Rio knew of project woes, UK court told

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 20 : 13-Nov-19

Rio Tinto advised earlier in 2019 that the underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia could cost up to $US1.9 billion more than previously forecast. It also indicated that the expansion project may take up to 30 months longer than expected to complete. However, a former general manager at the mine has claimed that he raised concerns about a blowout in the cost and completion date for the expansion in July 2018. He has filed an unfair dismissal claim against Rio Tinto in the UK.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GREAT BRITAIN. EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED

BHP’s robot trucks head to coal mines

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 13-Nov-19

BHP has advised that it will commence the roll-out of driverless haulage trucks at its Goonyella Riverside coal mine in 2020. The resources giant will eventually operate a fleet of 86 autonomous trucks at the mine, but it has stressed that the move will not result in any forced redundancies. BHP already uses driverless trucks at its iron ore mines in the Pilbara, but Goonyella will be the first large-scale use of the technology in the coal sector.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

AFP raid on journo’s home trespass

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 7 : 13-Nov-19

The High Court has been told that a warrant to search a News Corp Australia journalist’s home was invalid as it did not state the exact nature of her alleged offence. The lawyer representing Annika Smethurst also alleged that the Australian Federal Police’s search warrant infringed the implied freedom of political communication. Stephen Lloyd SC said the AFP should be either forced to delete any files it had extracted from Smethurst’s mobile phone during the raid in June, or be subject to a court order preventing any use of those files.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NATIONWIDE NEWS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down to 111.1

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Nov-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.1% to 111.1 in the week ended 10 November. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 3.2%, while views towards future financial conditions declined by 1.6%. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions fell 1.6%, but views towards future economic conditions gained 0.3%. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ declined 3.9% after a gain of 1.3% in the previous week. The four-week moving average of inflation expectations remained stable at 4.0%, although the weekly reading saw an increase to back above 4%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Free votes and fixed terms top reform list

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Nov-19

A paper containing 15 proposals for reform to Australia’s system of government has been submitted to a parliamentary inquiry into nationhood, national identity and democracy. The proposals, which have been compiled by the newDemocracy Foundation, the ­Melbourne School of Government, and the Susan McKinnon Foundation, include fixed parliamentary terms, an increase in the number of ‘free’ votes, and an independent speaker. Former Victorian Labor premier John Brumby and former LNP Queensland premier Campbell Newman are among those to have endorsed the reform proposals.

CORPORATES
THE NEWDEMOCRACY FOUNDATION, MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT, SUSAN MCKINNON FOUNDATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND

Co-author of ALP’s tax policy slammed

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Nov-19

Federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers have sought to omit the use of the phrase ‘the top end of town’ following Labor’s defeat in the May election. However, Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar notes Chalmers has used the phrase over 300 times since 2013. Sukkar has also accused Chalmers of allowing Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen to take all of the blame for Labor’s tax policies, saying he should admit to playing his part in putting the policies together.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

The $10bn tax company

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 44-45 : 12-Nov-19

BHP’s tax bill in Australia was $US4.72bn ($6.79bn) in 2018-19, compared with $US1.79bn ($2.33bn) two years earlier. BHP contends that when state government royalties on its iron ore and coking coal exports are taken into account, its total economic contribution in Australia was about $US7bn ($10bn) in 2018-19. BHP’s relations with the Australian Taxation Office have improved in recent years, and second commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn recently praised the resources giant’s annual economic contribution report.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA

Riches keep rolling in for Rinehart

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 22 : 12-Nov-19

Hancock Prospecting posted a net profit of $2.6bn in 2018-19, compared with just $443m in 2016, while its revenue increased from $1.6bn to $8.4bn over the same period. Hancock, which is controlled by mining magnate Gina Rinehart, benefited from a sustained rally in the iron ore price in 2018-19. The Roy Hill iron ore project was a major contributor to Hancock’s earnings for the financial year, with a profit of $1.38bn and revenue of $5.16bn. Rinehart’s wealth was estimated at $13.12bn in March.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

QE coming next year: JPMorgan

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 12-Nov-19

JPMorgan Australia’s chief economist Sally Auld expects the Reserve Bank to implement unconventional monetary policy measures in the December 2020 quarter. Auld still anticipates another official interest rate cut in February, but warns that this will be insufficient to stimulate the economy, prompting the central bank to reduce the cash rate to 0.25 per cent and commence a quantitative easing program in late 2020. However, Auld says quantitative easing is unlikely to be necessary if the federal government’s May 2020 Budget includes ‘meaningful’ fiscal stimulus.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Federal Election bounce over – Business Confidence drops to lowest since April

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-19

In Australia, Business Confidence fell 4.6pts (-4.2%) to 106.0 in October 2019, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. Business Confidence is now at its lowest level since the Federal Election in mid-May; it is also 7.1pts lower than a year ago and 9.5pts below the long-term average of 115.5. Now 41.8% (down 9.9ppts) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 20.3% (up 2.1ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 40.7% (down 5.8ppts) of businesses expect the Australian economy to have ‘good times’ economically over the next year, while 52.4% (up 4.2ppts) expect the economy to have ‘bad times’. Some 50.4% (down 2.1ppts) of businesses say the next year will be a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, while only 35.8% (down 2.8ppts) say it will be a ‘bad time to invest’. Roy Morgan Business Confidence results in October are based on 1,104 interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED