others resigned from the clinic’s management committee when it was discovered some of the funding was diverted to union activities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTERS BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, BOVIS LEND LEASE PTY LTD

Hartzer flags probe of mortgage brokers

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 11-Aug-15

Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer has warned mortgage brokers that certain of their lending practices may attract the attention of regulators. He said on 10 August 2015 that it is essential to make sure that customers are able to service their loans. Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond is concerned about the risk of over-regulation. He claims that additional compliance is already extending the process of assessing the loan application by 30 minutes.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED

Coalition to put ABCC bill to a Senate vote

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 11-Aug-15

Legislation to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission will be put to the Senate following damaging allegations in the trade union royal commission. Employment Minister Eric Abetz says the activities of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union confirm the need for an industry watchdog. The bill requires the support of six of the eight crossbench senators.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, ACTU

Netflix threat to TV overhyped: Foxtel CEO

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Original article by Dominic White, Paul McIntyre
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 44 : 11-Aug-15

Foxtel has grown its subscriber base since slashing the cost of its basic package, confounding pundits who believed it would be undermined by the arrival of cheap streaming services such as Netflix. Though Netflix has attracted 1.6 million customers in less than six months, Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein says its threat to both cable and free-to-air television has been exaggerated.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NEILSEN MEDIA RESEARCH, APPLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Nine to bid for AFL rights after $925m NRL deal

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Original article by John Stensholt, Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 11-Aug-15

Fresh from agreeing to pay $A925 million for the National Rugby League television rights for five years from 2018, Channel Nine will try to wrest some Australian rules football matches from the Seven Network. Though Seven and Foxtel are the current rights holders, Nine is expected to bid for at least two Australian Football League matches a week as it seeks to boost its sports content.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NINE LIVE PTY LTD, WARNER BROS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

ASX bounces back as buyers return to banks

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 11-Aug-15

The Australian sharemarket closed higher on 10 August 2015. The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.6 per cent to 5,509.2 points, while the All Ordinaries gained 0.6 per cent to 5,504.9. The big four banks regained some of their recent losses, with shares in the ANZ Bank rising 1.5 per cent to $A30.60 and Commonwealth Bank closing up one per cent at $A82.14.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, IG MARKETS LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Westpac tips Aussie at US70c by end of 2015

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Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 11-Aug-15

The Australian dollar is likely to continue to fall. Westpac expects the currency to decline to $US0.70 at the end of 2015. Westpac chief economist Bill Evans explains that the bank revised its forecast from $US0.72 to reflect lower forecast for global growth for both 2015 and 2016.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Flight Centre flies the flag for bricks-and-mortar travel agents

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Aug-15

The latest Roy Morgan Research State of the Nation report indicates that many Australians still show preference for traditional travel agents. In the 12 months to June 2015, 13 million Australians 14 years or older took at least one holiday. Flight Centre was used by 9.4 per cent of this group between July 2014 and June 2015, followed by dedicated online agent Booking.com, used by 5.8 per cent of Australians, and booking websites Wotif.com (5.2 per cent), Webjet.com.au (3.7 per cent) and Expedia.com.au (3.2 per cent). Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research, says that "Flight Centre’s long-standing position as Australia’s leading travel agent remains unchallenged". Australians appreciate specialist knowledge and personal service of bricks-and-mortar agents.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, BOOKING.COM BV, WOTIF.COM HOLDINGS LIMITED, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED, HELLOWORLD LIMITED – ASX HLO, HARVEY WORLD TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED, ESCAPE TRAVEL, STA TRAVEL PTY LTD