Author: roymorgansocial

Unionist to face trial over documents claim

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Original article by Jared Owens
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Jul-18

Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union official Dave Hanna could face a fine of $A10,000 or up to two years in jail for obstructing the trade unions royal commission. It will be alleged that Hanna ordered the destruction of CFMEU documents at the union’s Brisbane headquarters in April 2014, on the same day that the royal commission advised the union that it was interested in viewing union documents dating as far back as 2007.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUILDERS’ LABOURERS’ FEDERATION, DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

Oil surge to drive $8.1bn LNG windfall

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 3-Jul-18

A quarterly report from the Office of the Chief Economist shows that Australia’s resources and energy exports are forecast to top $238.18bn in 2018-19, compared with $226.32bn in 2017-18. Revenue from LNG exports is expected to rise by 12 per cent to $43.5bn, while revenue from coking and thermal coal exports is tipped to be $58.1bn. Iron ore export revenue is forecast to be $57.7bn in 2018-19, while revenue expectations for 2017-18 have been scaled back from $65.3bn to $61.8bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Forrest rebuff over Rinehart bid

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Jul-18

The Takeovers Panel has declined to conduct proceedings in relation to Gina Rinehart’s $A390 million offmarket bid for Atlas Iron. NCZ Investments, a unit of Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals, sought to restrain Rinehart’s bid, which is being conducted through Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Redstone, in the week ending 29 June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, NCZ INVESTMENTS, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, REDSTONE CORPORATION PTY LTD

Labor two-tier tax system is too complex

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Jul-18

Tax experts have expressed concern about the complexity of the company tax regime if Labor wins the next federal election and retains the current tax rate of 27.5 per cent for businesses with turnover of $10m to $50m. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was recently forced to back down on his proposal to reverse company tax cuts that have already been legislated. However, Grant Wardell-Johnson of KPMG says a two-tiered company tax system is not economically justifiable and will deter foreign direct investment in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

House prices are falling faster than expected

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Jul-18

The ANZ Bank predicted in March that Australian house prices would rise by two per cent over the course of 2018, but it now expects a decline of four per cent. The bank also expects house prices to fall by two per cent in 2019. National Australia Bank is also more pessimistic about the housing market than it was in March, while Paul Dale of Capital Economics notes that the banking royal commission has already seen banks tighten their lending standards. He says house prices could potentially fall by about five per cent in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LAMINAR CAPITAL, LAZARD PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

No state worse off in GST shake-up: PM

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-18

The Federal Government will shortly release its response to the Productivity Commission’s report on the distribution of goods and services tax revenue. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stressed that no state will be disadvantaged by any change in the methodology for allocating GST revenue. The government is expected to compensate states for any loss of revenue during the transition to a new GST distribution formula; economist Saul Eslake says clarification is needed regarding the compensation plan.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Law firm hits CBA with class action suit

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Jul-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia faces another class action over its money-laundering scandal. Law firm Phi Finney McDonald has filed a lawsuit on behalf of investors who bought CBA shares between 16 June 2014 and 3August 2017. The firm alleges that CBA’s failure to inform the market about the scandal constituted a breach of its disclosure requirements. The class action will allege that investors incurred loss and damage due to the bank’s inaction.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, THERIUM PTY LTD, CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM, TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS, MASSACHUSETTS PENSION RESERVES INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BOARD, COLORADO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF

Property fall tipped to soften RBA

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to leave official interest rates unchanged at 1.5 per cent on 3 July. However, the central bank’s so-called "shadow board" believes that there is a strong case for the cash rate to be increased immediately, given factors such as low wages growth, low unemployment and an inflation rate that is within the RBA’s target range. Meanwhile, new data shows that there was an 0.3 per cent decline in house prices in major cities during June.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

Foxtel targets cricket in streaming push

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 3-Jul-18

Foxtel is said to be aiming to launch its direct-to-consumer sports streaming video service in early November, to coincide with the start of its cricket coverage. The new service is tipped to have separate branding to distinguish it from other Foxtel products, and is part of the pay-TV group’s push to increase its market penetration. Foxtel’s broadcasting rights deal with Cricket Australia includes exclusive streaming rights.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL NOW, FOXTEL GO, FOXTEL PLAY, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, HBO

Calls for Netflix to back local content

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 24 : 2-Jul-18

Screen Producers Australia has used its submission to the competitive neutrality inquiry into public broadcasting to push for local content quotas to be extended to streaming video providers. It noted that Netflix has a larger library of Australian content on its US platform than it offers to local subscribers. SPA has called for government intervention to ensure that local content producers are not disadvantaged, while it has also urged legislative action to protect content producers against unfair contracts with regard to broadcasting and streaming rights.

CORPORATES
SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, CBS CORPORATION, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD