Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 0.8pts to 84.9 to the highest since January 2023 – before the RBA meeting

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Sep-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 0.8pts to 84.9 in the week to 22 September; despite the increase, Consumer Confidence has spent a record 86 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is now 8.5 points above the same week a year ago (76.4), and 2.8pts above the 2024 weekly average of 82.1. Consumer Confidence was up in New South Wales and South Australia, unchanged in Victoria and Queensland, and down in WA. Now 23% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 48% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 34% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 31% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 10% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 31% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 22% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 49% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Negative gearing in Labor’s sights as Albanese readies for election battle

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Original article by James Massola, David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 25-Sep-24

Several federal government sources have confirmed that Labor is considering potential changes to the negative gearing regime ahead of the upcoming election. One of the government officials has indicated that the Treasury has been asked to undertake modelling on possible reform options. Treasury is not believed to be considering the changes to the negative gearing and capital gains tax regimes that former Labor leader Bill Shorten took to the 2016 and 2019 elections.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Mineral deal to hit China dominance

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 25-Sep-24

Australia and the US are among 14 countries that have agreed to establish a joint funding body for critical minerals projects. Resources Minister Madeleine King says the network will strengthen opportunities to co-finance critical minerals projects in Australia. It will also help to reduce global reliance on China, which accounts for about 70 per cent of critical minerals supply. The US government has also recently agreed to provide grants or extend the loans of Australian-listed critical minerals producers such as South32, Element 25 and American Rare Earths.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ELEMENT 25 LIMITED – ASX E25, AMERICAN RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARR

Gambling lobby pushes Labor to consider age verification to block minors from betting

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 25-Sep-24

The federal government recently announced plans to use age verification technology to impose age restrictions on social media. Some critics of the government’s proposed restrictions on gambling advertisement have suggested that similar technology could be used to prevent children from accessing wagering platforms. Meanwhile, the vAlliance for Gambling Reform’s chief advocate Tim Costello has expressed concern that the government will not take sufficient action to crack down on gambling ads.

CORPORATES
ALLIANCE FOR GAMBLING REFORM

Green light for three coalmine extensions

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Sep-24

The federal government has approved the expansion of coal mines owned by Whitehaven Coal, MACH Energy and Ashton Coal Operations in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has emphasised that they are existing projects rather than new ones, and there will be limited clearing of land in order to protect threatened species. However, Carmel Flint from the Lock the Gate ­Alliance says it is shameful that the government has approved the thermal coal min expansions when it is supposed to be committed to a net-zero emissions target of 2050.

CORPORATES
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, MACH ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ASHTON COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER, LOCK THE GATE ALLIANCE INCORPORATED

Rates on hold will not help home buyers

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 25-Sep-24

Australian home buyers’ borrowing capacity has been cut by around 30 per cent since the Reserve Bank started reducing the cash rate in May 2022. Tim Lawless from CoreLogic says borrowing capacity – and therefore buying activity in the housing market – will not improve until the central bank starts to ease monetary policy. AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver in turn says demand is unlikely to rise until there are clear signs that the Reserve Bank is about to reduce the cash rate.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Diversification key to BHP’s future success

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 16 : 25-Sep-24

BHP CEO Mike Henry says the resources group is now o much better placed compared with a few years ago, due to a diversified portfolio of assets than includes iron ore, copper and potash. He notes that demand for all three commodities is expected to be strong in coming years. Henry has also told investors that he is "really optimistic" about BHP’s growth outlook, and notes that there is competition for capital among the group’s various growth options. Meanwhile, CFO Vandita Pant says BHP’s balance sheet is in "fantastic shape".

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Don’t expect rate cut soon: Bullock

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 25-Sep-24

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock has ruled out an official interest rate cut in the near-term, following the central bank’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday. Bullock says the RBA remains focused on the underlying inflation rate, rather than the headline rate. Monthly data to be released on Wednesday is expected to show that headline inflation was within the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent in August, compared with 3.5 per cent in July. However, Bullock has emphasised that electricity rebates from the federal and state governments contributed to this fall, and headline inflation is likely to rise above the target when the rebates expire next year. Lower petrol prices also put downward pressure on headline inflation in August.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Wong urges Australians to flee Lebanon

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 25-Sep-24

It is estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 Australian citizens are in Lebanon at any given time. The federal government has urged Australians to leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still available, amid fears that the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah will escalate. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned that the government lacks the capacity to evacuate every Australian who is currently in Lebanon, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised Australians for continuing to travel to Lebanon in recent months despite growing tensions in the region.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Grand Finalists Sydney & Brisbane are the most widely supported AFL teams with over 1 million supporters each

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Sep-24

For the first time both AFL Grand Finalists have over 1 million supporters, with the Sydney Swans again topping the annual Roy Morgan AFL supporter ladder with 1,337,000 supporters. The Swans are nearly 300,000 ahead of the second-placed Brisbane Lions with 1,049,000 supporters and the league’s biggest annual increase of 223,000 supporters (+27%) on a year ago, according to the 2024 annual Roy Morgan AFL club supporters survey. The big increase for the Lions comes after the club played off in its first Grand Final in 18 years in 2023 and saw the club leapfrog last year’s opponent Collingwood – the most widely supported Victorian club with 908,000 supporters, an increase of 33,000 (+3.8%) on a year ago. Meanwhile, 9.98 million Australians now support an AFL club, up more than 340,000 on a year ago, and up by a massive 2.5 million compared to four years ago in 2020. In addition, there are 8,896,000 Australians who watched at least one AFL match on TV, up 446,000 (+5.3%) on a year ago and up by over 1.2 million (+16.1%) from 2020.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB, BRISBANE LIONS FOOTBALL CLUB, COLLINGWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB