ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up for a third straight week, up by 1.4pts to 88.6, before Reserve Bank meeting

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.4pts to 88.6 in the week to 6 July, and is now at its highest since mid-May. Consumer Confidence is 9.6 points above the same week a year ago (79.0), and 2pts above the 2025 weekly average of 86.6. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but down in New South Wales and Queensland. Now 20% of Australians (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 42% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 29% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 32% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now just 11% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 27% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 25% (down 3ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 34% (up 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

BHP pay ruling leaves very wide grey zone

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 9-Jul-25

The Minerals Council of Australia has responded to the ‘same job, same pay’ ruling with regard to employees of BHP’s Operation Services division. The MCA says the the mining industry’s "worst fears" about the federal government’s industrial relations laws have been confirmed; it has also warned that there will continue to be "grey areas" regarding the application of the ‘same job, same pay’ laws. The Fair Work Commission’s former vice-president Graeme Watson says the wording of the legislation deliberately sets a low bar, and many more applications aimed at equalising rates of pay across worksites can be expected in response to this ruling.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OPERATION SERVICES, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

PM ready for the fight against anti-Semitism

Original article by Richard Ferguson, Noah Yim, Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jul-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says anti-Semitism is a "scourge" that has no place in Australia. He adds that the federal government will continue to engage constructively with the Jewish community to ensure that it gets the support that it needs. Albanese has also advised that the government’s special envoy Jillian Segal is working on a new strategy to combat anti-Semitism in the wake of the recent attacks on a synagogue and a Jewish-owned restaurant in Melbourne. It is expected to adopt some of the proposals outlined in a 15-point plan released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry in February. However, Albanese has rejected Opposition leader Sussan Ley’s proposal to convene an emergency meeting of the national cabinet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Roy Morgan Business Confidence increases driven by more confidence about the year ahead

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-25

In June 2025, Roy Morgan Business Confidence increased by 2.8pts to 102.4 in the month after the Federal Election; it is now marginally above the neutral level of 100. Business Confidence is now 7.7pts below the long-term average of 110.1, although it is up 0.9pts from June 2024. Now 26.4% (up 3.9ppts) of businesses says their business is ‘better off’ financially than this time a year ago, while 40.6% (up 4.6ppts) say the business is ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 39.6% (up 7.3ppts) expect the business will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 21.7% (down 1.8ppts) expect the business will be ‘worse off’. The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for June are based on 1,215 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Treasurer’s calling but RBA puts him on hold

Original article by Greg Brown, Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jul-25

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Reserve Bank’s decision to leave the cash rate on hold is not the outcome that millions of Australians were hoping for and financial market had expect. Most economists had expected a rate cut on Tuesday, and financial markets had priced in a near-100 per cent chance. However, RBA governor Michele Bullock contends that traders were too focused on the monthly inflation data for June, which showed a headline rate of 2.1 per cent; she says the monthly figures are volatile and the RBA board is not yet convinced that inflation is that low in a "sustainable way". The RBA will instead wait for inflation data for the June quarter to be released at the end of this month. Six members of the monetary policy board voted to leave the cash rate at 3.85 per cent, while three favoured a rate cut.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Trump threatens to escalate trade war amid confusion over new tariff rates

Original article by Callum Jones
The Guardian – Page: Online : 9-Jul-25

US President Donald Trump has ruled out another extension to the reciprocal tariffs deadline, which has already been pushed back to 1 August. Trump has also advised that more countries will be informed of their new tariffs in coming days; Japan and South Korea are among the 14 countries that have already received letters advising that they will face tariffs of up to 40 per cent. Meanwhile, Trump has announced punitive tariffs on a range of imports; this includes a tariff of 50 per cent on copper and up to 200 per cent on foreign-made drugs, although he indicated that pharmaceutical companies will be given at least a years’ notice.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

MinRes softens on exit of Ellison

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 9-Jul-25

Mineral Resources’ MD Chris Ellison had been expected to leave the iron ore and lithium miner by April 2026. However, the company has told investors that chairman Malcolm Bundey is reviewing its leadership transition plan, which was put in place in late 2024 after Ellison was embroiled in a tax evasion scandal. MinRes indicated that the review will take into consideration the best interests of shareholders. MinRes is also under scrutiny over its dealings with Kali Metals and a deal to award a contract to a company that has links to Ellison’s daughter.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, KALI METALS LIMITED – ASX KM1

Rate hold may take wind out of home sales

Original article by Lucy Slade
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 9-Jul-25

AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver says the Reserve Bank’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged on Tuesday is likely to "dampen down" enthusiasm among prospective home buyers. He adds that while the decision will not led to a dramatic shift in sentiment, buyers are likely to be a bit more cautious. Oliver had thought there was an 80 per cent chance of a rate cut in July, but he expects the next cut to occur in August. Eliza Owen from Cotality believes that a rate cut next month is almost certain.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COTALITY

The full picture: a decade of smoking in Australia

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-25

The latest data from Roy Morgan shows that 17.4% of Australians aged 18+ smoke or vape; this includes 12.1% who smoke Factory Made Cigarettes (FMCs) or Roll-Your-Own (RYO) Cigarettes (8.4% FMC & 5.3% RYO) and 7.5% who vape. Overall, this is virtually unchanged over the last decade; in 2014, 17.7% smoked either FMC, RYO, pipe or cigars. However, since 2014, the composition of smoking/vaping has changed with both vaping and illicit tobacco more widespread. In 2018, when Roy Morgan first began asking people about their use of e-cigarettes, the incidence was less than 2%. Over the next few years, the incidence of vaping increased steadily to reach a high of 8.3% in the 12 months to December 2023 (and now at 7.5% in the 12 months to June 2025). Meanwhile, illicit tobacco usage was first measured by Roy Morgan in 2020 when the incidence was less than 2% (given this is self-reporting of an illegal activity, it is likely under-reported). Since then, the use of illicit tobacco has steadily increased to 4.8% of Australians 18+. Smoking illicit tobacco is included in the FMC/RYO incidence and, as such, is contributing to the continued smoking rates of FMC/RYO hovering just over 12%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Super fund satisfaction improves to highest since May 2022 with Retail Fund satisfaction at a new all time high

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-25

New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows an overall super fund satisfaction with financial performance rating of 69.9% in May 2025, an increase of 3.1% points from a year ago and up 4.9% points from the post-pandemic low of 65.0% in July 2023. Despite hitting a low point in July 2023 superannuation satisfaction with financial performance has remained significantly higher than the long-term average of 59.0% post-pandemic, and is now approaching the all-time high of 72.0% reached in January 2022. There has been improvement across all four different categories of super funds over the last year; the largest increase has been for Retail Funds, with customer satisfaction up 6.4% points to 69.3%. Customer satisfaction for Industry Funds is up 2% points to 69.5%, while satisfaction with Public Sector Funds is up 0.8% points to 75% and satisfaction with Self-Managed Funds is up 0.8% points to 77.7%. The report’s findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most trusted consumer survey, compiled by in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED