Author: roymorgansocial

Officeworks tipped for more growth

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 18-Sep-18

Wesfarmers’ Officeworks division posted earnings growth of 8.3 per cent in fiscal 2018, with sales rising by 9.1 per cent and return on capital up 13 per cent. MD Mark Ward is upbeat about the outlook for Officeworks, expressing confidence that it can maintain the recent growth momentum. Although Ward will retire in late 2018, Wesfarmers has yet to appoint a successor as it is focused on the upcoming demerger of Coles.

CORPORATES
OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, ONTHEGO PTY LTD

Hagger NAB exit opens way for Baird

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 18-Sep-18

National Australia Bank has appointed former New South Wales premier Mike Baird as chief customer officer of consumer banking, after Andrew Hagger resigned as the head of consumer banking and wealth. Hagger said he will accept responsibility for the fee-for-no-service scandal that was exposed by the banking royal commission, and fund managers say his position had become untenable following the revelations. Baird, who is currently NAB’s head of corporate and institutional banking, is now regarded as a leading contender to eventually succeed CEO Andrew Thorburn.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALPHINITY CONCENTRATED AUSTRALIAN SHARE FUND, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CLAYTON UTZ

Aged-care operators feel sting of royal commission

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Original article by Turi Condon
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 18-Sep-18

Shares in aged-care operators plunged on 17 September, following the announcement by the federal government that it would hold a royal commission into the sector. Japara Healthcare, Estia Health and Regis Healthcare shed more than 17 per cent apiece. Leading Age Services Australia CEO Sean Rooney said he supports the royal commission, but denied suggestions that the sector has engaged in price gouging.

CORPORATES
JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, REGIS HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX REG, ESTIA HEALTH LIMITED – ASX EHE, LEADING AGE SERVICES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AVEO GROUP – ASX AOG

Legal test looms over Qantas’ bonus bribes

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Age – Page: 21 : 18-Sep-18

The Fair Work Commission may be asked to rule on the validity of its cash performance bonus scheme. The airline’s employees will be eligible for a cash bonus of $2,000 provided they sign a new enterprise bargaining agreement. Unions have expressed concern about a provision of the scheme which excludes all employees in a work group from receiving the bonus if one or more of them engages in conduct that causes harm to the airline. Unions believe that this may breach workplace laws, as the "harm" caused could potentially be interpreted to include protected industrial action.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

AMP still taking fees from the dead

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Original article by Ben Butler, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 18-Sep-18

Paul Sainsbury, the head of wealth management at AMP, appeared before the banking royal commission on 17 September. He told the inquiry that AMP had been charging life insurance customers a fee even after being informed that they had died. Sainsbury said the practice had been occurring since 2016, and the extent of the problem had been discovered after the royal commission was told earlier in 2018 that the Commonwealth Bank had engaged in similar practices.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, DOVER FINANCIAL ADVISERS PTY LTD, ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL

Sydney to lead subsidence in house prices, says Moody’s

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 18-Sep-18

Moody’s Analytics has forecast a 1.6 per cent fall in housing prices across Australia in 2018. The firm expects house prices in Sydney to decline by 5.1 per cent overall, although some suburbs will record larger declines while others will record growth. House prices in Melbourne are forecast to rise by 0.3 per cent in 2018, with Brisbane tipped to record growth of 1.5 per cent and prices in Perth to fall by 1.9 per cent. The forecasts are based on historical data from CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Value Index.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MORRELL AND KOREN BUYERS’ ADVOCATES

Dole rise costly, good for economy

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Sep-18

Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics notes that Australia has one of the highest minimum wage rates in the world, yet its unemployment benefits are among the lowest. Modelling undertaken by Deloitte on behalf of the Australian Council of Social Service has concluded that increasing the Newstart payment by $75 per week would boost the economy by around $A4bn overall, despite an initial cost to the Budget of $3.3bn a year. The Newstart payment has not changed in two decades when accounting for inflation.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Wage rises outpacing living costs

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Sep-18

Labour market economist Mark Wooden says that Australia has recorded 31 per cent growth in wages over the last decade, while inflation has increased by just 22 per cent over this period. The director of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia survey notes that the cost of living has not increased significantly in the last year, with big rises in the cost of petrol and electricity being offset by lower prices for some consumer goods. Professor Wooden adds that the HILDA data shows that income inequality has eased slightly in recent years. The HILDA survey is conducted by the University of Melbourne with interviewing conducted by Roy Morgan.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Europe buyer pulls $438m offer for Rio aluminium assets

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 25 : 18-Sep-18

Rio Tinto has advised that Norway-based Hydro has terminated a deal struck earlier in 2018 to acquire its remaining aluminium assets in Europe for $US345m ($438m). The assets comprise an aluminium smelter in Iceland and Rio’s stakes in an anode plant in the Netherlands and an aluminium fluoride plant in Sweden. Competition concerns in Europe are believed to have prompted Hydro to withdraw from the deal. Rio may seek a new buyer for the assets.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NORSK HYDRO ASA, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, LIBERTY HOUSE GROUP, UC RUSAL LIMITED

Independent’s shot at Turnbull’s old seat a gift that will keep on giving for Labor

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Original article by Deborah Cornwall
The Australian – Page: 4 & 5 : 17-Sep-18

Former Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps intends to finance her by-election campaign in the federal seat of Wentworth solely via crowdfunding and volunteers. Phelps says the major political parties’ lack of action on issues such as health care and climate change prompted her to contest the seat as an independent candidate. A senior Labor source has conceded that the party has little chance of winning Malcolm Turnbull’s former seat, but notes that Phelps’ decision to run will force the Liberal Party to commit financial resources to the by-election campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED