Tech titans face crackdown

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Dec-18

The preliminary report of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s review of digital giants’ impact on the media and advertising markets will be released on 10 December. Amongst other things, the report raises concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the algorithms used by digital companies and whether such companies have engaged in "discriminatory conduct". The ACCC may also recommend establishing a regulatory auth­ority that would have the power to investigate digital companies over such conduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS

Nine holds its ground over Singo buyout

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 25 & 27 : 10-Dec-18

Nine CEO Hugh Marks says he has held talks with advertising industry veteran John Singleton about buying his 32 per cent stake in Macquarie Media. However, Marks has dismissed speculation that Nine will pay at least $2 per share to take full ownership of Macquarie in the wake of the merger with Fairfax Media. Marks also says Nine is committed to retaining the print editions of Fairfax’s key mastheads. He adds that the websites of Fairfax newspapers are likely to feature more of Nine’s video content, but Fairfax content will in turn largely continue to be exclusive.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, RADIO 4BC BRISBANE PTY LTD, DOMAIN HILL PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Threat to good times, says OECD

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Dec-18

A new report from the OECD concludes that Australia’s housing market is likely to experience a soft landing. However, the OECD notes that the nation’s 27-year record of economic growth would be at risk if there is a hard landing in the property market. The international agency expects Australia to record economic growth of 3.1 per cent in 2018 and 2.9 per cent in 2019, although these forecasts were made prior to the release of the latest national accounts data.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Rio head says the public does not trust miners

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Dec-18

Chris Salisbury, the head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, notes that many Australians do not trust the mining sector, while many are not aware of Rio Tinto’s contribution to the domestic economy. He says the resources group contributed $42.7 billion to GDP in 2017 and paid some $5bn in taxes and royalties. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto expects to meet its deadline of 31 December to fully implement its AutoHaul project in Western Australia.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MINING CLUB, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION, HITACHI LIMITED, ANSALDO STS, ERNST AND YOUNG

RBA set to freeze rates trigger

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 10-Dec-18

Factors such as Australia’s sluggish GDP growth in the September quarter and the outlook for the housing market have prompted some economists and market analysts to forecast that official interest rates will remain on hold until 2020. They include Paul Bloxham of HSBC and Daniel Blake and Chris Nicol of Morgan Stanley. However, Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects the cash rate to be cut rather than increased, most likely in the second half of 2019.

CORPORATES
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Over 1 million visit comparison sites Finder and Choice

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that over three million Australians aged 14+ (or almost 15%) visit a comparison website in an average four weeks. Finder.com.au is visited by over 1.2 million Australians in an average four week; it is closely followed by Choice.com.au, which is visited by over 1 million. Other leading comparison websites include Canstar/Canstar Blue (visited by nearly 730,000 Australians in an average four weeks), Comparethemarket.com.au (visited by almost 430,000) and iSelect (visited by just under 400,000 Australians). These results are based on in-depth Roy Morgan Single Source interviews with more than 38,000 Australians during the nine months to September 2018.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FINDER.COM.AU, CHOICE.COM.AU, CANSTAR PTY LTD, CANSTAR BLUE PTY LTD, COMPARE THE MARKET PTY LTD, ISELECT LIMITED – ASX ISU

Fasta Pasta retains top spot for customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-18

Fasta Pasta has held off strong competition from the Grill’d burger chain in October to win its fourth monthly Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Award in a row. The quick-serve Italian food chain, which operates mainly in South Australia and Queensland, had a 95% total satisfaction rating – the proportion of customers who were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ satisfied with their store experience. The Satisfaction Awards are based on data collected as part of Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, which involves in-home, face-to-face interviews with more than 50,000 respondents per year, including more than 8,000 answering detailed questions on their experience of quick-service restaurants.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FASTA PASTA FAMILY RESTAURANTS PTY LTD, GRILL’D PTY LTD

Foodland edges out Aldi for customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that customer satisfaction with Foodland in the six months to October was 91%, giving the South Australia-based supermarket a third straight monthly win ahead of Aldi on 89%. Coles is on 85%, just ahead of Woolworths on 84% with IGA taking fifth position on 80%. The overall supermarket customer satisfaction across the industry was 85%, representing an overall decline of 6% in customer satisfaction compared to this time a year ago. These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s ‘Retail Satisfaction Report-Supermarkets’, which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own home, including over 11,000 main supermarket shoppers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FOODLAND SUPERMARKETS, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, IGA

Volatility can’t stop deal-hungry companies

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 & 25 : 7-Dec-18

Herbert Smith Freehills partner Tony Damian believes that 2019 will be a stronger year than 2018 for mergers and acquisitions, and John Pickhaver of Macquarie Capital is similarly optimistic. Herbert Smith Freehills predicts that superannuation funds will show a continued willingness to be directly involved in M&A deals in 2019, while healthcare, property and infrastructure are tipped to be popular sectors for M&A activity in 2019. Announced 2018 Australian M&A deals totalled $US155.9 billion ($215.4 billion) as of 5 December, according to Refinitiv.

CORPORATES
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GREENCROSS LIMITED – ASX GXL, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, APA GROUP – ASX APA, CHEUNG KONG (HOLDINGS) LIMITED, BINGO INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX BIN, DIAL A DUMP INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, REFINITIV

New industrial relations laws to simplify bargaining

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 7-Dec-18

Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer says amendments to the Fair Work Act will enable new enterprise bargaining agreements to take effect sooner. The Four Yearly Review and Other Measures Bill will allow the Fair Work Commission to ignore minor technical errors when approving EBAs. Unions had previously seized on such errors to block EBAs that they opposed. The FWC will also no longer be required to review modern awards every four years, a move that had the support of both unions and employers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, RETAIL AND FAST FOOD WORKERS UNION INCORPORATED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS