Author: roymorgansocial

Builders a sitting duck as banking royal commission comes hurtling down the track

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 28 : 17-Apr-18

Australia’s builders and property developers do not seem to realise the potential impact that the banking royal commission could have on their business. They seem unaware that one of the commission’s areas of focus is on banks that having been making loans to home buyers on the basis of living expense estimates that are flawed, and that a clampdown on this practice could reduce the number of mortgage loans being issued by banks. Developers and builders could be hit hard by this, and some could potentially collapse as a result.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Unlockd pulls IPO following Google threat

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 17-Apr-18

Mobile advertising start-up Unlockd has been forced to abandon plans for an IPO after Google advised that its app does not comply with its terms of use. Unlockd’s app, which works by giving smartphone users a discount on their bill in return for seeing ads and other content when they unlock their phone, only works on phones that use Google’s Android platform. Unlockd co-founder Matt Berriman notes that Google previously had no problems with its app, and its action appears to have been prompted by the proposed IPO.

CORPORATES
UNLOCKD PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, HIGH COURT OF ENGLAND AND WALES, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Revitalised Peabody sees wider role for coal

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 17-Apr-18

US-based Peabody Energy has a market capitalisation of around $US4.7bn ($A6bn) just over a year after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Peabody’s Australian operations in particular have performed well in the last year, having achieved a pre-tax operating profit margins of nearly 40 per cent in the March quarter. There has been speculation about potential acquisitions, but Peabody CEO Glenn Kellow says the company’s priority is to return capital to investors via share buybacks and dividends.

CORPORATES
PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, PEABODY ENERGY AUSTRALIA COAL PTY LTD, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, REALM RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

AMP admits to misleading ASIC 10 times

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Apr-18

AMP confessed to the banking royal commission on 16 April that it had misled the Australian Securities & Investments Commission on at least 10 occasions. Its deception related to a scheme that saw numerous customers charged fees for services they did not receive. With financial planning being the focus of the banking royal commission’s second round of public hearings, ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said that in his opinion financial planners should not be able to refer to themselves as professionals, such has been their poor behaviour in recent years.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, STORM FINANCIAL LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Stop market rejig

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Original article by Wendy Tuohy
Herald Sun – Page: 4 : 17-Apr-18

Pollster Gary Morgan says Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market will become "Queen Victoria Chadstone" if a proposed $A250 million re-development goes ahead. Morgan, who is running for the position of Melbourne lord mayor, agrees with fellow candidate Sally Warhaft that the development should not proceed. Warhaft and Morgan, who had not met before the mayoral campaign, have urged voters to treat the by-election as a referendum on the market’s future. Morgan says Melbourne will lose a major tourist attraction if the re-development proceeds.

CORPORATES
CITY OF MELBOURNE, QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Patrick braces for illegal seven-day strike at Port Botany

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 17-Apr-18

Stevedoring firm Patrick will ask the Fair Work Commission to block Maritime Union of Australia members from taking unlawful industrial action at its Port Botany facility in Sydney. The MUA proposes a seven-day strike over negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement with Kalmar, which provides crane maintenance services for Patrick. The union imposed work bans on the weekend of 14-15 April in response to Kalmar’s move to deploy contractors to replace staff who were on sick leave.

CORPORATES
PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, KALMAR LMV, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Greens unveil plan to sell marijuana through agency

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 16-Apr-18

The Greens have called for cannabis to be legalised in Australia for recreational use, with its sale to be managed through a government agency. The Australian Cannabis Agency would serve as the sole wholesaler of the drug, while people would be able to grow up to six cannabis plants at home for their own use. Announcing its policy, Greens leader Richard Di Natale said "the war on drugs has failed". The Greens contend that its policy would help to reduce crime, as well as boosting the Budget by hundreds of millions of dollars.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN DRUG LAW REFORM FOUNDATION, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Cricket loss not all bad for Nine

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Original article by Samantha Bailey, Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Apr-18

Tennis and cricket broadcasting rights generate a loss for the Seven and Nine networks, and this is likely to continue when the sports change networks. Nine is estimated to have lost around $A50m a year from its cricket coverage, but Citigroup forecasts that its annual losses from tennis broadcasts will be within the range of $A20m to $A30m. Meanwhile, UBS forecasts that Seven will gain an increased share of advertising revenue at the expense of Nine and Ten following their loss of cricket broadcasting rights.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Migration a net boost to economy

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Original article by Simon Benson, Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Apr-18

The Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs have released a report which highlights the economic benefits of Australia’s immigration policy. It concludes that at current levels, the nation’s permanent migrant intake will boost average GDP growth by between 0.5 per cent and one per cent annually over the three decades to 2050. Amongst other things, the report estimates that skilled migrants who were granted permanent visas in 2014-15 will make a combined net contribution of $A6.9bn to government revenue over their lifetime. Treasurer Scott Morrison says the report supports the government’s policy of not having a fixed annual permanent migrant intake.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Nine hopes for early tennis break

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 16-Apr-18

The Nine Network will not broadcast any major sporting events during the 2018-19 summer after losing cricket broadcasting rights. A spokesman says the network will shortly decide on its summer schedule, and it has not ruled out approaching rival Seven about taking over tennis broadcasting rights a year ahead of schedule. Seven’s deal to acquire cricket rights in partnership with Foxtel means that it will broadcast both cricket and tennis for the next two summers, unless it strikes a deal with Nine and Tennis Australia to exit its contract early. Ten will also lack a major summer sport after losing the Big Bash League rights.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, TENNIS AUSTRALIA, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ