Author: roymorgansocial

Wage growth to pick up

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Original article by Laura Tingle, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Feb-18

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison argues that a proposed across-the-board reduction in the company tax rate will boost wages and job security, noting that US companies have already begun increasing wages in the wake of the Trump administration’s tax reforms. He has called on businesses to promote the benefits of the proposed company tax cuts for the broader economy. Morrison has also indicated that financing personal income tax cuts via an increase in the goods and services tax will not be on the Coalition’s policy agenda for the next federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

News leaders unite to resist spy laws that could criminalise journalism

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 5-Feb-18

The media industry has expressed concern about the broader implications of the Federal Government’s foreign interference bill on freedom of the press. Paul Whittaker, the editor-in-chief of "The Australian", says journalists could breach the new offence of handling classified information simply by seeking to confirm the validity of a document they have received. "Herald Sun" editor Damon Johnston warns that the legislation could potentially be used by a future government to silence the media, while the ABC’s John Lyons argues that media companies already have sufficient procedures in place for handling confidential information.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Telstra plans to market 5G from 2019

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 5-Feb-18

Telstra is intending to run 5G trials during the upcoming Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, with the intention of offering full 5G services in 2019. Rival telco Optus had announced on 2 February that it intends to start offering 5G services in 2019. Meanwhile, telecommunications Paul Budde says 5G represents a threat to the NBN when it comes to those internet users that purchase the more basic user packages, although NBN spokesperson Tony Brown does not believe this is the case.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NBN CO LIMITED, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Mitsui set to snare AWE as MinRes yields

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Feb-18

Japan-listed Mitsui is poised to acquire Australian-listed oil and gas producer AWE Limited after Mineral Resources chose not to match Mitsui’s cash bid of $A602m. Shares in AWE closed at $A0.985 on 2 February, compared with Mitsui’s offer of $A0.95 per share. AWE’s key asset is its 50 per cent stake in the Waitsia gas field in Western Australia. Beach Energy also owns 50 per cent of Waitsia, although it is not expected to launch a bid for AWE.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL

Flat incomes, cost of living take harsh toll

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 5-Feb-18

ME Bank’s latest survey of mortgage holders has found that 46 per cent are spending at least 30 per cent of their disposable income on meeting loan repayments. Although the percentage was slightly down on its previous survey in June 2017, ME Bank noted increased mortgage stress among lower-income households due to greater living costs and little or no increase in wages. ME Bank also found that the percentage of renters who are paying 30 per cent or more of their disposable income on rent payments has increased from 69 per cent to 72 per cent.

CORPORATES
ME BANK, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Broken Doyle quits as lord mayor

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Feb-18

Robert Doyle has advised through his lawyer that he has resigned as Melbourne’s Lord Mayor in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. An official letter of resignation is expected to be delivered to City of Melbourne CEO Ben Rimmer on 5 February. Doyle, who has also resigned as the chairman of Melbourne Health, is currently in hospital and is receiving treatment for emotional distress. Doyle has again denied the allegations, and his wife Emma Page Campbell says he has been denied natural justice.

CORPORATES
CITY OF MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, MELBOURNE HEALTH, ROYAL MELBOURNE HOSPITAL

Business travel down after mining boom

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Feb-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source shows that 2.2 million Australians aged 14+ travelled by air for business purposes in 2017 (equivalent to 11 per cent of the population); however, this was down 1.3 percentage points since the height of the mining boom in 2010. This might seem a surprise in an economy that has experienced strong economic growth over the past seven years; however, deeper analysis by State reveals that a substantial part of this fall has been concentrated in the mining states of WA (in which 11.6 per cent of the population were business air travellers in 2017 – down 4.1 percentage points since 2010) and Queensland (in which business air travel is down 3.9 percentage points to 10.2 per cent). The prevalence of so-called Fly-In-Fly-Out workers in the mining industry has clearly fallen significantly over the last few years as big mining projects have been completed and the workforce required to maintain operations is invariably lower than required to "kick-start" a new project to begin with.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

2.23 million Australians drive diesel fuel vehicles

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Feb-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that 45% of Australians aged 18+ say they would seriously consider buying a diesel fuel vehicle, down from 50% two years ago. Meanwhile, 52% say they would consider buying a hybrid vehicle, ahead of electric vehicles (37%), and LPG vehicles (21%). Analysing Australians who mostly drive diesel fuel vehicles shows that 1.13 million reside in capital cities and 1.10 million in country areas, although the differing populations between the two means country Australians are 36% more likely to drive a diesel fuel vehicle than the average Australian. Nearly a third of Australia’s diesel fuel vehicles are driven by either semi/unskilled workers (18.3%) or skilled workers (14.4%), with both over-represented as drivers, while a further 22.5% are professionals/managers. Although farmers represent less than 2% of all diesel fuel vehicle drivers they are 185% more likely to drive a diesel fuel vehicle than the average Australian.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

New vehicle buying intentions up 142,000

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Feb-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey, which was carried out in the three months to November 2017, shows that 2.38 million Australians aged 14+ intend to purchase a new vehicle in the next four years. This is an increase of 142,000 over the same period in 2016, and has left intentions only marginally lower than the 15-year high recorded in February 2017. The survey also shows that new vehicle intenders continue to have a much higher level of consumer confidence than the population average. Over the November quarter, the consumer confidence for all Australians was 114.1, whereas those intending to purchase a new vehicle in the next four years had a much higher level with 122.8. In addition to four-year vehicle buying intentions being close to record levels, one-year intentions are up by 13,000 (2.2%) over the same period in 2016 to be currently on 615,000. Those intending to purchase in the next 12 months also had higher-than-average consumer confidence.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Snowy 2.0 ideal option, says CEO

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Feb-18

Modelling conducted by Marsden Jacob Associates indicates that the Snowy 2.0 project will generate a return of eight per cent, according to Snowy Hydro CEO Paul Broad. The 2,000 megawatt pumped hydro project has been slated as costing up to $A4.5 billion. Broad also says MJA found that Snowy 2.0 was the "least cost" option in terms of providing secure and reliable electricity in the future, and that the federal government’s National Energy Guarantee only serves to strengthen the argument for the expansion of the Snowy hydro-electric scheme.

CORPORATES
SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, MARSDEN JACOB ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD