The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides analysis on economic and budgetary decisions, and it’s just materially revised downward its growth projections for US federal healthcare spending. Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Economics, Health Care, Insightful Insights.

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Amcom Telecommunications (ASX: AMM) has secured a contract with The University of Melbourne to provide its Unified Communication solutions to around 13,000 users. While the number of users is impressive, we believe that the deal will contribute modestly to earnings.

Unified Communications has the potential to be a key growth driver for Amcom as it provides a number of revenue streams such as handset sales, licensing fees and rental of data networks.

However, we understand that the University of Melbourne already has the devices that are compatible with Amcom’s unified solutions platform. What’s more, the University of Melbourne does not require a data network, as it is a member of AARNet – a high-speed fibre network that connects 38 Australian universities and the Australian CSIRO.

This means that Amcom is only receiving a fraction of the revenue it would otherwise receive from a new client.

The contract is certainly a step in the right direction for Amcom, as the more that Amcom can change professional behaviour towards unified communication, the more demand will ultimately flow to vendors over time. Amcom’s addressable market with AARNet is 200,000 users, so securing the first contract with The University of Melbourne will go some way in encouraging the other members to follow suit.

But if management is seeking to extract maximum value from its Unified Communications division, then it will need to acquire infrastructure in the eastern states. They certainly have the means to do so after raising $40 million of equity in June.

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Technology & Telecommunications.

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In the past decade, Australia has attracted considerable global investment in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Yet the Wall Street Journal has reported that many of these projects have run considerably over-budget, lowering the incentive for further investment in the region. Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Insightful Insights.

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(Additional commentary by Roger Montgomery.)
Navitas (NVT: ASX) has announced that its largest University Pathways partner – Macquarie University – will not extend its partnership after 12 February 2016. Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Insightful Insights.

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Deutsche Bank has circulated its predictions of Federal Reserve actions for the next six months. Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Economics, Insightful Insights.

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Carsales.com (ASX: CRZ) has announced the acquisition of a 50.1 per cent stake in Stratton Finance for $60.1 million. Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Insightful Insights.

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There has been growing resistance within the real estate industry towards the price increases being enforced by realestate.com.au, which is owned by REA Group (ASX: REA). We cannot help but draw parallels to Carsales.com (ASX: CRZ). Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Companies, Insightful Insights.

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Domino’s Pizza (DMP) has just announced that it is extending its cheap deals from two days a week (Mondays and Tuesdays), to everyday of the week. Continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Insightful Insights.

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