Author: roymorgansocial

Housing construction ticks up slightly in June

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 10-Oct-19

New figures show that residential building starts increased by 1.1 per cent in the June quarter, following declines in the previous two quarters. A 10.6 per cent decline in detached-housing starts was offset by a 21 per cent increase in apartment starts. Meanwhile, housing starts for the year to June totalled 196,867; this was the first year-on-year fall since September 2014. Ernst & Young’s chief economist Joanne Masters expects a further decline in residential construction activity.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, TAMAWOOD LIMITED – ASX TWD

Call for tougher rules for big tech despite shift

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Oct-19

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has stressed the continued importance of a strong newspaper industry in the era of digital platforms. He says that although there are signs that technology giants such as Facebook and Google are starting to recognise the need to pay for news content, the ACCC and its overseas counterparts will keep pushing for greater regulation of the sector to ensure a level-playing field for traditional media companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ boss calls for QE summit

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Original article by Tony Boyd, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 22 : 10-Oct-19

The growing prospect of negative interest rates and unconventional policy measures such as quantitative easing has prompted ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott to propose holding a summit on the issue. He says it should include representatives from the major banks, regional banks, industry regulators, the Treasury and the Reserve Bank. Elliott says that amongst other things, the summit could discuss issues such as the broader economic implications of QE and the role of banks in the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS

Evans warns of negative impact of rate cuts

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 10-Oct-19

Financial markets expect the cash rate to fall to 0.5 per cent by February, and market pricing suggests that there is more than a 50 per cent chance of further rate cuts by mid-2020. Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans says the Reserve Bank should take note of declining consumer confidence when considering further rate cuts, and the "possible unintended consequences" of any move toward negative interest rates. The general consensus of economists is that fiscal policy would be more effective than unconventional monetary policy measures such as quantitative easing.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Super fee gap shrinking as retail funds catch up

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Oct-19

Data from Rainmaker shows that the superannuation industry’s fees fell by about four per cent in 2018-19, to $31.8bn. It was the first decline in fees since 2014, with retail super funds recording the biggest fall. Rainmaker notes that as a result, the traditional fee gap between retail and industry super funds has narrowed to almost zero. This is particularly so in the case of MySuper funds; the average fee for non-profit MySuper products is now 1.15 per cent, compared with an average of 1.17 per cent for retail MySuper products.

CORPORATES
RAINMAKER INFORMATION SERVICES PTY LTD

Costs blow strikes Fair Work funders

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Oct-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has welcomed the Federal Court’s ruling that litigation funder August Ventures should provide security for employers’ costs in a class action over alleged breaches of workplace laws. Willox hopes the ruling will make Fair Work class actions less attractive to litigation funders, while he has called for such businesses to be subject to greater regulation. There are currently 11 class actions before the Federal Court involving ­alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act.

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FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUGUST VENTURES, ADERO LAW, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WORKPAC PTY LTD

BHP green push all about profit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 9-Oct-19

BHP’s head of external affairs Geoff Healy has told investors in London that embracing social and environmental issues is "good business". He argued that demonstrating a commitment to such causes is essential for mining companies, to ensure that they can both secure the rights to new deposits and retain control of existing projects. Healy says BHP believes that its commitment to social value was a key factor in securing a stake in Mexico’s Trion oil field.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Morrison: ANZUS Libs’ greatest move

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Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Oct-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attributed the Liberal Party’s electoral success and longevity in government to the fact that it is a ‘common sense’ and ‘pragmatic’ party that has broad appeal. Morrison has identified the ANZUS Treaty, which was signed in 1951, as the Liberal Party’s most important achievement in government. Morrison adds that he has always wanted to serve his country, but never had any ambitions of becoming Liberal leader or prime minister.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Strong economies need profitable banks, says Wilson

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Original article by James Frost, Vesna Poljak, Aleks Vickovich, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 9-Oct-19

Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson has rejected criticism of Australia’s major banks for failing to pass on the latest official interest rate cut in full. He contends that strong and profitable banks are essential for a strong economy, and he estimates that the sector’s earnings would be $4.5bn-$6bn lower if banks had reduced their mortgage interest rates by 0.75 per cent since June, in line with the Reserve Bank. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank chairman Robert Johanson has also dismissed claims by Prime Minister Scott Morrison that the banks are profiteering by withholding interest rate cuts.

CORPORATES
WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ compo bill jumps to $1.2bn

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Oct-19

The ANZ Bank has advised that its cash profit for the second half of 2018-19 will be marred by an after-tax charge of $559m due to increased provisions for customer-related remediation. ANZ has now announced a total of $1.22bn in after-tax compensation charges since 2017. Australia’s major banks have set aside a combined $7.6bn pre-tax to compensate customers, and Jarrod Martin of Credit Suisse expects this to increase. ANZ will release its financial results for the year to 30 September in late October.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD