Author: roymorgansocial

Retailers hope for big bang finish

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Dec-18

The Australian Retailers Association expects consumers to spend nearly $15bn during the last five trading days before Christmas. It still anticipates that Christmas spending will increase by 2.9 per cent in 2018. Many retailers are also counting on a spike in sales during the final days before Christmas, after less price discounting than in 2017. Meanwhile, Craig Woolford of Citigroup says consumers may spend less during the traditional post-Christmas clearance sales due to the impact of recent online promotions such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, VEND LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, REBEL SPORT LIMITED

Doubts rise over valuation of GrainCorp bid

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Dec-18

GrainCorp has advised shareholders that the board is not yet in a position to make a recommendation on whether to accept the $3.3bn takeover bid from Long-Term Asset Partners. The suitor has been given permission to undertake due diligence, but GrainCorp chairman Graham Bradley says the agribusiness will seek more information from LTAP regarding its long-term intentions and its financing arrangements. LTAP contends that its offer is superior to a 2013 bid by Archer Daniels Midland, which was backed by GrainCorp’s board but subsequently blocked by the federal government.

CORPORATES
GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, LONG-TERM ASSET PARTNERS PTY LTD, ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND COMPANY, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTBOURNE CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, ALLIANZ AG HOLDING

Energy stocks crunched as oil price slides

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 : 20-Dec-18

The price of Brent crude oil has shed about 34 per cent since October, with shares in Australia’s three biggest oil producers falling by more than 20 per cent over the same period. London Capital Group’s Jasper Lawler says the downturn in oil prices will result in "significant" deflationary pressure. However, airlines, mining companies and motorists are set to benefit from the sustained fall in the oil price, while US Bank Wealth Management’s Rob Haworth says OPEC’s recent cut in oil production may not be sufficient to offset weakening global demand and rising US shale output.

CORPORATES
LONDON CAPITAL GROUP, US BANK WEALTH MANAGEMENT, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Insurers shun Adani’s Carmichael mine

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 20-Dec-18

Activist group Market Forces claims that 10 leading insurance companies have ruled out providing coverage for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Queensland. They are said to include global insurers such as Allianz and AXA, as well as Australia’s QBE and Suncorp. Market Forces executive director Julien Vincent says insurers have the power to ensure that the mine does not proceed. Adani has scaled back the size of the project and announced that it will be self-funded after banks refused to provide financing for it.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, MARKET FORCES, ALLIANZ AG HOLDING, AXA SA, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, SWISS REINSURANCE COMPANY, MUNICH REINSURANCE COMPANY, FM GLOBAL, ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY, GENERALI, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, SCOR SA, HANNOVER RUCKVERSICHERUNGS-AG, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL ASSURANCE COMPANY, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Karl exits, Nine eyes all-women Today

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Dec-18

The Nine Network is believed to be considering a major revamp of its ‘Today’ breakfast show in 2019, after sacking co-host Karl Stefanovic. Options that are under consideration are said to include having all on-air roles filled by women in order to boost the show’s appeal to female viewers. There is speculation that several other ‘Today’ presenters will be dropped, although they are expected to take on other roles at Nine. The network also recently terminated the services of Peter Stefanovic.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Fed, markets split on rate outlook – again

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 20-Dec-18

Financial markets have diverged from the Federal Reserve regarding the outlook for US interest rates in 2019, ahead of the central bank’s December board meeting. The general consensus of bond investors is that the Fed will not increase interest rates as rapidly as it has flagged in 2019. Meanwhile, analysts say factors such as the US-China trade war and the downturn in the crude oil price are likely to weigh on the Fed’s monetary policy decision for December.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, GRANT SAMUEL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FEDERATION ASSET MANAGEMENT, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

Super members on track for first loss since 2011

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Dec-18

Data from SuperRatings shows that the median balanced superannuation fund has gained just 1.8 per cent so far in 2018. The firm says the median fund is likely to post a negative return for the full year, after shedding 3.1 per cent in October and 0.6 per cent in November. SuperRatings’ executive director Kirby Rappell says the market volatility of recent months is likely to continue in 2019. However, SuperRatings notes that balanced funds have delivered strong returns over a 10-year period.

CORPORATES
SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

State surpluses on the slide as spending lifts

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Original article by Anthony Klan, Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 5 : 19-Dec-18

The New South Wales government’s mid-year budget review shows that it now expects to post a surplus of $1.1bn for 2018-19, compared with a forecast surplus of $1.4bn in the June 2018 Budget. The government has also scaled back the projected surpluses for the following three financial years. A $4.04bn increase in government spending over the next four years is the major contributor to the lower surplus forecasts. The downturn in Sydney’s property market is expected to result in stamp duty revenue falling $2.5 billion over four years.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY

Coal demand resilient in face of risks

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Dec-18

A new report from the International Energy Agency shows that coal-fired power generation increased by three per cent in 2017 and is expected to grow again in 2018. The IEA’s annual coal outlook also notes that coal’s share of the global energy mix was steady at 38 per cent in 2017. IEA executive director Fatih Birol says coal will remain a major source of power generation for some time. Meanwhile, the IEA forecasts that Australia’s thermal coal exports will rise over the next five years.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Labor’s boost to union power alarms business

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Dec-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has told Labor’s national conference that the enterprise bargaining system is not working. The national conference has endorsed a new industrial relations policy platform which includes the reinstatement of industry-wide enterprise bargaining. Shorten has also committed to reversing penalty rate cuts and abolishing the Australian Building & Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission if Labor wins the 2019 election. Employer groups have urged Labor to clarify whether pattern bargaining will be restricted to low-paid workers or if it will apply across the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES