Author: roymorgansocial

Financiers torpedo Crown tower project

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 5-Mar-19

Crown Resorts has not been able to secure an extension from the Victorian Government for a planning permit for a proposed hotel and apartment tower in Melbourne’s CBD. Crown had proposed to build the $1.75 billion tower opposite its casino under a joint venture with Schiavello Group. Under the terms of their planning permit, Crown and Schiavello had two years to commence development before the permit expired. However, they were unable to secure suitable financing arrangements for the tower, which would have been the tallest in Australia.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, SCHIAVELLO GROUP PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, WILKINSON EYRE ARCHITECTS

ABC paid Michelle Guthrie $500,000 to drop lawsuit

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 5-Mar-19

Sources have indicated that investment banker and former ABC director Simon Mordant helped to negotiate a settlement with former MD Michelle Guthrie. Mordant has declined to comment on claims that he was asked to intervene in Guthrie’s dispute with the public broadcaster over her sacking in September. The settlement is said to include a payment of around $500,000 to discontinue her unfair dismissal claim, as well as a ‘nondisparagement clause’ that prevents all parties to the case from discussing the matter in the media.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Miners fuel drive towards surplus

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Mar-19

Westpac and the ANZ Bank expect the latest national accounts data to show that the Australian economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the December quarter, while National Australia Bank has forecast growth of 0.4 per cent. Meanwhile, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that pre-tax profits in the resources sector rose by $17.5bn in calendar 2018, which will in turn boost federal government revenue. However, earnings outside of the resources sector fell by 1.5 per cent during 2018.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Australia set to seal FTA with Indonesia

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 4-Mar-19

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham expects Australia’s exports to Indonesia to increase on the back of the free trade agreement between the two countries. The trade deal is due to be signed on 4 March, although it may be some months before it is ratified by parliament. Education, mining and tourism are among the Australian industries that are expected to benefit from the agreement, along with the citrus industry. Birmingham says Indonesian exports to Australia should also increase as a result of the trade deal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Treasurer’s super war on activists

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Mar-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg wants to ensure that union-appointed trustees of industry superannuation funds do not seek to pursue political objectives at the expense of members’ interests. Industry funds currently manage $631 billion worth of assets, with this figure tipped to increase to over $1 trillion by 2024; boards of industry funds are equally represented by trustees from employers and unions. Frydenberg’s concerns have been sparked by union calls for funds to pressure BHP and BlueScope Steel to reverse a decision not to renew a contract for Australian-crewed ships that carry iron ore.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, ACTU, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UNITED VOICE, AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION

Video-on-demand surges

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 26 : 4-Mar-19

New data shows that Australians viewed 2.9 billion minutes of TV programs and movies via broadcast video-on-demand platforms in February 2019, compared with two billion minutes during the same month in 2018. The figures also show that there was a 41 per cent increase in the number of viewers who watched a program live, while the number who watched content when it suited them rose by 44 per cent year-on-year. ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate says BVOD is more effective for advertisers than other social video platforms, and she notes that 500 advertisers opted to use BVOD for the first time in 2018.

CORPORATES
THINK TV, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, 9NOW, 7PLUS, 10 PLAY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CBS CORPORATION

ABC rebuked over settlement

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Age – Page: 12 : 4-Mar-19

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says the federal government has been given no details of the ABC’s confidential settlement with former MD Michelle Guthrie. A spokesman for Fifield says the government would prefer complete transparency regarding any portion of the settlement that will be funded by taxpayers. The Australia Institute, the Institute of Public Affairs and advocacy group ABC Alumni have also urged transparency, but a spokesman for shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland has indicated that it is a matter for the ABC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, ABC ALUMNI, ABC AND FRIENDS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

High gold price drives production to record level

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-Mar-19

Data from Surbiton Associates shows that Australia’s gold production rose to a record 317 tonnes in 2018. Based on the average spot price for the year, the record output was worth some $17bn. The previous annual production record was 314.5 tonnes in 1997, while output had reached an all-time low of just 220 tonnes in 2008. Surbiton director Sandra Close notes that Australian-listed producers ramped up their gold hedging in 2018, particularly in the final quarter.

CORPORATES
SURBITON ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, GOLD FIELDS LIMITED, GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GOR, KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD LIMITED – ASX KLA, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION

Google Play/YouTube Music news streaming to shake up media

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

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that over 5.4 million Australians now use music streaming services available via websites or apps. Spotify is the clear industry leader, used by nearly 3.6 million Australians in an average week (around four times the size of SoundCloud, which is used by around 900,000 Australians in an average week). Although Google Play Music (used by over 660,000 Australians), and the newer YouTube Music (used by nearly 600,000 Australians) do not capture a huge market share at this time, there are clearly strong prospects for growth as both services introduce news capabilities. At a combined level over 1.1 million Australians use either Google Play Music or YouTube Music in an average week. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the announcement by Google that it will soon be streaming news via its Google Play Music streaming service presents yet another challenge to the revenue models of traditional media channels including TV, radio and newspapers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SPOTIFY LIMITED, SOUNDCLOUD, GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE MUSIC, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Morgan backs broker fee reform

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 4-Mar-19

David Morgan has stepped down as deputy chairman of Dutch bank NIBC after eight years. Morgan notes that the mortgage broking industry in the Netherlands had survived after commissions were replaced by borrower-paid fees, and he does not see why the same system, as recommended by the banking royal commission, should not work in Australia. Morgan, a former CEO of Westpac, does not believe that it will take the banks as long to regain trust as some have speculated.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NIBC BANK NV, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY