Author: roymorgansocial

Shorten’s fair-pay pledge to workers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Jul-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use an ACTU Congress speech on 17 July to press his industrial relations credentials. He will commit to legislating to ensure that labour-hire firms face prosecution for underpaying their staff. Shorten will argue that such workers should receive the same wages and conditions as directly-employed colleagues who are covered by an enterprise agreement. The Australian Industry Group says Shorten’s proposal would reduce workplace flexibility and make local businesses less competitive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Keep coal burning for long term

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 17-Jul-18

The Australian Energy Market Operator has urged against the premature closure of coal-fired power stations, saying they should remain operating for as long as possible before being replaced by renewable energy sources. AEMO stated that this will ensure stability in the national energy market, as well as providing energy at low cost. AEMO notes that 30 per cent of the NEM’s current coal resources are due to reach the end of their technical life within the next two decades. The federal government will try to convince the states and territories to adopt its National Energy Guarantee at a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments’ energy council in August.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Funds in black for ninth year in a row

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 21 : 17-Jul-18

Preliminary data shows that Australia’s median growth superannuation fund achieved a return of nine per cent in 2017-18, compared with the S&P/ASX 200’s gain of 8.3 per cent. Data from Chant West shows that the median growth fund’s return since fiscal 2009 has averaged 9.5 per cent, for a cumulative return over the period of more than 130 per cent. The funds with the highest returns are expected to have gained at least 12 per cent in 2017-18. Meanwhile, MLC Super’s chief investment officer Jonathan Armitage says returns are likely to be lower in the next several years.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX CWL, MLC LIMITED, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, REST SUPER PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Primed for retail action as Amazon slashes prices up to 70pc

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 17-Jul-18

Amazon launched its first Prime Day promotion in Australia on 16 July, with the e-commerce giant cutting prices by up to 70 per cent. Amazon applied its biggest discounts to its own products, including its Echo Plus and Echo Dot speakers. Brands that Amazon reduced prices on included Lorna Jane, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Sony, while Myer, Kmart and Woolworths are among the Australian retailers that it undercut. Amazon’s Australian Prime Day will run for 36 hours; its first Prime Day was launched in the US in 2015.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, LORNA JANE PTY LTD, NIKE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TOMMY HILFIGER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SONY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, CATCH-OF-THE-DAY.COM.AU, BABY BUNTING GROUP LIMITED – ASX BBN, DAVID JONES LIMITED, MINDSHARE, EUROMONITOR, EBAY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND PTY LTD, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Westpac to quit SMSF lending

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Original article by Duncan Hughes, Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 17-Jul-18

Westpac will cease offering new loans to self-managed superannuation funds that wish to invest in property at the end of July. Chris Balalovski of BDO notes that there does not seem to be any problems with losses in the SMSF sector as regards property, and that Westpac’s decision could be more to do with negative regulatory or consumer sentiment towards loans to SMSFs. Jordan George from the SMSF Association says it is his understanding that the Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie still provide loans to SMSFs, but that the National Australia Bank and the ANZ Bank do not lend to the sector.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BDO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SMSF ASSOCIATION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

World Cup final kept 500,000 Aussies up

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 17-Jul-18

Data from OzTAM shows that the audience for SBS’s live coverage of France’s 4-2 win against Croatia in the FIFA World Cup final peaked at 789,426. The first half of the final averaged 583,000 viewers, including 484,000 people in metropolitan areas. The semi-finals had also attracted good numbers, with an average audience of 276,000 for the match between France and Belgium and an average of 420,000 tuning in to watch Croatia defeat England. Meanwhile, the audience for Seven’s coverage of the men’s final at Wimbledon peaked at 539,000, with an average audience of 377,000.

CORPORATES
SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, OZTAM PTY LTD, TOUR DE FRANCE, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Atlas facing possible distress

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Jul-18

An independent expert’s report from BDO has valued Atlas Iron at between $0.015 and $A0.03 per share, compared with Hancock Prospecting’s offer of $0.042 per share. BDO has recommended that shareholders accept the offer in the absence of a higher bid. BDO warned that Atlas will be financially vulnerable if the price discount for its low-grade iron ore is sustained, while its Mt Webber mine would have to close. Atlas directors have also used its target statement to recommend that shareholders accept the offer.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, BDO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ALTURA MINING LIMITED – ASX AJM, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Top-grade iron ore may spike to $US100 on China clampdown

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Original article by Krystal Chia
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 17-Jul-18

The price of high-grade iron ore reached $US91 a tonne on 13 July, and there is speculation that it could reach $US100. The demand for high-grade iron ore, which is classed as ore with 65 per cent iron content, is being driven by steel mills in China, where there is a major crackdown on pollution. Using high-grade ore enables steel makers to cut back on pollutants, as well as allowing them to produce more steel. The price of high-grade ore is up since the start of 2018, while the price of benchmark ore – which has 62 per cent iron content – has declined by 14 per cent.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, WOOD MACKENZIE, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, IRON ORE RESEARCH PTY LTD, CRU GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Nearly two million Australians use a financial planner or adviser – worth $703b

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Original article by Roy Morgan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 17-Jul-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1.96 million Australians aged 14+ (9.7%) used a financial planner/adviser to purchase superannuation or managed funds in the year to May 2018. This group accounts for $703bn in total wealth management products and have an average value of nearly $360,000. The research also shows that 33% of wealth management customers who are in the top quintile of the market by value have used a financial planner or adviser. The other groups that have above average use of financial planners/advisors include those with incomes of $130,000+ (22.1%), Baby Boomers (18.5%), those aged 50+ (16.6%), Pre-Boomers (15.8%) and the AB Socio Economic Quintile (13.7%). These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s "Profile of Users of Financial Planners Report", which is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own homes, including over 5,000 who have used a financial planner/adviser to purchase superannuation or managed funds.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Shorten’s secret vow on health cap

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Jul-18

Labor has previously announced plans to impose a two per cent cap on health insurance premium increases. However, Opposition leader Bill Shorten is understood to have told the Members Health Fund Alliance – which represents 23 small funds that cover 1.7 million Australians – that its members would not be affected by the proposed cap. Labor sources have indicated that the cap is aimed more at larger health insurance providers, and that imposing it on smaller providers would lead to more consolidation in the sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MEMBERS HEALTH FUNDS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, PRIVATE HEALTHCARE AUSTRALIA LIMITED