Cut power bills by new year or else

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia has warned that some of the federal government’s proposed measures to put downward pressure on electricity prices could create investment uncertainty. Amongst other things, energy retailers will be required to offer default price contracts from mid-2019, while energy companies could be forced to divest assets if they fail to take sufficient action. The government also proposes to underwrite investment in new reliable energy sources. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says reducing electricity prices and cutting carbon emissions are not mutually exclusive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ABC boss vows to probe Foley harassment claim

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 9 : 24-Oct-18

The ABC is under further scrutiny in the wake of the recent management upheaval, after acting MD David Anderson appeared before the Senate estimates committee. He said that he had only recently been made aware of allegations that New South Wales Opposition Leader Luke Foley had sexually harassed a female ABC journalist, and that no formal complaint had been lodged regarding the alleged incident. Anderson said that the public broadcaster will undertaken an investigation into the allegation, which was the subject of media reports in May. Foley has denied the allegation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Sky’s the limit as News, Nine launch Your Money channel

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Oct-18

Sky News and the Nine Network officially launched the new Your Money joint venture TV channel on 23 October. Your Money replaces Sky News Business on the Foxtel platform, while it has enabled Sky News owner Australian News Channel to broaden its reach beyond pay-TV. The Nine Network broadcasts Your Money on one of its digital channels, as well as its 9Now streaming service. Sky News content is also broadcast in regional areas via a separate alliance with WIN Corporation.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews led union protest that closed Melbourne city streets

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Original article by Christiane Barro, AAP
The New Daily – Page: Online : 24-Oct-18

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews led a "Change the Rules" protest rally organised by the ACTU to demand higher wages that closed Melbourne city streets on Tuesday. The ACTU estimated more than 170,000 protesters joined the rally in Melbourne with other rallies being held in Sydney, Darwin and several regional cities around Australia. Protesters claimed Australian IR laws are "terribly broken" and that the laws mean workers are "Open to slave labour" and "They’re stealing our wages". ACTU Secretary Sally McManus claimed "Our standard of living is going backwards. That should not be happening. A small disruption for a couple of hours is worth it." McManus also said that the minimum wage of $37,000 per annum is "Not enough to support yourself". The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry disagreed with the ACTU and warned that the march was "really about putting power in the hands of big unions and disempowering employees".

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Voters will clip cocky Labor’s wings: Pyne

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Original article by Michael Owen, Luke Griffiths
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Oct-18

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has accused Labor of being overconfident about its chances of winning the next federal election. Pyne holds the seat of Sturt in South Australia with a margin of 5.9 per cent. However, Labor senator Don Farrell believes that Pyne’s chances of retaining the seat have been significantly reduced following the ousting of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was popular in Sturt. Meanwhile, counting of votes in the Wentworth by-election is continuing; independent candidate Kerryn Phelps had 51.05% of the vote on a two-party preferred basis at 3.3pm on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Coronado Coal burnt as shares dip on debut

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Oct-18

Coronado Coal has a market capitalisation of around $3.5bn after the stock closed at $3.60 on its first day of trading on the Australian sharemarket. Shares in Coronado were issued at $4 apiece, at the bottom end of the indicative range of between $4 and $4.80 in its prospectus. Coronado acquired the Curragh coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland from Wesfarmers earlier in 2018, while it also owns coking coal mines in the US.

CORPORATES
CORONADO GLOBAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED – ASX CRN, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, ENERGY AND MINERALS GROUP, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, STANWELL CORPORATION LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Why there is a silver lining in bear markets

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 26 : 24-Oct-18

Global sharemarkets fell on 23 October, and Wall Street is one of the few markets that are still in positive territory for the year. Tobias Levkovich, the chief US equity strategist at Citigroup, notes that investors have become more focused on risk following the recent sell-off on Wall Street. He says the outlook for the US market remains encouraging until at least the middle of 2019, arguing that a major fall on Wall Street would require US corporate profits to fall sharply. He adds that US companies’ profit margins remain lower than in 2009.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

Industrial ‘anarchy’: MP warns

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Age – Page: 1 : 23-Oct-18

Employer groups estimate that the ACTU’s "Change the Rules" rallies will cost $250 million in lost productivity. Meanwhile, Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer claims that the ACTU is inciting union members to break the law, and that Australia faces a "bleak future" if a Labor government changes industrial relations laws to please the ACTU. The peak union body contends that the rallies should be viewed as political protests rather than industrial action.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Macquarie scraps stockbroker commissions to tackle conflicts

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 23-Oct-18

Macquarie Group has advised that it will abolish commission payments for its stockbroking advisers and move to a salary and profit share remuneration system from April 2019. Commissions were criticised by former Commonwealth Bank CEO and current AMP chairman David Murray in his Financial System Inquiry as causing the potential for conflicts of interest. However, Macquarie’s decision may not please all brokers and could lead to the departure of some staff.

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MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, JBWERE LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CRESTONE WEALTH MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Worley bulks up in $4.6bn US expansion

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 16 & 28 : 23-Oct-18

WorleyParsons will acquire the resources arms of US engineering firm Jacobs in a transaction valued at $4.6 billion. WorleyParsons CEO Andrew Wood says the deal, which is hoped to be completed in the first half of 2019, will create the world’s biggest provider of professional engineering services to the mining, oil and gas sectors. The transaction will see Jacobs acquire a stake of around 11 per cent in WorleyParsons, while Wood says he does not expect the deal to result in any major job losses across the two businesses.

CORPORATES
WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP INCORPORATED, DAR GROUP