STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

NAB to step up UK asset sales

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 30-Oct-14

Some analysts believe that National Australia Bank (NAB) will divest the UK’s Clydesdale Bank via an IPO within six months. NAB is likely to reveal its sale options for the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank businesses when its 2013-14 financial results are released on 30 October 2014. NAB is tipped to post a full-year profit within the range of $A5.1bn to $A5.2bn, down from $A5.94bn previously

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC, YORKSHIRE BANK PLC, GREAT WESTERN BANK, MLC LIMITED, GREAT BRITAIN. FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY

That’s Life: jobs to go at CCA

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Oct-14

Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) will shortly unveil the results of its strategic review, which was undertaken in response to an earnings downgrade earlier in 2014. The review is expected to result in job cuts, the abolition of some products and brands, and a reduction in capital expenditure. CCA is also believed to be planning to launch the low-calorie Coke Life soft drink, and may consider selling a stake in its Indonesian business to the Coca-Cola Company

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MOUNT FRANKLIN NATURAL, FRANTELLE, BEAM GLOBAL SPIRITS AND WINE INCORPORATED, GRUPO MODELO SA DE CV, HEINEKEN NV, SUNTORY LIMITED

Telstra invests $1bn in Asian growth

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Oct-14

Those attending the 2014 strategy day of Telstra on 23 October heard from CFO Andy Penn that the telco was set to allocate as much as $A1bn to a renewed investment push for the Asian region. This will involve boosting its global enterprise services unit, participating in the transition from the 2G and 3G mobile telephony standards to 4G, and providing consultancy services to other telcos on the roll-out of data-focused network infrastructure

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TELKOM INDONESIA

Gazal woos tribal tradies in Wesfarmers workwear fight

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 23-Oct-14

Gazal Corporation will ramp up its marketing of the Bisley workwear brand. It will also launch new products in the Bisley range as it prepares to face competition from conglomerate Wesfarmers, which has bought the King Gee and Hard Yakka brands from Pacific Brands. DS WorkWear & Safety’s Shaun Spencer says tradespeople have a high level of loyalty to workwear brands

CORPORATES
GAZAL CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX GZL, BISLEY WORKWEAR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KING GEE CLOTHING COMPANY, HARD YAKKA INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, DS WORKWEAR AND SAFETY, VAN HEUSEN, MIDFORD, PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX PBG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WORKIN’ GEAR PTY LTD, FXD, GLOBE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX GLB, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Iron price not going anywhere, says BHP

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 20-Oct-14

The iron ore price is currently trading at around $US83 per tonne. Mike Henry of BHP Billiton says the price could briefly rise above $US100/tonne, but he does not expect such a price to be maintained in the long-term. Henry has justified BHP’s decision to ramp up iron ore production, arguing that if it did not then another miner would do so in Australia or elsewhere. Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group are also increasing their output

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Virgin gears up for international push

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 20-Oct-14

Virgin Australia Holdings will acquire full ownership of Tigerair, and Virgin CEO John Borghetti has not ruled out international flights for the budget offshoot. Tigerair currently operates a fleet of Airbus A320s, which Borghetti says could be used on shorter international routes. He also says other aircraft models could be added to Tigerair’s fleet, but says divesting the A320s is not on the agenda

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, TIGER AIRWAYS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AIRBUS SAS, BOEING COMPANY, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, TIGER AVIATION PTE LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AFFINITY EQUITY PARTNERS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Vintners toast Aussie’s falling value

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 16-Oct-14

Wirra Wirra Vineyards plans to capitalise on the recent fall in the value of the Australian dollar by increasing its export volumes to around 20 per cent in the next several years. Exports currently account for 10-15 of the South Australian wine producer’s output. Winemakers’ Federation of Australia CEO Paul Evans notes that the best outcome for the industry would be for the currency to fall to around $US0.80

CORPORATES
WIRRA WIRRA VINEYARDS, WINEMAKERS’ FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Iconic rides $3b wave in e-retail

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 25 : 14-Oct-14

The Iconic’s website boasts about three million visitors each month, according to MD Adam Jacobs. He says there are no plans for the online clothing retailer to list on the Australian sharemarket at present, and the priority is to expand the company and make it the leading player in its sector. The Iconic raised $A25m from venture capital firms in January 2014, and it raised an additional $A28m in July

CORPORATES
THEICONIC.COM.AU, INTERNET SERVICES AUSTRALIA 1 PTY LTD, ROCKET INTERNET GMBH, ZALANDO LIMITED, FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE, AUSTRALIA POST, NIKE INCORPORATED, ADIDAS-SALOMON AG, RIVER ISLAND CLOTHING COMPANY LIMITED, DOROTHY PERKINS, HUGO BOSS, CALVIN KLEIN INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Rio’s high iron ore volume fends off rivals, says Harding

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 10-Oct-14

Rio Tinto plans to ramp up its iron ore output from around 295 million tonnes per year to 360 million tonnes, despite the recent sharp decline in the price of the steel input. Andrew Harding, the head of Rio’s iron ore division, says the iron ore price would rally in the short-term if his company shelved its expansion strategy. However, he argues that some 32 iron ore projects worldwide would go ahead in the wake of such a decision by Rio, which would ultimately affect the long-term price of iron ore

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

BHP’s big cost crusher

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 7-Oct-14

BHP Billiton will invest nearly $A2bn to increase its iron ore exports from 225 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 290 million tonnes by mid-2017. The resources giant aims to reduce its cost per tonne to less than $A20, and it will seek to displace Rio Tinto as the lowest-cost iron ore exporter to China. In 2013 Rio Tinto unveiled a strategy to increase its iron ore exports to around 330 million tonnes, eventually rising to 360 million

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED