Author: roymorgansocial

Chairmen in hot seat at commission

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 31-Oct-18

Remuneration in the banking sector will come under scrutiny during the financial services royal commission’s final round of public hearings, which commences on 19 November. There is also speculation that the chairs of some, if not all, of Australia’s four major banks will be asked to appear before the inquiry. The banks’ self-­assessments of their governance and culture are also expected to be on the royal commission’s agenda.

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

Local rally defies Wall Street blues to signal correction may be over

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 31-Oct-18

The Australian sharemarket has posted strong gains in the last two trading sessions, reducing its loss for the month to 6.5 per cent. The local bourse has recovered from its recent 18-month low of 5,624 points, having peaked at 6,373 points in late August. Meanwhile, Tony Brennan of Citigroup notes that growth stocks were the biggest underperformers in the Australian market’s recent sell-off, although he adds that these stocks’ price-earnings multiples remain high.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, MSCI WORLD INDEX, MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX

Australia most exposed to a downturn

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 31-Oct-18

Morgan Stanley has warned that Australia is at greater risk of an economic downturn than other Group of 10 nations due to rising household debt. The household debt-to-income ratio in Australia has risen to nearly 200 per cent amid the surge in house prices in recent years. Meanwhile, although house prices have fallen over the last 12 months, the Reserve Bank’s assistant governor Michele Bullock says a regulatory crackdown on lending to investors has not resulted in a significant downturn in the property market.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Petrol: PM’s tough talk won’t work

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Oct-18

The average price of unleaded petrol has risen to a 10-year high of more than $1.60 per litre. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged government intervention to put downward pressure on prices. However, he says it is ultimately up to petrol companies to "do the right thing". Caltex argues that the high crude oil price and the low Australian dollar are the main drivers of the spike in petrol prices. It adds that the government’s fuel excise tax of $0.412 a litre is also a major contributor, but government sources have ruled out an excise tax cut.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIMITED

BHP cuts US, China growth targets on trade tensions

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 31-Oct-18

BHP Billiton has forecast that GDP growth for both China and the US will be cut by 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent over the next two years as a result of the trade war between the two nations. However, BHP’s chief commercial officer Arnoud Balhuizen says the trade tensions have not yet had a "material impact" on the resources giant, even though it has weighed on the prices of some commodities. Balhuizen expects demand for iron ore and coking coal to remain strong in 2019.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence recovers to 114.6

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Oct-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 2% to 114.6 in the week ended 28 October, regaining a third of the previous week’s decline. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose by 3.1%, while sentiment regarding the future financial situation rose by 1.5%. Sentiment towards current economic conditions rose by 6.2%, more than recovering the previous week’s fall of 5.4; sentiment towards future economic conditions rose by 3.1%. However, the "time to buy a household item" sub-index fell by 2.5%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Greens in push to slug rich to boost the dole

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Oct-18

Greens leader Richard Di Natale will announce plans to impose a minimum tax rate of 35 per cent on earnings in excess of $300,000 a year. The proposal, which has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, would raise around $10.5 billion a year, with the funds raised to be used to increase unemployment benefits by $75 per week. The Greens are also seeking to revive Labor’s failed super-profits tax on mining companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Spy chief says Huawei a threat to key infrastructure

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Original article by Angus Grigg, Nick McKenzie
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Oct-18

The federal government’s decision in August to ban "high-risk vendors" from building a 5G mobile network has been backed by Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate. He says Australia’s critical infrastructure such as power and water networks would not have been able to be properly protected if such vendors had been allowed to build the 5G network. Although he did not mention them by name, it is assumed that Burgess was referring to Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. Meanwhile, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has expressed concern about the level of collaboration between Australian universities and Chinese military scientists.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED, ZTE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Film, TV aim to build on record year

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Oct-18

Australia’s film and TV industry spend a record $718m on local productions in 2017-18, which is seven per cent higher than previously. Spending on feature films rose from $287m to $321m, although spending on TV dramas fell from $321m to $295m. However, Screen Australia’s COO Michael Brealey notes that expenditure on drama remained above its five-year average. Local film and TV production is forecast to remain strong in 2018-19, while Screen Australia expects the federal government’s location incentive program to boost the number of international productions.

CORPORATES
SCREEN AUSTRALIA, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Upset customers, get sacked: Optus

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Age – Page: 11 : 30-Oct-18

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman recently reported that the number of complaints from Optus customers increased by 35 per cent in 2017-18. Optus CEO Allen Lew has warned that employees who are found to have upset customers will be sacked, while staff who observe colleagues who appear to have upset customers are being urged to report them via Optus’s independently-run whistleblower phone line. Lew has told staff that customers are their "boss", not him.

CORPORATES
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, MYREPUBLIC PTE LTD