Author: roymorgansocial

Bill will scare off vendors: Telstra

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 27 : 19-Jul-19

The federal government’s encryption laws have attracted criticism from a range of sectors, including the technology industry and civil liberties groups. In its submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security, Telstra claimed that the legislation will make international vendors reluctant to share new devices and technology with Australian telcos. Telstra also contends that the legislation has the potential to disrupt network services.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY

Top scientists lash superficial ABC

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Original article by Emily Ritchie
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Jul-19

Leading hydrologists and ecologists have criticised the ABC over its ‘Four Corners’ program in an open letter. The episode on 8 July labelled the $5.6 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan a "failure and a farce". Hydrologist Rob Vertessy, one of the letter’s co-authors, said those behind it challenged the assertion that the plan was a failure, even more so that it is a farce. He says no one in the water sector would deny that the plan is not without its flaws, but nobody has been able to come up with a better one.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Revealed – the worst default super funds

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Jul-19

Industry Super Australia’s analysis of data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that Hostplus and Cbus are among the MySuper funds that have delivered the best returns over the last five years. However, Max Super is the only retail fund in ISA’s list of the 20 best-performing MySuper funds. The super funds of the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are among the MySuper funds that delivered the lowest returns over the period.

CORPORATES
INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, HOST-PLUS, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, MAX SUPER PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, SARGON, BLACKROCK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Job data puts rate cut expectations on hold

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

The chances of an interest rate cut in August have lengthened following the release of data showing that Australia’s official unemployment rate was steady at 5.2 per cent in June. Analysis by Westpac suggests that financial markets are pricing in a 15 per cent chance of a rate cut in August, although the Reserve Bank is still widely tipped to ease monetary policy by the end of the year. The jobless rate rose from 5.19 per cent to 5.24 per cent in unrounded terms in June, while the underemployment rate fell to 8.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Fed-up Lib MPs ready to call out GetUp’s attacking moves

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 19-Jul-19

Federal parliament’s electoral affairs committee will undertake an inquiry into the conduct of the 18 May election. Liberal backbenchers Nicolle Flint and Kevin Andrews say they plan to make complaints to the committee about the behaviour of left-wing activist group GetUp during the election campaign. A GetUp spokesperson said the group would be happy to appear before the committee, while also rejecting claims that it was not transparent about its financial accounting.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Drones a growing threat to security

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 5 : 18-Jul-19

Data from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau shows that it received 121 reports of incidents involving drones in the first five months of 2019, including 68 near-encounters with manned aircraft. Michelle Bennetts of Airservices Australia has told a conference in Canberra that there is the potential for drones to be used by criminals or as weapons in terrorist attacks. She noted that the Asia-Pacific region is expected to become the biggest market for remotely piloted aircraft systems within five years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BUREAU, AIRSERVICES AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION OF UNMANNED SYSTEMS

Mergers loom as regulator changes tactics

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 18-Jul-19

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres concedes that regulating superannuation funds is more problematic than banks, as the latter are not subject to capital requirements. Ian Fryer of Chant West says APRA will be much more proactive in regulating the super industry in the wake of its capability review, adding that increased regulatory attention may accelerate consolidation in the sector. Cbus also anticipates merger activity in the sector as underperforming funds come under greater scrutiny.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

AGL under pump to hasten coal closures

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 27 : 18-Jul-19

Market Forces will press for AGL Energy to close its Loy Yang A and Bayswater coal-fired power stations ahead of schedule. The environmental activist group will put a resolution to AGL’s annual meeting in September, calling for both plants to be shut down in 2030. Will van de Pol of Market Forces says AGL’s plans to keep the plants operating well beyond this date are at odds with its stated support for the Paris climate agreement. Loy Yang A is slated to close in 2048, and Bayswater is due to be shut down in 2035.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, MARKET FORCES, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Buyers told to chance the market

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jul-19

The federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is slated to commence on 1 January, and it will initially be restricted to 10,000 borrowers. Housing Minister Michael Sukkar says the government may be open to expanding the scheme if it is popular. He adds that if possible, prospective buyers should step into the housing market now rather than waiting for the scheme to begin, as there are signs that the market is improving. Sukkar is confident that unlike first-home buyers’ grants, the scheme will not have a distortionary impact on the housing market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL HOUSING FINANCE AND INVESTMENT CORPORATION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

BHP flags iron ore output surge

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 18-Jul-19

BHP has forecast that its Pilbara iron ore exports for 2019-20 will be within the range of 273 to 286 million tonnes, despite its scheduled maintenance work at Port Hedland. BHP’s Pilbara shipments totalled 71.1 million tonnes in the final quarter of 2018-19, and 270.5 million tonnes for the full year. BHP has also advised that its 2018-19 production costs were in line with previous forecasts of less than $US15 per tonne. Rio Tinto recently indicated that its iron ore production costs for 2019 will be between $US14 and $US15 per tonne.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG