Author: roymorgansocial

Stan signs content from Disney’s Fox and ABC

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Nov-19

Subscription video-on-demand provider Stan has secured a new content deal with Walt Disney Company. The deal includes TV programs that were produced by Disney-owned ABC Networks and 21st Century Fox. However, content from the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars franchises will still be exclusively available via the rival Disney+ service at present.

CORPORATES
STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, DISNEY+, HULU LLC, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Australia’s cashed-up gold miners embrace high-risk deals

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 29-Nov-19

Evolution Mining is optimistic that all-in sustaining production costs at the Red Lake gold mine in Canada will fall to less than $US1,000 an ounce in three years’ time. Production costs at the mine currently exceed $1,600 an ounce, while gold is trading at $US1,452 an ounce. Evolution’s deal to acquire the mine from Newmont for $US375m ($555m) is part of a growing trend for Australian miners to buy underperforming gold assets with hopes of turning them around.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, NEWMONT GOLD COMPANY, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, SARACEN MINERAL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SAR, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, OCEANAGOLD CORPORATION – ASX OGC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, IMPERIAL METALS CORPORATION, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, ATLANTIC GOLD CORPORATION

Westpac told of payments weeks ago

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 29-Nov-19

Westpac has claimed that it was not aware of Austrac’s allegations regarding payments linked to child exploitation until 20 November, when the scandal was exposed. However, Austrac’s statement of claim shows that it specifically requested information from Westpac about such payments at least six weeks earlier. Meanwhile, Westpac has advised that it will allow retail investors to withdraw from a share purchase plan that was announced a week before Austrac filed civil proceedings against the bank.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CLIME CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX CAM

ACSI backs director resolutions

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 29-Nov-19

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors will back the re-election of four Westpac directors at the bank’s upcoming annual meeting. ACSI chair Louise Davidson says it would have voted differently if Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer had remained at the helm and chairman Lindsay Maxsted had not agreed to bring forward his retirement. Davidson adds that Maxsted’s successor will need to ensure that Westpac’s board has the right mix of skills to prevent another money-laundering scandal.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Economists push out QE timing after Lowe speech

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 28-Nov-19

Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans now expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to pursue quantitative easing in June 2020, having previously forecast that it would commence a bond-buying program in February. Other economists have also revised their timetables for QE after RBA governor Philip Lowe signalled that this option is unlikely to be pursued unless the cash rate falls to 0.25 per cent. Citigroup’s Josh Williamson has ruled out any move to QE in 2020.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Porter rejects Lambie’s call to alter union bill

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Nov-19

The federal government remains hopeful that One Nation will support its Ensuring Integrity Bill, with the minor party’s two votes being crucial to its passage through the Senate. Meanwhile, independent senator Jacqui Lambie has proposed a number of last-minute amendments to the bill in return for her support; they include a provision that unprotected industrial action cannot be used as grounds for disqualifying a union official. Attorney-General Christian Porter has ruled out supporting the amendments, arguing that they are unworkable.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, CENTRE ALLIANCE, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Westpac papers reveal trail of human, IT failure

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Nov-19

Westpac’s confidential disclosures to Austrac show that it breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws some 29 million times. Austrac has accused the major bank of 23 million breaches, and the additional breaches cannot be prosecuted as they fall outside the statute of limitations. The documents also show that international money transfers with seven global banks had not been reported since 2011, due to problems with a computer system upgrade that began in 2010. However, Westpac did not become aware of the problem until May 2017, and it was not reported to Austrac until August 2018.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Infrastructure spending set to take a dive

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Nov-19

The Parliamentary Budget Office has forecast that Australia’s net infrastructure investment will peak at $38bn in 2019-20, before falling over the next three years. This is primarily due to expectations that the net debt of the state governments will blow out to around $156bn by 2022. This would constitute the states’ highest share of public debt in two decades.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

PM wins an AAA-rating for his responsible approach to stimulus

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Nov-19

S&P Global Ratings has praised the federal government’s commitment to a balanced Budget rather than pursuing stimulus measures. The ratings agency has warned that any fiscal stimulus that led to a change in the trajectory of the Budget could jeopardise Australia’s coveted triple-A credit rating. Anthony Walker, S&P’s director of sovereign ratings, has also warned that fiscal stimulus is likely to affect the nation’s ability to respond to future unforeseen economic shocks.

CORPORATES
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ABC stands firm on Olympics coverage

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 28-Nov-19

The ABC will not back down on its decision to cease providing radio coverage of the Olympic Games. The ABC’s MD David Anderson and chair Ita Buttrose held talks with the Australian Olympic Committee’s president John Coates and CEO Matt Carroll on 27 November. However, a spokesman for the public broadcaster has confirmed that the ABC will not bid for the radio broadcasting rights for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Commercial radio networks are believed to have ruled out bidding for the broadcasting rights.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE