Author: roymorgansocial

Albanese slams diabolical donations crisis

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has criticised the culture of Labor’s New South Wales branch in the wake of the scandal over a $100,000 cash donation from a Chinese property developer. He says there are clearly accountability issues within NSW Labor and has called for a review into how the scandal occurred. However, Albanese has rejected a proposal to relocate NSW Labor’s head office, which is currently close to Sydney’s Chinatown precinct. Meanwhile, there is speculation that suspended NSW Labor secretary Kaila Murnain could potentially face criminal charges over her role in the scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Aviva tips weaker dollar, eyes global recession

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 2-Sep-19

Aviva Investors’ chief economist Michael Grady is bearish about the Australian dollar, saying that it could fall to the low $US0.60s level by the end of 2019. He stresses that the potential slump in the currency’s value is not solely due to the outlook for the Chinese economy, noting amongst other things that the link between the dollar and the terms of trade has broken down. Grady adds that the trade war with the US could reduce China’s economic growth by a further 1-1.25 per cent, while he says there is an even chance of a global recession before the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
AVIVA INVESTORS

Miners weigh lowering hurdle on projects

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 2-Sep-19

Alumina CEO Mike Ferraro says mining companies should not be rigid about the rate of return they expect from an investment. A rate of return of 15 per cent has become the minimum requirement for most large mining corporations when deciding whether to proceed with a project, but there are signs that some are prepared to go below this rate of return due to very low interest rates. Newcrest Mining CEO Sandeep Biswas says he would be more willing to accept lower rates of return on new projects than on expansions of existing ones.

CORPORATES
ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Nearly nine million general insurance policies at risk of being switched – RACV and Apia top for loyalty

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Sep-19

A new report from Roy Morgan shows that during the last 12 months, 8.9 million general insurance policies, or nearly one in five (18.2%), were subject to review. This was made up of the policies that were switched to another company and those that were renewed with the same company after approaching other companies. Companies with the most loyal customers (those who renew without looking around) are RACV, Apia and CGU. The research also shows that over the last year, 79.4% of general insurance policies were renewed with the same company without approaching any other companies. This was an increase from the previous year when it was 77.3% and currently represents 38.7 million policies. These are some of the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s ‘General Insurance Currency Report’. The report is derived from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey (Australia) which is derived from in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their homes, including details of over 120,000 general insurance policies.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RACV INSURANCE, AUSTRALIAN PENSIONERS INSURANCE AGENCY PTY LTD, CGU INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

CEOs to PM: support long-term growth

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Business leaders have put forward suggestions for boosting the Australian economy, amid expectations that upcoming GDP data will show that growth slowed to a 10-year low of 1.4 per cent in the year to June. JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray has emphasised the need for policy initiatives that support long-term economic growth, rather than merely stimulating the economy. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci and Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner agree that further easing monetary policy is unlikely to be sufficient to boost the economy, while Cardo CEO Ian Ball has called for increased investment in transport infrastructure.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CARDNO LIMITED – ASX CDD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

We’re in a terrible state: NSW Labor leader

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-19

New South Wales Labor leader Jodi McKay says Kaila Murnain will not return to her role as the party’s general secretary following her suspension on 28 August. McKay adds that she cannot understand how the scandal over a $100,000 cash donation to NSW Labor was allowed to ‘fester’ for so long. She also says Labor is unlikely to win office in the state until it regains the trust of voters. Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has declined to comment on the donations scandal in NSW.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Woolies thrives but Banducci stays cautious

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 30-Aug-19

Groceries and liquor giant Woolworths Group has posted a 2018-19 net profit of $2.693bn, which is 56.1 per cent higher than previously. Its profit from continuing operations was down per cent at $1.49bn following the sale of its petrol division, but group sales rose 5.3 per cent to $59.98bn. Woolworths’ core Australian supermarkets division recorded earnings and sales growth of 5.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively. Big W’s sales were 6.5 per cent higher, although the discount department store chain posted an EBIT loss of $85m.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, ENDEAVOUR DRINKS, DAN MURPHY’S, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL

Religion bill will make it harder to sack people

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-19

Attorney-General Christian Porter released a draft of the federal government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill on 29 August. Porter says the legislation aims to protect people on the basis of their religion, but does not give them a "licence to discriminate against other people", or to engage in vilifying or harassing speech. Under the proposed legislation, a company with turnover of at least $50 million that sacks someone for expressing a religious view that breaches a condition of their employment will need to show that retaining the employee could cause it "unjustifiable financial hardship”.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Potential $50b wave of gas M&A deals around the corner

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 30-Aug-19

David Low of Wood Mackenzie says mergers and acquisitions activity in Australia’s oil and gas sector could increase in coming years. He identifies Cooper Energy and Senex Energy as being among the smaller companies that could become takeover targets, while Oil Search could also potentially attract suitors following its recent share price weakness. Low adds that international companies such as ConocoPhillips and Eni could opt to divest some or all of their assets in Australia.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, COOPER ENERGY LIMITED – ASX COE, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ENTE NAZIONALE IDROCARBURI SPA, COMET RIDGE LIMITED – ASX COI, GALILEE ENERGY LIMITED – ASX GLL, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD

Competition no worry for Lynas

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 30-Aug-19

Rare earths miner Lynas Corporation has posted a 2018-19 net profit of $80m, compared with $53.1m previously. However, EBITDA fell to $100.7m and revenue was also lower at $363.5m. Meanwhile, CEO Amanda Lacaze is not unduly concerned by the mining sector’s growing interest in rare earths, arguing that increased competition could benefit Lynas. She is also optimistic that the Malaysian Government will renew the company’s full operating licence after agreeing to extend its current licence by six months.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU