Author: roymorgansocial

Dairy chief keen to pursue more deals in Australia, NZ

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 14-Jul-15

Canada-based Saputo has made around $C5bn ($A5.29bn) worth of acquisitions since its IPO in 1997, according to CEO Lino Saputo jr. He remains upbeat about the long-term outlook for the global dairy products industry, despite a sharp fall in milk prices in the last 18 months. Saputo is keen for more acquisitions in Australia and New Zealand, after entering the local market via its $A450m deal to acquire Warrnambool Cheese & Butter.

CORPORATES
SAPUTO INCORPORATED, WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER FACTORY COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX WCB, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, BEGA CHEESE LIMITED – ASX BGA, LION-DAIRY AND DRINKS PTY LTD, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Cash v job satisfaction gender issue

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Dodd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 13-Jul-15

The US-based Graduate Management Admission Council has released the findings of a global survey on the career aspirations of graduate management students. It shows that 51 per cent of female respondents rate professional development highly when choosing a job, compared with just 44 per cent of male respondents. Women also rated work-life balance more highly than their male peers. However, 61 per cent of male students rate salary highly, compared with 51 per cent of women.

CORPORATES
GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION COUNCIL (UNITED STATES)

Pup culture and crazy cat people: pet ownership in NZ

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jul-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 2.1 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (or 58 per cent) have at least one cat and/or dog, and 330,000 pay for pet care services in an average month. Some 45 per cent of New Zealanders have a pet cat, while 31 per cent have a pet dog, while 18 per cent have at least one cat and one dog. The survey, which was carried out in the year to October 2014, also shows that 50 per cent of residents in Auckland and Wellington own a cat and/or a dog.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Tigerair set to lift global game

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 13-Jul-15

Virgin Australia’s international division posted an operating loss of $A49.5m in the first half of fiscal 2015, with a fall in yields due to rising competition on Asian routes such as Bali, Fiji and Thailand. Virgin plans to deploy its Tigerair Australia budget offshoot on these routes from August 2015. However, passengers are not expected to receive Velocity reward points for Tigerair flights that were previously provided by Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, TIGER AIRWAYS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VELOCITY FREQUENT FLYER PTY LTD, ASPIRE AVIATION PTY LTD, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, FIJI AIRWAYS, AIRASIA X SDN BHD, AIRASIA SDN BHD, GARUDA INDONESIA, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, DELTA AIR LINES

Support for 12.5pc GST if stamp duty abolished

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jul-15

An online survey that was undertaken on behalf of the Property Council of Australia has found that 64 per cent of respondents would be in favour of abolishing stamp duty in return for an increase in the GST to 12.5 per cent. Meanwhile, 68 per cent expressed a preference for an income tax cut to offset the impact of a higher GST. Some 64 per cent of respondents identified stamp duty as the nation’s most unfair tax, ahead of land tax and personal income tax.

CORPORATES
PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BAPTIST CARE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Auction clearances show softening trend

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jul-15

Preliminary data from APM PriceFinder shows that Sydney’s residential property market boasted an auction clearance rate of 80 per cent on the weekend of 11-12 July 2015. An usually high number of homes for the time of year went under the hammer, which might have influenced the lower clearance rate, according to Andrew Wilson of Domain. Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate rose from 74.7 per cent to 79.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COBDEN AND HAYSON, BIGGIN AND SCOTT PTY LTD, PETER BLACKSHAW REAL ESTATE, WESTON CREEK PTY LTD

Telcos vie for Netflix as Singtel-Optus deal ends

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 13-Jul-15

Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia are believed to be seeking an alliance with Netflix following the end of a three-month deal between the US-based video streaming group and Singtel Optus. Customers of Optus received free access to Netflix during the joint marketing arrangement, which was used to officially launch Netflix in Australia. Telstra has expressed its desire to be an aggregator of content from all providers, despite owning 50 per cent of pay-TV group Foxtel.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SPOTIFY LIMITED

Palmer urges firmer action against China over coal tests

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 13-Jul-15

China recently increased stricter standards for coal imports, and is now testing shipments for the presence of trace elements such as fluorine, arsenic and mercury. China has already rejected at least one coal shipment from Australia, and federal MP Clive Palmer says Australia should impose a tariff on iron ore exports to China in response to the new testing regime. Meanwhile, there is speculation that Canada will take the matter to the World Trade Organization.

CORPORATES
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, CANADA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT, ANGLO AMERICAN COAL, WARATAH COAL INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED

Professional indemnity premiums likely to rise

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Jul-15

The cost of professional indemnity insurance for Australian small and medium businesses fell by 18 per cent in 2013-14, according to BizCover. Factors such as strong competition in the sector and excess insurance capacity also resulted in premiums falling by an additional two per cent in 2014-15. However, experts note the growing trend for mergers and acquisitions in the global insurance sector, which may put upward pressure on premiums.

CORPORATES
BIZCOVER PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, ACE INSURANCE COMPANY, CHUBB CORPORATION, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, XL GROUP, CATLIN GROUP, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

With US rates rising, UBS bets on a 70c dollar

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 13-Jul-15

The Australian dollar reached a low of $US0.7372 in the week ended 10 July 2015. UBS Wealth Management expects it to test the $US0.70 level by the end of 2015, with global currency strategist Katherine Klingensmith citing factors such as the slowing Australian economy, the prospect of rate rises in the US and the downturn in commodity prices. BK Asset Management’s Kathy Lien adds that further interest rate cuts are likely in Australia, which would add to bearish sentiment toward the currency.

CORPORATES
UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT, BK ASSET MANAGEMENT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF ENGLAND, DELTEC INTERNATIONAL GROUP