Author: roymorgansocial

Do NEG deal with Labor

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Nov-18

Former deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop says the federal government risks the same fate of the Victorian Liberals at the state election unless it takes action on the issue of climate change. Bishop says the coalition should seek a bipartisan deal with Labor regarding the National Energy Guarantee, as this would provide certainty for the energy industry. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says climate change is a "very real and serious issue" that has the government’s attention.

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

NAB chief warns: culture fix may be a decade away

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Nov-18

National Australia Bank’s chairman Ken Henry has conceded that it could take up to 10 years to address issues with the bank’s culture that have been exposed by the financial services royal commission. He has told the inquiry that NAB has had the lowest compliance risk rating for all but one month in the seven years that he has been its board. Henry also said that it is more appropriate for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to have oversight of the banking sector’s culture than the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Warning over integrity watchdog

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-18

The federal government agreed to support a Labor motion to establish a national integrity commission on 26 November, following a backdown by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The Coalition did not oppose the motion after MP Llew O’Brien signalled that he may be prepared to cross the floor. Meanwhile, Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that as drafted, a crossbench bill to establish an anti-corruption commission could apply to federal public servants, including ABC and SBS journalists.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Guthrie’s $800k go-away payment

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Nov-18

The ABC has confirmed that former MD Michelle Guthrie received a termination payment when she was sacked in September. Although the ABC would not state the amount Guthrie received, a newspaper has confirmed that she was paid $800,000. Guthrie, who has filed an "adverse action" claim against the ABC in the Fair Work Commission, said at the time of her dismissal that there was no justification for it, and that she had been "devastated" by the ABC’s actions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY

Oil price slide rings global alarm bells

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-Nov-18

The latest fall in crude oil prices has weighed on Australian oil stocks and heightened concerns about the outlook for the global economy. The price of West Texas Intermediate has fallen by 34 per cent since peaking at $US76.41 a barrel in early October, closing 7.7 per cent lower at $US50.42/barrel on 23 November. Brent crude in turn fell 6.1 per cent to $US58.80, extending its loss since early October to 31.9 per cent. Martijn Rats of Morgan Stanley says there is a good chance that OPEC will respond with further production cuts.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Rio cuts Iran ties, flags sovereign risks

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Nov-18

Rio Tinto has advised that its 68.8 per cent stake in the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia will be sold to China National Uranium Corporation for between $US6.5 million and $US106.5 million. The Iranian Foreign Investments Company owns 15.29 per cent of Rossing; its ownership has caused discomfort for Rio, given that the US and other western nations have imposed sanctions on Iran in recent years. Rio CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says its investments in the developing world are still presenting challenges, including the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CHINA NATIONAL URANIUM CORPORATION, IRANIAN FOREIGN INVESTMENTS COMPANY

Kayo enters the streaming arena

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-Nov-18

Participants in the beta-testing phase of Kayo Sports were generally positive about Foxtel’s new dedicated sports streaming video-on-demand service. Kayo Sports CEO Julian Ogrin says the subscription service was rigorously tested prior to its official launch, and he is confident that it will not experience the problems that plagued Optus’s live streams of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

CORPORATES
KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Bolton backs Cat’s bid to halt Fairfax deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 27-Nov-18

Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media will seek final approval by the Federal Court for their proposed merger on 27 November. It has been revealed that businessman Nick Bolton is one of the financial backers of a legal challenge to the merger that has been launched by former Domain CEO Antony Catalano. Bolton has a 49 per cent stake in Aurora Funds Management, which will join Catalano in his bid to block the deal. More than 81 per cent of Fairfax shareholders had voted in favour of the merger.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, BRISCONNECTIONS UNIT TRUSTS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN STYLE INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, THIESS JOHN HOLLAND, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD

No credit crunch: RBA blames investors for property slowdown

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 27-Nov-18

A regulatory crackdown on investor and interest-only property loans has seen growth in housing credit fall below five per cent in 2018, compared with around seven per cent in 2015. However, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor Christopher Kent says high-quality borrowers can still gain access to credit at competitive rates. He notes that there appears to have been a larger fall in the average interest rate for investors than owner-occupiers in the last year.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ALP open to industry-wide enterprise bargaining

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 5 : 26-Nov-18

The ACTU wants a future federal Labor government to amend workplace laws so that workers can take strike action across entire industries. Currently, protected industrial action is only allowed during enterprise bargaining negotiations with a single employer. Labor’s industrial relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor claims that enterprise bargaining is not delivering decent outcomes for workers, suggesting that he is amenable to union calls for industry-wide bargaining. However, industry groups claim that such a move would spell "disaster" for the Australian economy.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE