Author: roymorgansocial

IMF warns on debt and high house prices

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 11-Oct-18

The International Monetary Fund’s latest global financial stability report notes that Australia is one of several advanced economies where the rising cost of house prices is a concern. The IMF also expressed concern that the household debt-to-GDP ratio is rising in Australia and a number of other countries. Australia’s household debt-to-GDP ratio is currently around 122 per cent, while the nation’s household debt-to-income ratio is close to 200 per cent.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

CBA faces first suit over low returns

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 11-Oct-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has indicated that it will "vigorously" defend a class action launched by Slater & Gordon. The law firm contents that wealth manager Colonial First State had invested its superannuation clients’ money in CBA-owned funds that had very low returns, when it could have invested the money in higher-returning funds controlled by CBA or other banks. Other banks and financial institutions have also been targeted by class action lawyers in the wake of the financial services royal commission.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, BW FINANCIAL ADVICE, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

Dutton slams tech giants over encryption laws

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Oct-18

The federal government continues to face opposition to its proposed digital encryption laws. However, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton argues that the laws are necessary due to the growing use of encryption services by criminals and terrorists, adding that existing laws are inadequate to deal with such technologies. Dutton has also noted that Silicon Valley-based technology companies are among the biggest critics of the proposed laws, despite their poor track record in protecting personal data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Lion to ditch struggling dairy, stick to brewing

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 11-Oct-18

Australian beverages group Lion has flagged plans to divest its Lion Dairy & Drinks division in order to focus on its brewing assets. Lion CEO Stuart Irvine is upbeat about the outlook for Lion Dairy & Drinks in the wake of a turnaround program, but he adds that the Japanese-controlled company has opted to focus on other growth areas following a review of the dairy assets. Lion is particularly bullish about its prospects in the global craft beer market. Lion Dairy & Drinks’ brands include Pura milk, Dare Iced Coffee and King Island cheese.

CORPORATES
LION PTY LTD, LION-DAIRY AND DRINKS PTY LTD, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, LITTLE CREATURES BREWING PTY LTD, FOURPURE, SAPUTO INCORPORATED, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, BEGA CHEESE LIMITED – ASX BGA, PARMALAT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER FACTORY COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED

How a $US1 move is making millions for Australian miners

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Original article by Stephen Bartholomeusz
The Age – Page: 21 : 11-Oct-18

A rally in the price of iron ore, crude oil and metallurgical coal in the last month has in turn sparked a rise in the share prices of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. It is estimated that BHP’s EBITDA rises or falls by about $US227m for every $US1 movement in the iron ore price. The steel input is currently trading above $US70 per tonne, compared with BHP’s average realised price of $US56.71/tonne in 2017-18. Likewise, every $US1 per barrel change in the price of crude oil has a $US43m impact on BHP’s EBITDA.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Business to go it alone on climate

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: W1 & W2 : 11-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia’s energy and climate change committee has considered a proposal for energy companies and heavy industry to pursue carbon reduction measures independently of the federal government. The companies that comprise the committee were largely supportive of the national energy guarantee. However, the government’s focus under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has shifted from cutting carbon emissions to ensuring a reliable energy supply and reducing electricity prices.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Glencore: AFR must remove articles

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Oct-18

Lawyers acting on behalf of Glencore have asked Fairfax Media to remove documents from its website which are claimed to be subject to legal privilege. The documents in question are associated with an article published by the "Australian Financial Review" with regard to Glencore’s restructuring of its Australian division in 2014, which is under scrutiny by the Australian Taxation Office. Fairfax has rejected suggestions that it has infringed on the miner’s legal rights.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GLENCORE PLC, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Companies’ tax cuts on fast track

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Oct-18

The federal government intends to bring forward a reduction in the tax rate for small and medium enterprises. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to announce that the SME tax rate will be reduced to 26 per cent in 2020-21 and 25 per cent in 2021-22. The full tax cuts package for SMEs was originally slated to take effect in 2026-27. The government began looking into fast-tracking SME tax cuts under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, after it dropped plans to reduce the tax rate for large companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL

Bank CEOs to face off with fired-up MPs

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Oct-18

Liberal MP Tim Wilson, who chairs federal parliament’s standing committee on economics, says bank CEOs can expect to face a grilling when they front the committee in coming days. He says that amongst other things, the committee will be demanding information on how the major banks intend to address governance concerns and compensate customers for misconduct. Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn and Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer will appear before the committee on 11 October.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Taylor forces NEG security onto states

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 10-Oct-18

Power retailers will be required to guarantee a reliable electricity supply under a new proposal by the federal government. The proposal for a reliability mechanism – which was a key element of the national energy guarantee – will be put to the upcoming meeting of the COAG Energy Council. The reliability mechanism is one of the initiatives of Energy Minister Angus Taylor which are aimed at reducing electricity prices while ensuring a reliable energy supply as the proportion of electricity generated by renewables increases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS. ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, HYDRO TASMANIA, ERM POWER LIMITED – ASX EPW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING