Author: roymorgansocial

Fortescue investor reduces stake

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 7-Mar-19

Hunan Valin Group has capitalised on the recent rally in Fortescue Metals Group’s share price by cutting its stake in the pure-play iron ore miner by 1.14 per cent, reducing it to 13.06 per cent. China-based Hunan Valin is Fortescue’s second-biggest shareholder, and acquired its initial stake of 17.4 per cent in 2009. The company last reduced its Fortescue stake in 2016.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HUNAN VALIN IRON AND STEEL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Dollar dives on expected cut to RBA cash rate

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 7-Mar-19

The Australian dollar fell to a two-month low in local trading on 6 March, in response to the latest GDP data, while the money market has now fully priced in an official interest cut by October. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has told a business summit that the central bank still has the flexibility to raise or lower the cash rate as required. He also said the downturn in house prices is unlikely to affect economic growth.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

Guthrie’s pay day: $1.64m to go away

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Mar-19

The ABC’s acting David Anderson has told a Senate committee that former MD Michelle Guthrie was paid $730,000 gross to settle her adverse action claim. He said the public broadcaster agreed to a confidential settlement after legal advice suggested that it could have incurred costs of up to $2m if the case had gone to court. Labor and the Community & Public Sector Union have criticised the size of the payout. Guthrie also received a $911,117 severance package following her dismissal in September.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ABC ALUMNI

Blocking Adani mine would damage trade with India

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 5-Mar-19

Australia India Business Council chairman Jim Varghese says any move by state or federal governments to block Adani’s Carmichael coal mine would harm trade between the two nations. Varghese says India needs thermal coal to help meet its rapidly growing energy requirements, and he notes that Australian coal is cleaner than other sources. Meanwhile, Adani CEO Lucas Dow says the company would certainly seek compensation if the Greens private members’ bill to block thermal coal in Queensland is approved by state parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA-INDIA BUSINESS COUNCIL INCORPORATED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CSIRO, GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Veteran MPs facing a gold-plated retirement

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Mar-19

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop is among the six Liberal MPs who have chosen not to contest the 2019 election. Bishop is set to be paid more than $177,000 before tax each year in retirement, after 21 years in parliament. Liberal colleague Christopher Pyne will be paid more than $172,000 a year following a 26-year parliamentary career, while Labor’s Jennie Macklin will be entitled to an annual income of some $177,000 after 23 years in the lower house. Seven Labor MPs will retire at the election.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

GDP growth to make 30 years in a row: BIS

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 5-Mar-19

Gabriel Sterne of BIS Oxford Economics has forecast that the Australian economy will continue to expand for another two years. Sterne attributes the nation’s unprecedented period of economic growth to factors such as a low level of macro volatility, a flexible labour market and its ability to manage household debt levels. However, BIS Oxford Economics estimates that there is a 25 per cent change of a global recession in the next two years.

CORPORATES
BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Media takes hard line on tech titans

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Original article by David Swan, Lilly Vitorovich, Zoe Samios, Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 5-Mar-19

The preliminary report of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s landmark inquiry into digital platforms called for greater transparency regarding their algorithms and how news stories are ranked on their sites. Nine Entertainment Company’s submission has supported increased regulation of digital platforms such as Facebook and Google, as well as the introduction of a tax offset for news. Meanwhile, telco Optus has expressed concern that measures aimed at curbing the market power of digital platforms could potentially apply to the broader business sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE LIMITED, COUNTRY PRESS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, STAR NEWS GROUP PTY LTD, PROVINCIAL PRESS GROUP, AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

PM says it’s enterprise versus envy

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Mar-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will tell a business summit on 5 March that the differences on economic policy between the Coalition and Labor are the greatest they have been for over 40 years. Morrison will also announce a $328 million commitment for programs aimed at preventing domestic violence and support for victims. Morrison will also tell the summit that the 2019 federal election presents a choice between "enterprise and envy".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Resources strength holds up reporting season

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 5-Mar-19

Paul Winter of UBS notes that Australia’s latest February reporting season featured more earnings downgrades than upgrades for the first time in the last four years. Hasan Tevfik of MST Marquee adds that while the reporting season was better than expected, this was largely due to a strong performance by the resources sector, which offset weakness in other sectors. Earnings-per-share growth for S&P/ASX 200 stocks is now forecast to be 6.3 per cent in 2018-19, compared with 7.6 per cent in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MST MARQUEE, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

S&P cuts AMP rating, more action to come

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 5-Mar-19

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded AMP’s credit rating from ‘A’ to ‘A-‘ in the wake of the wealth manager’s decision to sell its life insurance arm. S&P has flagged the potential for a further downgrade once the sale is completed, noting that the deal will affect AMP’s creditworthiness. Rival ratings agency Moody’s Investor Services recently downgraded the credit rating of AMP Life after it posted a 2018 operating loss of $176m.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AMP LIFE LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, AMP BANK LIMITED, RESOLUTION LIFE GROUP LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED