Author: roymorgansocial

Lib unrest as leader admits US tax battle

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 8 : 2-Aug-18

Some Western Australian Liberal MPs are said to be unhappy that Liberal leader Mike Nahan remains a US citizen because of a large potential tax liability to the Internal Revenue Service . Their angst has been prompted by debate whether certain dual citizens are eligible to sit in the WA parliament. Nahan says that he no longer has a US passport and that he has not earned any income from any activity outside Australia for forty years. He accused some of his colleagues of trying to "white-ant" him, while WA Premier Mark McGowan says Nahan should have disclosed his tax dispute before now.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET UNITED STATES. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

Drought plea: honour desal deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 2-Aug-18

Federal Liberal MP Sussan Ley has backed drought-affected farmers in calling for the South Australian government to boost production from its desalination plant. The federal government contributed $328 million in 2013 towards construction of the $1.8 billion plant, on the condition that South Australia would make less use of the Murray River for its water supplies. However, the plant has only been operating at eight per cent of its capacity for the last 12 months. It can produce up to 100 gigalitres a year, while South Australia extracts 140 gigalitres of drinking water a year from the Murray River.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SOUTHERN RIVERINA IRRIGATION DISTRICTS COUNCIL

Coles bagged online for bag backflip

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Aug-18

Retail expert Gary Mortimer says retailer Coles risks "reputational damage" if it persists with its policy of issuing free reusable plastic bags while at the same time claiming it was reducing its use of plastic. Coles ceased providing single-use plastic bags in most states on 1 July, stating it would issue free reusable plastic bags until 1 August, after which time customers would have to pay for them. However, it has backed down on its plans to charge for them, stating on 1 August that it would continue to issue them for free for an "indefinite period".

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW HARRIS FARM MARKETS PTY LTD QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY CITIGROUP PTY LTD METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS

Assign new mums challenging work

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-Aug-18

BHP Billiton’s chief technology officer Diane Jurgens has urged employers to give new mothers challenging roles when they return from maternity leave. Jurgens says that if returning mothers are given mundane jobs, they are likely to spend their working day thinking about their children. BHP is seeking to have 50 per cent of its workforce women by 2025, a target it set in 2016. At that time, women accounted for 17 per cent of its workforce, and that has risen to 20.5 per cent as of the end of June 2017.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS ERNST AND YOUNG BASF AUSTRALIA LIMITED GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION BOEING COMPANY

Trade wars are taking toll on farmers: Ciobo

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-Aug-18

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo says the federal government may go to the World Trade Organisation to challenge recent agricultural tariffs and subsidies imposed by India. They include a 50 per cent tariff on field peas and a 30 per cent tariff on chickpeas and lentils, along with a subsidy for Indian sugar exporters, while India also doubled the tariff on wheat to 20 per cent. Ciobo says the various measures are hurting Australian farmers, while he is also concerned about the impact that Donald Trump’s trade war may have on them.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION CAIRNS GROUP NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED

Palmer hits back at CITIC over WA mine closure threats

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Aug-18

Clive Palmer has accused CITIC of speaking with a "forked tongue" over its $US12 billion ($16.2 billion) Sino Iron operations in Western Australia. CITIC Pacific CEO Chen Zeng said recently that the future of Sino Iron was at risk because of disputes with Palmer’s private company Mineralogy over royalty payments and access to land; Mineralogy controls the tenements on which Sino Iron is located. Palmer noted CITIC had been making threats to shut down Sino Iron for the last two years, but during that time they had continued to expanded production and paid Mineralogy $500 million in royalties.

CORPORATES
CITIC LIMITED CITIC PACIFIC MINING MANAGEMENT PTY LTD MINERALOGY PTY LTD

House prices fall 1.6pc in biggest decline in six years: Corelogic

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 2-Aug-18

Corelogic has reported that Australian house prices have fallen by 1.6 per cent in the year to July, with Sydney leading the way with a decline of 5.4 per cent. The yearly fall is the largest since 2012. Melbourne recorded the biggest drop in house prices for the three months to July, with a fall of 1.8 per cent, while it also posted the biggest fall for July (down 0.9 per cent). Tim Lawless from Corelogic expects the decline in prices to continue over the second half of 2018.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Rio unearths mega dividend after coal mine sell-off

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: Online : 2-Aug-18

Mining giant Rio Tinto has posted a statutory first-half net profit of $US4.38 billion, up 33 per cent. Its first-half underlying profit of $US4.42 billion was slightly down on analyst forecasts of $US4.53 billion, while its record interim dividend of $US1.27 per share represented an increase of 15 per cent on last year’s payment. Rio’s iron ore operations in Western Australia achieved an underlying net profit of $US3.22 billion, down one per cent, while its aluminium unit increased its net earnings by 15 per cent to $US871 million.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO VALE SA GLENCORE PLC BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP RBC CAPITAL (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner wants overnight TV ratings dumped

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 2-Aug-18

Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner told the Think TV panel on 1 August that the industry should stop producing overnight ratings numbers, as they are misleading. Worner noted that many people are now watching programs at a different time from when it is actually broadcast. He suggested that networks should only release ratings numbers when they know the total audience for a program, which might be seven days after it was broadcast, or perhaps even 28 days. Meanwhile, figures for broadcast video on-demand show that BVOD revenue rose by 40.5 per cent to $50 million for the six months to 30 June.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC TEN GROUP LIMITED FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Momentum builds to drop company tax cuts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 1-Aug-18

Treasurer Scott Morrison says "sensible governments" do not respond to by-election results by engaging in knee-jerk reactions. His comments come amid growing calls within the government to take a pragmatic approach to its corporate tax cuts package in the wake of the "Super Saturday" by-election results. Many believe the government should try to get as much of the package through the Senate as possible and then move on, rather than take the cuts to the next federal election if the Senate rejects the overall package. Morrison says the results of the by-elections on 28 July could not be attributed to just one issue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET ONE NATION PARTY CENTRE ALLIANCE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY