Author: roymorgansocial

Origin to tip $600m into battery

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Apr-23

Origin Energy stated in February that it will close the Eraring coal-fired power station in 2025, and that it intends to build a battery on the station. Origin has now made a final investment decision to proceed with the $600 million battery, which will have a capacity of 460MW, with the option to increase it to 700MW. At a capacity of 460MW, the battery will have a dispatch duration of two hours; this would increase to four hours at 700MW.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

Kelty praises experience of new RBA board members

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Apr-23

The federal government has appointed Iain Ross and Elana Rubin to the Reserve Bank’s existing board, ahead of the restructuring that will take effect by mid-2024. Ross is a former president of the Fair Work Commission, and Rubin has extensive experience as a company director. They have both been praised by former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty, who worked with them at the peak union body in the 1990s. Kelty says Ross and Rubin have significant knowledge of the labour market and they understand how the economy works. He adds that the RBA’s current board has made two "fundamental mistakes" – the decision to leave interest rates at an historic low for too long and telling people that rates would remain on hold until 2024.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

‘Crooked’: Integrity experts slam Andrews for downplaying IBAC report

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Original article by Chip Le Grand, Sumeyya Ilanbey
The Age – Page: Online : 21-Apr-23

Griffith University professor AJ Brown, who is a Transparency International Australia board member and integrity expert, has attacked Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ response to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission’s Project Daintree report. Andrews has stated the report was ‘out-of-date’ and an "educational report, not a report delivered because wrongdoing was found". Brown says that IBAC found plenty of wrongdoing, while former Court of Appeal judge Stephen Charles says the behaviour unearthed by IBAC’s investigation would have led to findings of corrupt conduct in most other Australian jurisdictions; he has labelled Andrews’ government as "crooked".

CORPORATES
GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

The bears are out again for iron ore

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Original article by Sean Smith
The West Australian – Page: Online : 21-Apr-23

The iron ore price has averaged $US109 per tonne in Singapore trading so far in the 2022-23 financial year, having peaked at around $US130 a tonne in March. The price of the steel input remains well above the Western Australian government’s revised full-year forecast of $US87.40 per tonne, which was issued in December. However, some analysts are bearish about the outlook for the iron price over the medium-term, citing factors such as rising output from major producers and a slower than expected rebound in demand for steel in China’s construction industry. Iron ore is WA’s biggest export earner.

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RBA review ‘won’t change’ the path of interest rates

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, Millie Murio
The Age – Page: Online : 21-Apr-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has endorsed all 51 recommendations made by an independent review of the Reserve Bank. Economists have stated that the review’s recommendations are unlikely to result in different interest rate outcomes, nor do they consider that they will necessarily lead to improved long-term economic performance. Shane Oliver of AMP says the changes are unlikely to have much impact on households, adding that the RBA may end up making the same monetary policy decisions and most people will not notice much change. Paul Bloxham says the proposed changes will have limited impact on financial markets.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Rio beats weather, tops iron ore export record

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Apr-23

Rio Tinto has advised that its flagship Pilbara operations produced 79.2 million tonnes of iron ore during the March quarter, which is 11 per cent higher than the same period in 2022. The resources group drew upon its stockpiled iron ore to increase its shipments by 16 per cent year-on-year to 82.54 million tonnes; this eclipsed Rio Tinto’s previous first-quarter record of 80.31 million tonnes, which was set in 2018. Rio Tinto will be on track to meet its full-year export guidance of 320-335 million tonnes if this rate of shipments is sustained for the rest of the year. The first quarter of a calendar year tends to be the weakest for Australian miners, as export volumes are often disrupted by adverse weather events.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Support for The Voice drops to 46% of Australians – down 7% points since December 2022 as Liberals vow to oppose

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Apr-23

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey has found that 46% of Australians would now vote ‘Yes’ to establish an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament’, down 7% points since December 2022. Some 39% (up 9% points) would vote ‘No’, and a further 15% (down 2% points) are undecided. If the ‘Undecided’ respondents are removed the split in favour of the ‘Yes’ vote is 54% cf. 46%. However, past experience shows that ‘Undecided’ voters are far more likely to end up as a ‘No’ rather than a ‘Yes’ vote. This trend has been observed even over the last few months as ALP and Greens supporters who were ‘Undecided’ have been far more likely to move to the ‘No’ vote rather than becoming a ‘Yes’ vote. Meanwhile, Support for ‘The Voice’ is virtually unchanged for ALP supporters at 75% (down 1% point since December) and Greens supporters at 89% (unchanged). In contrast, support for ‘The Voice’ has dropped among voters for the L-NP, One Nation, Independent and Other Parties since December. This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,181 Australian electors aged 18+ from April 14-18.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Inflation Expectations increased 0.3% points to 5.6% in March 2023 – the first monthly increase since November 2022

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Apr-23

In March 2023, Australians expected inflation of 5.6% annually over the next two years, up 0.3% points from February. The monthly increase in Inflation Expectations came before the RBA decided to pause its cycle of interest rate rises in early April. The monthly increase in March has been sustained in the first two weeks of April, with weekly Inflation Expectations now at 5.6% in mid-April and averaging 5.6% over the last six weeks. A look at Inflation Expectations on a State-based level shows rising Inflation Expectations across the Australian mainland in March, although there was a significant decline in the island state of Tasmania. Inflation Expectations were highest in South Australia at 5.9% (up 0.9% points from a month ago) in March ahead of New South Wales at 5.7% (up 0.3% points) and Queensland also at 5.7% (up 0.1% points). The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 4,900 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade and includes interviews with 5,987 Australians aged 14+ in March.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Mining deals boost Chinese investment tally

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 16 : 19-Apr-23

A report from KPMG and the University of Sydney shows that Chinese investment in Australia totalled $US1.4bn ($A2.08bn) in 2022. This was 143 per cent higher than in 2021, and the first increase in six years. Four large mining deals accounted for the bulk of the Chinese investment, headlined by Baowu Steel’s agreement to inject $1bn into Rio Tinto’s Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara. Meanwhile, Chinese investors bought just $14m worth of Australian commercial real estate assets in 2022, down from $208m in 2021. Chinese investment in Australia peaked at $US16.2bn in 2008.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED

Dutton reshuffle promotes two Voice opponents

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 19-Apr-23

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has announced broader changes to his frontbench team than had been expected, in response to the resignation of Karen Andrews. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has replaced Julian Leeser as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, while fellow Indigenous senator Kerrynne Liddle will have responsibility for child protection and the prevention of family violence. Price and Liddle both oppose the federal government’s proposed Indigenous Voice to parliament. Dutton supports constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, but he favours enacting a regional and local voice via legislation.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA