Author: roymorgansocial

ACT raises tax haul 10pc to stay in black

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Original article by
The Australian – Page: 7 : 6-Jun-18

The Australian Capital Territory Government’s June 2018 Budget includes a surplus of $A36.4m for 2017-18, while net debt is forecast to top $A2.1bn in 2018-19. The Budget also features total expenditure of $A5.8bn, with health and education to be allocated $A1.7bn and $A1.3bn respectively. Tax revenue will increase by 10 per cent in 2018-19, due primarily to measures such as a 15 per cent "point of consumption" gambling levy and an increase in property rates. The government will also scrap the first-home owners’ grant.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER, NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

CBA lacked resources to deal with data crisis

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 6-Jun-18

The minutes from a meeting of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s data governance committee in August 2016 have been submitted to the banking royal commission. They show that CBA executives were aware that insufficient funding was being allocated to data management, and 118 data quality issues had been identified. Chief risk officer David Cohen told the meeting that improving the quality of credit data was a priority, in order to satisfy the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s concerns about the quality of the data.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Taxpayers slugged for failed union action

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Jun-18

The Australian Building & Construction Commission has spent more than $A44,000 in a failed bid to overturn a court’s decision to dismiss a case against the militant Construction, Forestry, Maritime & Mining Energy Union. The ABCC’s legal costs in the original case had exceeded $A666,000. The case had concerned a blockade at a construction site in Canberra, with the ABCC contending that the industrial action was aimed at forcing the builder to sign an enterprise agreement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION

Growth to accelerate despite pressures

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Jun-18

The consensus of economists is that the Australian economy expanded by 0.9 per cent in the March quarter, compared with growth of just 0.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2017. The Reserve Bank and the Treasury have previously flagged growth of 0.7 per cent to 0.8 per cent for the March quarter. Meanwhile, economists expect the economy to have expanded by 2.8 per cent year-on-year in the March quarter, up from 2.4 per cent growth in the December quarter. The quarterly GDP data will be released on 6 June.

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG LP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Iron ore miners bend to China’s will

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Original article by Rhiannon Hoyle
The Australian – Page: 22 : 6-Jun-18

Global iron ore producers are responding to growing demand for higher-grade iron ore in China by shifting production away from low-grade ore. They include Fortescue Metals Group, Vale and Cleveland-Cliffs. Fortescue recently announced plans to develop the Eliwana mine in Western Australia, with its output to be blended with lower-grade ore from the company’s other mines in the Pilbara. BHP also intends to blend ore from its proposed South Flank project with lower-grade ore.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Tough laws to put terror heat on tech titans

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jun-18

The Federal Government has proposed legislation that would require telcos and technology companies to provide law enforcement and intelligence agencies with access to the encrypted data of suspected terrorists and cyber-criminals. Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor notes that at present telcos are not required to co-operate in providing access to such data. He stresses that the legislation – which will also apply to digital companies such as Google and Facebook – will not result in the creation of so-called "backdoor keys" that would allow law enforcement agencies to decrypt such data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

Stan cuts Hollywood deals on prime content

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

Streaming video provider Stan has secured an exclusive content deal with the Starz pay-TV network, which is owned by Hollywood film studio Lionsgate. The deal gives Stan access to Lionsgate’s library of films and TV shows. Stan has also struck an output deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, while it will produce two new drama series in partnership with Sony Pictures Television and Disney-owned ABC.

CORPORATES
STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STARZ ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LLC, LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER INCORPORATED, SONY PICTURES TELEVISION INCORPORATED, AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, PLAYMAKER MEDIA PTY LTD

ANZ, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank executives charged with criminal cartel offences

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Original article by Stephen Letts
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 6-Jun-18

The ANZ Bank’s global head of treasury, Rick Moscati, is among six senior banking industry executives who will face criminal cartel charges arising from ANZ’s institutional share placement in 2015. Citigroup MD John McLean and the investment bank’s global head of foreign exchange trading, Itay Tuchman, have also been charged, as has Citi’s former Australian head, Stephen Roberts. Two former Deutsche Bank executives, Michael Ormaechea and Michael Richardson, also face charges following a two-year investigation by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. The three banks will also be prosecuted for allegedly engaging in a cartel.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence slips down to 116.5

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6 June May 2018

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 1.0% to 116.5 in the week ended 3 June, following a 3.2% decline in the previous week. Consumers’ views towards current financial conditions fell 2.0% to 105.0, the lowest in eight weeks. However, consumers were more optimistic about future financial conditions, which were up 3.3% following a 4.1% decline previously. Views towards current economic conditions fell 4.2% to 105.9, although this subindex remains above its long-term average of 102.0. Similarly, sentiment around future economic conditions fell for the third straight week, down 3.4% to 108.6 and the lowest in eight weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Mining capex slow to move on big profits

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 5-Jun-18

The mining and construction sectors were a major contributor to the 5.9 per cent growth in the profits of Australian companies during the March quarter. However, data from PwC shows that the capital expenditure of the world’s 40 largest mining companies remains at its lowest level for a decade. Chris Dodd of PwC expects miners to continue to be cautious with regard to capital investment. Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg recently expressed a similar view.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS