Author: roymorgansocial

Village Roadshow screened rival offer before Pacific Equity Partners deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kylar Loussikian, Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 24-Dec-19

Morningstar estimates that there is a 75 per cent chance that Village Roadshow Limited shareholders will accept a takeover proposal from Pacific Equity Partners. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Village Roadshow Corporation’s owners considered a rival offer from BGH Capital before agreeing to accept PEP’s offer for its stake in VRL. VRC is owned by Robert Kirby, John Kirby and VRL CEO Graham Burke.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, VILLAGE ROADSHOW CORPORATION LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

Early exit for BHP’s Mackenzie

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 14 : 24-Dec-19

BHP’s outgoing CEO Andrew Mackenzie had previously advised that he will leave the resources giant on 30 June. However, he says the transition to new CEO Mike Henry is ahead of schedule, so he will now depart on 31 March. BHP has advised that Mackenzie will not receive any severance pay or a payment in lieu of notice. Henry, who formally takes the helm on 1 January, is expected to make changes to BHP’s executive leadership team.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Economy fear with credit in the doldrums

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 24-Dec-19

Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that lending to businesses and property buyers increased by 0.1 per cent in November and 2.3 per cent in the year to November. This is the lowest rate of growth in private sector credit since April 2010. The figures also show that growth in home loans was 0.2 per cent in November and 2.9 per cent year-on-year, while non-housing credit fell by 0.5 per cent in November and 4.9 per cent year-on-year.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Paid leave for ANZ’s fire volunteers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 14 : 24-Dec-19

The ANZ Bank has advised that its employees who are volunteer firefighters will be entitled to special paid leave in addition to their standard leave entitlements. ANZ provides its employees with up to five days of paid community service leave each year, and staff who use all of this leave during the current bushfire crisis will be able to access the bank’s special leave policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Coopers breached covenants, but it’s only small beer

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 23-Dec-19

Coopers Brewery’s 2019 financial report shows that shareholders received a total of $13.789m in dividend payments during the last year. Coopers has also disclosed that its banking covenants were breached in June, although the brewer obtained a waiver from its lender. Meanwhile, Coopers’ net profit fell by 31 per cent in 2019, to $16.4m. Coopers is the largest Australian-owned brewer, and the Coopers family comprises the bulk of its shareholders.

CORPORATES
COOPERS BREWERY LIMITED, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, ASAHI BREWERIES LIMITED, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LION PTY LTD

Bashing business damages economy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 : 23-Dec-19

Former Business Council of Australia president Graham Bradley says that "anti-business rhetoric" within government is having a negative impact on the economy and deterring capital investment. He has also criticised the federal government for aligning itself with small and medium business and denigrating big business. Meanwhile, Australian Investment Council CEO Yasser El-Ansary says weak consumer confidence is deterring companies from investing, adding that the BCA’s proposal to include a business investment allowance in the May 2020 Budget would only provide a short-term economic stimulus.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN INVESTMENT COUNCIL

Warning on coverage as Rugby Australia toys with Optus deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 15 : 23-Dec-19

Rugby Australia commenced talks with Optus regarding a broadcasting rights deal in November, after rejecting a ‘rollover’ agreement with incumbent broadcaster Foxtel. However, WPP AUNZ director John Steedman warns that a deal with Optus would be ‘disastrous’ for rugby due to the telco’s smaller audience. He also notes that advertisers would prefer a deal with a free-to-air or pay-TV network. Atomic 212 chairman Barry O’Brien agrees that rugby should be on free-to-air or pay-TV.

CORPORATES
RUGBY AUSTRALIA, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WPP AUNZ LIMITED – WPP, ATOMIC 212, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Australia’s economic interests at risk with RBA out of ammunition

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 21-Dec-19

Paul Brennan of Citigroup notes that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s average cumulative interest rate cut in the last four monetary policy easing cycles was three percentage points. With the cash rate already at a record low of 0.75 following three rate cuts since June, experts warn that the RBA has limited ‘firepower’ in the event of an economic downturn. RBA governor Philip Lowe has ruled out negative interest rates; while he is open to quantitative easing, his preference is for fiscal stimulus and structural reform.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

No justice for SMEs when the tax office smells blood

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Weekend Australian – Page: 31 : 21-Dec-19

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s landmark ruling in favour of the Australian Taxation Office against gold refiner EBS has significant implications for small and medium enterprises. The case – which centred on the tax treatment of bullion and scrap gold under the GST regime – had gone on for about six years, and the appeals process is likely to take another several years. The majority of SMEs simply cannot afford the cost of such lengthy legal proceedings. The small business appeals tribunal may provide some relief for SMEs, but government action is needed to make it easier for SMEs to conduct business in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL, EBS

Iron’s endless summer keeps on keeping on

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 43 : 21-Dec-19

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group are trading at an 11-year high, boosted by factors such as continued strong demand for iron ore in China and supply disruptions in Brazil. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s shares have regularly traded above $100 in 2019, and the stock has not fallen below $35 in the last decade. Demand for iron ore has defied expectations over the last 10 years. The price of the steel input peaked at almost $US190 per tonne in 2011; its fall to around $US80/tonne in subsequent years prompted some observers to forecast that the iron ore boom was over. However, Australia’s iron ore exports reached a record $77bn in 2018-19 and could top $81bn in 2019-20. Likewise, some experts forecast that China’s annual steel production will exceed one million tonnes for the first time in 2020.

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