Author: roymorgansocial

Cure for housing fix ‘worse than disease’: UBS

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 23-Aug-19

Investment bank UBS has warned that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s move towards extremely low interest rates risks reflating the residential property ‘bubble’. The ultra-low rates are also putting pressure on the dividend policies and margin levels of the nation’s large banks, while plans by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to reduce related-party exposure limits with regard to Tier 1 capital will put pressure on the banks’ capital.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA RADIATION LABORATORIES, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

South32 poised to exit S African coal assets as profit plunges

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 23-Aug-19

Diversified miner South32 has posted a 2018-19 statutory net profit of $US389m, which is 71 per cent lower than previously. The result was marred by a $US504m impairment charge associated with its South African thermal coal assets. Underlying earnings fell by 25 per cent to $US992m. Meanwhile, South32 is set to sell its South African coal mines to Seriti Resources, and CEO Graham Kerr has ruled out buying any more thermal coal assets, including BHP’s Mt Arthur mine.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, SERITI RESORCES, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Rising costs and tough TV ad market eat into Nine’s profit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Aug-19

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2018-19 statutory net profit from continuing operations of $216.6m, which is three per cent higher than previously. Challenging conditions in the advertising market saw the Nine Network’s revenue fall by six per cent to $1.09bn; its costs rose four per cent to $876.6m, and Nine expects a similar increase in costs during 2019-20. The group’s publishing division posted full-year earnings of $82.7m, compared with $50.2m previously. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $0.05 per share, and a full-year payout of $0.10.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Bank charges on deposits a possibility

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 23-Aug-19

Data from the Reserve Bank shows that nearly 10 per cent of the deposits held by Australia’s major banks received no interest prior to the official interest rate cut in July, while a similar proportion of deposits earned interest of less than 50 basis points. Swiss Re’s chief economist Jerome Haegeli says Australian banks could potentially begin charging customers to hold their deposits. Several banks in Europe have already announced such a move, while the Bank of New York Mellon did so in 2011.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SWISS REINSURANCE COMPANY, THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORPORATION, UBS AG, JYSKE BANK, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Stan’s high-stakes battle in new Disney landscape

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Aug-19

Video streaming service Stan has posted earnings of $500,000 for the second half of 2018-19, although it has made a full-year loss of $21.3m. Revenue increased by 62 per cent to $157.1m, while the number of active subscribers rose by 200,000 to 1.7 million. Stan’s costs increased by 23 per cent to $178.4m, largely due to expenditure on marketing its Disney content, which it is likely to lose when the rival Disney+ streaming service is launched in Australia in late 2019.

CORPORATES
STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL NOW, KAYO SPORTS, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, HAYU, PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, VIACOM INCORPORATED, SHOWTIME, CBS CORPORATION

Discrimination rise feeds gender pay gap

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 22-Aug-19

Research by KPMG has concluded that discrimination against women accounts for 39 per cent of the gender pay gap. The research also found that although women are just as likely as their male colleagues to ask for a pay rise, women are much less likely to actually receive an increase. Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons says addressing the gender pay gap requires action on the issue of "ingrained" gender stereotypes.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY, GLASSDOOR INCORPORATED

Victoria risk of blackouts as grid wilts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-Aug-19

The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned that there is a significant risk that Victoria will face electricity blackouts during the 2019-20 summer. It has released a report which notes that the state will not meet the required standard for electricity supply reliability during the coming summer months, citing factors such as unplanned outages at AGL Energy’s Loy Yang power station and Origin Energy’s Mortlake gas plant. AEMO also says there is a high risk of blackouts in Victoria over the next decade unless there is increased power generation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

PM expects Pell to be stripped of his honours

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Liz Main, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 22-Aug-19

Cardinal George Pell may seek special leave to appeal to the High Court after Victoria’s Court of Appeal rejected his bid to have his conviction on historical child abuse charges overturned. The court ruled 2-1 against Pell’s appeal, and legal experts say the dissenting judgment by Justice Mark Weinberg may increase the chances of special leave being granted. Justice Weinberg ruled that Pell’s conviction should have been overturned. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Pell could be stripped of his Order of Australia. Pell was jailed for a minimum of three years and eight months in March.

CORPORATES
COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL

Potash bull sees upside in BHP push at Jansen

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 22-Aug-19

BHP expects to have a capital expenditure budget of about $US8bn for fiscal 2021, and CEO Andrew Mackenzie has indicated that less than $US500m will be allocated to the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia and the Jansen potash project in Canada. A decision on whether to proceed with the Jansen project is likely within 18 months. Getting it to the production stage is slated to cost between $US5.3bn and $US5.7bn, and Tal Lomnitzer of Janus Henderson says rising global demand for food means the project will deliver long-term benefits for BHP and its shareholders.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX JHG, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Chinese trade pullback could cost $25bn

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Aug-19

Andrew Boak of Goldman Sachs warns that the fallout from the US-China trade war could eventually hit Australia. He says growing tensions between Australia and China could potentially result in a sharp fall in Chinese demand for key Australian exports, including education and commodities such as iron ore and coal. Goldman Sachs suggests that in a worst-case scenario, lower Chinese demand could reduce Australia’s GDP growth rate by 130 basis points in 2020.

CORPORATES
GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG