Author: roymorgansocial

CBA eyes $4b spin-off of funds manager

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has appointed John Mulcahy as the chairman of Colonial First State Global Asset Management ahead of its demerger and sharemarket float. Goldman Sachs values CFSGAM at between $A3.7bn and $A4.8bn, which could potentially make it the largest Australian IPO since Medibank Private in 2014. CBA opted for an IPO following a strategic review of CFSGAM, which boasts $A219bn worth of assets under management. CBA sold its life insurance business in 2017, and the latest divestiture will enable it to focus on its core banking business.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AIA GROUP LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES TREASURY CORPORATION, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, ECLIPX GROUP LIMITED – ASX ECX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ERNST AND YOUNG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

NT gives the go-ahead for gas fracking

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Apr-18

Santos and Origin Energy have advised that they will resume gas exploration in the Northern Territory after Chief Minister Michael Gunner agreed to scrap a ban on hydraulic fracturing. However, fracking will still be prohibited within 49 per cent of the Northern Territory, while individuals and groups will be able to oppose any applications for exploration or production licences. A government-commissioned inquiry recently concluded that the environmental risks of fracking can be mitigated.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, JEMENA LIMITED, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, GREENPEACE

We’re sticking to full tax cut plan: Morrison

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Apr-18

Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out seeking a deal with crossbench senator Derryn Hinch to secure passage of its corporate tax package. Hinch has indicated that he may be open to supporting tax cuts for companies with turnover of up to $A500m, but Morrison has stressed that the Federal Government will persist with its policy of progressively reducing the tax rate for all companies. Meanwhile, Morrison says the May 2018 Budget will be "responsible", and he has rejected suggestions by National Party leader Michael McCormack that it will include some "goodies" for taxpayers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Labor’s $3.75bn savings grab

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

New data suggests that the Federal Opposition’s plan to abolish cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits would affect about 2.6 million accounts of superannuation funds that are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The Australian Taxation Office data shows that some 2,013 of the 2,603 APRA-regulated funds claimed such refunds in 2015-16, which totalled almost $A309m. This implies that Labor’s policy would cost such funds around $A3.75b over 10 years. Labor has claimed that only 10 per cent of APRA-regulated funds would be affected by the policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Australia’s economy up there with best: IMF

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Apr-18

The International Monetary Fund is upbeat about the outlook for the Australian economy, forecasting that it will expand by three per cent in 2018 and 3.1 per cent in 2019. This compares with growth of just 2.3 per cent in 2017. The IMF also forecasts that Australia’s unemployment rate will fall to 5.3 per cent in 2018 and 5.2 per cent in 2019. The IMF is also bullish about the outlook for the global economy, although it has cautioned that global growth could be undermined by any trade war between the US and China.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Netflix foreign sales set to beat home market for the first time

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Original article by Tim Bradshaw
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 18-Apr-18

US-based streaming video giant Netflix has posted net income of $US290m for the March quarter, which is 63 per cent higher than previously. Revenue rose by 40 per cent to $US3.7bn, while Netflix has forecast revenue of $US3.9bn for the June quarter. The company has also advised that revenue for its international operations is expected to be $US1.94bn in the June quarter, while US revenue is forecast to be $US1.9bn. Netflix’s total subscriber base rose by 7.4 million in the March quarter, to 125 million.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

AMP admits dirty deeds and deceptions

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Apr-18

Shares in AMP fell sharply on 17 April after the banking royal commission heard further revelations of misconduct. Jack Regan, AMP’s head of financial advice, told the inquiry of multiple instance in which AMP had misled the Australian Securities & Investments Commission with regard to an investigation into a financial planning scandal. Amongst other things, the inquiry was told that AMP had falsely informed clients that they had been overcharged. Regan also said AMP’s relationship with Clayton Utz raised questions about the impartiality of the law firm’s investigation into the scandal.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CLAYTON UTZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

RBA talks up rate rise, but not just yet

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 18-Apr-18

The minutes of the Reserve Bank’s latest board meeting show that board members expect monetary policy to be tightened rather than eased, although they have indicated that this is unlikely in the near-term given the outlook for inflation and unemployment. Meanwhile, Bill Evans of Westpac says the central bank is likely to downgrade its growth forecast for the Australian economy in 2018 from 3.25 per cent to three per cent in its next statement on monetary policy.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence bounces, up 0.9pts to 116.0

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.8% to 116.0 in the week ended 15 April, ending a string of weekly declines. Although the headline increase was modest, the detail was more encouraging, with four out of five sub-indices posting gains. Views towards current financial conditions rose 4.6%, after three successive falls. Views towards future conditions bounced 3.5%, entirely reversing the previous week’s fall. Sentiment toward both current and future economic conditions continued to recover, rising 0.5% and 0.9% respectively, following similar gains in the previous week. The current conditions sub-index has risen to 103.9 after falling to its long-term average of 101.9 in the last week of March.

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

Optus to hang up on Virgin Mobile

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Apr-18

It is understood that Optus is planning to close down its Virgin Mobile unit, with all of its users to be transferred to Optus. Optus holds the Virgin Mobile licence until 2021, and closing it down will mean it will not have to pay any more licensing fees. Virgin Mobile was formed as a joint venture between Optus and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile in 2000, with Optus assuming control of Virgin Mobile’s stake in 2006. Virgin Mobile’s market share declined from 5.4 per cent to 4.4 per cent in the year to June 2017.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VIRGIN MOBILE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, VIRGIN MOBILE HOLDINGS (UK) PLC