Author: roymorgansocial

Nationals to demand changes to NEG

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 26-Jun-18

The federal government’s proposed National Energy Guarantee aims to commit power retailers to a secure electricity supply that will meet carbon emissions reduction and reliability targets. National Party MPs met to discuss the NEG on 25 June, and are understood to want its proposed mechanism to be altered so as to favour suppliers of baseload power. Some members of both the Nationals and the Liberal Party are of the view that the NEG should not have an emissions reduction component.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, MINERAL COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Class warfare digs won’t work: Coalition

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 26-Jun-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claims that Labor is attacking him because he is wealthy and successful. Labor will run commercials which contend that Turnbull will benefit from the federal government’s plans to reduce the company tax rate because of the large number of companies in which he has investments. Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has accused Labor of engaging in class warfare, while Labor’ finance spokesman Jim Chalmers has accused Turnbull of siding with millionaires.

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

Shorten’s team rich in assets

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Original article by Ben Packham, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Jun-18

Analysis of federal parliament’s register of pecuniary interests shows that many Labor MPs own at least one investment property. Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese and Mark Dreyfus are among the Labor frontbenchers who will benefit from the party’s proposal to "grandfather" its changes to the negative gearing regime. Labor intends to abolish negative gearing for people entering the property market, although people who invest in new housing stock will be exempt from the change.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ACCC slams health insurers

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 26-Jun-18

Complaints to the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman rose by 30 per cent in 2016-17, with benefit payments again attracting the most complaints. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s acting chair Delia Rickard says the health insurance sector needs to become more transparent about its policies if it wants to restore consumer trust. Australians paid around $A23.1 billion in health insurance premiums in 2016-17, an increase of $A1 billion over the previous year.

CORPORATES
PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, HBF HEALTH LIMITED

Farm families forgotten in ANZ loan

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Original article by Sue Neales
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Jun-18

The banking royal commission’s current hearings are focusing on how banks such as the National Australia Bank and ANZ treat their farming clients. Ben Steinberg from ANZ, which acquired $A2.4 billion worth of farm loans from Landmark Financial Services in 2010, has conceded that it did not take into account the human impact of calling in bad loans and evicting farm families. He said that ANZ should have been more conscious of the fact that many Landmark customers were not used to dealing with a large bank.

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AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, LANDMARK FINANCIAL SERVICES, RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RURAL BANK LIMITED, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN

Plea to end unhealthy RBA cash rate

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 26-Jun-18

Economists James Morley from the University of Sydney and Mark Crosby of Monash University say the Reserve Bank of Australia needs to increase official interest rates. Crosby says the cash rate is at an "unhealthy level" at just 1.5 per cent and it is safe to begin tightening monetary policy. Morley argues that there is scope for at least two rate rises without having any adverse impact on the economy. Former RBA board member Warwick McKibbin has called for an increase in the cash rate.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

The Real Gambling Behaviours of Australians

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Jun-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 49.1% of Australians aged 18+ gambled in an average three-month period in the 12 months to March 2018, down from 50.6% a year ago. This decline is despite the growing proliferation of gambling options, such as online and mobile betting. Some 7.8 million Australians play Lottery or Scratchies, while 1.9 million Australians bet and 3.1 million engage in some level of gaming, such as poker, roulette and other casino games. Meanwhile, 568,000 people (or 3% of the Australian population), engage in all three types of gambling.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

CBA retreats to simpler bank model

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Original article by Alice Uribe, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 26-Jun-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will focus on its core banking operations after revealing plans to demerge its wealth management, financial planning and mortgage broking assets into a separately listed company. Analysts says the move was widely expected given the reforms that are likely to emerge from the banking royal commission. CBA has advised that it will not hold a stake in CFS Group, which is expected to have a market capitalisation of around $A8bn. CBA may also divest its general insurance business in a separate transaction.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CFS GROUP, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, FINANCIAL WISDOM LIMITED, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, COUNTPLUS LIMITED – ASX CUP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, CONCENTRATED LEADERS FUND LIMITED – ASX CLF, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

MPs risk jobs with tax block

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 26-Jun-18

BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie and Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines are among the business leaders who have urged the Senate to pass the Federal Government’s company tax cuts package. Mackenzie says the lack of a globally competitive tax rate could prompt BHP to redirect up to $A32bn worth of investment to other countries. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in particular has been targeted over her stance on the tax cuts, with beef processor JBL stressing that it employs 6,500 people in her home state of Queensland.

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BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ONE NATION PARTY, JBL, CENTRE ALLIANCE, THOMAS FOODS INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Rio coy on big copper discovery

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 25-Jun-18

Rio Tinto has declined to confirm or deny reports that it has established an exploration camp in the Pilbara’s North Paterson province. Satellite photos suggest that the resources giant has set up a camp in the province’s sand dunes, which in turn has prompted speculation of a major copper find. The northern part of the province is largely unexplored due to the presence of sand, but the southern region includes the Telfer gold mine and the Woodie Woodie manganese mine.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALLOY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX AYR, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SIPA RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX SRI, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NEWMONT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ANTIPA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AZY