Uncategorized

Fairfax and News deal extends future of print

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Jul-18

Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia have struck a landmark deal to share some newspaper printing and distribution facilities in New South Wales and Queensland. Fairfax will print some News Corp publications on its printing presses in North Richmond, while News Corp will in turn print some Fairfax publications. The deal is expected to generate annual cost savings of $A15m for Fairfax, and CEO Greg Hywood says it will help ensure the long-term viability of print newspapers.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Staff in shock as SBS boss resigns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 3 : 18-Jul-18

Michael Ebeid will step down as the managing director of SBS in October, after more than seven years in the role. The public broadcaster launched its Food Network channel and the SBS On Demand streaming service during his tenure, while it was accused of breaching its charter by targeting commercial TV audiences with the launch of the SBS Viceland channel. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has praised Ebeid’s contribution to SBS.

CORPORATES
SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, VICELAND, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TWO WAY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Lithium past its peak as price slides

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 18-Jul-18

Galaxy Resources has advised that the price of lithium carbonate exported to China fell by 18 per cent in the June quarter, while the price of lithium hydroxide was down four per cent. The price of lithium carbonate sold into China had fallen by 10 per cent in the March quarter, and lithium hydroxide fell by three per cent. Galaxy Resources had attributed that decline to seasonal factors. Galaxy has now suggested that the Chinese price for lithium is converging with global prices.

CORPORATES
GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, OROCOBRE LIMITED – ASX ORE, CANACCORD GENUITY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TIANQI LITHIUM CORPORATION, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS

Primed for retail action as Amazon slashes prices up to 70pc

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 17-Jul-18

Amazon launched its first Prime Day promotion in Australia on 16 July, with the e-commerce giant cutting prices by up to 70 per cent. Amazon applied its biggest discounts to its own products, including its Echo Plus and Echo Dot speakers. Brands that Amazon reduced prices on included Lorna Jane, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Sony, while Myer, Kmart and Woolworths are among the Australian retailers that it undercut. Amazon’s Australian Prime Day will run for 36 hours; its first Prime Day was launched in the US in 2015.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, LORNA JANE PTY LTD, NIKE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TOMMY HILFIGER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SONY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, CATCH-OF-THE-DAY.COM.AU, BABY BUNTING GROUP LIMITED – ASX BBN, DAVID JONES LIMITED, MINDSHARE, EUROMONITOR, EBAY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND PTY LTD, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

World Cup final kept 500,000 Aussies up

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 17-Jul-18

Data from OzTAM shows that the audience for SBS’s live coverage of France’s 4-2 win against Croatia in the FIFA World Cup final peaked at 789,426. The first half of the final averaged 583,000 viewers, including 484,000 people in metropolitan areas. The semi-finals had also attracted good numbers, with an average audience of 276,000 for the match between France and Belgium and an average of 420,000 tuning in to watch Croatia defeat England. Meanwhile, the audience for Seven’s coverage of the men’s final at Wimbledon peaked at 539,000, with an average audience of 377,000.

CORPORATES
SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, OZTAM PTY LTD, TOUR DE FRANCE, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Bunnings satisfies most customers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 89.5% of Australian hardware store customers were satisfied in the 12 months to May 2018, an increase of 2.2% year-on-year. Bunnings had the highest level of customer satisfaction, at 89.8% (up 1.3%), followed by Home Hardware on 89.4% (up 1.5%) and Mitre 10 on 88.1% (up 0.1%). These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s "Hardware Store Satisfaction Report", which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own homes, including over 9,000 interviews with people who have shopped in a hardware store in the last four weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, HOME HARDWARE, MITRE 10 LIMITED, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED

Rockmans, Jeanswest, Sportsgirl & Just Jeans lead for customer satisfaction

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

Rockmans has won Roy Morgan’s Clothing Store Customer Satisfaction Award for May 2018, with a customer satisfaction rating of 91.9% (up 3.1% in the last 12 months). It is followed by Jeanswest on 91.3% (up 2.4%) and Sportsgirl on 90.1% (up 1.9%). The biggest improver over the last year is Just Jeans, which has improved its customer satisfaction by 8.3% to 89.1%, just ahead of another big improver, Katies (up 6.2% to 89%). Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine notes that Roy Morgan’s recent surveys on "Trust" and "Distrust" have revealed that retailers consistently perform strongly as one of the most trusted industries in Australia.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ROCKMANS STORES LIMITED, JEANSWEST CORPORATION PTY LTD, SPORTSGIRL, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, KATIES FASHIONS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Aussie miner in trade war crossfire

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alexandra Stevenson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Jul-18

China’s domination of the global rare earths market gives the nation significant power in a trade war with the US. Rare earth minerals are an essential component of consumer goods such as smartphones and electric cars. Chinese-made goods containing rare earths are among those being targeted by the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs. Amanda Lacaze, the CEO of Australian-listed rare earths producer Lynas Corporation, says China could easily restrict global supply if a full-scale trade war erupts. Lynas produced about 12 per cent of global rare earths supply in 2017.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ADAMAS INTELLIGENCE

Comcast sees Fox and raises in fight for Sky

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Keach Hagey, Chip Cummins, Ben Dummett
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Jul-18

US media group Comcast has trumped 21st Century Fox’s revised takeover offer for pay-TV company Sky. Comcast raised its offer for Sky from Stg12.50 to Stg14.75 per share in response to Fox’s recent move to increase its own offer to Stg14.00 per share. Sources have indicated that Comcast could potentially opt to focus on its bid for Sky rather than press ahead with its $US65bn cash bid for Fox’s entertainment assets.

CORPORATES
COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, GREAT BRITAIN. THE TAKEOVER PANEL, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fox dangles $44bn carrot for Sky buyout

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Jul-18

US media giant 21st Century Fox has increased its cash offer for UK-based pay-TV group Sky to Stg14 per share, trumping the rival cash bid of Stg12.50 per share from Comcast. Fox had initially offered Stg10.75 per share in late 2016, and the revised offer values Sky at Stg24.5bn ($43.8bn). Fox already has a 39 per cent stake in Sky, and it says the target’s independent directors have recommended that shareholders accept the revised offer.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS