Author: roymorgansocial

Cleanaway CEO Vik Bansal to step down

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray, Eli Greenblat, John Durie
The Australian – Page: Online : 22-Jan-21

Shares in waste management company Cleanaway fell by as much as 10 per cent on 21 January after Vik Bansal announced he would be stepping down as CEO; they eventually closed down 8.5 per cent. Bansal had been the subject of significant scrutiny during the latter part of 2020 after it emerged he had been accused of improper behaviour towards staff. He will present Cleanaway’s interim results on 19 February and assist its board with the transition to a new CEO, while it is believed he has accepted an offer to head up Sanjeev Gupta’s InfraBuild Australian steel operations.

CORPORATES
CLEANAWAY WASTE MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX CWY

Mining blowout as wages start rising

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Weekend Australian – Page: 21 & 32 : 16-Jan-21

There is growing concern about a wages blowout in Western Australia’s mining sector, as the continued strength of the iron ore price ignites speculation of a new resources boom. Fortescue Metals Group recently advised of a cost blowout at its Iron Bridge magnetite project, and other mining companies with projects under development in WA are also likely to experience cost pressures. Skills shortages and restrictions on hiring staff from interstate have also prompted mining companies to start poaching workers from their rivals and other sectors.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

ASIC on watch for phoenix revivals

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 18 : 18-Jan-21

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission will crack down on phoenix activity in the corporate sector as the federal government winds back insolvency protections that were introduced in response to COVID-19. ASIC commissioner Diana Steicke says the corporate regulator has no evidence to suggest that this will lead to an increase in phoenixing; however, she says ASIC will keep a watch on high-risk company directors and pre-insolvency advisers who could potentially engage in such activity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Back to work welcome but industry wary

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Original article by Joseph Lam
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Jan-21

Sydney and Melbourne CBDs are expected to reach around 50 per cent worker capacity in the week beginning 18 January. Industry Group CEO Innes Willox contends the return of workers to cities will help bring about both an economic and emotional revival, while he suggests younger workers are particularly keen to get back to working in the office. However, he says business is wary of how quickly governments can lock down a state, and that the rules are "constantly and quickly changing".

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Dump Albo call as heartland vote tanks

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 : 18-Jan-21

The Construction. Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s national political organiser Elizabeth Doidge says Labor leader Anthony Albanese must be ousted ahead of the next election. This follows the release of polling on behalf of key building industry unions which suggests that Labor is set to lose the Hunter Valley electorates of Shortland and Paterson at the next election. Doidge says the polling, which was undertaken in November, shows that Labor cannot win the election with Albanese as its leader. She says Tanya Plibersek would make a "fantastic leader".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

CEOs eye boost in Biden binge

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 18-Jan-21

Australian businessman Andrew Liveris says the incoming Biden administration is likely to pursue capital expenditure initiatives worth between $US2trn and $US4trn over the next several years. Liveris says this may generate opportunities for Australian companies, particularly in areas that are likely be a focus for Joe Biden, such as clean energy and associated infrastructure. Macquarie Specialised Asset Management chairman Tony Shepherd in turn says Biden administration’s stimulus program will be good for the global economy, including Australia. However, some business leaders have expressed concern about any move to roll back the Trump administration’s corporate tax cuts.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, MACQUARIE SPECIALISED ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Murdoch son raps media for toxic politics

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Original article by Alex Barker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 18-Jan-21

James Murdoch has launched his strongest attack on the US media since leaving the family media company started by his father Rupert. When asked if Fox News had played a role in the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, James Murdoch claimed that media organisations had amplified election disinformation, resulting in a significant part of the US public believing in a "falsehood". He did not make specific reference to Fox News, his father, or his brother Lachlan, who is the CEO of Fox Corporation.

CORPORATES
FOX NEWS, FOX CORPORATION

Google, Facebook fight code in Senate

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Original article by David Swan, Patrick Commins
The Weekend Australian – Page: 3 : 16-Jan-21

A Senate committee is holding an inquiry into the proposed mandatory media bargaining code between technology companies and traditional publishers, and is due to report on 12 February. Google and Facebook are set to voice their opposition to the code at a public committee hearing on 22 January; Google has threatened to quit Australia if the code is made law, while Facebook has stated it will ban the sharing of news on its Australian platform. The code will compel Google and Facebook to mediate with publishers over the value of their news, with fines of up to $10 million possible if they fail to comply.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Players give Open a serve: Stars angry as third flight locked down

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Original article by Alanah Frost, Sharon McGowan, Marc McGowan
Herald Sun – Page: 7 : 18-Jan-21

The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the upcoming Australian Open has increased to four, after a case was detected on a third in-bound charter flight. All passengers on the three flights have been placed in hard quarantine for two weeks; this includes 72 tennis players, who will not be permitted to leave their hotel rooms to undertake training until shortly before the Australian Open begins. Some players have criticised the lockdown rules and alleged that they were changed ‘overnight’, but Tennis Australia contends that the rules were made clear from the outset. Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has rejected suggestions that the Australian Open will be cancelled.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, TENNIS AUSTRALIA

Australians support masks and border closures and are willing to be vaccinated for COVID-19

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Jan-21

A special Roy Morgan survey into Australian attitudes towards COVID-19 conducted on Thursday and Friday shows 72% of Australians say mask wearing should be compulsory, 68% don’t want State borders to be completely open and 77% would be willing to be vaccinated if a new Coronavirus vaccine became publicly available – unchanged from mid-November. Support for compulsory mask wearing is highest in NSW (80%) and Victoria (77%) but at only 53% in South Australia. A large majority of 85% of people in WA don’t want State borders to be completely open today – a higher rate than any other State and in line with the tough border policies of Premier Mark McGowan who faces an election in early March.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED