Author: roymorgansocial

Virgin, Bonza run fleet check as US grounds Max 9 planes

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Original article by Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 9-Jan-24

Aircraft giant Boeing has issued a statement expressing support for the US Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to temporarily ground its 737 Max 9 planes pending a safety inspection. The move followed a recent incident in which the door plug on a Max 9 operated by Alaskan Airlines blew out in mid-flight. No Australian airline operates the Max 9, although Virgin and Bonza have undertaken safety checks of their Max 8 fleets. Virgin ordered additional Max 8s in late 2023, while it expects to receive the first of 25 of the newer Max 10s in 2025.

CORPORATES
BOEING COMPANY, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, BONZA AVIATION PTY LTD

Passports, travel documents exposed in data breach

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Original article by David Swan
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

Melbourne travel agency Inspiring Vacations is investigating a data breach that saw a non-password protected database leaked online. The database contained around 112,000 records, including passport images, travel visa certificates, and documents with partial credit card numbers on them. The breach was detected by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who says the leaked data could be used for a range of illegal activities, such as identity theft, while Inspiring Vacations has informed the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner of the breach.

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INSPIRING VACATIONS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

Alcoa set to announce Kwinana refinery closure

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Original article by Cecilia Jamasmie
Mining.com – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

Aluminum producer Alcoa is set to announce plams for its Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia, with closure of the facility reported as the most likely option. Kwinana has been operating for around 60 years, and has the capacity to produce around 2.2 million tonnes a year. Its closure would result in the loss of almost 1,200 jobs, although some workers could be deployed to its two other refineries in the region and to Alcoa’s two mines in the south-west of WA.

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ALCOA INCORPORATED

Scams help drive unsustainable increase in complaints about banks, finance firms to AFCA

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Original article by Loretta Florance, Leonie Thorne
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has advised that it received over 100,000 complaints in 2023, the most in its five-year history. 8,987 related to scams, up from 4,611 in 2022, and AFCA CEO David Locke says he hopes that 2024 will be the year that anti-scam initiatives by industry and government finally disrupt what he contends is a "serious and organised crime". AFCA’s dispute resolution scheme is intended to be a last resort for consumers, if they cannot get a solution by dealing directly with their bank, but Locke claims the volume of complaints escalated to AFCA is increasing at an "unsustainable rate", and that financial service firms need to do a better job of resolving customer complaints.

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AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY

LNG party to end this year as glut looms

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 12 : 9-Jan-24

Bernstein Research has forecast that a looming increase in global LNG supply could potentially see prices fall by up to 47 per cent by 2027. The firm notes that global supply is set to increase by about 140 million tonnes by the end of 2024, and this is set to be sustained for the next three years. Neil Beveridge of Bernstein says the global LNG market is reaching a ‘turning point’, and it will revert from being net short to net long in the next several years. Australia exported a record $92.2bn worth of LNG in 2022-23, but expectations of lower export volumes and prices would have a significant impact on future government revenue.

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BERNSTEIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

Labor pledges ongoing support for Ukraine

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 9-Jan-24

Australia has provided around $730 million in military aid to Ukraine to date, while it has sent off its latest rotation of soldiers to the UK to train Ukrainian infantry. Farewelling the soldiers on Monday, acting Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the federal government is committed to providing support to Ukraine to the "end of 2024 and beyond" against what he labelled "the illegal and unprovoked aggression and invasion by Russia". Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says support for Ukraine has to be a priority.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Roy Morgan’s latest Federal voting intention poll shows L-NP 51% cf. ALP 49%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

The Coalition has overtaken Labor as the Cost-of-Living crisis intensifies, reaching 51% (up 1%) while ALP stands at 49% (down 1%) on a two-party preferred basis, according to the first Roy Morgan survey on Federal voting intention for 2024. This week saw notable shifts in the primary votes of both major parties. The Coalition’s support increased to 39%, reflecting a 1% rise from December, while the ALP faced a significant setback with a 3% decline, leaving them at 29%. The Greens are up 1.5% to 13% and One Nation is up 0.5% to 5%; support for Independents & Other Parties is unchanged at 14%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,716 Australian electors from January 1-7. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Golden Globe awards 2024: Australians win big as Sarah Snook, Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki land gongs

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Original article by Sian Cain
The Guardian – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

Australians have done well at the 2024 Golden Globes, with Sarah Snook winning the award for best actress in a TV series – drama for her performance in Succession, which also won best TV drama. Elizabeth Debicki won the award for best supporting actress in a TV series for her performance as Diana, Princess of Wales, in The Crown, while Margot Robbie accepted the inaugural award for cinematic and box office achievement with Barbie director Greta Gerwig.

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National, ACT and NZ First increase their level of support in first Roy Morgan Poll after NZ Election

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Dec-23

The Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll for November 2023 shows new Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the National-led Government (National, ACT & NZ First) with a majority of 58% support for November, up 5.2% points from the mid-October election. Support for National was virtually unchanged at 37.5%, down 0.6% points from the election, while support for ACT increased 3.9% points to 12.5% and support for NZ First was up 1.9% points to 8%. In November support for the defeated Labour-Greens-Maori Party Parliamentary Opposition was at only 36%, down 5.6% points from the election. Support for Labour dropped 5.9% points to 21% (the lowest ever recorded in a Roy Morgan Poll). However, support for the Greens increased 0.9% points to 12.5% while support for the Maori Party was down 0.6% points to 2.5%. The survey results for November would lead to 74 seats (up six seats) being won by the governing coalition, compared to only 48 seats (down seven seats) for the Labour/ Greens/ Maori Party Opposition. This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 920 electors during November. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating jumped 17pts to 90.5 in November.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND

Rinehart, SQM unite for $1.7b Azure bid

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 20-Dec-23

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has teamed up with Chile-based lithium miner SQM to make a joint bid for Azure Minerals. The target’s board had backed a takeover offer from SQM pitched at $3.52 per share in late October, but Hancock subsequently acquired an 18.4 per cent blocking stake in Azure. Hancock and SQM currently have a combined stake of 37.8 per cent in Azure, and have made a cash offer of $3.70 per share. They will pursue an on-market bid priced at $3.65 per share if the scheme of arrangement bid does not succeed.

CORPORATES
AZURE MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AZS, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA