Author: roymorgansocial

No bargains from gold mergers: PwC

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 5-Jun-19

The Super Pit gold mine in Western Australia is among the assets that could potentially be offered for sale in the wake of the latest round of mergers in the gold sector. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are among the Australian gold producers that acquired assets at a discount during the previous spate of mergers in the sector. However, Chris Dodd of PwC says potential buyers cannot expect a significant discount this time around.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, GOLDCORP INCORPORATED, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, ATLANTIC GOLD CORPORATION

Rationale for Foxtel IPO remains: Telstra’s Penn

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 5-Jun-19

Telstra CEO Andy Penn has indicated that a sharemarket float of pay-TV company Foxtel is still likely at some point. He says the reasons for a Foxtel IPO are as compelling as when the proposal was first mooted several years ago. Telstra reduced its stake in Foxtel from 50 per cent to 35 per cent as part of a restructuring that resulted in the merger of Foxtel and News Corp-owned Fox Sports. Penn adds that Foxtel is still an important asset for Telstra, and the telco will retain a stake in Foxtel if it is floated.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, KAYO SPORTS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

PM: trade war threatens world

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Original article by Jacquelin Magnay
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Jun-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the US-China trade war could undermine the global trading system, with consequences for the living standards of people throughout the world Morrison, who is in the UK to attend services to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, also said that Britain and Australia have a role to play in the implementation of changes to the World Trade Organization. He added that Australia will continue to have close ties with Britain in the post-Brexit era.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Confidence returning as housing hits the bottom

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Original article by Ben Wilmot, Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 5-Jun-19

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says the downturn in the residential property market is likely to reach its bottom earlier than expected, citing factors such as the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut and the outcome of the recent federal election. Tim Lawless of CoreLogic also anticipates an upturn in the housing market, although he adds that economic uncertainty means a rebound in house prices is unlikely in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CBRE PTY LTD, PLACE ESTATE AGENTS

Police raid an attack on press freedom

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Original article by Richard Ferguson, Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Jun-19

The Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance has described an Australian Federal Police raid on the home of journalist Annika Smethurst as an "outrageous attack" on press freedom. The raid was in response to an April 2018 article which revealed that the Australian Signals Directorate may be given powers to gain access to the emails, bank records and text messages of Australian citizens. Smethurst is a senior press gallery reporter and the political editor of News Corp Australia’s Sunday newspapers.

CORPORATES
MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, 2GB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Sanjeev Gupta urges Canberra to underwrite energy plan

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta says it is important to have new and competitive sources of power generation before ‘legacy generation’ is phased out. Gupta wants the re-elected Coalition government to expand the scope of its underwriting generation scheme, which Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims first proposed in 2018 as a way of encouraging new sources of power generation. Gupta, who rescued the Whyalla steelworks from administration in 2017, wants to build electric cars in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LIBERTY HOUSE GROUP, SIMEC

Boards feel the pinch on pay as Hayne fallout hits home

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

A new survey shows that company secretaries in the financial services sector have received an average pay rise of 24 per cent in 2018-19. In contrast, the remuneration of directors and chairpersons in the industry have fallen by 11 per cent in the wake of the Hayne royal commission. Likewise, the remuneration of CEOs in the sector fell by 21 per cent and managing directors’ pay was cut by 10 per cent. The survey was undertaken by the Governance Institute, in partnership with McGuirk Consultants and Board Direction.

CORPORATES
GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, McGUIRK MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS PTY LTD, BOARD DIRECTION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Minimum wage nowhere near keeping pace with rents

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Original article by Killian Plastow
The New Daily – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

The Fair Work Commission cited a fall in inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index, as the reason for a smaller increase in the minimum wage in 2019 than in 2018. Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers notes that the CPI is based on a ‘basket of goods’ that does not include rent or housing costs. She says the CPI has only increased by 63 per cent since 1998, while housing costs have risen by 300 per cent over the same period. Australian Bureau of Statistics chief economist Bruce Hockman notes that there are other data sets that examine the sort of housing costs that Anglicare is referring to, but that the CPI was not intended to measure them.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ANGLICARE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Adani downsizes, cuts new job numbers to as low as 800

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

Doubts have emerged as to how many ongoing jobs would be created at Adani’s Carmichael coal mine if the $2bn project goes ahead. A spokeswoman says the project would create 1,500 direct jobs and 6,750 indirect jobs during the ramp-up and construction phases. She adds that the number of jobs when the mine becomes operational will be in line with open-cut coal mines of a similar size in Queensland, which is between 800 and 1,500. Adani had originally flagged the creation of about 5,000 operational jobs at Carmichael, before the size of the project was scaled back.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Challenge to Australia’s gas dominance

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

Australia displaced Qatar as the world’s biggest LNG exporter in late 2018, but gas buyers say this status may be short-lived as more producers enter a competitive market. James Vigil of Japan-based JERA says LNG producers need to be competitive with regard to factors other than price, such as the terms and conditions of their supply deals and the length of their contracts. Meanwhile, Qatar plans to ramp up its LNG production, while the US has a rapidly growing LNG export trade.

CORPORATES
JERA, THE TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED, CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED, WOOD MACKENZIE, CHEVRON CORPORATION, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION