Author: roymorgansocial

Westpac reveals tough move against liar loans

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 12-Apr-18

Westpac will introduce stricter disclosure criteria for people seeking a home loan from mid-April. Amongst other things, mortgage applications will be required to provide more extensive information on their expenditure in order to qualify for a loan. The move is aimed at cracking down on so-called "liar loans". Independent analysis suggests that about 20 per cent of mortgage applications overstate their income and almost 50 per cent understate their expenditure.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EQUIFAX INCORPORATED, EXPERIAN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ILLION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Atlas facing wipe-out: MinRes

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Apr-18

About 15,000 of Atlas Iron’s shareholders own less than $A500 worth of shares in the iron ore producer, with 4,900 owning less than $A20 worth of shares. Mineral Resources CEO Chris Ellison has urged investors with small shareholdings to support his company’s $A280m takeover bid, warning that they will be left with worthless stock if Atlas collapses. He has questioned whether Atlas can survive if the takeover deal does not proceed.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Any reforms of tax is better than none: BCA

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 12-Apr-18

The Federal Government still needs the support of crossbench senator Tim Storer for its corporate tax package. Storer has called for a broader range of tax reforms rather than simply reducing the tax rate for all companies. However, the Business Council of Australia has used a submission to a Senate inquiry to argue that changes to the company tax rate should not be stalled, as broader reforms will take too long to achieve. Storer has hired journalist Jim Middleton as a senior adviser.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Shorten sets sights on safe-seat shift

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Apr-18

Changes to electoral boundaries in Victoria will result in about 40 per cent of voters in the seat of Maribyrnong being transferred to the newly-created seat of Fraser. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten holds Maribyrnong with a margin of 12.3 per cent, although this will be reduced to around 10 per cent following the changes. Shorten is said to be contemplating switching from his current electorate to Fraser, where Labor is expected to have a margin of around 20 per cent. This would allow Shorten to focus on campaigning nationally rather than in his own seat.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Under-pressure HT&E rejects oOh!Media offer for Adshel

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Original article by Dana McCauley, Bridget Carter, Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Apr-18

Australian-listed HT&E has advised that oOh!Media has made a non-binding and conditional offer for its Adshel outdoor advertising division. However, HT&E’s board has deemed that the offer undervalues Adshel. Meanwhile, the company has indicated that Adshel’s revenue for the March quarter was consistent with guidance issued in February. HT&E has forecast that EBITDA for 2018 will be within the range of $A113m to $A114m.

CORPORATES
HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, ADSHEL PTY LTD, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Hopes lift for pact on power

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 12-Apr-18

The Federal Government will seek in-principle support for its proposed national energy guarantee at an upcoming meeting of the Council of Australian Governments’ energy council. The Australian Capital Territory’s Energy Minister Shane Rattenbury has indicated that he may be willing to support the NEG in return for some concessions from the federal government. Meanwhile, federal counterpart Josh Frydenberg has warned that failure to implement the NEG will result in higher electricity prices.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

ACTU bid for 1970s-style IR

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 12-Apr-18

ACTU secretary Sally has proposed changing the Fair Work Act to allow employees and employers to negotiate wages and conditions at the industry level rather than the enterprise level. She argues that the imbalance which gives employers greater bargaining power under existing provisions of the Act needs to be addressed. McManus has also called for amendments to allow unions and workers to take protected industrial action in support of sector-wide wage claims. The ACTU’s "wages blueprint" also includes scrapping penalty rate cuts and increasing the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Bishop’s support for Syria airstrike

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Apr-18

A US-led military strike on Syria seems increasingly likely in the wake of the gas attack that killed 60 people. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has indicated that Australia would support any military intervention by the US if it is "targeted, calibrated and proportionate". However, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says it is too soon to start talking about military action against Syria. UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron also support military action.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Wine most popular, but beer most drunk

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Apr-18

The Roy Morgan Alcohol Currency Report reveals that 69.3% of Australians aged 18+ drink alcohol in an average four weeks. Of all Australians aged 18+, 44.5% consume wine, 39.1% consume beer, 27.5% consume spirits and 13.6% consume cider. When looking at drinkers by gender, men are the predominant consumers of alcohol, with 74% consuming alcohol in an average 4 week period, compared to 65% of women. Women had the highest incidence of wine consumption, with nearly 50% of all women drinking wine in an average four weeks compared to 39% of men. Wine skews to older drinkers, with the highest incidence among 50+ and 35-49 year olds. In contrast, beer is consumed by 59% of men in an average four weeks, compared to only 20% of women. Beer is fairly constant across age, increasing slightly from 18-49, but declines for the 50+ age group. Cider is fairly evenly split between the genders with a slight skew towards women, but it is heavily skewed to younger Australians compared to old, with 27% of 18-24 year olds consuming cider in an average four weeks compared to 7.8% of those aged 50+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Inquiry can be a circuit breaker

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Original article by David Rogers, Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 26 : 10-Apr-18

Former Westpac CEO David Morgan says he is unsure whether the bonus schemes used by banks deliver high levels of integrity. Morgan values the importance of a productive workplace culture that is combined with high integrity. He thinks the financial services royal commission could act as a "circuit breaker" for the banks in improving their reputations in the wake of a series of scandals. The wealth management arms of the big four banks will come under the commission’s scrutiny when it begins its next round of hearings in the week beginning 16 April.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY