Author: roymorgansocial

NSW Voting Intention: ALP lead over the L-NP increases slightly in late February: ALP 52.5% cf. L-NP 47.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Mar-23

A special Roy Morgan SMS Poll on State voting intention in New South Wales shows the ALP on 52.5% (up 0.5% points since January) ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition on 47.5% (down 0.5% points) in late February, less than a month before the State Election. The ALP now has a slight primary vote lead on 33.5% (up 1% point since January), and is now just ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition on 32.5% (down 2.5% points). Meanwhile, 34% of electors say they will vote for minor parties and independents, up 1.5% points on January. The poll also shows that 54% of electors say that Opposition Leader Chris Minns is the ‘Better Premier’, compared to 46% that select incumbent Premier Dominic Perrottet. However, 53% of electors say they approve of the job Perrottet is doing, while 47% disapprove. This Roy Morgan SMS Poll on State voting intention was conducted via SMS with 981 New South Wales electors aged 18+ from February 24-28.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Free TV in push for prime spot on screens

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 6-Mar-23

Australia’s commercial free-to-air networks have described prominence on connected TVs as the most important regulatory issue facing the industry. The federal government wants to legislate to ensure that the apps of local networks are pre-installed and prominently displayed on TV sets. However, Free TV Australia believes that the legislation should go further, and mandate that the apps of local broadcasters are displayed first on the home screens of connected TVs. Foxtel has criticised the networks’ push, contending that it constitutes a "free ride on Aussie consumers".

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Australia a greater cyber-attack target

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Mar-23

Former head of the US National Security Agency Mike Rogers claims the apparent improvement in relations between China and Australia will not see a reduction in the level of China’s cyber activity against Australia. Rogers says Australia’s involvement in alliances such as AUKUS and the Quad make it an increased target for cyber attacks, as does the automation of industries such as mining. He suggests that the strong response from both the government and the public to the cyber attacks on Optus and Medibank would serve as more of an incentive than a disincentive for future attacks.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL

China launches $330bn arms race

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Original article by Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 1 & 9 : 6-Mar-23

Outgoing Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has told the National People’s Congress that the Chinese economy is staging a steady recovery after three years of tough ‘Covid-zero’ policies. The Chinese economy grew by just three per cent in 2022, compared to the government’s target of 5.5 per cent. Although China’s latest national budget has set modest targets for economic growth in 2023, defence spending is set to rise by 7.2 per cent to over $330 billion (1.55 trillion yuan), with the government citing "complex security challenges" as the reason for the significant increase.

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Foreign ownership of gold mines would rise above 50pc if Newmont-Newcrest deal goes ahead, analyst says

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Original article by Jarrod Lucas
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 6-Mar-23

Data from Surbiton Associates shows that Australia produced 313 tonnes of gold in 2022, which is equivalent to 10 million ounces. This compares with 315 tonnes in 2021 and a record 327 tonnes in 2020. Surbiton MD Sandra Close notes that Australian ownership of local gold mines is currently about 60 per cent, but this would fall to below 50 per cent if Newmont’s $24bn takeover bid for Newcrest Mining succeeds. Close adds that local ownership of the gold industry was around 80 per cent in the early 2000s, before offshore buying activity saw it fall to a low of less than 30 per cent.

CORPORATES
SURBITON ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NEWMONT CORPORATION

RBA forecast to lift rate for 10th straight time

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 6-Mar-23

Futures pricing suggests that Australian equities will gain 0.9 per cent when the market opens on Monday. The local bourse is expected to be bolstered by a positive lead from Wall Street, which rallied in response to the latest US economic data. Meanwhile, financial markets have priced in a 96 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will increase the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.6 per cent on Tuesday. However, most economists now expect the cash rate to peak at 3.85 per cent in the June quarter.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ABC boss seeks peace deal as strike looms

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Mar-23

ABC MD David Anderson will meet with representatives of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance on Monday, in a bid to avert industrial action over a new pay deal. The MEAA and the public broadcaster’s journalists have rejected an offer of a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years and are pushing for an annual increase of six per cent for three years. The proposed 40-minute strike on Tuesday has been timed to coincide with the Reserve Bank’s interest rate announcement. Longer strikes have been flagged in coming weeks if the ABC does not return to the bargaining table.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Federal government blocks Yuxiao Fund’s bid to increase its stake in Northern Minerals

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Original article by Stephen Dziedzic, Daniel Mercer
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has blocked an application from the Singapore-registered Yuxiao Fund to increase its stake in rare earths producer Northern Minerals from nearly 10 per cent to 19.9 per cent. Chalmers is said to have signed an order to block the transaction on 15 February, following a recommendation from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Northern Minerals’ executive chairman Nick Curtis says the fund is an investment vehicle for Chinese national Yuxiao Wu. Northern Minerals operates the Browns Range mine in Western Australia’s east Kimberley region, and it aims to become the first substantial producer of dysprosium outside of China.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Murdoch said Fox hosts endorsed idea of stolen election

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Court documents released in the US show that Fox Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch and other executives of the media group believed that Joe Biden had fairly won the 2020 presidential election. The documents also show that Murdoch had acknowledged under oath that some Fox hosts had "endorsed" the notion that Biden had "stolen" the election. Dominion Voting System is suing Fox Corp for defamation over Fox News’s coverage of the election. The voting technology company has argued that internal communications and depositions by Fox personnel prove that the network had knowingly spread falsehoods about Donald Trump election loss in order to bolster its ratings.

CORPORATES
FOX CORPORATION, FOX NEWS, DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS

Mortgage stress increases to its highest since April 2012 with 24.9% of mortgage holders now At Risk

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that an estimated 1.19 million mortgage holders (24.9%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to January 2023. This period encompassed two interest rate increases of 0.25%. The proportion of mortgage holders now considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress is the highest since June 2012 and is now significantly above the long-term average of 22.8% stretching back to early 2007. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 486,000 over the last year. However, despite the sharp increase in the level of mortgage stress the overall number remains well below the high reached during the Global Financial Crisis in early 2009 of 35.6% (1,455,000 mortgage holders). Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’, has increased to 710,000 (15.4%), which is slightly above the long-term average over the last 15 years of 659,000 (15.9%). These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED