Author: roymorgansocial

World Cup a chance to reboot Australia’s love of cricket

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

New research from Roy Morgan shows that over 7.2 million Australians, equivalent to 35% of the Australian population aged 14 or older, watch at least one form of cricket on TV. This represents a decline of almost 340,000 TV Cricket viewers since March 2015 when Australia hosted, and won, the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Men’s Test cricket is the favoured form of cricket, watched by over 5.8 million Australians in the year to March 2019, just ahead of Men’s One-Day International Cricket, watched by 5.75 million. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine notes that over 5.7 million Australians will be closely watching the fortunes of the Australian cricket team at the Cricket World Cup in England on Foxtel, Kayo Sports and the Nine Network, as they defend their title won in 2015.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Property slump has another year: S&P

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s says factors such as the Coalition’s election win and a likely official interest rate cut in June will bolster the residential property market. However, the firm does not expect houses prices in Melbourne and Sydney to rebound for another 6-12 months, while George Tharenou of UBS forecasts that house prices will stabilise later in 2019. New data from CoreLogic shows that house prices fell by 0.4 per cent in May, and by 7.3 per cent year-on-year.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

News Corp not interested in free-to-air TV: Miller

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 4-Jun-19

News Corp Australasia chairman Michael Miller says pay-TV operator Foxtel is the media group’s primary broadcasting focus in Australia, and it will not seek to acquire a free-to-air network. The merger between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media in 2018 prompted speculation that News Corp could bid for the Seven Network. However, News Corp has since launched streaming video service Kayo Sports, which is part of Foxtel’s strategy to compete with digital rivals.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION

Albanese’s team mulls Coalition’s full tax cut agenda

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

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has indicated that Labor would be open to briefly reconvening parliament in June to pass the first stage of the Coalition’s proposed income tax cuts. He adds that Labor will consider the second and third stages on their merits. Labor is unlikely to decide whether to support the full package at its first post-election shadow cabinet meeting on 4 June. Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says Labor will review its tax policies in the wake of the election loss, but notes that a range of tax concessions cost a lot of money that could be better used elsewhere.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Banks told: hand over RBA cut

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Jun-19

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to reduce official interest rates from 1.50 per cent to 1.25 per cent on 4 June. A cut in rates would mean an end to the longest period of unchanged interest rates in the history of the RBA. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has met with the banks in recent days to discuss issues such as interest rates and the federal government’s proposed securitisation fund, has called on them to pass on any rates cut in fall. However, former RBA board member Warwick McKibbin has urged it not to cut rates, while Don Hamson from Plato Investment Management says any cut in rates would result in increased demand for dividend-paying shares.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FRANKLIN TEMPLETON ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

BHP faces call for write-down as Rio advances potash dream

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 3-Jun-19

BHP is slated to decide within 18 months if it will commit an additional $US5.5bn to the first stage of its Jansen potash project in Canada. CEO Andrew Mackenzie recently told investors that BHP has overinvested in the project to date, and James Gurry of Deutsche Bank says it may be a good time for BHP to review the carrying value of Jansen. He adds that there is potential for an initial impairment of around $US1.2bn ($1.7bn). Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s Albany potash joint venture in Canada could commence production within two years.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, JSC AKRON

News Corp eyes growth but flags job cuts as skills change

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 3-Jun-19

News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller says its Australian newspapers will achieve a third successive year of profitable growth in 2019-20. Miller notes that News Corp will be looking to bring in people with new skills to the company, while roles that are no longer needed will be abolished. Miller says that increases in digital subscriptions are reducing the company’s reliance on advertising, while he supports the turnaround strategy being adopted by pay-TV unit Foxtel.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA

Watchdog to get tough over worker rip-offs

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Jun-19

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker says the agency will make greater use of enforcement tools as part of its crackdown on employers that underpay their staff. Parker adds that businesses which self-report non-compliance to the FWO should also expected to face penalties, noting that there has been an increase in self-reporting in recent times. Meanwhile, Parker has identified sectors such as fast-food restaurants, cafes, horticulture and franchising as priorities for the FWO in 2019-20.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Business wary of RBA rate cut

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-Jun-19

Business leader Tony Shepherd has urged the Reserve Bank to leave official interest rates unchanged in June, arguing that it should wait for the impact of the federal election to fully flow through to the economy. Coca-Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins warns that a rate cut in June would leave the central bank with limited "firepower" in the event of a downturn in the economy. However, MYOB Group CEO Tim Reed notes that small businesses generally benefit from interest rate cuts.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, MYOB GROUP LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY FOOTBALL CLUB, SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Bruised Labor in race to embrace coal

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Charlie Peel
The Australian – Page: 4 : 3-Jun-19

Shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon has also taken on the resources portfolio in Labor’s post-election reshuffle. Fitzgibbon has stressed that Labor will continue to support the mining and exporting of coal, adding that Labor will support all mining projects that meet environmental hurdles and do not require taxpayer subsidies. There was a swing of more than 14 per cent against Fitzgibbon in the seat of Hunter, in which coal mining is a key industry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD