Author: roymorgansocial

Where do Australians buy their homewares?

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Apr-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that just over 1.6 million Australians aged 14+ buy homewares in an average four weeks, spending an average of $A73 per person. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2015, also shows that 286,000 Australians make at least one homewares purchase from Kmart in an average four weeks, with an average spend of $A54 each. Meanwhile, 90,000 Australians buy homewares from IKEA in any given four weeks, but with an average spend of $A118 each.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED

Top court challenge for road tribunal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Apr-16

Independent Contractors Australia (ICA) will launch legal action in a bid to overturn a Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal ruling on pay rates in the trucking industry. It will impose minimum pay rates for owner-drivers, but executive director Ken Phillips believes that the ruling is unconstitutional and constitutes price fixing on commercial contracts. He warns that the ruling would force many owner-drivers out of the industry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROAD SAFETY REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, CHRISTOPHER LEVINGSTON AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, NATIONAL ROAD TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

7-Eleven’s legal woes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Age – Page: 24 : 7-Apr-16

Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that 7-Eleven franchisee Jim Chien-Ching Chang falsified payroll records and underpaid eight employees. One employee is said to be owed more than $A13,000 in unpaid wages, while the Ombudsman claims that none of Chang’s employees were paid shift worker allowances or weekend penalty rates. 7-Eleven employees have been paid about $A10m to date via a compensation scheme that was established in the wake of the wage exploitation scandal in 2015.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, JS TOY PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Volatile equities to keep insurers’ dividends low

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Rodman
The Australian – Page: 31 : 7-Apr-16

Income from their investment portfolios generates a significant proportion of Australian-listed insurance companies’ earnings. Andrew Adams of Credit Suisse says financial market volatility during the March 2016 quarter will in turn put downward pressure on their dividend payouts. Insurance Australia Group is likely to be hardest hit by the market volatility. Adams has scaled back his 2015-16 profit forecast for the group from $A920m to $A830m.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 ACCUMULATION INDEX

Free TV networks ready to campaign on licence fees

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Apr-16

The metropolitan free-to-air TV networks may ramp their lobbying for a reduction in the annual broadcasting licence fee in the Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget. They are believed to have held discussions about launching an advertising campaign, which is likely to be similar to the Save Our Voices campaign that was launched by regional broadcasters.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, PIN PAYMENTS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Job-loss aid ‘ignores plight of thousands’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Apr-16

The Australian Government’s program to assist retrenched workers has been criticised by the OECD, which describes it as inequitable as it tends to favour workers in certain industries or regions. Employees in the steel, resources and car industries are among those who have benefited from labour assistance programs that are aimed at helping them to get new jobs. However, the OECD notes that many more employees in other sectors are retrenched each year and often do not receive the same level of assistance from the government.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, QUEENSLAND NICKEL PTY LTD, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK

Chevron forced to shut down Gorgon

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 7-Apr-16

Mechanical problems at the Gorgon LNG plant in Western Australia have prompted Chevron to suspend production for up to two months. The energy group said the repair work is "routine", and it has stressed that this will not affect the schedule for the project’s first processing line to achieve full production. The $A55bn Gorgon project – which was originally slated to cost $A37bn – exported its first LNG in late March 2016.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, OSAKA GAS COMPANY, TOKYO GAS COMPANY LIMITED

Cake mix no longer cakewalking off the shelves

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Apr-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 7.7 per cent of Australians aged 18+ bought cake mixes in an average four-week period during the year to December 2015, compared with 10.4 per cent in the year to December 2011. The survey also shows that the proportion of cake-mix buyers with a Body Mass Index (BMI) classified as obese declined from 12 per cent to 10.7 pent. Likewise, the proportion of consumers with a BMI classified as overweight who bought cake mixes fell from 10 per cent to 6.5 per cent), and the proportion of people with an acceptable BMI who bought cake mixes fell from 9.6 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Buyers wait as Arrium extends trading halt

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 7-Apr-16

Debt-laden steel-maker and iron ore producer Arrium owes Australia’s four major banks some $A1bn in total. South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has urged the banks to support Arrium, warning that they will lose all goodwill with the general public if the company collapses. Lack of progress with its lenders forced Arrium to extend its shares’ trading halt on 6 April 2016. Meanwhile, US private equity groups Argand Partners and Cerberus Capital Management are said to be considering a takeover offer for Arrium.

CORPORATES
ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, ARGAND PARTNERS LLC, CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, MOLY-COP, PAMPLONA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLP, GSO CAPITAL PARTNERS LP, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW

Fun-seeking car-buyers take note: some cars may not seem fun to drive, but owners can attest they are

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Apr-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 22 per cent of the 2.3 million Australians who intend to buy a new car within the next four years agree with the statement "I will only buy a car that is fun to own". The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2015, also shows that 35 per cent agree that BMW "makes vehicles that are fun to drive", followed by Audi (32 per cent) and Volkswagen (27 per cent). Meanwhile, 46 per cent of current Volkswagen drivers agree that the brand is fun to drive, ahead of Subaru (44 per cent) and Audi (41 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, BMW AG, AUDI AG, VOLKSWAGEN AG, SUBARU, MERCEDES-BENZ AG, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION, AUTOMOBILES PEUGEOT SA, SKODA AUTOMOBILOVA AS, HYUNDAI MOBIS COMPANY LIMITED, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION, RENAULT SA