Author: roymorgansocial

Treasury’s housing pitch: don’t loosen lending rules

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Nov-18

The Treasury has urged against any relaxation of housing lending laws in its submission to the banking royal commission’s interim report, stating that any such action would be detrimental to the long-term health of the financial system. Treasury said no benefit is to be gained by offering borrowers loans that they could not afford to repay. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has indicated that he endorses Treasury’s submission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Negative gearing changes would create distortions

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Original article by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 13-Nov-18

RiskWise CEO Doron Peleg contends that Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms would create a two-tiered property market. Economist Stephen Koukoulas believes that concerns about Labor’s proposals are unwarranted, as any fall in house prices that might result will make it easier for first-home buyers to enter the market. Tyrone Hodge of JLL thinks the proposed changes could have a negative impact on housing supply.

CORPORATES
RISKWISE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Rio still upbeat on Chinese demand

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 20 : 13-Nov-18

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the Chinese steel industry’s demand for higher-grade iron ore remains strong in the wake of production capacity cutbacks and measures aimed at reducing air pollution. He has also told the UBS Australasia conference in Sydney that structural changes in the aluminium sector will take longer to have an impact

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

APRA names panel, deadline for review

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Nov-18

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has advised that deputy chairman John Lonsdale will head an advisory panel that will review its enforcement strategy. The members of the advisory panel are former judge Robert Austin, the ACCC’s Sarah Court and University of New South Wales professor Dimity Kingsford Smith. The review has been commissioned in response to criticism of APRA in the financial services royal commission’s interim report, which noted the regulator’s reluctance to prosecute banks and insurers for misconduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ABC execs paid bonuses to stay

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 12-Nov-18

Sources within the ABC have indicated that its board approved bonuses to retain a number of senior executives after Michelle Guthrie succeeded Mark Scott as MD in 2016. Acting MD David ­Anderson is said to be among the executives who received a retention bonus. Former COO David Pendleton, who resigned in 2017, is also said to have been offered such a bonus. Executive remuneration at the public broadcaster has come under scrutiny after its latest annual report showed that bonus payments exceeded $2m in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Job risk from $100bn mine rehab charge

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 12-Nov-18

Modelling by EY suggests that mining rehabilitation laws that have been proposed by Queensland’s Treasurer Jackie Trad could lead to the closure of 16 mines and have a $100 billion impact on the state’s mining sector. The Queensland division of the CFMMEU and the Queensland Resources Council have jointly called on the state government to split its proposed legislation and enter into further negotiations over disputed aspects of the bill.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, ERNST AND YOUNG, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ANGLO AMERICAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PEABODY RESOURCES LIMITED, GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

ABCC cracks down on CFMEU right of entry

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 12-Nov-18

The Australian Building & Construction Commission is cracking down on Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union officials who try to exploit "right of entry" loopholes. One such official, Brendan Murphy, is facing thousands of dollars in fines after the Federal Court found that he had gained access to a construction site at a Victorian school by signing its guest registry. He refused to show his right of entry permit to the contractor’s site manager, and then stated that he was going to shut the site down over safety concerns. Federal Court Justice Debbie Mortimer said Murphy’s safety concerns were "contrived", and that he did not care about right of entry laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Nine-Fairfax deal has investor support

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 12-Nov-18

Fairfax Media’s merger with Nine Entertainment Company will require the support of at least 75 per cent of votes cast at the newspaper publisher’s meeting of shareholders on 19 November. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors and leading proxy advisors are said to support the merger, although the proposed deal has been criticised by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. The merger is also subject to approval by the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

PM push for states to set migrant rate

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Nov-18

The federal government is understood to be planning major changes to immigration policy that would see the states and territories assume responsibility for determining permanent migrant numbers. Such a change would help address a major problem with current population policy, namely that while the states and territories are in charge of infrastructure issues like schools and roads, the federal government controls immigration, one of the major "levers" of population.

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

Banks pledge to lend but with caveats

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Nov-18

Australia’s major banks have urged the financial services royal commission not to over-regulate the way in which they assess corporate borrowers. The banks state that this would make it harder to increase their lending to small and medium enterprises. Their urgings have come as federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called upon the banks to "keep open the books", while National Australia Bank executive Anthony Healy says the bank is more willing to lend to SMEs without proper security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC