Author: roymorgansocial

Openpay not the last BNPL failure

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Feb-23

Splitit CEO Nandan Sheth warns that more ‘buy now, pay later’ providers are likely to collapse, after Openpay was placed in the hands of receivers from McGrathNicol. Sheth contends that Openpay’s business model was "fundamentally flawed", and he is not surprised about the company’s demise. He notes that many BNPL providers focus on subprime consumers who may not have credit; he adds that Splitit uses a customer’s existing credit from a credit card issuer, while it deals with merchants rather than consumers. Openpay has retrenched about 80 employees and shut down its platform, and McGrathNicol is seeking a buyer for the company.

CORPORATES
OPENPAY GROUP LIMITED – ASX OPY, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, SPLITIT PAYMENTS LIMITED – ASX SPT

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down to lowest so far in 2023 as RBA set to meet for first time this year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Feb-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.2pts to 83.6 in the week to 5 February, the largest weekly drop for six months since early August 2022. Consumer Confidence is now 16.3pts below the same week a year ago (99.9), and 2.7pts below the 2023 weekly average of 86.3. Unusually, Consumer Confidence was down in all five mainland States. Now 22% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 33% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 34% (up 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 9% (up 2ppts) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (up 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 23% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 49% (up 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Alcoa mining threatens Perth’s drinking water

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Original article by Peter Milne
The Age – Page: Online : 8-Feb-23

There is growing concern within the Western Australian government about the potential contamination of Perth’s water supply from bauxite mining. Internal documents show that the government is concerned about the potential for sediment from Alcoa’s bauxite mine to contaminate the Serpentine Dam, given that mining occurs just 300 metres from the water’s edge. Serpentine is Perth’s biggest dam, and changes to Alcoa’s mining methods about five years ago have increased the risk of sediment flowing into the dam.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED

Optus complaints up nearly 40pc after data hack

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Original article by Joseph Lam
The Australian – Page: 16 : 8-Feb-23

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s report for the December quarter shows that it received 17,903 complaints during the period, which is 9.9 per cent higher than the September quarter. Complaints about Optus rose by 39.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, in the wake of the data breach that affected some 11 million customers. The TIO received a total of 6,346 complaints against Optus, which accounted for 36 per cent of all complaints against the nation’s 10 biggest telcos. Telstra received the most complaints overall (6,819); however, this was lower than the previous quarter.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

RBA’s rate rises to run for months

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Feb-23

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has signalled that further official interest rate increases are likely in order to bring inflation under control. The RBA increased the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.35 per cent on Tuesday, in a move that was widely expected. Many economists now forecast that the cash rate will peak at 3.85 per cent in April, compared with previous expectations of 3.6 per cent. Lowe has emphasised that the RBA will do "what is necessary" to return inflation to its target range of 2-3 per cent. Lowe has conceded that the RBA’s preferred measure of underlying inflation is higher than expected at 6.9 per cent. Meanwhile, new data shows that Australia’s trade surplus fell to $12.2bn in December.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Supermarkets remain the most trusted while Qantas’ reputation crashes and distrust for Optus and Medibank soars

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Feb-23

Retail heavyweights have continued to lead the way in the latest Roy Morgan ‘Net Trust’ rankings. The top five most trusted brands are unchanged for a fifth straight quarter – Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings, ALDI and Kmart. The previously highly trusted Qantas has fallen from the 9th most trusted brand in the September quarter to the 40th most trusted brand in the December quarter. The brand now records only marginally more trust than distrust, whereas in the past its trust far surpassed its distrust. The September 2022 data breach has caused Optus’ Net Distrust Score to deteriorate significantly, moving from the 17th most distrusted brand in the September quarter, to the 2nd most distrusted brand in the December quarter. Medibank suffered a similar fate as a result of their own data breach in October 2022. The private health insurer was previously a trusted brand, but has now become the 14th most distrusted brand in the country. Roy Morgan data scientists analysed nominations from more than 22,000 Australians to identify the nation’s most trusted and most distrusted brands.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Barrick out, but analysts say Newmont offer won’t land Newcrest

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 8-Feb-23

Shares in Newcrest Mining rose 1.7 per cent to $24.95 on Tuesday. Newmont Corporation’s takeover offer comprises 0.38 of its shares for every Newcrest share, giving its bid an implied value of about $27.16 per share when it was launched. Jon Mills of Morningstar and Kate McCutcheon of Citigroup are among the analysts who are of the view that Newmont’s offer undervalues Newcrest. Meanwhile, Barrick Gold Corporation’s CEO Mark Bristow has ruled out making a rival bid for Newcrest.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NEWMONT CORPORATION, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION

New Zealand: Labour support increased in January even before Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Feb-23

The latest Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll shows that support for the Labour/Greens coalition government rose to 42% in January 2023 (up 3.5% points on December 2022). Support for Labour was up 2.5% points to 30%, even before former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her intention to resign on 19 January. Support for the Greens was up 1% point to 12%. In contrast, the main Opposition National Party lost support in January, down 3% points to 32% and support for Act NZ was down by 1% point to 13.5%. Combined support for a potential National/Act NZ coalition is down 4% points to 45.5%, the lowest combined support since October 2022. The results for January suggest that neither Labour/Greens nor National/Act NZ will have enough support to form a majority Government later this year due to increasing support for both the Maori Party and New Zealand First, which are set to hold the ‘balance of power’ on current results. 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 948 electors during January. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating jumped by 16pts to 91 in January, to its highest level since October 2022 (92). This is the biggest monthly increase since a leap of 28 points in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Australia floats spy balloon fear with China

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 7-Feb-23

It is believed that Australian officials have voiced their concerns with their Chinese counterparts about the spy balloon that flew over the US and was subsequently shot down by a US fighter jet. Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the incident will not get in the way of Australia’s efforts to improve its relationship with China, while former Royal Australian Air Force chief Leo Davies says he is not aware that a Chinese balloon has ever entered Australian air space. Should one appear, he says any decision to shoot it down would depend on where it had been and where it was tracking. However, University of Melbourne atmospheric chemist Robyn Schofield says a balloon launched by China in China could not reach Australia, due to the wind currents, which either blow east-to-west or west-to-east.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

PM demands budget spending offsets

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Feb-23

The current inflation rate stands at 7.8 per cent, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers told parliament on 6 February that it is "obviously unacceptably high" and will stay higher than the government would like for longer than it would prefer. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says spending restraint must be the theme of its 10 May budget, particularly as around 20 per cent of all mortgage loans will switch from fixed rates in 2023 to much higher variable rates. It is understood that Albanese has told his ministers not to come up with new spending proposals for the budget unless they are accompanied by offsets

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