Author: roymorgansocial

Healthscope $6 billion bid ‘opportunistic’, but worth a look

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 22 : 27-Apr-18

Private hospital operator Healthscope has received a $A4.1 billion takeover bid from a private equity consortium led by BGH Capital. Other members of the consortium include AustralianSuper and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. They are offering $A2.36 per share in cash, as well as taking on around $A1.7 billion in debt. Australian Ethical Investment fund manager Andy Gracey considers the bid to be "opportunistic", but one that investors with a more short-term view may consider.

CORPORATES
HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT LIMITED – ASX AEF, GIC PRIVATE LIMITED, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SUMITOMO CORPORATION

PM splurges on projects to soothe WA’s anger over GST carve-up

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Apr-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has offered to give Western Australia a $A187 million top-up goods and services tax payment. The money is to be spent on expanding or refurbishing three hospitals, while Turnbull is also expected to announce funding for extra train stations and a road bypass in outer Perth suburbs. The Liberal Party currently holds 11 of the 16 federal seats in WA, but five are held with a margin of less than seven per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ACTU calls for boost to Fair Work’s powers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Apr-18

ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the Fair Work Commission should be able to order the compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes, as part of a broader increase in its powers. McManus argues that the FWC has become ineffective and there is a need to strengthen its powers to address issues such as wage theft, increases in the minimum wage and changes to industry award conditions such as the addition of paid domestic violence leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Wesfarmers CEO resists M&A pressure

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 22 : 27-Apr-18

Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says he does not intend to make acquisitions just for the sake of it once the conglomerate has completed its demerger of Coles. Speaking on the release of Wesfarmers’ retail sales figures for the March quarter, he rejected rumours that it is interested in Fletcher Building. Outgoing Coles managing director John Durkan rejected claims that it had been increasing prices in an attempt to boost margins, noting that it cut the price of 500 products during the March quarter.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FLETCHER BUILDING LIMITED – ASX FBU, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Super rollover plan for SMSFs

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 26 : 27-Apr-18

Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer is expected to announce that self-managed superannuation funds will be able to increase the number of members from four to six under new legislation. Members of SMSFs will also be allowed to roll over funds from an Australian Prudential Regulation Authority-regulated super fund using the SuperStream technology; currently, rollovers through SuperStream are only allowed from one APRA-regulated fund to another. more than 1.1 million Australians have SMSFs, which currently boast around $A700 billion worth of assets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Labor sticks to high tax strategy

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Tom McIlroy, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Apr-18

Labor intends to retain its policy of increasing the highest marginal tax rate by two per cent to 49 per cent, which it announced in 2017 after the Federal Government opted not to extend the temporary deficit levy. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the Opposition is still of the view that it is inappropriate to limit tax relief to people on high incomes. Treasurer Scott Morrison says increasing the tax burden on high income-earners and business owners could impact on economic growth and the labour market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

FPA preoccupied with hiding adviser’s identity

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Fiona Buffini
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Apr-18

The Financial Planning Association requested that the banking royal commission keep confidential the details of a member who is the subject of disciplinary action. The financial planner in question, Sam Henderson, is also the subject of disciplinary action by the SMSF Association. He contributes articles on financial planning to a weekend newspaper and he has a television show on Sky News. The FPA’s action against Henderson was prompted by advice he gave that had the potential to reduce a client’s superannuation benefit by $A500,000.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, SMSF ASSOCIATION, SKY NEWS, ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

APRA ends investor loan growth cap

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Original article by James Thomson, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Apr-18

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres says the major banks have improved their lending standards, so a 10 per cap on growth in lending to residential property investors is no longer necessary. The cap will no longer enforced if banks can demonstrate that they have remained below it for the last six months and that they have complied with APRA’s requirements with regard to loan serviceability. Omkar Joshi of Regal Funds Management does not expect removing the cap to have a significant impact on the banks, given that their lending growth is below this level.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK LIMITED

Newcrest cuts gold forecast by 10pc

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 27-Apr-18

Newcrest Mining produced 576,000 ounces of gold and 19,000 ­tonnes of copper during the March quarter, with output falling by six per cent and 15.5 per cent respectively. Newcrest has downgraded its production guidance for 2017-18, with gold output expected to be within the range of 2.25 million to 2.35 million ounces. The downgrade follows the collapse of a tailings wall dam at its Cadia mine and a sharp fall in production at the Telfer mine during the quarter. Full-year copper output is now expected to be 70,000 to 75,000 tonnes.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Rudd cautions Shorten over CFMEU

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 24-Apr-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has dismissed suggestions that he is too close to the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says Shorten should distance himself from the militant union, as he did when he was in office. Meanwhile, Workplace Relations Minister Craig Laundy says Labor’s industrial relations policy is being driven by unions and will result in job losses. Labor intends to scrap the Australian Building & Construction Commission if it wins the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION