SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Housing supply ‘does not lower prices’

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 24-Jul-17

House price and new home approval figures for 2016 seem to bear out the view of Joe Flood that boosting housing supply does not lead to lower prices. New home commencements rose by 14,000, but house prices showed no sign of falling, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Flood, who works for affordable home supplier Community Housing, says governments may need to develop a revised version of the National Rental Affordability Scheme, while curbs on housing finance and tax changes could also help the situation.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY HOUSING LIMITED, CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Supplies are plentiful but shortage of ‘cheap gas’: UBS

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 22-Jun-17

Nik Burns of UBS says the Federal Government’s Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism is unlikely to be triggered in 2018. He does not expect a gas shortage on the east coast, as the Australia Pacific LNG and Queensland Curtis LNG projects have sufficient surplus gas to supply the domestic market. However, Burns adds that these projects will not increase domestic supply unless local gas users are prepared to pay a similar price to the spot price.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Iron ore fall continues but Deutsche says China steel demand will hold

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 15-Jun-17

The spot price of iron ore for delivery to the port of Qingdao in China has fallen below $US54 per tonne, its lowest level in 12 months. A number of factors have contributed to the recent downturn in the iron ore price, including a sharp fall in Chinese steel exports, a growing move toward protectionism by other steel-producing nations and China’s move to reduce steel capacity. However, Deutsche Bank expects demand for steel in China to remain relatively strong.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Prices to ignite gas export controls

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 32 : 9-Jun-17

Federal Resources Minister Matthew Canavan will brief the gas industry on the draft rules for the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism on 9 June 2017. The draft rules show that the ADGSM will give Canavan and any future resources minister the power to restrict LNG exports if there is a domestic supply shortfall. Macquarie Group has criticised the limited detail in the draft rules, particularly with regard to how the gas price will be determined for the purposes of imposing export controls.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TOTAL SA, PETRONAS GAS BHD, KOREA GAS CORPORATION

New jobs: it’s more about bodies than brains

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jun-17

A study of Australia’s fastest-growing job occupations suggests that its citizens are more interested in fitness and their appearance than in the much vaunted Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) sector. However, Jeremy Thorpe of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which used Australian Bureau of Statistics data to prepare the study, notes that there is not an actual STEM sector, so the apparent lack of fast-growing STEM jobs could be misleading. PwC found that indigenous health workers and sales assistants are the two fastest growing occupations since 2012, with florists, electrical engineers and secretaries among the occupations that have contracted the most.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Future lies with autonomous cars: Ghosn

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Original article by Andrew Whire
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 6-Jun-17

Nissan Renault Alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn has rejected suggestions that growth in demand for autonomous and driverless cars will decimate the car industry. It has been claimed that such cars will lead to a significant drop in car ownership as people switch to ride-sharing. However, Ghosn does believe that autonomous cars will comprise a majority of all cars on the road by the end of 2022. He does not forsee much in the way of increased demand for electric cars in Australia without the introduction of government subsidies.

CORPORATES
NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, RENAULT SA, MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION, VOLKSWAGEN AG, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

Investors betting big on potash

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 5-Jun-17

BHP Billiton forecasts that global demand for potash will increase 2-3 per cent by 2030, in line with expectations of rising population growth and demand for crop foods. BHP hopes to commence production at its Jansen potash project in Canada by 2022, while Kore Potash is also aiming for a 2022 start date for its Kola potassium chloride project. Billionaires Gina Rinehart and Kerry Stokes have recently made investments in potash projects.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, KORE POTASH LIMITED – ASX K2P, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, SIRIUS MINERALS PLC, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, MONDI GROUP, SUMMIT PRIVATE EQUITY, SQM

China’s call for higher grade iron ore a worry

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 23-May-17

Research by UBS shows that the break-even cost for producers of lower-grade iron ore has increased due to the widening spread between such iron ore and the benchmark index price. As a result, the break-even cost for Fortescue Metals Group has risen by $US13 per tonne to $US43 in the last 12 months. Fortescue is likely to be affected by Chinese steel mills’ growing demand for higher-quality iron ore as less efficient mills are closed down.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

China’s iron ore imports slump 13pc

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 9-May-17

China’s iron ore imports fell by 13 per cent in April 2017, according to figures released on 8 May. Australia supplies around 65 per cent of China’s iron ore, and Xu Xiangchun of MySteel said the fall in April could in part be attributed to poor weather in Australia in March. China’s iron ore stockpiles rose to a record 135 million tonnes in the week ending 5 May, while steel production for the March quarter rose 4.6 per cent to 201.1 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
MYSTEEL.COM LIMITED, CHINA. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Housing prices to drop 7pc, bank says

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Original article by Elizabeth Redman, Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-May-17

Data from REA Group shows that housing demand in New South Wales declined by 7.8 per cent month-on-month in April 2017, while demand among house buyers in Victoria fell 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, Citigroup has forecast that residential property prices could fall by up to seven per cent in 2018, with apartment prices in Melbourne and Sydney regarded as the most vulnerable to a correction. However, the investment bank adds that any downturn in the property market is unlikely to impact on the broader economy.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP