Author: roymorgansocial

BHP upbeat on ore, coal price outlook

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 4-Sep-17

The latest financial results of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were boosted by the rise in iron ore and coal prices. BHP’s chief commercial officer Arnoud Balhuizen says the resources giant expects the price of iron ore to remain strong until at least the end of 2017, while the price of coking coal could potentially be sustained beyond 2017. Meanwhile, the outlook for Fortescue Metals Group will be heavily influenced by Chinese steel mills’ demand for higher-grade iron ore. The price gap between benchmark iron ore and the 58 per cent iron ore produced by Fortescue has widened to more than $US20 per tonne.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES

New CET bid to extend life of coal-fired power

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 4-Sep-17

The Australian Government is hoping to secure agreement from backbenchers on a Clean Energy Target before the end of 2017. It is understood that the proposed CET includes provision for existing coal-fired power stations to have their operating lives extended, as well as the possibility of a new coal-fired power station to be funded by the $A5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Both the Government and the Australian Energy Market Operator are keen to ensure greater stability within the National Electricity Market.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, GREENSYNC PTY LTD, PJM

Boral’s threat to fire workers over building code unlawful

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Sep-17

Most of De Martin & Gasparini’s employees in Sydney rejected proposed changes to their enterprise agreement in June, prompting parent company Boral to threaten all DMG employees with dismissal. The Federal Court has ruled that Boral acted unlawfully in threatening to sack DMG staff unless they endorsed changes to make their enterprise agreement compliant with the new building code. DMG subsequently secured a deal with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union to make its enterprise agreement compliant with the code.

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Australian Inflation Expectations up to 4.5% in August. Generations Y & Z consistently have highest Inflation Expectations

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Sep-17

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.5% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for August 2017. This is up 0.2% in a month and up 0.6% from August 2016. However, it is well below the seven-year average of 5.1%. Analysis by State shows that Inflation Expectations are highest in Tasmania at 4.9%, closely followed by New South Wales (4.8%) and Queensland (4.6%). Inflation Expectations in Australia’s other States were below the national average. Analysing Inflation Expectations by generations reveals a clear split in how different generations view Inflation. The two youngest generations consistently have higher Inflation Expectations than older generations.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Union deals hit workers’ pay slips

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Sofia Gronbech Wright
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Sep-17

Analysis by the Department of Employment suggests that workers in the retail and fast-food sectors would need to work for up to 50 hours during the week to offset the impact of lower Sunday penalty rates in union-backed enterprise agreements. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the analysis refutes claims by unions and the Australian Labor Party that workers are compensated for lower weekend penalty rates via higher hourly pay rates during the week. However, the Australian Industry Group has questioned the validity of the analysis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, DAVID JONES LIMITED, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Team X keeps tax aid on agenda

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 4-Sep-17

Independent senator Nick Xenophon remains optimistic that his party can secure a deal with the Federal Government regarding cross-media ownership reforms. However, he stresses that any deal would be conditional on the Government agreeing to provide tax breaks for smaller media outlets. The Nick Xenophon Team’s initial proposal for tax breaks was rejected by the Government, which requires the support of 10 Senate crossbenchers for its media reform bill.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Business Confidence down in August to 114.4 as high energy prices a threat to economic growth

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Sep-17

Business Confidence in Australia fell 2.6pts (-2.2%) to 114.4 in August 2017, according to the Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey, following extensive discussions about the high cost of energy in Australia. However, businesses remain largely positive with a majority of businesses expecting to be "better off" financially this time next year (51.7%), and most businesses say now is a good time to invest in growing the business (54.9%). The fall in Business Confidence was driven by large falls in confidence in several industries including Manufacturing, Electricity, Gas, Water and Personal, repair and other services.

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

Kim’s bomb the bleak balance for the upbeat

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Sep-17

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says there is potential for equity markets to experience a correction, although this could depend on the response to North Korea’s test of a hydrogen bomb. Meanwhile, Oliver says profit growth in Australia remains significantly lower than in the US, Europe and Japan. He anticipates GDP growth of 0.5 per cent for the quarter and 1.5 per cent growth year-on-year. A survey by Bloomberg shows that the general consensus is for GDP growth of 0.7 per cent for the quarter and 1.8 per cent for the year to June.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Retail superannuation funds once again higher than industry funds in the satisfaction stakes, after trailing for a decade

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Sep-17

Roy Morgan Research’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report for July 2017 shows that satisfaction with the financial performance of retail superannuation funds (58.7%) was higher than industry funds (58.2%) for the sixth consecutive month, after having trailed them for more than a decade. Satisfaction with self-managed superannuation funds maintained their overall lead with 73.8%, up 2.8% points in the last year. Although retail funds overall performed marginally better than industry funds, at the individual fund level among the majors, they did not rank in the top five performers. Across the fifteen largest super funds (based on number of members), Qsuper had the highest satisfaction with 73.3%, followed by Cbus (65.7%) and Unisuper (64.8%). The best performing largest retail funds were Colonial First State (59.0%), MLC (57.8%), OnePath (56.5%) and BT (55.5%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, QSUPER LIMITED, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, UNISUPER LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, MLC LIFETIME COMPANY LIMITED, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT

It’s Official: Everything is happening later in life

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Sep-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Australians are living at home with their parents for longer than they did a decade ago. Some 58% of 18-19yr olds now live at home, compared to 54% in 2007, while 28% of 22-24yr olds live at home (up from 24% in 2007). Meanwhile, 42% of 30-34yr olds are renting, up significantly since 2007 (33%) and now 38% of 35-39yr olds are renting, up from 29% in 2007. Meanwhile, just under a third of Australians aged 30-34 have a home loan (33%), down from 43% in 2007, and 43% of 35-39yr olds have a home loan, down from 51% in 2007. The figures for 40-something Australians are little changed from a decade ago, with 51% of 40-44 yr olds now having a home loan (virtually unchanged from a decade ago). Now only 12% of 40-44yr olds own their home (down from 18% in 2007), and just 18% of 45-49yr olds own their home (28% in 2007). This trend is evident through older age groups.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED