Author: roymorgansocial

Business confidence in May boosted by budget – but remains fragile

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jun-15

A Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey has found that Australian business confidence rose by 9.1 per cent to 114.7 in May 2015. This is the highest level since January 2015 (114.9), but business confidence remains below the five-year average of 117.3 and the peak of 136.3 in October 2013. The increase in business confidence in May occurred across all components of the index, but stemmed mainly from an increase in the proportion of businesses believing that Australia will experience good economic conditions over the next 12 months.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

ASX warns on open clearing

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 9-Jun-15

The Australian Government is likely to make a decision on the future of ASX Limited’s monopoly on the clearing of cash equities by July 2015. ASX CEO Elmer Funke Kupper has warned that allowing competition in cash equities clearing would make it more difficult to manage defaults by stockbrokers. He notes that rival clearing houses would have to close a firm’s options trading positions immediately rather than pursuing alternatives that are open to the ASX.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, BBY LIMITED, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Profit from ageing and property booms

roymorgansocial 1 Comment

Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 9-Jun-15

Gateway Lifestyle is scheduled to debut on the Australian sharemarket on 11 June 2015, following a $A381m IPO. The group specialises in developing housing estates that feature manufactured homes, with retirees as its primary target market. Residents buy their home outright but rent the land on which the property sits.

CORPORATES
GATEWAY LIFESTYLE – ASX GTY, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, TASMAN LIFESTYLE

‘Impact investors’ want tax breaks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 9-Jun-15

STREAT provides training for about 125 disadvantaged people in Victoria each year. The social enterprise will be able to train 250 people each year when its new hospitality training facility in Melbourne is completed in around 18 months’ time. Social Ventures Australia, which helped to negotiate an $A2.5m loan for STREAT, has urged the Australian Government’s tax inquiry to provide tax breaks for so-called social impact investments.

CORPORATES
STREAT LIMITED, SOCIAL VENTURES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Shareholder backs Nine despite downgrade

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Jun-15

Nine Entertainment Company has attributed a profit downgrade to a subdued TV advertising market in the second half of 2014-15. The media group has advised that its full-year EBITDA will be within the range of $A285m to $A290m, compared with earlier guidance of $A311m. Entcho Raykovski of Deutsche Bank expects free-to-air ad revenue to be three per cent lower in the second half.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WARNER BROS

Joyce still positive about Jetstar’s growth potential in Asia despite low returns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Jun-15

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has conceded that the Asian division of its Jetstar subsidiary will not return its cost of capital in 2014-15. However, he is upbeat about the outlook for the aviation market in Asia, arguing that the amount of capital Qantas is investing in the region is minor compared with the potential returns in the long-term. Qantas is tipped to post an underlying pre-tax profit of around $A1bn for 2014-15.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, JETSTAR JAPAN, JETSTAR HONG KONG AIRWAYS LIMITED, JETSTAR ASIA, JETSTAR PACIFIC, CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CORPORATION LIMITED, SHUN TAK HOLDINGS LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION, HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Trade engagement push with Japan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Jun-15

Australia’s Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is visiting Japan with a delegation of financial services industry executives. Frydenberg will address a business lunch on 9 June 2015, and will argue that financial services groups in both nations should capitalise on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement. He says the financial services industries in both countries can benefit from each other’s expertise.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, MACQUARIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, BANK OF JAPAN, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, TYNDALL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, THE DAI-ICHI MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, TAL LIMITED, MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Diabetes trial success

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 9-Jun-15

Listed biotechnology group Mesoblast has reported encouraging results from the phase two trial of a treatment for diabetic nephropathy. CEO Silviu Itescu says nearly two million people had the diabetes-related kidney disease in 2013. The clinical trial found that the stem cell-based treatment showed that participants had improved kidney function and experienced no adverse side-effects.

CORPORATES
MESOBLAST LIMITED – ASX MSB, AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION, CELGENE INCORPORATED, SIRTEX MEDICAL LIMITED – ASX SRX

Dell goes on Australian hiring spree

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 9-Jun-15

The Australian division of global IT group Dell plans to hire at least 30 additional executives across its operations. The MD of Dell in Australia and New Zealand, Angela Fox, adds that the group intends to significantly increase its global headcount. Dell aims to lift its market share at the expense of industry rivals such as Hewlett-Packard, which plans to shed 5,000 employees worldwide.

CORPORATES
DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION, DELL COMPUTER PTY LTD, HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, NASDAQ

Iron Mountain sweetens Recall bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 9-Jun-15

Recall Holdings CEO Doug Pertz believes that the revised takeover offer from US-based Iron Mountain is in the best interests of shareholders. Iron Mountain has added a cash component of $A0.50 per share to its offer of 0.1722 of its shares for each Recall share. Meanwhile, the suitor has upgraded its estimate of the likely synergies from the merger to at least $US155m ($A202m). Recall shares closed at $A7.02 on 5 June 2015.

CORPORATES
RECALL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REC, IRON MOUNTAIN INCORPORATED