Author: roymorgansocial

Kogan to push into whitegoods

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 5-Jun-18

Online retailer Kogan.com aims to begin selling whitegoods and large kitchen appliances by the end of 2018. Founder and CEO Ruslan Kogan says the logistics aspects associated with the sale of such bulky items has made the whitegoods retail sector relatively immune to the challenges posed by online retailers, but he says it is "ripe for the picking". News of Kogan.com’s foray into whitegoods saw shares in established whitegoods retailers decline on 4 June, with Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi down 2.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

CORPORATES
KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, THE GOOD GUYS

Former US official warns on digital tax

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Original article by Nassim Khadem
The Age – Page: 23 : 5-Jun-18

The federal government is examining ways of taxing the billions in advertising revenue that digital companies Google and Facebook are generating. One option under consideration is a three per cent tax on turnover. Bob Stack, who was previously an official with the US Treasury under the administration of Barack Obama, does not think such a tax is a good idea. He says it could result in double taxation and might spark retaliation from the US government, which could increase taxes on Australian companies.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, DELOITTE LLP, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, APPLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Union’s Eureka flag victory flies in the face of regulator

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

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that displaying union logos or the Eureka flag on construction sites does not breach the building industry code. Commissioner Bernie Riordan ruled that workers would not get the impression that membership of the construction industry union is compulsory. The Australian Building & Construction Commission warned earlier in 2018 that construction firms could face bans if employees displayed the Eureka flag. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has welcomed the FWC’s ruling and called for the ABCC to be abolished.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, ACTU, WATPAC LIMITED – ASX WTP, PROBUILD PTY LTD, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

Hanson will have a party of one: Anning

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Jun-18

One Nation senator Peter Georgiou says he voted against the Ensuring Integrity Bill because its public interest test was intended to block a merger between the construction and maritime unions that had already been approved. The bill failed to pass the upper house after dissent among the three One Nation senators prompted the party to vote against it. Meanwhile, former One Nation senator Fraser Anning says he had forecast in late 2017 that Georgiou and senator Brian Burston will leave One Nation within 12 months. Anning has joined Katter’s Australian Party, after sitting as an independent since November.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Small firms get cuts, but big business creates jobs

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Jun-18

The proportion of Australian workers who are employed by small businesses fell from 44.4 per cent to 43.8 per cent in 2016-17. The first phase of the Federal Government’s tax cuts for small businesses took effect on 1 July 2015, but the sector has accounted for just 18 per cent of jobs that have been created since then. University of Tasmania economist Saul Eslake says the figures demonstrate that taxing small businesses at a lower rate than large companies does not generate more jobs.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, ALPHABETA, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO

Fels supports cartel case against banks

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 5-Jun-18

The ANZ Bank, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are facing criminal charges relating to alleged cartel behaviour regarding the sale of shares that were not taken up in an ANZ capital raising in 2015. The first hearing in the case, which has been instigated by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, is due to take place on 3 July. Former ACCC chairman Allan Fels says the case against the three companies appears to be a very technical one, and that their lawyers will be working hard to come up with a technical defence.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, ADLEY BURSTYNER, NRMA INSURANCE LIMITED

CBA cops record $700m hit

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Pamela Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Jun-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has admitted to 53,750 breaches of the nation’s anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. CBA has agreed to pay a record fine of $A700m after reaching a settlement with Austrac. The civil penalty equates to about seven per cent of the bank’s profit for fiscal 2017. ­Austrac CEO Nicole Rose says the fine is "appropriate", while she adds that CBA needs to revamp its compliance systems more quickly than the five-year timeframe it has outlined. She has also warned that organised crime gangs are still actively targeting Australian banks.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Senior Nationals move to oust Joyce from parliament

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Original article by Ben Packham, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 5-Jun-18

Former deputy prime minister John Anderson says Barnaby Joyce should consider resigning from Parliament for the sake of his new son. Anderson adds that he has not contemplated contesting Joyce’s seat of New England, despite being approached to do so by some National Party insiders. Sources within the party have suggested that Anderson would most likely gain pre-selection for the seat in the wake of revelations about Joyce’s relationship with a former staffer. Former prime minister Tony Abbott says Joyce still has a future in federal politics.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

New Telstra deal to help retiring types

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 30 : 5-Jun-18

Fifty current Australian Football League players will become Telstra Ambassadors under a new agreement with the telco. Telstra and the AFL will produce exclusive digital content based around the selected players, with the aim of encourage fans to engage with the AFL throughout the year. The deal will also benefit all AFL players via an increased contribution to their retirement scheme. Telstra, Seven Network and Fox Sports paid $A2.508bn in a six-year deal for AFL broadcasting rights in 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

One Nation split boosts union clout

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Jun-18

Further dissent within One Nation has emerged amid allegations concerning the Federal Government’s failure to pass legislation to subject union mergers to a public interest test. One Nation senator Brian Burston claims that his colleague Peter Georgiou opposed the Ensuring Integrity Bill in defiance of Burston and party leader Pauline Hanson. Burston says the latter then agreed to oppose the bill to ensure that the party was not viewed as being divided. A government source has backed Burston’s claim, stating that the government would have had sufficient support for the bill if Georgiou had voted for it.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP