Author: roymorgansocial

In August Australian unemployment dropped to 9.1% due to significant increase in part-time jobs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Sep-24

In August 2024, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell by 174,000 to 1,423,000 (down 1% to 9.1% of the workforce). Part-time employment increased by 136,000 to 4,901,000 in August, although full-time employment was virtually unchanged at 9,387,000; overall employment for the month increased by 133,000 to 14,288,000. In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.5 million Australians (9.5% of the workforce) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work, down 38,000 from July. In total, 2.92 million Australians (18.6% of the workforce, down 1.2%) were either unemployed or under-employed in August. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.1% for August is clearly more than double the ABS estimate of 4.2% for July, but it is approaching the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 0.8pts to 82.3, Inflation Expectations remain at lowest since November 2021

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Sep-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was down 0.8pts to 82.3 in the week to 8 September; the index has now spent a record 84 straight weeks below the mark of 85. However, Consumer Confidence is now 4.7 points above the same week a year ago (77.6), and virtually identical to the 2024 weekly average of 81.9. Consumer Confidence was down in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but up in Queensland. Now 23% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 32% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 32% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 9% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 34% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Now 20% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 48% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. Meanwhile, Inflation Expectations were stable at a 32-month low of 4.6% this week.

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

Weak conditions to put a dampener on dividends

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 11-Sep-24

Australian-listed companies paid out more than $80bn worth of dividends in 2023-24, which is five per cent higher than the previous financial year. However, Ryan Felsman from CommSec warns that shareholders should expect lower dividend payouts in 2023-24. He says that energy, consumer discretionary and real estate stocks in particular are likely to deliver lower dividends in the current fiscal year. A report from CommSec has concluded that despite some headwinds, returns on Australian shares are still attractive compared with alternatives such as bank deposits, bonds and international equities.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED

Strategic error in age-limit plan for social media

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Sep-24

The federal government has yet to specify an age limit for restricting teenagers’ access to social media. In constrast, the Coalition has committed to introducing an age limit of 16 if it wins the upcoming election; it plans to do so within 100 days of taking office. Meanwhile, technology investor Daniel Petrie contends that rather than spending $6.5m on a trial of age verification technology, the government should be putting the onus for restricting teenagers’ access to social media on the companies that own these platforms. He contends that social media companies would quickly find ways to block access to their platforms if the penalties for failing to do so were severe enough.

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Roy Morgan Business Confidence jumps 6.2pts to 101.3 due to increased confidence about the economy

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Sep-24

In August 2024, Roy Morgan Business Confidence was 101.3 (up 6.2pts since July). The boost to Business Confidence came after the Stage 3 tax cuts were introduced for income taxpayers in July and the latest inflation figure dropped to 3.5%. However, Business Confidence is now 9.9pts below the long-term average of 111.2, although it is up 6.6pts on August 2023. Now 56.4% (up 7.1ppts) of businesses expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next year (the highest figure for this indicator since February 2022), while 41.7% (down 7ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since February 2022). Meanwhile, 46.2% (up 7.4ppts) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 19.7% (down 0.9ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest figure for this indicator since February 2022). The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for August are based on 1,481 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

BHP hits back: we paid for half of all hospitals

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Sep-24

BHP’s Australia president Geraldine Slattery has released a statement which highlights the resources group’s economic contribution. She noted that BHP pays an adjusted tax rate of 32 per cent, which rises to 44 per cent when royalties are taken into account. Slattery added that governments in Australia received a total of $14.5bn from BHP in 2023-24, via taxes, royalties and other payments; she noted that this is about half of the federal government’s annual expenditure on public hospitals. Slattery’s comments follow recent animosity between Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable and the federal government over the latter’s industrial relations reforms.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Home values hit record highs, climbing in all states except Victoria

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Original article by Millie Muroi, Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 11-Sep-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the total value of homes nationwide rose to nearly $11 trillion in the June quarter; this is $226bn higher quarter-on-quarter. The average house value across the nation is now more than $970,000; house values in NSW rose by one per cent during the period, to a record high of $1.22m. However, Western Australia recorded the biggest growth in average house values, up 6.2 per cent to $816,000. In contrast, the average house value in Victoria eased 0.7 per cent to $900,000.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Greatland Gold wants Telfer, but there may be a sting in the tailings

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 11-Sep-24

Greatland Gold has advised the London Stock Exchange that it is in exclusive talks to buy the Telfer gold mine in Western Australia. Greatland added that negotiations are advanced and a deal may be close. Newmont Corporation announced plans to divest Telfer in February. However, Greatland has indicated that any deal to acquire Telfer will be conditional on Newmont repairing leaks in two tailings dams at the mine. Production at Telfer was disrupted by remediation work at the dams earlier in 2024.

CORPORATES
GREATLAND GOLD PLC, NEWMONT CORPORATION – ASX NEM

Headaches for Murdochs in battle for trust

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 20 : 11-Sep-24

A probate court in Nevada will shortly commence hearing Rupert Murdoch’s bid to change the terms of a family trust to ensure that eldest son Lachlan has control of the magnate’s media empire when he dies. Three of Murdoch’s other children are insisting that all four siblings retain equal voting rights. Documents that were recently filed with the court show that the Murdochs want rival media outlets such as CNN and The New York Times to be barred from the courtroom; amongst other things, the Murdochs contend that their personal safety would be at risk if the court proceedings were open to the media.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION

Minority nightmare looms for mining best friends

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Noah Yim
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Sep-24

Opposition leader Peter Dutton will deliver a keynote address at the Minerals Week conference on Wednesday. He will contend that the federal government’s "ideologically-driven" policies on industrial relations, the environment and energy show that it is hostile to primary industries such as mining. Dutton will state that if Labor achieves majority government at the upcoming federal election it will "double down" on its current policy platform; he will also warn that a minority Labor government would see the Greens or the teals hold the balance of power, which would have major implications for the resources sector. Dutton will add that in contrast, a Coalition government would be the best friend that the sector will ever have.

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