Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1pt to 81.8 to end 2023 at its highest since early February 2023

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1pt to 81.8 in the week to 17 December, a second straight weekly increase to end the year at its highest since early February 2023. However, Consumer Confidence has now spent a record 46 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence has ended 2023 only 0.7pts below the same week a year ago (82.5), and nearly 4 points above the 2023 weekly average of 78.0. The 2023 weekly average of 78.0 is a record low for the index, below the previous record low of 82.6 in 1990. Now 20% of Australians (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 51% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 34% (up 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the highest figure for this indicator since January 2023), while 33% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since January 2023). Only 10% (up 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the highest figure for this indicator since May 2022, just after the RBA first raised interest rates), while 33% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since February 2023). Meanwhile, 21% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (down 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Jobless rate fears halt RBA rate increases

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 20-Dec-23

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting for December show that it considered whether to increase the cash rate for a second successive month. The board noted the possibility that the unemployment rate could rise higher than originally anticipated due to the central bank’s push to rein in the inflation rate. The board reiterated that it will do whatever is necessary to return inflation to its target range within a reasonable timeframe. Gareth Aird from the Commonwealth Bank expects three official interest rate cuts in 2024, beginning in September.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Absolutely no political cover-up of Higgins’ alleged rape’

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Original article by Joanna Panagopoulos
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Dec-23

Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against the Ten Network and presenter Lisa Wilkinson continued in the Federal Court on Tuesday. Fiona Brown, the former chief of staff for senator Linda Reynolds, refuted suggestions that the alleged rape of Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins had been covered up. Brown also said Higgins had disclosed that she could remember Lehrmann being "on top of me" but had not made an allegation of rape. Wilkinson has previously told the court that she believed that Brown and Reynolds were "knowing participants in a systemic cover-up" of Higgins’ alleged rape. Lehrmann has consistently denied that he raped Higgins. The court will hear closing submissions in the case on Thursday.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Inflation Expectations in mid-December are at 5.3% – slightly down from the month of November (5.4%)

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

The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan weekly Inflation Expectations are at 5.3% for the week of December 11-17, which is in line with the four-week average of 5.3% and 0.1% points lower than the month of November. A look at the monthly Inflation Expectations for November shows the measure at 5.4% for the month, an increase of 0.1% points on October (5.3%). Inflation Expectations are following a similar trend as the broader official ABS inflation measure. The lower-than-expected inflation reading for October prompted the RBA to leave interest rates unchanged at their final meeting for the year in early December. A leading factor driving the decrease in Inflation Expectations in recent weeks has been the decline in the retail petrol price. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source which has interviewed an average of around 5,000 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade and includes interviews with 5,982 Australians aged 14+ in November 2023.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Red Sea attacks risk imports, oil

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Jacob Greber, Sarah Jones, Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Dec-23

The price of crude oil briefly rose by four per cent on Tuesday, in response to ongoing attacks on Red Sea shipping by Houthi rebels. However, the oil price retreated after oil companies indicated that they will temporarily cease using the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden corridor. Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says petrol prices may rise, given that the trade route through the Red Sea is critical to oil supplies. Meanwhile, US Studies Centre CEO Mike Green has warned that the loss of access to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will have a "very significant economic impact" on the entire Indo-Pacific region. The cost of importing goods into Australia is likely to rise, at a time when industrial action at DP World terminals is already causing delays in unloading container ships.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE, DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Labor plan would give home affairs minister powers over critical infrastructure during cyber-attacks

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Dec-23

The federal government has released a consultation paper on proposed changes to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act. Amongst other things, Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil could potentially be given the power to direct providers of criticial infrastructure – such as energy or transport companies – to take certain actions in the event of a cyber attack; this could include suspending their operations for the duration of the crisis. The minister may also be given the powers to direct companies that are hit by a cyber attack to replace customers’ personal documents that have been compromised, such as passports.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Australians have 200 million days of annual leave due

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

New data from Roy Morgan shows that over 8.8 million Australians in paid employment now have 200 million days of annual leave due. A further 5.1 million workers in paid employment have no leave. The accrued annual leave of 200 million days is a record high and represents an increase of 15 million (+7.9%) on the 185 million days of accrued annual leave Australians had available in September 2021. Australians had around 150 million days of annual leave due when the pandemic began in March 2020. This figure increased rapidly during the pandemic years of 2020-2022 and is now over 30% higher than in early 2020. The average days of annual leave due increased from just over two weeks (12.3 days in March 2020) to nearly three weeks (14.1 days in September 2021). Over the last two years the average days of annual leave due per worker has remained virtually unchanged at 14.1 days, but the overall total has increased as the workforce has swelled significantly.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Allkem shareholders green-light $9.7b Livent merger

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 20-Dec-23

Some 89 per cent of proxy votes cast at Allkem’s shareholders meeting on Tuesday were in favour of the proposed merger with US-based Livent. The latter’s shareholders will shortly vote on the deal; the combined entity will be called Arcadium Lithium and is set to be one of the world’s biggest producers of the battery mineral. It will have assets in Western Australia, Canada and Argentina. Allkem’s chairman will take up the same role at Arcadium, while Livent’s Paul Graves will be CEO.

CORPORATES
ALLKEM LIMITED – ASX AKE, LIVENT INCORPORATED, ARCADIUM LITHIUM

Two in five Australians had flight cancelled or delayed over 12 months, survey says

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

Consumer advocate group Choice has used a submission to the federal government’s aviation green paper to call for increased protection for airline passengers, including compensation for delayed or cancelled flights. Choice has also released the findings of its research on the performance of Australia’s airlines. It found that 40 per cent of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the year to October 2023; 63 per cent stated that they will given no reason for the flight’s failure to depart on schedule. Meanwhile, 20 per cent had to wait at least six months for a refund, and just 47 per cent received a refund within a month.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS’ ASSOCIATION

Small business lashes senators over insulting haste on IR bill

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-23

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has criticised the Senate for passing the Closing Loopholes Bill on federal parliament’s last sitting day for the year. COSBOA’s CEO Luke Achterstraat and chairman Matthew Addison have written to senators expressing their concern that the bill was passed too quickly and without consulting employers; this includes amendments that were only announced on the day the legislation was passed. COSBOA also contends that provisions of the bill that were hived off and will be voted on separately in 2024 should be abandoned.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED