Author: roymorgansocial

Nine could sell Fairfax’s NZ arm

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 6-Aug-18

Nine Entertainment Company has flagged the possibility of divesting assets such as Fairfax Media’s regional newspapers and its New Zealand business if the proposed $4.06bn merger proceeds. Nine CEO Hugh Marks has held an investor roadshow to pitch the merger deal, which has prompted speculation of further consolidation in the media sector. Seven West Media has advised that it sees no need to pursue mergers and acquisitions in response to the Nine-Fairfax deal.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE NEW DAILY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NBN TELEVISION

Murdoch needs to get in quick to secure free-to-air TV stations

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 6-Aug-18

Media experts believe that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation will eventually bid for Seven West Media following the proposed Nine-Fairfax merger and Ten Network’s sale to CBS. However, News Corp would have to satisfy the "minimum voices" rule, which was not affected by cross-media ownership reforms in 2017. It requires major newspapers, TV stations and radio stations in metropolitan areas to be held by five different owners. A Murdoch bid for Seven would breach the "voices test" in Adelaide if a rival media company moved first by acquiring HT&E’s Australian Radio Network.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

APRA urges caution on super reforms

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 6-Aug-18

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s deputy chair Helen Rowell says superannuation funds that are excluded from the proposed list of the 10 best-performing funds may face problems such as liquidity issues and doubts about their sustainability over the medium to long-term. She adds that the Productivity Commission’s proposed changes to the default super regime would increase APRA’s workload, as it would have to work more closely with registrable superannuation entities that do not make the "best in show" list.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

RBA set to celebrate two years on hold

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Aug-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent since August 2016, and the central bank is widely tipped to maintain the status quo at its board meeting on 7 August 2018. Bond traders have priced in a 20 per cent chance of a rate rise by the end of 2018, and an 80 per cent chance by mid-2019. The RBA has previously signalled that interest rates are likely to remain on hold until signs of wages growth emerge, and analysts generally believe that there will need to be upward pressure on wages for the unemployment rate to fall below five per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

July Business Confidence down for third straight month to 113.6

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Aug-18

In Australia, Business Confidence fell 0.8pts (-0.7%) to 113.6 in July 2018, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. Business Confidence has dropped below its level of a year ago for the first time in 2018 and is now 3.4pts lower than in July 2017, and 2.7pts below its long-term average of 116.3. However, despite falling for three consecutive months following the Federal Budget, Business Confidence throughout the first seven months of 2018 has averaged 117.5 – above the long-term average and the highest yearly average since 2014. Businesses remain largely positive, with 50.9% (up 4.4ppts) saying now is a "good time to invest in growing the business" and 50.5% (up 0.2ppts) expecting "good times" for the Australian economy over the next five years. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that towards the end of July there was some good news for businesses, which traditionally prefer certainty rather than uncertainty. The victories for Labor at the "Super Saturday" by-elections removed the temptation for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to call an early election later this year. Turnbull has since confirmed that he plans on calling the next Federal Election in May 2019 and has re-affirmed the Government’s pledge to legislate further business tax cuts when Parliament resumes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Diggers still doing deals as gold price dips

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 6-Aug-18

Mergers and acquisitions activity and rising costs are among the issues that are likely to attract debate during the annual Diggers & Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie. Justin Osborne of Gold Road Resources expects larger gold producers to continue to pursue exploration deals in the near-term, although he says M&A activity may increase in coming years. Stuart Mathews, the local head of Gold Fields, says it would be open to appropriate acquisitions in the exploration space but its existing assets are its focus at present.

CORPORATES
DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GOR, GOLD FIELDS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Labor split risks killing energy deal

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Original article by Simon Benson, Michael McKenna, Samantha Hutchinson, Michael Owen
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 6-Aug-18

The Labor Environment Action Network says the proposed national energy guarantee should only be supported if there is provision for carbon emissions reduction targets to be increased to match Labor’s own stated targets. Labor’s environmental wing argues that it is in the nation’s interests to resolve the impasse regarding energy policy. However, a Queensland Government source has indicated that it will not support the NEG in its current form, while Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says his state will not back the NEG unless the Federal Government can demonstrate that its own party room will support the policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LABOR ENVIRONMENT ACTION NETWORK, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, GETUP LIMITED, GREENPEACE AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Rugby viewership more than double Rugby League in NZ

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Aug-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 43.6% of New Zealanders aged 14+ (almost 1.7 million people) watched Rugby on TV in the year to June. Viewership of Rugby Union far outstrips the other major football codes, and is more than double the viewership of either Rugby League or Soccer. A total of 837,000 New Zealanders (21.5%) watch Rugby League on TV, including the NRL and other Rugby League matches, and 587,000 (15.1%) watch Soccer including the FIFA World Cup, the A-League and other Soccer matches including the English Premier League and local leagues. Rugby Union Internationals, which feature the New Zealand national team the All Blacks, are the most popular form of Rugby watched by nearly 1.34 million New Zealanders (34.3%), slightly ahead of the Rugby World Cup, watched by 1.26 million New Zealanders (32.4%). Super Rugby is watched by nearly 1.2 million New Zealanders (30.6%), while a further 880,000 New Zealanders (22.6%) watch the local Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

NSW snowfields set to attract more Aussie skiers than Victorian fields

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Aug-18

The latest tourism data from Roy Morgan shows that 47% of Australian skiers and snowboarders would like to visit at least one of the nation’s snow areas within the next two years, up 1% on the year to December 2014. The NSW Snowfields/High Country area remains the most popular in Australia, mentioned by 31% of skiers/snowboarders as a destination for a holiday during the next two years. This is led by Thredbo/ Perisher/Smiggins slopes as the most popular snowfield, cited by 28% of skiers/snowboarders. Despite trailing their northern counterparts in terms of popularity, the leading Victorian snow fields have made impressive gains over the last four years. Now 24% of skiers/snowboarders would like to visit the Victorian snow fields for a holiday during the next two years – up 5% points on 2014. This gain has been spread across Victoria’s leading snow fields, with Mt. Hotham now the leading snow destination in Victoria (mentioned by 13% of skiers/snowboarders), ahead of Mt. Buller on 12% and Falls Creek on 11%. Mt. Buller has doubled in popularity since 2014 to overtake Falls Creek.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Airport for the folks of western Sydney

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 19 : 2-Aug-18

Most of the people that will be using the Western Sydney Airport when it opens in 2026 will come from its immediate catchment area, so good accessibility is important. Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue chairman Christopher Brown told the annual Centre for Aviation annual conference on 1 August that Western Sydney was the only urban centre of its size in the world without an airport, and that there will be three million people living in the airport’s catchment area by the time it opens. Board of Airline Representatives of Australia executive director Barry Abram said a rail link to Western Sydney Airport would probably be its best transport option.

CORPORATES
WESTERN SYDNEY LEADERSHIP DIALOGUE BOARD OF AIRLINE REPRESENTATIVES OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT