Author: roymorgansocial

Job figures spur speculation the worst is over

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-Jul-15

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy added 120,700 jobs during the first six months of 2015, with an average of 20,000 new jobs created each month. The unemployment rate was six per cent in June, prompting the Reserve Bank to note in its latest monetary policy statement that unemployment has ceased rising. Paul Bloxham of HSBC says the jobs data will make further interest rate cuts less likely in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

The power of porridge

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jul-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 4.1 million Australians aged 14+ eat porridge in an average seven days, while 4.9 million eat biscuit cereal and 6.3 million eat other cereal. The survey, which was carried out in the year to March 2015, also shows that 60 per cent of porridge eaters are women, while 29 per cent of Australians aged 65+ eat porridge, compared with just 12 per cent of those aged 14-17. Meanwhile, the number of Australians who eat porridge in any seven-day period has risen by 500,000 since March 2011, but consumption of biscuit cereal and other cereal has declined over this period.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Mine closures forecast as iron ore prices plunge

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Original article by Amanda Saunders, Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 26 : 9-Jul-15

Katana Asset Management’s Romano Sala Tenna expects a number of Australian iron ore mines to cease production in the next 12 months. He says some of the cost reduction strategies utilised in the last year are unsustainable, and also notes the dearth of capital investment in many iron ore mines. Pengana Capital’s Tim Schroeders also has doubts as to whether cost-cutting measures can be sustained in the long-term. The iron ore price has fallen below $US50 per tonne, which may put further pressure on smaller producers.

CORPORATES
KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Primary’s new centre could be first of many

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Jul-15

Australian-listed Primary Health Care hopes to establish more medical imaging centres, following the upcoming launch of its new facility in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. CEO Peter Gregg says the group expects to recoup its $A35m investment in the facility within two years. He adds that Primary could potentially finance the new imaging centres via asset sales or sale-and-leaseback arrangements.

CORPORATES
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, VISION EYE INSTITUTE LIMITED – ASX VEI, HCN, EPWORTH HOSPITAL, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, PULSE HEALTH LIMITED – ASX PHG

Economists adjust bets on another rate cut

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 9-Jul-15

The interest rate swap market has priced in an 88 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce the cash rate by 25 basis points by the end of 2015. The market now also regards a rate cut in April 2016 as a certainty. Andrew Ticehurst of Nomura Australia expects an interest rate cut in November, while Paul Dales of Capital Economics also anticipates further monetary policy easing.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

nib snares World Nomads

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 9-Jul-15

Australian-listed NIB Holdings has expanded into the travel insurance market with a $A95m deal to buy World Nomads Group. NIB MD Mark Fitzgibbon says World Nomads will complement the group’s core private health insurance business. World Nomads specialises in the distribution of travel insurance policies, and boasted normalised EBITDA of $A10m and revenue of $A117m in 2014-15.

CORPORATES
NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, WORLD NOMADS GROUP PTY LTD, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, TRAVEL INSURANCE DIRECT PTY LTD, SURESAVE TRAVEL INSURANCE, LONELY PLANET PUBLICATIONS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

Unlisted funds still on a roll

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 47 : 9-Jul-15

Australia’s unlisted property trust sector achieved an overall return of around 10 per cent in the year ended May 2015. This includes a return of around 26 per cent for MAB Funds Management’s Diversified Property Trust, while returns for wholesale trusts have averaged 18 per cent. Folkestone’s Adrian Harrington says investors should consider a fund’s long-term returns rather than focusing on short-term returns.

CORPORATES
MAB FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MAB DIVERSIFIED PROPERTY TRUST, FOLKESTONE LIMITED – ASX FLK, SENTINEL PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Let the states control schools and childcare

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-Jul-15

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has called for sweeping changes to federal-state relations at the upcoming leaders’ retreat. He says full responsibility for primary and secondary school education – as well as childcare, which is federally funded – should be transferred to state and territory governments. Weatherill also argues that vocational and tertiary education should be solely the responsibility of the federal government.

CORPORATES
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Cities report warns of growing economic chasm

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 44 : 9-Jul-15

A new report shows that factors such as access to transport infrastructure and centres of employment are influencing residential property prices in Australian cities. House prices in outer suburbs where access to such amenities is more limited are growing at a slower pace than those in inner suburbs. The Federal Government report warns that a social divide may develop between people who live in inner areas and those on the fringes of major cities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aussie’s downward direction continues

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 9-Jul-15

The Australian dollar was buying $US0.7411 late in trading on 8 July 2015, after falling to $US0.7398 in overnight trading. Factors such as the debt crisis in Greece and the Chinese sharemarket’s downturn have prompted renewed support for so-called "safe haven" currencies. This has been at the expense of commodity currencies such as the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BK ASSET MANAGEMENT