ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence – Summer Break

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Dec-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Index has fallen by four points to 118.7 in December 2015, easing off November’s six-month high. The Current Conditions Index has fallen by one point to 122.1, while the Future Conditions Index has fallen by six points to 116.3. Meanwhile, the number of New Zealanders who believe that they are financially better off compared with 12 months ago has fallen by three per cent to six per cent.

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

Quantum computing could be worth billions to Australia

Original article by Tim Dodd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Dec-15

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants technology to play a bigger role in the Australian economy. He told a Knowledge Society lunch in Sydney on 10 December 2015 that innovative computing technology is particularly important. The Government has provided $A26 million for research on silicon-based quantum computing at the University of New South Wales. Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank gave $A10 million each in additional funding for the project.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Rinehart dreams, rival falters

Original article by Peter Ker, Julie-anne Sprague
The Age – Page: 23 : 11-Dec-15

Bulk carrier "MV Anangel Explorer" departed Port Hedland with the first shipment of iron ore from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project on 10 December 2015. Despite the downturn in the iron price, Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald is confident that the $A10bn project will be profitable, while executive director Tad Watroba notes that the bulk of its output will be sold via supply contacts rather than on the spot market. Meanwhile, BC Iron has advised that a review of its Nullagine iron ore mine will have no impact on its other mines.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, POSCO, MARUBENI CORPORATION, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Australia’s Top 20 favourite Shopping Centres

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 85 per cent of Australians aged 14+ (16.5 million people) shopped at one or more shopping centres in an average four-week period in the year to June 2015. Some 396,000 Australians shop at Melbourne’s Chadstone each month, ahead of Westfield Parramatta in Sydney (385,000), Melbourne Central (307,000) and Westfield Chermside in Brisbane (303,000). Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says department stores, large retail chains and supermarkets have outlets in many, if not all, of the country’s main shopping centres – and yet each location might cater to a very different set of customers. As a result, you can expect vastly different sales results unless you pick the right spot or adjust the stock, ambience, offers and advertising to suit the area. The Helix Personas segmentation tool can be used to drill down to a really specific type of customer.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, WESTFIELD PARRAMATTA, MELBOURNE CENTRAL, WESTFIELD CHERMSIDE

Donation nation: which state is most generous?

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 66 per cent of Australians aged 14+ reported making at least one donation to charity in the year to September 2015. This compares with 70 per cent in the year to September 2011. Analysis by state shows that the incidence of charitable giving is fairly consistent, generally hovering around the national average. The exceptions are Western Australia, where 71 per cent of the population are donors; and Tasmania, where 63 per cent of residents give to charity. Meanwhile, Western Australians who donate to charity hand over around $A355 each per year, ahead of donors from NSW/ACT ($A331) and Victoria ($A285).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Woolies sued over payments

Original article by Sue Mitchell, Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Dec-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced legal proceedings against Woolworths, accusing the retailer of unconscionable conduct. The ACCC alleges that Woolworths contravened Australian consumer law when it demanded more than $A60 million in extra payments from suppliers in late 2014. The matter will be heard in the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COLES GROUP LIMITED

Income tax for states in GST plan

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Dec-15

Australia’s federal, state and territory treasurers will continue to conduct negotiations over the division of tax revenue from the GST. They agreed at a meeting on 10 December 2015 to consider a proposal by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill. He suggested in November that extra revenue from a rise in the GST could be used to fund tax cuts. The states would also receive 17.5 per cent of income tax revenue, with no restrictions on how they would spend it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Iron ore resumes slide, falling to fresh record low

Original article by
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 11-Dec-15

The price of iron ore with 62 per cent content delivered to the port of Qingdao in China has fallen by 1.4 per cent to $US38.52 per dry ton. Falling demand for iron ore in China’s steel industry is likely to put further downward pressure on the iron ore price, with a number of Chinese steel mills having closed down or scaled back production in recent months.

CORPORATES
PORT OF QINGDAO, METAL BULLETIN LIMITED, DALIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE, PORT OF TIANJIN, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, SHANGHAI FUTURES EXCHANGE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, MARUBENI CORPORATION

Surprise job boom rules out rate cut

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Dec-15

Official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy added 71,400 jobs in November 2015, while a total of 301,700 jobs have been created since the start of the year. The national unemployment rate has fallen to 5.8 per cent, while the unemployment rate in New South Wales has fallen to 5.2 per cent. Some 127,000 jobs have been created nationwide in the last two months, which may prompt the Reserve Bank to leave the cash rate on hold in February 2016.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Atlassian prices IPO with record $US4.4b valuation

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 11-Dec-15

Atlassian Corporation debuted on the NASDAQ stock exchange on 10 December 2015. Investors paid a slightly higher than expected $US21 per share in the $US462m IPO, valuing the software developer at around $US6.1bn. Atlassian was founded by Australian entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, who will now rank among the nation’s 20 wealthiest individuals on the "BRW" Rich List.

CORPORATES
ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC, NASDAQ, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, SQUARE INCORPORATED, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, GODADDY.COM INCORPORATED, PURE STORAGE, RENAISSANCE CAPITAL CORPORATION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION, VISA INTERNATIONAL, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, EBAY INCORPORATED, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, ALIBABA.COM CORPORATION