Author: roymorgansocial

Openpay collapses, shuts down platform as shares suspended

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 7-Feb-23

Barry Kogan, Jonathan Henry and Rob Smith from McGrathNicol have been appointed as receivers and managers of Openpay. The ‘buy now, pay later’ provider has advised that customers will now longer be able to use its platform to make new purchases, although they must pay all outstanding balances. Openpay listed on the Australian sharemarket in 2019 following an IPO that raised $50m. Josh Gilbert of trading platform eToro says the BNPL sector has gone from "hero to zero" among investors in recent months. Rival BNPL provider Laybuy recently announced that it will delist.

CORPORATES
OPENPAY GROUP LIMITED – ASX OPY, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, ETORO, LAYBUY GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LBY

East Timor in fresh play for Sunrise plant

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, John Kehoe, Colin Packham
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 7-Feb-23

Timor Gap president Antonio de Sousa says that securing approvals for gas projects is much easier in East Timor than it is in Australia, with Timor Gap being East Timor’s national oil company. His comments come as Woodside Energy and its partners in the Sunrise gas field agreed to carry out a fresh study into the viability of taking gas from Sunrise to East Timor for processing; they have previously insisted that it must be taken to Darwin for processing. However, Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic says the "economic realities" are still stacked against processing the gas from Sunrise on East Timor.

CORPORATES
TIMOR GAP EP, WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

MinRes hands Hancock victory in Warrego fight

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 7-Feb-23

Hancock Energy has secured control of takeover target Warrego Energy after Mineral Resources agreed to sell its stake to the Gina Rinehart-backed company. Hancock now has a 50.54 per cent stake in Warrego, which means that its cash bid will automatically be extended by two weeks. Mineral Resources had built up a 19.17 per cent holding in Warrego, and described it as a "strategic stake" rather than a prelude to a rival takeover bid. Strike Energy, which launched a takeover bid for Warrego in late 2022, has advised that it will consider its options.

CORPORATES
WARREGO ENERGY LIMITED – ASX WGO, HANCOCK ENERGY PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, STRIKE ENERGY LIMITED – ASX STX

$24b Newcrest bid not enough

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 7-Feb-23

Investors Mutual portfolio manager Tim Wood says the acquisition of Newcrest Mining by Newmont Corporation makes sense, and there is the potential for a counter-bid. However, Wood contends that Newmont’s offer of 0.38 of its shares for every Newcrest share is insufficient; he adds that the bid is also opportunistic, given that Newcrest does not have a permanent CEO at present. Meanwhile, Newmont president Tom Palmer says the US-based gold producer believes that the proposed $24.4bn merger is a "powerful value proposition" for the two companies’ shareholders, employees and the communities in which they operate.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NEWMONT CORPORATION, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED

Target of million new homes by end of decade in jeopardy

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Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Feb-23

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says the nation’s construction industry is not building enough new homes to meet demand. The MBA has forecast that just 169,630 new homes will be built nationwide in 2022-23, well below the 200,000 that are needed each year to meet population demand. The MBA does not expect the annual new home build to reach the 200,000 threshold until 2026-27. The MBA’s forecasts will cast doubt on the federal government’s target of one million new homes in the five years from July 2024.

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Property tipped to drop 10pc

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Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Feb-23

Cameron Kusher of PropTrack says the firm expects dwelling prices to fall by up to 10 per cent nationally in 2023. He says house prices in the largest capital cities are likely to fall the most, with a downturn of 8-11 per cent in Sydney and 7-10 per cent in Melbourne. Kusher adds that house prices in regional areas are also likely to fall, given that they have recorded stronger than capital cities and demand for homes in regional areas is slowing. PropTrack has factored in two interest rate rises in 2023, and Kusher says a rate cut late in the year is a "very real possibility".

CORPORATES
PROPTRACK PTY LTD

Melbourne Institute & Roy Morgan – Taking The Pulse of the Nation: To address rising energy costs, Australians want long-term solutions from the government rather than temporary reliefs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Feb-23

In December 2022, the Taking the Pulse of the Nation survey asked Australians about their ability to meet daily energy needs, their strategies to deal with high energy costs, and what they expect from the government to assist with rising energy costs. Rising energy costs have meant that a fifth of Australians can’t afford to adequately use their heating or cooling. The proportion of Australians unable to heat or cool their homes is almost four times higher among those in financial stress compared to those not in financial stress. When asked how they’re responding to recent and predicted future increases in electricity and gas prices, 36% of Australians have changed the heating and/or cooling setting of their homes to lower energy costs and save money. Some 12% of respondents reported having skipped a meal or eaten less to be able to pay their energy bills. Meanwhile, about 45% of Australians believe the government should invest in or subsidise the development of more renewable energy sources instead of one-time transfers to households to help alleviate energy poverty. Many Australians also want to see government intervention with price controls or caps on energy market prices, and investment in nuclear technologies and power infrastructure. This report is based on a total of 1,000 adult respondents from data collected in December 2022. Visit the Melbourne Institute Taking the Pulse of the Nation web portal for further information and to access interactive charts and other findings: https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/ttpn.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

State and territory leaders to sign joint statement backing Indigenous voice to parliament

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 1-Feb-23

The leaders of Australia’s state and territory governments will attend a Council for the Australian Federation meeting on Thursday. They are expected to sign a joint statement expressing support for an Indigenous voice to federal parliament. They have all previously publicly committed to backing the voice. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he will vote ‘yes’ at the upcoming referendum on the voice and has urged everyone to do so. Meanwhile, the South Australian government has committed to legislating an Indigenous voice to state parliament in 2023. The federal Liberal Party has yet to formally announce its position on the voice, while the Greens are expected to formalise their position at a two-strategy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL FOR THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Teal MP Ryan sued over sacking for unreasonable hours

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Original article by Ronald Mizen, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Feb-23

The enterprise agreement for staff of federal MPs provides for them to receive an allowance for when they are required to work "reasonable additional hours" over and above the ordinary hours of duty. The court application filed by Sally Rugg shows that the former chief of staff to independent MP Monique Ryan alleges that she was sacked for refusing to work "unreasonable" hours. Rugg will contend that her dismissal constitutes a breach of the Fair Work Act because it was in response to her exercising a workplace right. She is seeking an injunction to prevent her termination from taking effect until the dispute is resolved, as well as compensation from Ryan and the federal government. The enterprise agreement does not define what constitutes "reasonable hours".

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Exposed: big tobacco’s links to vape research

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Original article by Remy Varga
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-Feb-23

The Foundation for a Smoke Free World was launched in 2017; it has financed more than 70 academic papers on topics such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and rates of smoking cessation over the last five years. Some of this research has produced positive findings about e-cigarettes and vaping, and many of the research papers have been cited by other researchers hundreds of times. However, some of this research does not disclose that the foundation is solely funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris, which revealed plans to expand into e-cigarettes in 2013. A spokeswoman has indicated that the foundation operate independently of Philip Morris.

CORPORATES
FOUNDATION FOR A SMOKE FREE WORLD, PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED