BUSINESS FORECASTING – AUSTRALIA

ASX predicts rise of technology titans

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 21-May-18

Latitude Financial and Colonial First State Global Asset Management are among the companies that could potentially list on the Australian sharemarket before the end of 2018. The bourse has traditionally been heavily weighted toward banking and resources stocks. However, ASX executive Max Cunningham says more technology companies could be added to the S&P/ASX 20 in the next decade, given that the sector continues to be the most popular among investors.

CORPORATES
LATITUDE FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, PROSPA PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BIG UN LIMITED – ASX BIG, GETSWIFT LIMITED – ASX GSW

BHP explores growth options

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 17-May-18

BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie has told a conference in the US that the group’s debt is now within its target range of $US10bn to $US15bn, compared with $US15.4bn at the end of 2017. He also flagged further capital returns to shareholders and said BHP has a range of growth options that could potentially add value to the tune of $US15bn. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has told the conference that the resources giant may use some excess cash to finance acquisitions rather than return it to shareholders.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

Fears of big job losses from inquiry fallout

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 20 : 15-May-18

Automation has already put around 50,000 financial services jobs at risk, and job losses in the sector may increase in the wake of the banking royal commission. Sally Auld of JPMorgan says the loss of jobs as a result of the inquiry could be greater than those shed during the last financial crisis. Tommy Wu of IBISWorld notes that the banking sector’s revenue has fallen by over $A10 billion in the last five years, and it could fall even further as a result of the royal commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Budget won’t curb expansion: Credit Suisse

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 30 : 10-May-18

Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse says the Federal Government’s May 2018 Budget is unlikely to have a negative impact on corporate profits. He adds that the proposed tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes are relatively modest in comparison to Australia’s record level of household debt, and the tax cuts will result in only a small decline in the debt-to-disposable-income ratio in the next several years. Tevfik still expects the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to reach 6,500 points by the end of 2018.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, WAGNERS HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED – ASX WGN, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

JB Hi-Fi stays firm on outlook

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 26 : 8-May-18

Australian-listed JB Hi-Fi has defended its decision to include a profit warning in a presentation to the recent Macquarie Australia Conference rather than issuing a statement to the stock exchange. Responding to a query from stock exchange operator ASX Limited, the consumer electronics retailer said it had been of the view that the information in the presentation would not have a material effect on its share price. JB Hi-Fi’s shares fell by more than 10 per cent following the presentation.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Rinehart’s Roy Hill exports yo-yo in a struggle for consistency

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 7-May-18

Roy Hill Holdings has indicated that its iron ore export volumes in April 2018 were consistent with its target of shipping 55 million tonnes a year. Although Roy Hill does not usually release data on its export volumes, Port Hedland statistics suggest that it shipped less than 11.7 million tonnes in the March 2018 quarter, which implies an annualised rate of around 47 million tonnes. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners says the end of the cyclone season should enable Roy Hill to achieve its target run rate over the next three quarters.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PORT HEDLAND PORT AUTHORITY, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BCI MINERALS LIMITED – ASX BCI

Hywood signals Fairfax open to merger with free-to-air television network

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 : 3-May-18

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood says the company is well-placed to capitalise on industry consolidation in the wake of cross-media ownership reforms. He has also argued that mergers between print and broadcasting companies are possible, although all interested parties would have to benefit from any such deal. Meanwhile, Fairfax has advised that group revenue fell by one per cent during the first 17 weeks of the second half of 2017-18; its Australian Metro Media division’s revenue was about two per cent lower than the same period in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN METRO MEDIA, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, STUFF LIMITED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Stress test reveals risk for Australian banks

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 28 : 1-May-18

Fitch Ratings’ mortgage "stress test" of Australia’s major banks shows that they could be vulnerable if a sharp downturn in the housing market were accompanied by a decline in consumer spending and an increase in business lending losses. Fitch warns that a sharp rise in the unemployment rate could trigger a housing market slump, but the ratings agency concludes that the four major banks could withstand such a downturn provided that other key metrics were not affected.

CORPORATES
FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Newcrest cuts gold forecast by 10pc

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 27-Apr-18

Newcrest Mining produced 576,000 ounces of gold and 19,000 ­tonnes of copper during the March quarter, with output falling by six per cent and 15.5 per cent respectively. Newcrest has downgraded its production guidance for 2017-18, with gold output expected to be within the range of 2.25 million to 2.35 million ounces. The downgrade follows the collapse of a tailings wall dam at its Cadia mine and a sharp fall in production at the Telfer mine during the quarter. Full-year copper output is now expected to be 70,000 to 75,000 tonnes.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

BHP trims iron ore guidance due to maintenance issues

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Apr-18

BHP Billiton’s iron ore production in the Pilbara totalled 57.6 million tonnes in the March quarter, which is eight per cent higher than the previous corresponding period. However, the resources group has advised that full-year output for 2017-18 will be within the range of 272 million to 274 million tonnes, due to the need for maintenance work on equipment that is used to unload rail cars. BHP had previously forecast full-year output of 275 million to 280 million tonnes. BHP has also indicated that it hopes to secure deals to sell its US shale assets in the second half of 2018.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED