Santos pumps up the sales volume with record year

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 15 : 20-Jan-23

Oil and gas producer Santos has advised that its total output for calendar 2022 was 103.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. This was at the lower end of its full-year guidance, but 12 per cent higher than the previous year. Production fell by two per cent quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of 2022 after a gas leak forced the temporary closure of the John Brookes platform in November; it is not expected to resume production before the end of January, which has prompted Santos to slightly downgrade its production guidance for 2023. Meanwhile, Santos’s revenue rose by 65 per cent to a record $US7.8bn ($11.2bn) in 2022.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Australia risks UN human rights blacklisting as states fail to meet prison obligations

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Original article by Adeshola Ore
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

Signatories to the United Nations’ Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (Opcat) are required to establish independent bodies known as national preventive mechanisms that act as watchdogs and inspect prisons and other places of detention in regard to human rights issues. However, NSW, Victoria and Queensland have yet to designate their independent oversight bodies, and contend they cannot meet their Opcat obligations without financial help from the federal government. Australia could find itself on a human rights blacklist if it does not meet its Opcat obligations by 20 January.

CORPORATES
UNITED NATIONS

Rupert Murdoch to be deposed in Dominion defamation case

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Original article by Helen Coster
The New Daily – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

Election technology company Dominion Voting Systems has launched defamation action against Fox News Network over allegations it ‘amplified’ false claims that its voting machines helped to rig the 2020 US presidential election in favour of Joe Biden and against Donald Trump; it is seeking US1.6 billion ($2.3 billion) in damages. Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch is due to be questioned by lawyers for Dominion on 19 and 20 January in Los Angeles; his sessions will be closed to the general public.

CORPORATES
DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS, FOX NETWORK, FOX CORPORATION

Government introduces laws to protect Australians from online misinformation

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland intends to give the Australian Communications & Media Authority the power to retract information from technology companies if they do not meet the standards of a voluntary misinformation and disinformation code of practice previously established by the tech sector. Rowland contends that misinformation and disinformation presents a threat to Australia’s democracy, society and economy, as well as to the safety and wellbeing of its citizens.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

ABS unemployment follows Roy Morgan’s unemployment data showing job losses in December

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

The latest ABS unemployment data released yesterday showed employment down by 14,600 in December, in line with the already released Roy Morgan employment data which showed employment down by 12,000. The ABS data also showed a rise of 0.1% points in the unemployment rate in line with the increase in Roy Morgan’s unemployment rate, up 0.3% points in December – although ABS unemployment at 3.5% is less than half that of Roy Morgan (9.3%). The ABS employment data was collected at the start of December and may be the first inkling of a weakening economy. The decline in jobs in December shows why it is so important for the Albanese Government to get their industrial relations policies right – including dealing with the cash economy. Younger people are heavily represented in the cash economy, which is widespread in the retail and hospitality industries, and also for those employed for domestic duties and in childcare. View the latest Roy Morgan employment data to learn more.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Coal plan could mean supplying at cost

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Original article by Nick Evans, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 2 : 20-Jan-23

BHP’s production report for the December quarter shows that it expects each tonne of coal produced at its Mt Arthur mine in NSW to cost up to $US91 ($132) per tonne in 2022-23. This compares with the price cap of $125 per tonne that the state government has imposed on thermal coal that is supplied to the Liddell and Bayswater power stations. BHP may be forced to supply up to 1.5 million tonne of coal at cost to the power stations under the state government’s domestic coal reservation policy. The existing policy implemented in late 2022 applied to a small number of thermal coal producers, but it will be broadened to include major producers such as BHP and Whitehaven Coal.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

BHP hits iron ore production record

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Original article by Danielle Le Messurier, Gerard Cockburn
The West Australian – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

BHP has advised that its iron ore production in the Pilbara rose by three per cent in the December quarter, to 74.3 million tonnes. Iron ore output rose to a record high of 146.4 million tonnes in the first half of 2022-23, as production at the South Flank mine ramped up. However, shipments from the Pilbara fell slightly compared with the same period in 2021-22. BHP still expects iron ore production for the full year to be within the range of 249-260 million tonnes. Meanwhile, BHP has warned that production costs are rising at both its iron ore operations and its Queensland and NSW coal mines.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

‘We are fooling ourselves on the timeline’: Rio CEO’s warning on solar

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Original article by Hans van Leeuwen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 19-Jan-23

Rio Tinto has committed to investing $3bn in green energy for its Pilbara iron ore mines by 2030. Amongst other things, Rio Tinto recently commissioned a 34 megawatt solar power plant for its Gudai-Darri mine. However, CEO Jakob Stausholm has told a World Economic Forum discussion panel that the development of large-scale solar power generation is challenging, even in countries such as Australia. He also addressed the issue of the recycling and re-use of steel and critical minerals, arguing that supply constraints mean that ‘circularity’ is not likely to be a major consideration in the current decade.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Labor aims at $5m super stockpiles

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Jan-23

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says the federal government will legislate an objective for superannuation. However, Labor’s legislated purpose for super will be narrower than the industry would prefer; super funds want it to include concepts such as ‘comfort in retirement’ and ‘preservation’, which critics argue would enshrine tax breaks and prevent people from making withdrawals to buy a home. Labor may also take action to cap super balances at $2m. It is estimated that tax concessions for people with super balances of more than $5m costs the budget about $1.5bn a year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Miners need to take tech risks: BHP

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Original article by Hans van Leeuwen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 19-Jan-23

BHP CEO Mike Henry participated in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. He said mining companies will have to take more risks on innovative technology in order to meet the growing demand for commodities as the world transitions to renewable energy. Henry contends that such technology will allow miners to extract more from their existing assets, given that new mines are likely to be smaller, yield lower grades and take longer to get into production.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM