Author: roymorgansocial

Lions tour for next rugby TV deal scrum

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 17-Feb-20

Rugby Australia hopes to sign off on a new broadcasting rights deal by the end of April, with Foxtel, Optus and Network Ten understood to have signed non-disclosure agreements for the negotiating process. It is believed that Rugby Australia has secured the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to help make its five-year rights deal more appealing to broadcasters; it had previously been reported that the deal would not include the tour. Rugby Australia’s new rights deal will include over 400 matches, including New South Wales and Queensland club rights.

CORPORATES
RUGBY AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Gas pressure rises as Asian demand cools

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 17-Feb-20

Australian LNG producers are facing a tougher trading environment in 2020, according to the Australian Energy Regulator, with Asian buyers seeking better deals and reducing the volumes they purchase. Australia supplied 49 per cent of China’s LNG needs in 2019, but demand for LNG in China in 2020 may now only increase by four per cent, compared to a previous forecast of 13 per cent. However, falling Asian LNG spot prices could be good news for Australian gas consumers, according to the AER, as it gives them more bargaining power when striking short-term gas deals with gas exporters.

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AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR

Anglo boss eyes healthy coal exit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 17-Feb-20

Anglo American will decide whether to sell its remaining coal mines by the end of 2020, says CEO Mark Cutifani. He notes that thermal coal now accounts for less than five per cent of group EBITDA, after selling a number of thermal coal mines in recent years. However, he adds that finding buyers for thermal coal mines has become more challenging, given that other mining companies are exiting the sector.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, GLENCORE PLC

Investors see windfall from iron ore giants

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, William McInnes, Lucas Baird, Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 17-Feb-20

Futures pricing suggests that the Australian sharemarket will shed about 0.2 per cent when trading resumes on 17 February, after the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 approached a record high in the previous session. The earnings season will be a key focus for investors in the next week, with speculation that BHP and Fortescue Metals Group will increase their dividend payouts due to a strong iron ore price. The impact of the bushfires and the coronavirus on some companies will also be closely scrutinised.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Prosecutors drop more charges against media over Pell trial

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Original article by Liz Main
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 14-Feb-20

Twenty-eight charges brought against four of the 36 journalists and media companies charged with breaching suppression orders in relation to Cardinal George Pell have been dropped. The orders were imposed in June 2018, with the media directed not to report on two trials that Pell faced over historical child sex offences until a verdict was handed down in the second trial. When Pell was found guilty in the first trial, the media reported that a high profile person had been found guilty, but that they were not allowed to report it. Prosecutors claimed that the media hints amounted to a breach of the orders.

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SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

From bad to worse for AMP: $2.5bn loss, $6.3bn outflows, more to come

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 14-Feb-20

Wealth manager AMP has posted a statutory loss of $2.5bn for the 2019 calendar year, while its underlying profit fell by 32 per cent to $464m. A $2.35bn impairment charge in the first half was the major contributor to the big loss. Meanwhile, AMP’s wealth division recorded net cash outflows of $6.3bn for the year, and CEO Francesco De Ferrari says outflows are likely to be high again in 2020. AMP has advised that its customer remediation program is expected to be completed in 2021.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

TPG-Vodafone merger victory

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 19 & 24 : 14-Feb-20

Federal Court Justice John Middleton ruled on 13 February that the $15 billion merger between Vodafone and TPG should be allowed to proceed. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission had vetoed the merger in May on the grounds that it would leave market power in the hands of three big telcos, but Justice Middleton said leaving Vodafone and TPG as separate entities would not create more competition in the retail mobile market. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the merger is likely to benefit consumers and lead to greater competition.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Rates to stay low ‘for decades’: RBA

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 19 & 29 : 14-Feb-20

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has conceded that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to have a near-term impact on the economy, although he does not expect the outlook for 2020 to be significantly affected. He adds that the Australian economy will benefit from stimulus measures in China when the virus is brought under control. Lowe has also warned that climate change has ‘profound’ economic implications for Australia, while he says official interest rates may remain low for a long time.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ClubsNSW whistleblower reveals the alarming scale of money laundering in pokies rooms at local clubs and pubs

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Original article by Steve Cannane, Kyle Taylor, Clare Blumer
abc.net au – Page: Online : 14-Feb-20

Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie has claimed that up to 95 per cent of clubs in New South Wales are not complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws. He says this means they are operating illegally, and that he got this information from a ClubsNSW document that was provided to him by a whistleblower. Troy Stolz, a former ClubsNSW AML/CTF compliance auditor, claims that he was the source of the document. He says that money laundering through poker machines is rife in pubs and clubs across Australia. A ClubsNSW spokesperson has accused Wilkie of "anti-club hysteria".

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CLUBS NSW PTY LTD

Optus in rugby maul as it chases new subscribers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 14-Feb-20

Tender documents for Rugby Australia’s new five-year broadcasting rights deal will be sent to prospective bidders within days. Optus CEO Allen Lew says the telco would be interested in buying the rights, which would boost the offering of its sports streaming service. Optus Sports boasts some 825,000 active subscribers, making it the nation’s largest sports-focused streaming service. Foxtel has been Rugby Australia’s broadcast partner for 25 years, and some media reports have suggested that it will not seek to renew the rights.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, OPTUS SPORTS, RUGBY AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD