Author: roymorgansocial

Four-day week for Woolworths workers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 8-May-24

The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has backed a proposal to enshrine the right to a four-day working week in a new enterprise agreement for Woolworths employees. The proposed deal would allow full-time staff to compress their 38-hour working week into four shifts comprising 9.5 hours each. Bernie Smith from the SDA says staff who opt for a four-day week would be required to work up to four weekend shifts over a four-week period. The enterprise agreement will cover about 130,000 workers, who will vote on the proposed deal in coming weeks.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Network 10 is in total turmoil and may not survive as Australia’s third commercial broadcaster

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Original article by Shannon Molloy
News.com.au – Page: Online : 8-May-24

Professor Amanda Lotz from the Queensland University of Technology believes that one of Australia’s three commercial free-to-air TV networks will not survive until the end of this decade. She says the sector is in a "death spiral" and it possible that just one network will be viable in the long-term. The three networks had combined advertising revenue of $7.7bn in 2006, but this had fallen to $3.8bn in 2020-21. The Ten Network’s future in particular is uncertain, given that it may not be very appealing to potential buyers of parent company Paramount Global. Media commentator James Manning says a private equity firm seeking a "bargain buy" might be the most likely buyer of Ten.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, PARAMOUNT GLOBAL, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Roy Morgan Business Confidence improves marginally in April – up 1.3pts to 99.3 before next week’s pre-election Federal Budget

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-May-24

In April 2024, Roy Morgan Business Confidence was 99.3 (up 1.3pts since March 2024), marginally below the neutral level of 100. Business Confidence is now 11.9pts below the long-term average of 111.2; however, Business Confidence is up 9.1pts since March 2023. Now 52.1% (up 8.2ppts) of businesses expect ‘good times’ for the economy over the next year, while 44% (down 10.3ppts) expect ‘bad times’ – the best results for these indicators since April 2022. In contrast, a record low proportion of businesses, 29.3% (down 9.6ppts) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next five years, while 60.5% (up 6.4ppts) expect ‘bad times’ over the longer-term. The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for April are based on 1,986 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Palestine chant may incite violence

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 8-May-24

Former ASIO director-general Dennis Richardson contends that ‘from the river to the sea’ is a "very violent statement" and its use by pro-Palestine demonstrators could prompt violence against communities in Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed similar sentiments about the now widely-used chant, and he has stated that it has "no place on Australia’s streets". Richardson and Albanese have discussed the issue in a documentary hosted by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg that will be broadcast by Sky News later in May. Meanwhile, Frydenberg has called for action to remove pro-Palestine encampments at some of the nation’s major universities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Bullock’s red flag on inflation

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 8-May-24

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock says she is "alert and vigilant" to the risk of inflation staying too high for too long. The RBA left the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday, and Bullock says the RBA board believes that it is at the right level to return inflation to the target range of 2-3 per cent in 2025. However, Bullock adds that doing so is likely to be a bumpy ride, while she has flagged the possibility of further interest rate increases if services inflation remains above the central bank’s target range. Meanwhile, Bullock has emphasised the need for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to ensure that the budget on 14 May is not inflationary.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Vic ratings warning over debt

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Original article by Gus McCubbing, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-May-24

The Victorian government’s budget papers show that it expects to post an operating surplus of $1.5bn in 2025-26. However, the state’s net debt is forecast to rise from $156.2bn in mid-2025 to $187.8bn by 2028. S&P Global Ratings analyst Anthony Walker says the firm expects Victoria’s gross debt as a proportion of revenue to rise above 200 per cent of operating revenue. He warns that the state’s credit rating could be downgraded again if its debt rises to 240 per cent of operating revenue or interest payments rise to 10 per cent of operating revenue. Meanwhile, interest payments on the state’s debt will rise from $6.5bn in 2024-25 to $9.4bn by 2028, and interest as a share of revenue is forecast to rise from 6.3 per cent to 8.8 per cent.

CORPORATES
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 0.6 points to 80.5 before the Reserve Bank meets on interest rates

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-May-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.6pts to 80.5 in the week to 5 May. The index has now spent a record 66 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is 2.8 points above the same week a year ago (77.7), but 2.1 points below the 2024 weekly average of 82.6. Consumer Confidence was down significantly in Victoria, but up slightly in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Now 20% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 51% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 32% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 9% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 35% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 21% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 49% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Iluka boss calls out China over rare earths prices

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-May-24

Iluka Resources MD Tom O’Leary contends that the entire rare earths industry is unprofitable due to China’s efforts to manipulate prices in order to retain its dominance in the sector. O’Leary has told shareholders at Iluka’s AGM that no rare earths producer is making money at the current prices for minerals that are critical to the energy transition. He also alleges that Chinese state-owned entities are seeking to control rare earths production via binding offtake agreements or the acquisition of rival producers. Meanwhile, Iluka is seeking additional federal government funding for its rare earths refinery at Eneabba in Western Australia.

CORPORATES
ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU

Distrust replaces trust for Coles and Woolworths – and it’s just the beginning

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-May-24

Amidst a massive cost of living crisis, calls for an inquiry into allegations of price gouging and heightened media coverage of profit announcements, trust for Australia’s supermarkets has been decimated. Coles has plummeted 221 places from its December 2023 ranking as Australia’s 5th most trusted brand to become the 9th most distrusted brand (on a 12-month rolling average to March 2024). Woolworths has in turn dropped 32 places from its December 2023 ranking as Australia’s 2nd most trusted brand to become the nation’s 34th most trusted brand in March. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says we have been tracking trust and distrust of brands in Australia for more than seven years, but we have never seen a reputational crash as dramatic as Coles and Woolworths. This is in direct contrast to the soaring reputational trust that they gained during the pandemic. Roy Morgan’s data reveals even more dramatic declines in the coming months; its best estimate is that it will take the two supermarket brands at least two years to recover from such a dramatic reputational crash, and only if they can develop and execute a data-driven recovery strategy that is built on much more than PR and spin.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards: Australia’s winning retailers announced

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-May-24

The annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards were awarded in April, and the 16 winners in the retail categories range from many popular and well-known Australian brands to multi-national US retail names. The 13 repeat winners were led by Myer as Department Store of the Year for a ninth straight year, Bunnings Warehouse as Hardware Store of the Year for a seventh year in a row, and Rebel as Sports Store of the Year for the ninth consecutive year. The new category of Online Retailer of the Year was awarded to technology giant Amazon, which won eight monthly awards to run away with the category for its first win. The other first-time winner was Big W, which won Discount Department Store of the Year with a perfect record of 12 straight monthly wins in 2023. Both Amazon and Big W had average customer satisfaction in excess of 90%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, REBEL SPORT LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES