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Falloon takes Fairfax chair in August

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 27-Mar-15

Fairfax Media has confirmed that Nick Falloon will succeed Roger Corbett as chairman at the end of August 2015. Falloon has joined the media group’s board as a non-executive director, and has previously been CEO of Ten Network Holdings and Publishing & Broadcasting Limited. Corbett has been a Fairfax director for more than 12 years

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJTEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TENPUBLISHING AND BROADCASTING LIMITEDACP MAGAZINES LIMITEDNINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITEDCROWN MELBOURNE LIMITEDONE.TEL LIMITED

Planners could lose $270m a year

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Original article by Ruth LiewSally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 27-Mar-15

Data from DEXX&R shows that financial advisers received $A3.4bn of the $A4.1bn worth of commissions that Australian life insurance groups paid in 2014. Life insurance advisers have criticised a proposal to cap up-front commissions at $A1,200, arguing that it would no longer be financially viable to sell life insurance products. Association of Financial Advisers CEO Brad Fox adds that it would prompt many financial planners to retire and discourage others from entering the industry

CORPORATES
DEXX&RASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITEDAUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITYFINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCILAUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSIONGEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICESUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUNSUNCORP LIFE AND SUPERANNUATION LIMITEDNATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NABINDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Court ruling hits foreign workers

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Mar-15

The Federal Court of Australia ruled on 26 March 2015 that a 2014 decision by Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash was invalid. Cash introduced changes that made it easier to employ foreign workers on oil and gas platforms and drilling rigs. The ruling means that foreign workers employed in the offshore oil and gas industry will no longer be exempt from regular visa requirements

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTIONCHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTDALLSEAS CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS SAMARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIAN GREENS

Stockland offers houses for $270,000

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 27-Mar-15

The Cloverton housing estate of Australian-listed property developer Stockland will include smaller lot sizes in order to make housing more affordable. Lots of 294sq m will be priced at $A129,000, compared with $A230,000 for lots that are 846sq m. The smaller lot sizes at the housing development in Melbourne will allow three-bedroom homes to be built for about $A270,000

CORPORATES
STOCKLAND – ASX SGPOLIVER HUME REAL ESTATE GROUP PTY LTDCORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTDRP DATA LIMITEDLEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC

Banks fear budget tax may hit depositors

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 27-Mar-15

The financial system inquiry recommended abolishing a levy on bank deposits that the former Australian Labor Government introduced to finance a guarantee scheme for bank accounts. The Customer Owned Banking Association has urged the Federal Government to scrap the levy, while the Australian Bankers’ Association’s submission on the inquiry is expected to take the same stance. It is estimated that the levy could cost depositors about $A350m a year if it takes effect on 1 January 2016

CORPORATES
CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATIONAUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATIONAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURYAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINETINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDCOUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORSRESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

BHP, Rio dividend growth not sustainable: Morgan Stanley

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 27-Mar-15

Morgan Stanley’s Christian Derold notes that a reduction in capital expenditure has enabled BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to maintain high free cash flow. However, he believes that they will not be able to sustain their growth in dividends, citing factors such as the downturn in commodity prices and a low level of inflation in many countries. Derold favours stocks that have high gross margins and dividend yields that are lower but are more sustainable

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHPRIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIOMORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATEDFORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Discovery Communications walks from Channel Ten auction

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Mar-15

Discovery Communications has abandoned its proposed takeover of the Ten Network in partnership with Foxtel. They had initially offered $A0.26 per share, but reduced this to $A0.23 after due diligence. Discovery and Foxtel had proposed to acquire Ten’s main assets, and Discovery would not support an alternative proposal from Ten directors for the joint venture partners to each acquire a 14.99 per cent stake and gain a seat on Ten’s board

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, LAZARD ASSET MANAGEMENT PACIFIC COMPANY

Woolworths puts more money into Masters

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 12-Mar-15

Australian-listed Woolworths has invested an additional $A30m in its Masters Home Improvement joint venture, while Lowe’s has contributed $A15m. The two groups have now invested more than $A3bn in the loss-making venture in the last five years. Masters posted a loss of $A112m in the first half of 2014-15, but Woolworths intends to press ahead with plans to open 6-11 new stores annually

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DANKS HOLDINGS LIMITED, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, HOST-PLUS, SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP

Bunnings: still ‘plenty of room to grow’

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Mar-15

Citigroup notes that Australia now boasts significantly more hardware stores per capita than the US and the UK. Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings aims to open 20 new stores annually over the next two years. Citigroup warns that Bunnings’ margins are likely to be affected by its growing market penetration, but Bunnings MD John Gillam argues that the group only has a 17 per cent share of the home improvement market at present

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, MITRE 10 LIMITED, THE HOME DEPOT INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

I’m not going anywhere: Holleran

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 2-Mar-15

Southern Cross Media Group’s share of the radio market fell from 34.3 per cent to 27.5 per cent year-on-year in the December 2014 quarter. CEO Rhys Holleran is confident that the group can rebuild market share by the end of 2015, saying a priority will be to turn around the struggling 2Day FM network. He has also downplayed speculation that he could step down, and stresses that the media group is not actively pursuing merger discussions at present

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, 2DAY FM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KIIS1065, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX PBG, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, LION PTY LTD, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTEREO GROUP LIMITED, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM