Author: roymorgansocial

Schools row ends with $4.5bn deal

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Sep-18

The federal government has agreed to increase taxpayer funding for Catholic and independent schools by more than $4.5bn, after funding was reduced under the "Gonski 2.0" school funding reforms. Catholic schools will receive a $4.3bn increase in funding over 10 years, while independent schools will receive an additional $259m. Stephen Elder, the executive director of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, says the funding cuts under the Gonski 2.0 reforms would have forced Catholic schools to close or significantly increase their fees.

CORPORATES
CATHOLIC EDUCATION COMMISSION OF VICTORIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

BHP chair happy with portfolio

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 26 : 21-Sep-18

Analysts who attended BHP Billiton’s recent briefing in London say chairman Ken MacKenzie gave strong indications that the petroleum division is still regarded as a core asset. However, he signalled that further exploration success will be needed for BHP to remain in the sector. BHP’s petroleum division faces a decline in production in coming years as key gas and oil fields become depleted. MacKenzie also told analysts that BHP may be open to retaining its Nickel West assets due to growing demand for batteries.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NICKEL WEST

PM ups the ante on small biz tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Sep-18

Federal government sources have indicated that the Coalition is likely to seek to pass legislation prior to the next election aimed at bringing forward tax cuts for businesses with turnover of up to $50m. The tax relief for small businesses has already been legislated, but additional legislation would be required for the cuts to take effect earlier than 2026-27. Labor opposes a further reduction in the small business tax rate, but it could face the prospect of having to go into the election with a policy of reversing the additional tax cuts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY

Trade war risk to our currency safety valve

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 21-Sep-18

Economic modelling undertaken by the Reserve Bank in March concluded that the Australian dollar could potentially rise by up to six per cent in the event of a global trade war. This in turn could cause the domestic economy to contract by up to 3.5 per cent over five years. This is one of three potential scenarios that were examined by the central bank at the time, in response to the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminium.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Trade war pain will be felt globally: OECD

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-Sep-18

A report from the OECD has warned that the US-China trade war could undermine global economic growth. The interim economic outlook report notes that the tariff war has already had an impact on the global trade growth rate, which slowed significantly during the first half of 2018. The OECD says global investment, jobs and living standards will be adversely affected if the trade war escalates. It also expects the US to record GDP growth of 2.9 per cent year-on-year in 2018, while it still expects growth of 6.7 per cent in China. Australia’s GDP growth rate is forecast to be 2.9 per cent in 2018 and three per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS LIMITED, L1 CAPITAL PTY LTD

Watchdog acts to rein in initial coin offerings

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 26 : 21-Sep-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has the burgeoning cryptocurrencies industry in its sights, revealing a crackdown on so-called initial coin offerings. ASIC has blocked the issuance of cryptocurrency tokens by several companies, due to concerns that their ICO product disclosure statements contained misleading or deceptive information. The corporate regulator notes that ICOs are highly speculative and the sector is largely unregulated.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NEW DAWN FUND, INVESTORS EXCHANGE LIMITED

Rio Tinto goes off market for share buyback

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Sep-18

Rio Tinto will repurchase around $US3.2bn worth of its shares, including $US1.9bn ($2.6bn) of its Australian-listed stock. The off-market buyback will be financed via the proceeds from the sale of Rio Tinto’s coking coal assets in Queensland. Don Hamson of Plato Investment Management says an off-market buyback is preferable to a special dividend, given that Labor intends to abolish cash refunds for excess franking credits if it wins the next federal election. Rio Tinto had previously announced $US2.4bn worth of buybacks.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Fortescue flags earlier start for higher grade iron ore exports

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 21-Sep-18

Pure-play iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group has advised that it will begin exporting ore with an iron content of 60.1 per cent in December. Fortescue had previously expected to begin shipments of the higher-grade West Pilbara Fines product during the first half of 2019. Fortescue’s new Eliwana mine will be a key source of the new iron ore blend, and the company expects annual shipments of West Pilbara Fines to be around 40 million when production at Eliwana begins. Fortescue has forecast that it will export 5-10 million tonnes of West Pilbara Fines in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Suncorp kept misleading ads campaign

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 21-Sep-18

The financial services royal commission has been told that Suncorp-owned insurer AAMI faced potential fines of up to $7.2m for misleading advertising in November 2017, but it was fined just $43,800 by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. The radio ads promoted AAMI’s commitment to completely replace a policyholder’s home if it was destroyed, but failed to disclose that this was subject to a cost limit. AAMI’s in-force premium revenue from these policies was $426m for the year, providing a strong incentive to continue the ad campaign.

CORPORATES
SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED MOTOR INSURERS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE LIMITED, AAI LIMITED

Taylor-made package to prolong coal power

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Sep-18

Sources have indicated that the federal government’s new energy policy may include assistance for companies to upgrade existing coal-fired power stations. Energy Minister Angus Taylor has stressed that ensuring the reliability of Australia’s baseload power supply is the government’s key priority. This could potentially include measures aimed at extending the operating lives of existing coal-fired plants or investing in new ones.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL