Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 77.1 in mid-February – remains near two-year lows

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 77.1 in the week to 15 February, near the more than two-year low reached a week ago; it is now 8pts lower than a year ago (85.1), and 3.3pts below the 2026 weekly average of 80.4. Analysis by State shows shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia, down in Western Australia, and virtually unchanged in New South Wales. Now 18% of Australians (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, only 22% (unchanged) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the equal lowest figure for this indicator since July 1989), while 37% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 7% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 37% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 20% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 40% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at 3.49 million in January; Real Unemployment surges to 1.82 million

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

In January 2026, Australian ‘real’ unemployment increased 149,000 to 1,818,000 (11.2% of the workforce, up 0.8%), although under-employment dropped 111,000 to 1,676,000 (down 0.8% to 10.3%). Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at a record high just above 16.2 million in January – 16,212,000 to be exact, up 115,000 on a month ago, and representing 69.6% of Australians aged 14+. Australian employment trends followed the usual workforce movements after Christmas with part-time employment down 206,000 to 5,073,000 after the end of the Christmas retailing season with many temporary jobs, and equivalent to 35.2% of employed Australians. In addition, full-time employment increased 173,000 to 9,321,000, and equivalent to 64.8% of employed Australians. This led to overall employment dropping 34,000 to 14,394,000.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Coles concedes mistake in discounting item to make it more expensive after a week

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elias Visontay
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The Federal Court has been told that consumers understand that grocery prices will change in a high-inflation environment. Coles Group’s lead barrister John Sheahan addressed the court on the second day of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket giant over alleged ‘sham’ price discounts. He contended that shelf tickets with a ‘was/is’ price are a legitimate sign of "good value today" for a specific product, and that the ‘Down, Down’ campaign was a broader indication that Coles was trying to keep prices low rather than advertising a specific discount. Sheahan also said Coles has acknowledged that one of the products that attracted the ACCC’s scrutiny should not have beeen added to the ‘Down, Down’ promotion only a week after a large price rise.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Taylor’s purge of frontbench rewards conservative backers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Feb-26

Opposition leader Angus Taylor says his frontbench reshuffle marks a "fresh beginning" for the Coalition. Six members of the Liberal Party’s conservative faction have been promoted to the shadow cabinet, including Jacinta Price, Andrew Hastie and Sarah Henderson. Meanwhile, Tim Wilson has been shifted to the treasury portfolio and Clare Chandler will take on the finance portfolio. Four moderates have been demoted to the outer shadow ministry and four will join the backbench. Taylor has also reinstated the portfolios of Nationals frontbenchers who had been ‘sinbinned’ by Taylor’s predecessor Sussan Ley after they voted against Labor’s hate speech laws.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Santos defeats landmark greenwashing court challenge

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 24 : 18-Feb-26

Santos committed to a 2040 target of net-zero from its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in its 2020 annual report and investor presentations. The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility subsequently pursued legal action against Santos, alleging that the oil and gas group had breached continuous disclosure or consumer laws, but the Federal Court has dismissed the case. The court has not yet published its reasons for ruling in favour of Santos, although the judgment is expected to clarify that forward-looking emissions pledges are not in breach of disclosure laws provided that a company can demonstrate that they had reasonable grounds for making the claims at the time.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Albanese’s message for ISIS brides: no sympathy and expect full force of the law

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 18-Feb-26

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says the latest group of so-called ISIS brides in Syria who are seeking to return to Australia should not be allowed to do so. He contends that "the door must be shut" to people who do not believe in Australian values, and he has called for transparency from the federal government regarding its management of the 34 women and children. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated that the government is "providing absolutely no support" to the ISIS brides and is not repatriating them. He adds that the cohort will "face the full force of Australian law" if they return and are found to have committed any offences. A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has indicated that he is getting advice as whether some of the 11 women and 23 children can be barred from Australia via temporary exclusion orders.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Fortescue pursues green tick for new mine

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 18-Feb-26

Fortescue recently submitted an application to develop the Wyloo North iron ore mine to Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority. Fortescue estimates that the mine’s carbon emissions will peak at nearly 99,000 tonnes per annum during the two-year construction phase, and up to 53,300 tonnes a year when it is operational. Fortescue’s mining CEO Dino Otranto emphasises that the emissions forecasts are based on the company’s current iron ore mines, and Wyloo North will be designed to operate without the use of fossil fuels. Fortescue has set a net-zero emissions target of 2030 for its mining operations.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY

BHP warns on unions’ advance

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 & 24 : 18-Feb-26

BHP has posted a 2025-26 interim profit of $US5.64bn ($7.9bn), which is 28 per cent higher than previously; revenue increased by 11 per cent to $US27.9bn ($39.5bn). Copper was a key driver of BHP’s half-year result, with the energy transition metal exceeding earnings from iron ore for the first time; copper accounted for 51 per cent of BHP’s underlying EBITDA of $US15.5bn, and CEO Mike Henry has described the earnings shift as a ‘milestone’. Meanwhile, Henry has expressed concern about the growing push to reunionise the Pilbara in the wake of industrial relations reforms during the federal government’s first term in office; he notes that there has been a big increase in unions’ right-of-entry requests at its iron ore mines.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Profit season off to unusually strong start

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 18-Feb-26

Banks and resources stocks have been the key drivers of a strong earnings performance so far in the February reporting season. However, there have been mixed earnings outside of these sectors, which has been reflected in share prices; Cochlear and Temple & Webster are the stocks that fell sharply after their latest financial results were below expectations. Hasan Tevfik from MST Marquee notes that overall, there has not been such a strong start to the earnings season since February 2021, when the market was recovering from the impact of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, TEMPLE AND WEBSTER GROUP LIMITED – ASX TPW, MST MARQUEE

2.5 million Young Australians aged 6-13 watch YouTube

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The latest Roy Morgan Young Australian Survey shows that 89% of the 6-13 age group watches YouTube (an estimated 2.5 million people). The leading YouTube video category is Gaming, watched by 1.33 million children aged 6-13 (53% of YouTube watchers in this age group), ahead of 930,000 watching the Animation category (37%), 900,000 watching Comedy (36%), and 850,000 watching the Animals and Music categories (34%). The survey also shows that 67% of boys aged 6-13 watch YouTube, compared with 39% of girls. Boys are also far more likely to watch the Sports category (36% cf. 17%). In contrast, girls show a strong preference over boys for categories such as Animals, Music, Fashion, Unboxing, DIY and Cooking. This research is part of an ongoing programme of research into Young Australian life experiences, preferences, priorities and opinions. This programme has been operating since the early 2000s, with the latest data collection on YouTube between April and December 2025, with a nationwide sample of 1,129 Young Australians aged 6-13

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED