Author: roymorgansocial

Miners drive corporate profit surge

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Dec-18

The federal government expects total revenue for 2018-19 to be $8.3bn higher than forecast in the May 2018 Budget, and $12.4bn higher over the forward estimates period. The revenue windfall has been driven by rising corporate profits, particularly in the mining sector as a result of higher commodity prices. Corporate tax revenue is expected to be about $495bn in 2018-19, compared with $460bn in 2017-18. However, economists say a sustained increase in company tax receipts cannot be taken for granted.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

ASIC goes to court in AMP document hunt

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 18-Dec-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is seeking a court order to compel AMP to provide access to documents relating to the fees-for-no-service scandal. AMP contends that the transcripts of Clayton Utz’s interviews with AMP employees regarding the scandal are subject to legal professional privilege, which ASIC disputes. The financial services royal commission had been told that Clayton Utz’s report on the scandal had been altered following discussions with key AMP executives.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CLAYTON UTZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fall in ad spend the canary in coal mine

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 18-Dec-18

Total advertising expenditure across all Australian media was down by over 10 per cent year-on-year in October, according to SMI. It is understood that figures for November will show a similar negative trend. Mark Coad, the CEO of media buyer PHD Australia, notes that advertising tends to be a good leading indicator of the overall economy, while fellow media buyer Chris Walton of Nunn Media says global factors such as the US-China trade war and Brexit could also be impacting on advertisers.

CORPORATES
SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, PHD CREATIVE PTY LTD, NUNN MEDIA PTY LTD, UNILEVER PLC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIA FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA

Thorburn to take two long breaks

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 18-Dec-18

National Australia Bank has advised that CFO Gary Lennon will become acting CEO while Andrew Thorburn is on extended leave. Thorburn will go on annual leave after NAB’s upcoming AGM, but he will return to work before the final report of the financial services royal commission is released on 1 February. He will subsequently go on long service leave for a month. Thorburn says the two breaks will allow him to "reflect and recharge". It has been a challenging year for the banking sector, and NAB in particular.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

PM’s $9.2bn tax cut plan for election

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Original article by Ben Potter, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Dec-18

Analysis of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook suggests that the federal government may announce some $9.2bn worth of income tax cuts over four years prior to the 2019 election. The figures for ‘decisions taken but not yet announced’ also suggest that an additional $1.4bn may be set aside for spending that could potentially be directed toward marginal seats. To date, the government has announced policy measures worth around $16bn in total. However, economists have cautioned against committing to expenditure on the basis of revenue gains that may not be sustained.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

How to invest in the political maelstrom

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 15 & 22 : 18-Dec-18

Jason Steed of JP Morgan says a certain amount of sovereign risk has been priced into Australian sharemarket valuations ahead of the 2019 federal election. He notes that while there is some concern among investors about the prospecting of a Labor government, the Coalition has not very pro-business either. He adds that although the financial services sector in particular faces some headwinds in 2019, investors have already largely priced in the political and regulatory risks.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL

Coalition $30bn in the black

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Original article by Simon Benson, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Dec-18

The federal government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook is expected to show that increased company tax revenue and reduced spending will result in a Budget surplus of about $4bn in 2019-20, compared with a previous forecast of $2.2bn. The surplus is expected to total $30bn over the next four years, up from the $15.3bn surplus that had been forecast in the May 2018 Budget. Meanwhile, the deficit for 2018-19 could be just $5bn, down from previous expectations of $14.4bn. The mid-year budget update will be released on 17 December.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Inflation Expectations down 0.2% to 4.3% in November

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Dec-18

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.3% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for November 2018. This is down 0.2% on a month ago, and down 0.2% from November 2017. Inflation Expectations have now tracked in a narrow range between 4.3-4.5% for nearly 18 straight months, since mid-2017. Inflation Expectations remain well below the eight-year average of 5.0%. Inflation Expectations for Liberal-National Party supporters were unchanged at 3.7% in November and remain clearly lower than for supporters of all other parties. Inflation Expectations for ALP supporters were unchanged at 4.2% in November and remain at their lowest since mid-2017. November Inflation Expectations are based on a nationwide face-to-face survey of 4,408 Australians aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Super watchdog failing to bite back

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 17-Dec-18

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed changes to the member outcomes test for superannuation funds’ trustees have been criticised by industry bodies. Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees CEO Eva Scheerlinck says the revised standards should have given greater priority to net investment returns, noting that the purpose of the reforms was to address the issue of super funds that consistently underperform. A draft report from the Productivity Commission in June had advocated a much stricter outcomes test.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AMP SUPERANNUATION LIMITED, NM SUPERANNUATION

Dwyer faces opposition to re-election

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 15 : 17-Dec-18

Proxy firms Ownership Matters and ISS are opposing Paula Dwyer’s re-election to the ANZ board at its AGM on 19 December. They cite her heavy workload as chair of Tabcorp and Healthscope as their reasoning behind their objection. ANZ and National Australia Bank will hold their AGMs on the same day, with NAB’s remuneration report almost certain to attract a "first strike", although it is uncertain as to whether ANZ’s report will suffer the same fate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB