Author: roymorgansocial

Hywood in the frame for ABC chairman role

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-18

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood has declined to comment on speculation that he could be a contender to succeed former ABC chairman Justin Milne. Hywood will step down in late 2018 if Fairfax’s proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company proceeds. The field of potential candidates to replace Milne is said to include lawyer Danny Gilbert, former Telstra CEO David Thodey and current governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, WPP AUNZ LIMITED – WPP, OGILVY AUSTRALIA, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Exxon coy on Bass drill test

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 16-Oct-18

ExxonMobil has advised that it is evaluating data from its Baldfish gas well in Bass Strait, but its lack of disclosure regarding the drilling program has prompted speculation about a large gas find. The gas well is located within the Dory prospect, which ExxonMobil acquired in 2017. Australian Industrial Energy has estimated that it could potentially cost at least $4bn and 10 years to develop the Dory field. AIE has advocated the construction of an LNG import terminal.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL ENERGY PTY LTD, LIBERTY PETROLEUM, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Coles shifts focus from price to convenience

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 16-Oct-18

Coles’ Little Shop plastic groceries promotion helped it to achieve a 5.1 per cent increase in same-store food sales in the September quarter, as did its free plastic bags offer. However, new MD Steven Cain said it is unlikely to achieve the same sort of growth in the December quarter. With Coles in the process of becoming a stand-alone company as it demerges from Wesfarmers, Cain says his priorities include making life easier for customers by adopting new convenience store formats and improving its online business.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

CBA on mission to discover if households are satisfied

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 16-Oct-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has developed a Household Satisfaction Index containing 11 components, including work-life balance, civic engagement and education. CBA chief economist Michael Blythe says the Index is something that the bank has been thinking about for a while. He says that while other "satisfaction" surveys are based on what people feel, the CBA’s is based on hard data. Its measurement began in September 2015 and Blythe says it showed an increase in household satisfaction until around mid-2016, and that it has since tracked sideways.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

House prices about 30pc inflated with a loan cap

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 16-Oct-18

Modelling by LF Economics suggests that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne could be "overinflated" by up to 30 per cent if mortgage loans were capped at 30 per cent of household income. Other capital city house prices are not as inflated under LF Economics’ modelling, which used data from CoreLogic and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The modelling is line with other forecasts that Sydney and Melbourne house prices are set to continue to decline.

CORPORATES
LF ECONOMICS, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BRONTE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VARIANT PERCEPTION

Fairfax’s Falloon keeps faith in Nine deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-18

Shares in Nine Entertainment Company fell 12.4 per cent to $1.84 on 12 October. Citigroup analysts say this has eliminated the merger premium for Fairfax shareholders, and they have questioned whether the deal will proceed under the agreed terms. However, Fairfax chairman Nick Falloon says the merger is still "compelling", while Fraser McLeish of MST Marquee believes that the merger is in the best interests of Fairfax shareholders.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MST MARQUEE, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Tech, financials in sea of red as world awaits US earnings

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 16-Oct-18

Bearish investor sentiment again weighed on Asian sharemarkets on 15 October, which followed the Australian bourse further into negative territory. Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter expects global markets to follow the historical trend for October, whereby sharp sell-offs are usually followed by a strong recovery in the final months of the year. However, he adds that the Australian sharemarket is unlikely to rebound strongly until there is evidence that Wall Street’s latest sell-off was merely a correction.

CORPORATES
BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX JHG, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

PM open to embassy in Jerusalem

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 16-Oct-18

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce closer defence relations with Israel in a foreign policy statement to be released on 16 October. He has also indicated that the federal government may consider relocating Australia’s embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem, adding that the issue has been raised in a meeting of cabinet’s national security committee. Morrison has stressed that the government’s stance on Israel is not linked to the by-election in the seat of Wentworth, which has a large Jewish community.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Rio Tinto may cut rates on Mongolia loans in compromise move

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-Oct-18

Recent media reports in Mongolia have suggested that Rio Tinto could be prepared to reduce the interest rates on the loans it provides to the government-owned company that has a 34 per cent stake in the Oyu Tolgo copper mine. According to the reports, Mongolian MP Gombojavyn Zandanshatar has indicated that Rio Tinto will reduce its loan interest rates as part of negotiations with the government regarding their agreement to expand the mine. The government is dependent on loans from Rio Tinto to finance its share of construction costs.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, OYU TOLGOI LLC, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED, TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL

Nine, Fairfax cuts won’t hit newsrooms

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 15-Oct-18

Grant Samuel & Associates has deemed Fairfax Media’s proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company to be in the best interests of the newspaper publisher’s shareholders. The scheme booklet for the merger indicates that the deal is expected to generate cost synergies of about $50m a year, primarily by combining the sales teams and back-office functions, and by using shared technology platforms. The scheme booklet has emphasised that there are no plans to combine the Fairfax and Nine newsrooms or retrench journalists. However, it concedes that job losses in other areas are likely.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GRANT SAMUEL AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA