MARKET SURVEYS – AUSTRALIA

Nine chief’s pay soars to $19.6 million

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Original article by James Thomson, Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 10-Dec-14

The latest executive salary survey by "The Australian Financial Review" shows that Nine Entertainment Company CEO David Gyngell was Australia’s highest-paid corporate executive in 2014. His total remuneration of $A19.6m included a $A2.5m cash bonus associated with the group’s IPO. Arowana International CEO Kevin Chin was paid $A13.3m in total, followed by News Corporation CEO Robert Thomson with total remuneration of $A13.2m

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AROWANA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX AWN, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, GUERDON ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC

Construction sector firms

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 50 : 21-Oct-14

Master Builders Australia (MBA) has reported that non-residential construction has returned to a growth phase. Its quarterly survey of the construction industry suggests that the turnaround, after more than four years of indicating contraction, is not a temporary trend. The MBA’s commercial construction index rose to 54.4 points in the third quarter of 2014, compared with 49.2 in the previous quarter

CORPORATES
LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, HANSEN YUNCKEN PTY LTD, ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

New teachers struggle with bad students

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Original article by Bethany Hiatt
The West Australian – Page: 11 : 20-Oct-14

The Australian Council for Educational Research has released the findings of the "Staff in Australia’s Schools 2013" survey. It shows that 45 per cent of primary school teachers would like more training in handling problem students, while 40.6 per cent of secondary school teacher feel there is a need for such training. New teachers in particular would like more training in dealing with difficult students

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION

Surge in M&A work boosts the big firms

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 27 : 17-Oct-14

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Beaton Research + Consulting have issued their "Market Pulse" legal profession confidence survey for the September 2014 quarter. The figures show that the ratio of major law firms reporting negative conditions has fallen to just 17% from 70% a year ago. The main reason is the recent turnaround in the market for merger and acquisition deals work, with 56% also forecasting further gains in this segment over the period to March 2015. Another growth area is insurance, and this is borne out as well by the new law firm rankings released by Thomson Reuters

CORPORATES
BEATON RESEARCH AND CONSULTING PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, THOMSON REUTERS PLC

Top 100 company CEOs now scraping by on $4.8m a year

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 : 18-Sep-14

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors has released data showing that the CEOs of Australia’s top 100 companies received an average salary of $A4.84m in 2013. The remuneration of CEOs has fallen to its lowest level since 2003, although it remains 63 times average earnings. The survey, which was carried out by Ownership Matters, also shows that termination payouts for CEOs averaged $A1.83m in 2013, compared with $A3.8m in 2008

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Cheques dead and cash no longer king

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Aug-14

The Australian Payments Clearing Association has issued a new study commissioned from the RFi consultancy firm. The "Milestones Report" predicts the share of all transactions that is accounted for by cash to decline by 20% to just 43% in the period to 2018. The use of cheques has also dropped 12.5% in 2012 and 13.3% in 2013, and by 2018 there may be few businesses left that still accept them. Credit cards and the eftpos system are tipped to each hold 24% of the payments market by 2018, while new solutions using smartphones will grow their share from 2% to 12%

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PAYMENTS CLEARING ASSOCIATION LIMITED, RETAIL FINANCE INTELLIGENCE PTY LTD, PROPERTY EXCHANGE AUSTRALIA, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VISA INTERNATIONAL, EFT-POS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Ore reserves up but exploration down

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 18 : 31-Jul-14

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) energy, utilities and mining industry leader Jock O’Callaghan says resources groups in Australia have significantly reduced their spending on exploration work. The first annual mining benchmarking study by PwC shows that such activities in 2013-14 accounted for just 6% of total capital expenditure by the sector. While ore reserves did still increase during the year, there are now fears not enough new projects will be prepared for the post-2025 period

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

Firms urged to ride $10bn internal tech wave

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 23 : 18-Jul-14

A new report argues that Australian companies could generate about $A9.3bn worth of extra value each year via greater use of "collaborative" technologies. These include popular social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The survey, which was undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics on behalf of Google, shows that 50 per cent of respondents have yet to implement a collaborative strategy

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, KOGAN TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED

Post-budget worries hard to shake off

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 17-Jul-14

New data shows that Australian consumers remain concerned about the impact of the Federal Government’s May 2014 Budget. The consumer anxiety index, which is produced by National Australia Bank, rose to a new high of 64.5 points in the June quarter. This compares with 61.7 points in the March quarter. The level of anxiety is highest among people whose annual income is less than $A35,000, while women are more anxious than men

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Post-budget uncertainty takes toll on CFO confidence

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 16-Jul-14

Deloitte has released the findings of its quarterly survey of Australian CFOs. Some 62 per cent of respondents expect the Federal Government’s May 2014 Budget to adversely affect the economy. Meanwhile, 38 per cent said the Budget will negatively affect their company, although 40 per cent anticipate no impact. The survey for the June quarter also found that 70 per cent of CFOs forecast revenue growth in the next 12 months

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED