Author: roymorgansocial

Evolution back in the black

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 27 : 11-Jul-19

Evolution Mining has advised that its gold output totalled 194,866 ounces in the June quarter, compared with 175,901 in the March quarter, while it had a net cash position of $35.2m at the end of June. It produced 753,001 ounces of gold during 2018-19, at an average all-in sustaining cost of $924 an ounce, while it expects output in 2019-20 to be within the range of 725,000 to 775,000 ounces. Ramelius Resources in turn has reported 2018-19 output of 196,679 ounces.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, RAMELIUS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RMS

S&P upgrades outlook for big four banks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 11-Jul-19

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s move to scale back its capital requirements for the banking sector has prompted S&P Global Ratings to upgrade its outlook for the nation’s four major banks from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’. The credit ratings agency has also upgraded Macquarie Bank’s outlook from ‘developing’ to ‘positive’. Meanwhile, S&P has indicated that a sharp correction in residential property prices is the biggest risk factor for Australian banks.

CORPORATES
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED

Retailers hope tax-cut cheques will fuel spending spree

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis, Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-Jul-19

More than 970,000 people have lodged their annual tax return with the Australian Taxation Office since 1 July. Retailers are optimistic that the federal government’s tax cuts will have a similar stimulatory effect on the sector as the one-off payment made by Labor in 2009. Russell Zimmerman of the Australian Retailers Association says the tax cuts will allow struggling consumers to buy items such as new electrical appliances and clothing.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Iron ore shortage to keep prices elevated

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 27 : 11-Jul-19

Some analysts have forecast a further pullback in the iron ore price, which has retreated from its recent peak of around $US126 per tonne. National Australia Bank now expects the price of the steel input to average $US92/tonne during 2019 and $US74 in 2020. Meanwhile, Macquarie has indicated that the downturn in iron ore inventories at Chinese ports suggests that it will trade in the $US90s in the near-term.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CHINA IRON AND STEEL ASSOCIATION, VALE SA, BAOWU GROUP

Labor urged to speed up dud policy review

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Greg Brown, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-Jul-19

Labor has come under scrutiny for delaying a decision on key policies – including changes to the negative gearing and franking credits regimes – until a review of its 2019 federal election campaign is completed. Property Council of Australia CEO Ken Morrison argues that Labor should ditch these policies, as voters have rejected them at two elections. Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson says the franking credits policy is flawed and inequitable, and was a key factor in Labor’s election defeat.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Data retention compliance costs snowball past $200m

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-19

The Australian Communications & Media Authority has told a parliamentary committee that the cost of complying with the nation’s data retention laws was $35.3m in 2018-19. This compares with $119.8m in the previous financial year, and $211.5m in total since the laws were introduced in 2015. The data retention laws are being reviewed by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM

It’s not time: Albo hastens slowly on ditching policies

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Greg Brown, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Jul-19

Labor will not decide whether to abandon policies that contributed to its federal election loss until a review of its election campaign is completed in October. Labor’s proposed changes to the negative gearing and franking credits regimes are amongst those that are likely to be reconsidered. A number of Labor MPs believe that the party’s review of its policy platform should not be rushed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Signs that wage rise pick-up is under way

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jul-19

A number of large Australian companies have struck new enterprise agreements which include pay rises that are higher than the current level of wage growth. Some employers in sectors such as retailing and fast food are seeking to increase wages in line with the latest increase in the minimum wage. Meanwhile, Andrew Hanson of recruitment firm Robert Walters says the outlook for the economy and business conditions during the first half of 2019-20 means that more highly-skilled employees are unlikely to receive a significant pay rise.

CORPORATES
ROBERT WALTERS PTY LTD, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HUNGRY JACK’S PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, BWS – BEER WINE SPIRITS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

APRA lowers capital targets for banks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 10-Jul-19

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has scaled its near-term target for the amount of capital the nation’s banks will be required to hold. APRA had initially proposed that banks would have to increase their total capital by 4-5 percentage points by January 2024, but it has reduced this to three percentage points in response to industry feedback. However, it will require banks to meet the higher target in the longer-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Media, security balance the goal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-19

Foreign Minister Marise Payne will use a speech on 10 July to stress the importance of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. However, she will tell the Global Conference for Media Freedom that the public’s right to know must be balanced against the need to protect Australia’s national interest. Payne’s speech in London comes in the wake of the recent police raids on the Sydney offices of the ABC and the home of a News Corp Australia journalist.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, UNITED NATIONS. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION