Author: roymorgansocial

SunRice targets ASX listing for capital

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Mar-15

SunRice Australia’s non-voting shares currently trade on the National Stock Exchange, but the group proposes to shift the B-Class shares to the ASX. Rice growers will continue to be the sole owners of voting stock should the proposal go ahead. Les Gordon, the president of the Ricegrowers Association of Australia, says growers have generally responded positively to the proposal

CORPORATES
SUNRICE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, RICEGROWERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

IFM ready to snap up oil assets

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Mar-15

IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury has indicated that the group is looking to invest in Australian oil and gas pipeline assets. Potential acquisitions could include the Gladstone LNG pipeline in Queensland and the Australia Pacific LNG pipeline, which may both be put on the market. IFM recently missed out on the sale of BG’s gas pipeline in Queensland, which will be acquired by APA Group

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, BG GROUP PLC, APA GROUP – ASX APA, DUET GROUP – ASX DUE, FREEPORT LNG DEVELOPMENT LP, QIC LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, CHINA INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Biggest power buyers back electricity sales

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Original article by Will Glasgow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 5-Mar-15

Energy-intensive companies such as Boral and Orora support the New South Wales Government’s proposal to privatise the state’s electricity network if it wins the 2015 election. Energy Users Association of Australia CEO Phillip Barresi has rejected warnings from trade unions that selling the state’s "poles and wires" will result in higher electricity prices. Some 5,000 people attended a union-organised anti-privatisation rally outside Parliament House on 4 March

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, ORORA LIMITED – ASX ORA, ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT PRICING AND REGULATORY TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, McKELL INSTITUTE

Glencore takes aim at iron ore giants

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Mar-15

Glencore will reduce its coal production in Australia by 15 million tonnes in 2015. CEO Ivan Glasenberg says the decision to reduce output by around 15 per cent was made because the group does not want to be seen to have forced coal prices lower due to oversupply. Glasenberg has previously criticised BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto for expanding their iron ore production at a time prices have fallen sharply

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA

Private equity bosses tip rosier times ahead

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Original article by Sally Rose, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 5-Mar-15

Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) gained $A4.5bn from divesting businesses via IPOs and trade sales in 2013 and 2014. International buyers accounted for most of the firm’s trade sales, and Nathanial Thomson of Crescent Capital expects the trend for offshore buyers to purchase Australian businesses to continue. Meanwhile, PEP MD Tim Sims is upbeat about the outlook for Australia’s business sector, and says offshore investors should not be deterred by data showing that the economy is slowing

CORPORATES
PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, CRESCENT CAPITAL PARTNERS LIMITED, XTRALIS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, PITCHER PARTNERS CORPORATE ADVISORY PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

Spike in $A seconds before rates call

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Original article by Sally Rose, Jonathan Shapiro, Gareth Hutchens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 5-Mar-15

Concerns about insider trading in the foreign exchange market has intensified after the Australian dollar rose by 0.5 per cent less than a minute before the Reserve Bank announced that the cash rate would remain on hold in March 2015. The currency had fallen by 0.8 per cent only seconds before the previous rate announcement in February. Currency experts such as the Commonwealth Bank’s Richard Grace support the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s decision to investigate the irregular trading activity

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BLOOMBERG LP, THOMSON REUTERS PLC

Australian unemployment jumps in February to 11.0% – highest since March 2014

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Mar-15

A Roy Morgan survey on Australia’s unemployment and under-employed shows that the real unemployment rate rose to 11 per cent in February 2015. This compares with an official unemployment rate of 6.4 per cent in January. The total workforce has fallen by 139,000 to 12,526,000 since February 2014, and the number of Australians who are under-employed has risen by 81,000 to 1,161,000 in the last 12 months. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says that to stand any chance of re-election in 2016, the Federal Government must look seriously at comprehensive industrial relations reform in in the May 2015 Budget

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Does a person’s cooking talent influence their food preferences?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Mar-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 50 per cent of Australians aged 14+ often receive compliments on their cooking. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2014, also shows that these people are 19 per cent more likely than the population average to enjoy eating vegetarian food, while they are 18 per cent more likely to enjoy eating bagels and 16 per cent more likely to enjoy health food. Meanwhile, 21 per cent of Australians say they would rather clean than cook, and they are 10 per cent more likely to enjoy eating both chicken nuggets and hot dogs than the average Australian

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Netflix reveals Australian launch date and iiNet deal

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 4-Mar-15

Netflix has secured a deal with iiNet for the Australian-listed ISP’s customers to have unmetered access to the video streaming service. US-based Netflix has confirmed that its service will commence in Australia and New Zealand on 24 March 2015, offering content such as films and popular TV shows. Established player Quickflix recently reported a 2014-15 interim net loss of $A8.6m and a five per cent decline in subscribers

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, QUICKFLIX LIMITED – ASX QFX, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STAN

Rate pause clobbers share prices

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-Mar-15

The Australian sharemarket fell sharply and the dollar rallied after the Reserve Bank defied expectations and left official interest rates on hold on 3 March 2015. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended the session at 5,933.9 points, and Tony Paterno of Ord Minnett says it is now unlikely to breach the 6,000-point level in the near-term. The central bank has maintained its easing bias, with governor Glenn Stevens indicating that there may be further rate cuts if this is deemed appropriate

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY