Author: roymorgansocial

Secrecy law a burden: HRC

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 5 : 18-Oct-19

Details of submissions to News Corp Australia’s legal challenge to the validity of a police raid on the home of journalist Annika Smethurst have been released. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s submission has broadly supported News Corp’s stance, although it has taken a different legal approach to the issue, arguing that secrecy laws limit the freedom of political expression. Constitutional law expert George Williams, says the two approaches could both support the media group’s view that the raid on Smethurst was unlawful.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BHP holds out against activist push

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 18-Oct-19

BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie has defended its membership of mining industry groups such as the Minerals Council of Australia and associated entities like Coal 21, amid growing pressure from activist groups and shareholders. Meanwhile, BHP has advised that scheduled maintenance work at Port Hedland resulted in its Pilbara iron ore production falling three per cent to 69 million tonnes in the September quarter. BHP has also approved additional expenditure of $US344m on the Jansen potash project in Canada, ahead of a final investment decision in February 2021.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, COAL 21

IOOF to push ahead with buyout of ANZ’s wealth arm

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 18-Oct-19

Shares in wealth manager IOOF Holdings rallied on 17 October after it moved a step closer to completing a deal to acquire the ANZ Bank’s OnePath pensions and investments division. IOOF has advised that it will pay just $850m for the business if it gains regulatory approval by 30 June. This represents a 13 per cent discount to the previously agreed purchase price. Meanwhile, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has indicated that it will not appeal a recent Federal Court decision that cleared five IOOF executives and directors of misconduct.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Strong gains raise question of fair stock value

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 18-Oct-19

The Australian sharemarket’s pullback on 17 October was to be expected, after the S&P/ASX 200 had gained 3.8 per cent in two weeks. The market may be vulnerable to a further pullback, given that it now looks to be the most expensive since October 2007 on a price-earnings basis. Meanwhile, financial markets have downgraded the chances of an official interest rate cut in both November and December following the release of the latest unemployment data.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Labor to support Indonesia, Peru and Hong Kong free trade deals

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 17-Oct-19

Labor’s caucus will shortly decide whether to support the federal government’s proposed free trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru. Sources have indicated that Labor is unlikely to oppose the legislation, although it may seek a number of amendments. The ACTU will lobby Labor MPs to oppose the bill, due to concerns about issues such as the trade deals’ investor-state dispute settlement clauses and labour market testing provisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Rio on track for world iron ore crown

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 17-Oct-19

Rio Tinto shipped 86.1 million tonnes of Pilbara iron ore during the September quarter, and 240 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2019. A strong performance in the fourth quarter could see Rio Tinto’s full-year exports top 330 million tonnes, which is the upper range of its guidance for the calendar year. This would also allow it to surpass Vale as the world’s biggest iron ore exporter, given that the Brazilian company now expects to export about 319 million tonnes for the year. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has advised that its alumina and bauxite production in 2019 will be below previous guidance.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED

CEOs say big stick unlikely to be deployed

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Robert Guy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 17-Oct-19

Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery says the federal government’s legislation to force energy companies to divest assets will probably never be triggered. Dimery argues that conditions in the energy market would have to be dire for the ‘big stick’ legislation to be used. Origin Energy CEO Frank Calabria has in turn questioned whether the legislation will increase energy affordability and reliability, while Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott has doubts about the effectiveness of the government’s Underwriting New Generation scheme.

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Comyn claims ACCC exaggeration but welcomes probe

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Original article by Bo Seo
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 17 : 17-Oct-19

Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn and chair Catherine Livingstone are supportive of a new inquiry into mortgage pricing. However, Comyn has questioned the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s claim that the pricing gap for new and existing customers of the nation’s major banks is 32 basis points. He says this gap is significantly lower than 30 basis points at CBA. Livingstone notes that the bank takes into account the interests of borrowers, deposit-holders and shareholders when deciding upon its mortgage pricing.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Bank trusted more than tech: ANZ

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 21 : 17-Oct-19

ANZ Bank’s CEO Shayne Elliott says consumers still generally trust banks more than technology companies such as Google and Facebook. He adds that consumers trust banks to manage their personal data as well as their money, which gives banks an advantage over tech companies. He has also defended the banking sector’s traditional one-size-fits-all model for product pricing, arguing that the targeted pricing strategy of fintechs has its risks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

ABC goes begging as it pays execs 70pc more

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Oct-19

The ABC’s latest annual report shows that its executive management team and board of directors received total remuneration of $6.1m in 2018-19, compared with $3.6m in 2017-18. The public broadcaster added two people to its executive ranks during the latest reporting period. MD David Ander­son was paid $1.14m in 2018-19, while predecessor Michele Guthrie received a $1.35m termination payout. The ABC has reported a 2018-19 net operating surplus of $38.3m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION