Author: roymorgansocial

Strip super from union awards

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 29-May-18

The Productivity Commission’s highly-anticipated report on the superannuation system has recommended major changes to the default fund regime. It proposes that an expert panel – rather than unions or employers – be given responsibility for selecting a list of 10 default super funds. The Commission says this would address problems such workers being locked into underperforming default funds and the creation of multiple accounts when people change jobs. The Commission has also made recommendations on issues such as the number of independent directors on super funds’ boards.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Myer brings forward winter sales

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 29-May-18

Department store chain Myer is tipped to offer discounts of up to 70 per cent in its mid-season stocktake sale, which will begin on 29 May. French Connection, Bonds and Country Road are among the brands that will be heavily discounted in the stocktake sale, which has been launched earlier than usual due to an unseasonally warm start to the winter months. Grant Saligari of Credit Suisse notes that other retailers tend to begin discounting when one does so. David Jones is also tipped to launch its mid-season sale ahead of schedule.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, FRENCH CONNECTION, BONDS INDUSTRIES LIMITED, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, PIPER, WAYNE COOPER, MARCS, SPORTSCRAFT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Most lack full-time jobs with benefits

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 29-May-18

Analysis of official data by the Centre for Future Work shows that just 49.97 per cent of full-time workers in Australia had paid leave entitlements in 2017, compared with 51.35 per cent in 2012. The proportion of part-time jobs across the economy has in turn risen from 29.7 per cent to a record 31.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of workers who are underemployed has risen from 7.6 per cent to 9.1 per cent over the last five years. The data also shows that 12.4 per cent of employees in the private sector are now covered by enterprise agreements, down from 18.9 per cent in 2012. However, the proportion of workers covered by industry awards has risen from 16.6 per cent to 23.6 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Haoma establishes share trading hub Ecosystem with PrimaryMarkets for secondary trading of Haoma Mining Shares

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Haoma Mining NL Announcements – Page: Online : 29-May-18

Since being unnecessarily delisted by the ASX in February, Haoma has worked to identify a suitable and cost-effective platform for easy trading of Haoma’s shares and can now advise that this has been achieved with the appointment of PrimaryMarkets to establish on their platform a Haoma Mining NL private share trading hub known as the ‘EcoSystem’. Existing Haoma shareholders or prospective shareholders wishing to sell or purchase shares in Haoma Mining will be able to register buy and sell offers within the Ecosystem. Sell and buy offers will be transacted and settled in accordance with the Haoma share trading rules as published on the Ecosystem. The Ecosystem will open on Wednesday June 6, 2018. Further details on the benefits of using the Ecosystem are available at this PDF link.

CORPORATES
HAOMA MINING NL, PRIMARYMARKETS

Blackstone bets big on Australia with $3.1b takeover bid for Investa

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 29-May-18

US fund manager Blackstone has announced a $A3.1 billion takeover bid for Investa Office Fund, with Investa directors having indicated their support for the offer. Investa’s property portfolio is valued at $A4 billion, with its assets including Barrack Place and Deutsche Bank Place in Sydney. Investa was the subject of an unsuccessful bid by Cromwell Property Group in 2017, while a bid for it by Dexus in 2016 also failed to succeed.

CORPORATES
INVESTA OFFICE FUND – ASX IOF, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CROMWELL PROPERTY GROUP – ASX CMW, DEXUS – ASX DXS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, UNIBAIL-RODAMCO

PM wants tax stoush before Super Saturday

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 29-May-18

The Federal Government aims to have its proposed corporate and personal income tax cuts passed by the Senate prior to the five by-elections on 28 July. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has advised that the tax packages will be put to the upper house before the end of June, despite the fact that the government currently has insufficient support for either of them. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has ruled out supporting the company tax cuts package, while One Nation leader Pauline Hanson argues that the full reduction in the corporate tax rate should be implemented immediately.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, NEWSPOLL

Ruling puts Australian courts on the front line of global online TV piracy war

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Original article by Andrew Colley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 29-May-18

Australian telcos have been ordered to block access to 16 internet addresses that allow consumers to access pirated versions of subscription TV channels. The Federal Court issued an injunction in late April requiring the telcos to block access to the servers, which are primarily based in the Netherlands. The injunction had been sought by Village Roadshow and six Hollywood studios, and followed a prior decision of the Federal Court to block access to a range of websites that feature pirated video content.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, AUSTRALIAN SCREEN ASSOCIATION LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FETCHTV PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, TELEVISION BROADCASTS LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, CREATIVE CONTENT AUSTRALIA, BEIN SPORTS

Fortescue keeps focus on low costs as it approves new mine

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 29-May-18

Fortescue Metals Group will be able to supply higher-grade iron ore after its board approved the development of the Eliwana mine in the Pilbara. The $A1.7bn project, which also includes a rail component and a processing plant, will enable Fortescue to produce ore with 60 per cent iron content, compared with an average of 58 per cent at present. Eliwana will replace the Firetail mine, which is approaching the end of its mine life. Production at Eliwana is slated to commence in 2020, with annual output of about 30 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

House prices ‘won’t sway the RBA’

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Original article by James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 29-May-18

Reserve Bank of Australia board member Ian Harper says factors such as the low growth in wages means the central bank is unlikely to increase official interest rates in the near-term. He adds that slowing growth in residential property prices will also not influence the timing of a rise in the cash rate. Financial markets do not expect monetary policy to be tightened until at least late 2019.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Labor leader vows to end great divide, revive wages

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson, John Ferguson, Ben Potter
The Australian – Page: 4 : 28-May-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten told Victorian Labor’s state conference on 27 May that inequality is increasing in Australia. With federal Labor due to face five by-elections on 28 July, Shorten flagged plans to reduce national debt, cut income taxes, and boost education and health funding if Labor wins the next election. The previous day had seen Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews promised to impose jail terms on employers who underpay staff or whose employees are killed on the job.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA