BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
BHP Group said it may have found a potential new iron, copper and gold deposit near its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, a boon for the world’s largest miner by market value as it looks to expand its copper production. BHP said the exploration project is at an early stage and that, starting in early 2019, it is planning a further drilling program at the site, about 60km southeast of the Olympic Dam uranium, copper and gold mine. “There is currently insufficient geological information to assess the size, quality and continuity of the mineralised intersections,” which came from four holes made as part on an ongoing copper exploration program, said the company. BHP is seeking to boost its exposure to copper, a metal used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to air conditioners. Its exploration program has focused on the Stuart Shelf in South Australia state as well as Ecuador, Canada, Peru, Chile and the southwest of the US.
Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ) and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC):
The Federal Court has approved the $4 billion merger between Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment, dismissing former Domain boss Antony Catalano’s 11th hour attempt to thwart the deal. Justice Jacqueline Gleeson made her decision after hearing from corporate regulator ASIC, which has also backed the merger, and all the relevant parties. As well as Mr Catalano’s lawyer, investor Nick Bolton’s investment vehicle Aurora Funds Management was represented at the hearing. Fairfax was also represented at the hearing by their lawyer in the Federal Court in Sydney. Justice Gleeson rejected a lastminute attempt by Mr Catalano’s lawyer to get a 24-hour delay prior to her handing down her decision just before lunch. Mr Catalano can appeal Justice Gleeson’s decision. The merger is expected to be completed on December 7.
Lynas Corporation Ltd (LYC):
Rare earths miner and processor Lynas Corp says it will temporarily shut down production at its Malaysian Neodymium-Praseodymium plant in December because it has not received approval to increase annual volume. “One of the business as usual applications that we have lodged is for an increase in the annual volume of lanthanide concentrate that can be processed at Lynas Malaysia this calendar year,” Lynas chief Amanda Lacaze said at today’s annual general meeting in Sydney. “As it is now late November, and we have not received that approval, we are prudently planning for a temporary shutdown of production in December.” She said the shutdown would reduce NdPr volumes by about 400 tonnes and that production would restart in January.
Myer Holdings Ltd (MYR):
The Australian Securities Exchange has sent a “please explain” to embattled department store owner Myer just a few days out from its annual meeting on Friday, which is expected to see a heated clash between the board and its biggest shareholder, billionaire Solomon Lew. Following the leak a fortnight ago of Myer’s first quarter sales, which it initially declined to reveal but later was forced to show that like-for-like sales were down 4.3 per cent, the ASX has asked Myer to explain the disclosure of its sales and the effect on its share price. In a letter to Myer, which the retailer released last night as well as its response, the ASX asked it to explain if Myer believed the release of sales figures to be information any reasonable person would expect to have a material impact on its share price. It also asked when it became aware of the information that eventually saw Myer shares fall almost 10 per cent.
National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB):
NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn was this week’s first witness to be called and was questioned by senior counsel assisting the commission Michael Hodge QC. After a reasonably convivial start to his testimony, things got markedly more serious once Mr Hodge began questioning Mr Thorburn about dishonesty at NAB. Mr Thorburn was followed by NAB chair main Ken Henry. Dr Henry was questioned by senior counsel assisting Rowena Orr QC about the culture at the bank. Dr Henry was perhaps the commission’s first witness to shoot questions back at Ms Orr.
QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd (QIP):
Competition has heated up for intellectual property firm Qantm, with IPH announcing it made a $240 million takeover bid for the company while Qantm now says it plans to merge with smaller rival Xenith. Qantm (QIP) said in a statement today that it had entered into a “merger of equals” proposal with Xenith IP Group (XIP), where Qantm will own 55 per cent of the merged entity and Xenith owning the remainder. The merged entity would deliver cost synergies of $7m annually to be fully realised at the end of year three, Qantm said. Qantm also added that the deal would also increase scale to accelerate expansion into the high growth Asia region, leveraging existing presence.
Retail Food Group Limited (RFG):
The former chief executive and senior executive of the beleaguered Retail Food Group have been grilled about whether they are a couple during a fiery parliamentary hearing, a week after the pair attempted to stall their appearance in the High Court. Tony Alford and Alicia Atkinson — who were once intimately involved in running RFG which owned franchises such as Brumbies, Gloria Jeans and Donut King — appeared before the joint committee on corporations and financial services tonight. For five years, RFG allegedly hid from its own shareholders an arrangement in which the company outsourced the management of 20 to 30 franchisees to a Gold Coast investment vehicle called Exit 57, whose sole director was Ms Atkinson. Although the arrangement itself was announced to the market, shareholders had no idea about an alleged relationship between Mr Alford and Ms Atkinson.
Rio Tinto Limited Fully Paid Ord. Shrs (RIO):
Climate change is the "greatest long-term threat" to Rio Tinto and that is why its asset portfolio will continue to be reshaped "for the transition to a low carbon economy" the global miner's new chairman, Simon Thompson, promised on Monday. Introducing an investor briefing on environment, social and governance (ESG) in Sydney, Thompson also revealed a shift to agile working in his boardroom with the development of a "new rolling agenda" that aims to allow a "greater focus on strategy management and stakeholder engagement". "We do not see ESG or profits as an either/or decision," he declared. "Increasingly, we also see ESG as a source of differentiation, as society, and particularly Millennials, demand higher standards of governance and transparency from the companies they work for, and invest in.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLS):
Telstra's share price closed down almost 2 per cent on Monday after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed it would continue controls on the telco giant's copper network for another five years. The ACCC's "fixedline services declaration" determines how much Telstra can charge retailers to use its network, ensuring it does not take advantage of its monopolistic control over the once nationally owned copper network. Monday's announcement confirmed the regime would continue, although the actual prices will not be decided until next year. Though expected, investors responded to Monday's announcement by selling Telstra shares, pushing the share price down by more than 2 per cent for most of the afternoon, before a late recovery saw it close down 1.71 per cent at $2.87.
(Source: AIMS)
BHP Group said it may have found a potential new iron, copper and gold deposit near its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, a boon for the world’s largest miner by market value as it looks to expand its copper production. BHP said the exploration project is at an early stage and that, starting in early 2019, it is planning a further drilling program at the site, about 60km southeast of the Olympic Dam uranium, copper and gold mine. “There is currently insufficient geological information to assess the size, quality and continuity of the mineralised intersections,” which came from four holes made as part on an ongoing copper exploration program, said the company. BHP is seeking to boost its exposure to copper, a metal used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to air conditioners. Its exploration program has focused on the Stuart Shelf in South Australia state as well as Ecuador, Canada, Peru, Chile and the southwest of the US.
Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ) and Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC):
The Federal Court has approved the $4 billion merger between Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment, dismissing former Domain boss Antony Catalano’s 11th hour attempt to thwart the deal. Justice Jacqueline Gleeson made her decision after hearing from corporate regulator ASIC, which has also backed the merger, and all the relevant parties. As well as Mr Catalano’s lawyer, investor Nick Bolton’s investment vehicle Aurora Funds Management was represented at the hearing. Fairfax was also represented at the hearing by their lawyer in the Federal Court in Sydney. Justice Gleeson rejected a lastminute attempt by Mr Catalano’s lawyer to get a 24-hour delay prior to her handing down her decision just before lunch. Mr Catalano can appeal Justice Gleeson’s decision. The merger is expected to be completed on December 7.
Lynas Corporation Ltd (LYC):
Rare earths miner and processor Lynas Corp says it will temporarily shut down production at its Malaysian Neodymium-Praseodymium plant in December because it has not received approval to increase annual volume. “One of the business as usual applications that we have lodged is for an increase in the annual volume of lanthanide concentrate that can be processed at Lynas Malaysia this calendar year,” Lynas chief Amanda Lacaze said at today’s annual general meeting in Sydney. “As it is now late November, and we have not received that approval, we are prudently planning for a temporary shutdown of production in December.” She said the shutdown would reduce NdPr volumes by about 400 tonnes and that production would restart in January.
Myer Holdings Ltd (MYR):
The Australian Securities Exchange has sent a “please explain” to embattled department store owner Myer just a few days out from its annual meeting on Friday, which is expected to see a heated clash between the board and its biggest shareholder, billionaire Solomon Lew. Following the leak a fortnight ago of Myer’s first quarter sales, which it initially declined to reveal but later was forced to show that like-for-like sales were down 4.3 per cent, the ASX has asked Myer to explain the disclosure of its sales and the effect on its share price. In a letter to Myer, which the retailer released last night as well as its response, the ASX asked it to explain if Myer believed the release of sales figures to be information any reasonable person would expect to have a material impact on its share price. It also asked when it became aware of the information that eventually saw Myer shares fall almost 10 per cent.
National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB):
NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn was this week’s first witness to be called and was questioned by senior counsel assisting the commission Michael Hodge QC. After a reasonably convivial start to his testimony, things got markedly more serious once Mr Hodge began questioning Mr Thorburn about dishonesty at NAB. Mr Thorburn was followed by NAB chair main Ken Henry. Dr Henry was questioned by senior counsel assisting Rowena Orr QC about the culture at the bank. Dr Henry was perhaps the commission’s first witness to shoot questions back at Ms Orr.
QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd (QIP):
Competition has heated up for intellectual property firm Qantm, with IPH announcing it made a $240 million takeover bid for the company while Qantm now says it plans to merge with smaller rival Xenith. Qantm (QIP) said in a statement today that it had entered into a “merger of equals” proposal with Xenith IP Group (XIP), where Qantm will own 55 per cent of the merged entity and Xenith owning the remainder. The merged entity would deliver cost synergies of $7m annually to be fully realised at the end of year three, Qantm said. Qantm also added that the deal would also increase scale to accelerate expansion into the high growth Asia region, leveraging existing presence.
Retail Food Group Limited (RFG):
The former chief executive and senior executive of the beleaguered Retail Food Group have been grilled about whether they are a couple during a fiery parliamentary hearing, a week after the pair attempted to stall their appearance in the High Court. Tony Alford and Alicia Atkinson — who were once intimately involved in running RFG which owned franchises such as Brumbies, Gloria Jeans and Donut King — appeared before the joint committee on corporations and financial services tonight. For five years, RFG allegedly hid from its own shareholders an arrangement in which the company outsourced the management of 20 to 30 franchisees to a Gold Coast investment vehicle called Exit 57, whose sole director was Ms Atkinson. Although the arrangement itself was announced to the market, shareholders had no idea about an alleged relationship between Mr Alford and Ms Atkinson.
Rio Tinto Limited Fully Paid Ord. Shrs (RIO):
Climate change is the "greatest long-term threat" to Rio Tinto and that is why its asset portfolio will continue to be reshaped "for the transition to a low carbon economy" the global miner's new chairman, Simon Thompson, promised on Monday. Introducing an investor briefing on environment, social and governance (ESG) in Sydney, Thompson also revealed a shift to agile working in his boardroom with the development of a "new rolling agenda" that aims to allow a "greater focus on strategy management and stakeholder engagement". "We do not see ESG or profits as an either/or decision," he declared. "Increasingly, we also see ESG as a source of differentiation, as society, and particularly Millennials, demand higher standards of governance and transparency from the companies they work for, and invest in.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLS):
Telstra's share price closed down almost 2 per cent on Monday after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed it would continue controls on the telco giant's copper network for another five years. The ACCC's "fixedline services declaration" determines how much Telstra can charge retailers to use its network, ensuring it does not take advantage of its monopolistic control over the once nationally owned copper network. Monday's announcement confirmed the regime would continue, although the actual prices will not be decided until next year. Though expected, investors responded to Monday's announcement by selling Telstra shares, pushing the share price down by more than 2 per cent for most of the afternoon, before a late recovery saw it close down 1.71 per cent at $2.87.
(Source: AIMS)
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