Author: roymorgansocial

Mega super funds to dominate economy

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 16-Dec-19

Rice Warner forecasts that Australia’s superannuation industry will have $7trn worth of assets under management by 2034, compared with $2.7trn at present. The firm also expects the sector to eventually be dominated by a handful of ‘megafunds’. Rice Warner forecasts that there will be at least nine super funds with assets exceeding $100bn within five years, and at least 12 funds with more than $200bn worth of assets by 2034. AustralianSuper’s assets are expected to rise from $150bn to $325bn over the next five years.

CORPORATES
RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, HOST-PLUS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, QSUPER LIMITED, SUNSUPER PTY LTD, AMP SUPERANNUATION LIMITED, VICSUPER PTY LTD, FIRST STATE SUPER, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UNISUPER LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

China appetite for ore strong, says Fortescue

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 16-Dec-19

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines is upbeat about the outlook for the iron ore price in 2020. She says the benchmark price will continue to benefit from inventory restocking ahead of the Chinese New Year, while she does not expect the price gap between benchmark iron ore and the lower-grade ore produced by Fortescue to widen much. Fortescue received 89 per cent of the benchmark price during the September 2019 quarter, after the gap had widened significantly in mid-2018.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

ASX creates the Aussie Nasdaq index

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 16 : 16-Dec-19

Stock exchange operator ASX Limited will launch the S&P All Technology Index in February. It will be based on the Nasdaq Composite Index, and will offer an alternative listing option for technology companies whose capitalisation is too small for the US index. The ASX’s Max Cunningham says the new index should raise the profile of smaller technology companies. The existing S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology index covers just 13 stocks.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDEX, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, APPEN LIMITED – ASX APX, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ALTIUM LIMITED – ASX ALU, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, NITRO SOFTWARE LIMITED – ASX NTO, TYRO PAYMENTS LIMITED – ASX TYR, LATITUDE FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED, RETAIL ZOO PTY LTD, PROPERTYGURU LIMITED

Surplus to survive $30bn blow

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Dec-19

The federal government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook is forecast to confirm that the Budget will remain in surplus for the next four years. However, government revenue is expected to be up to $30bn lower than projected in the 2019 Budget, due to expectations that global and domestic economic growth will be lower than was forecast in April. Growth in wages is also expected to be lower than was forecast in the Budget. Meanwhile, the government is expected to maintain its forecast that the price of iron ore will average $US55 a tonne in 2019-20, even though it is significantly higher at present.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Call to end retrospective R&D audits for business

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 12-Dec-19

Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has recommended changes to the administration of R&D tax incentives following a review of the scheme. Amongst other things, she has proposed that the federal government cease requiring recipients to undergo retrospective audits, often some years after they received the tax incentive. Carnell notes that the Australian Taxation Office has frequently required small businesses to repay the full amount of the tax incentive after an audit, including harsh financial penalties.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AIRTASKER PTY LTD

Investor’s moral win in Rio row

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Dec-19

Australia’s Takeovers Panel has ruled that Rio Tinto can proceed with its proposal to underwrite Energy Resources of Australia’s entitlement offer, despite the fact that it could result in Rio significantly increasing its stake in the uranium miner. However, the Takeovers Panel also found that Rio Tinto’s underwriting offer was made in "unacceptable circumstances". The Rio deal was opposed by ERA investor Richard Magides, who has a 15.9 per cent stake in the company via Zentree Investments.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX ERA, AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL, ZENTREE INVESTMENTS

No senior minister but mega department will work

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Dec-19

The Department of Agriculture, Water & the Environment will be formally established on 1 February, as part of the federal government’s plans to streamline the bureaucracy. The existing ministers for each portfolio – Bridget McKenzie, Sussan Ley and David Littleproud – will remain in these roles, and McKenzie has confirmed that the new department will not have a senior minister. She is confident that the three ministers will work well together and that the new department will deliver "real outcomes" for regional communities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Andrew Forrest’s $500m payday as iron ore rallies

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 12-Dec-19

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group closed $0.14 higher at $10.38 on 11 December, after peaking at a record $10.45. The pure-play iron ore miner’s shares have gained nearly 150 per cent in the year to date; the rally has seen the stake of founder Andrew Forrest rise to around $11.3bn, with the iron ore price trading at around $US93 per tonne. BHP’s share price is currently trading at its highest level since August, while Rio Tinto is trading at a four-month high.

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

Time for Adani to deliver on jobs

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Dec-19

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says Adani’s Carmichael coal mine has been approved, so the company should begin creating the jobs that it has promised. Adani in turn argues that it already employees hundreds of people. Albanese has also used his tour of regional Queensland to call for labour-hire workers in the mining sector to receive the same pay as direct employees, contending that some are paid up to 40 per cent less. He has also criticised the federal government for its lack of action regarding the low wages of labour-hire workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Federal budget could be set for $30b boost: CBA

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Dec-19

The Commonwealth Bank has upgraded its federal Budget surplus forecasts. Chief economist Michael Blythe says the surplus for fiscal 2020 is now likely to be $17.1bn rather than $7.1bn, while the surplus for the following year is set to be $19.1bn rather than $11bn. Blythe adds that factors such as strong jobs growth and the low inflation rate will boost the Budget bottom line by about $30bn over the next four years. He notes that government revenue will also be bolstered by a much higher iron ore rice than was forecast in the April 2019 Budget.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS