Author: roymorgansocial

Australian unemployment increases 186,000 to 10.3% in May – a month after the end of JobKeeper

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Jun-21

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.49 million Australians were unemployed in May, up 186,000 on April for an unemployment rate of 10.3%. Some 13.07 million Australians were employed in May, just below the record high in April: a record 8,679,000 workers were employed full-time, an increase of 145,000 from April and the seventh straight monthly increase. However, the increase in full-time employment was offset by a drop of 367,000 in part-time employment, to 4,390,000. In addition to those who were unemployed, 1.26 million Australians (8.6% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work. This was a decrease of 101,000 on April. In total 2.75 million Australians (18.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in May, an increase of 85,000 on April. The increase was driven by rising unemployment in May. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.3% for May is over 4% points higher than the current ABS estimate for April 2021 of 5.5%

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Melbourne braces for new lockdown

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 27-May-21

The Victorian government has held an emergency meeting of cabinet to discuss further COVID-19 restrictions for Melbourne after six new cases were reported in the northern suburbs cluster on 26 May. There are now 15 cases in the cluster, all of whom have the Indian variant of COVID-19. More than 60 exposure sites have been identified to date, including Marvel Stadium and several locations in regional Victoria. Acting Premier James Merlino has not ruled out further restrictions, including the possibility of a five-day ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown. He adds that the number of new cases identified on 27 May will determine the government’s course of action. Meanwhile, the federal government will provide Victoria with an additional 130,000 vaccine doses.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ALP warms to $130bn tax cuts

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Greg Brown, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-May-21

Labor is finalising the tax policy that it will take to the next election, and there are indications that it may support the federal government’s stage-three tax cuts. Labor’s caucus is divided over the issue of the tax cuts, which will benefit high-income earners in particular; however, there is growing support for the tax cuts among senior Labor MPs, who are concerned about a potential voter backlash at the next election over any changes to a tax package that has already been legislated. Labor is not expected to retain the government’s Low and Middle Income Tax Offset, which was intended to be temporary.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

NBN Co staff on salaries of $200,000 or more received average bonus of almost $50,000

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Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 27-May-21

The issue of bonus payments for employees of government business enterprises is under renewed scrutiny following the release of data on the bonuses received by employees of NBN Co. A total of 3,819 employees shared the $77.5m worth of cash bonuses that NBN Co paid in 2020. Some 2,865 employees who earn between $100,000 and $200,000 received an average bonus of $13,000 each; in contrast, those on annual salaries of more than $200,000 received an average bonus of $49,743. Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland says the ongoing problems with the national broadband network mean that the "excessive" bonuses are not justified.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED

Amazon to buy MGM for $US6.5 billion, excluding debt

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Original article by Joe Flint, Dave Sebastian
The Wall Street Journal – Page: Online : 27-May-21

Electronic commerce giant Amazon.com has struck a deal to acquire Hollywood film studio MGM. The deal will bolster Amazon’s subscription video-on-demand service as competition in the streaming market intensifies. MGM’s library of more than 4,000 films includes franchises such as James Bond, while the studio also produces television shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale. There is also scope for Amazon to create spin-offs from MGM’s popular franchises, a strategy used by rival streaming services. Amazon will pay $US6.5bn for MGM, or $US8.45bn including debt.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER INCORPORATED

Open door in Adelaide led to outbreak

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Original article by David Penberthy
The Australian – Page: 5 : 27-May-21

South Australian health authorities have concluded that aerosol transmission of COVID-19 in an Adelaide quarantine hotel is the most likely source of Melbourne’s new cluster. SA Health believes that the Melbourne man who was diagnosed with the virus several days after returning home may have contracted it when the doors of his hotel room and the adjacent room were opened within a short time of each other to receive deliveries, which may have resulted in the man being exposed to contaminated air. Procedures for delivering meals to people in hotel quarantine will be reviewed to minimise such risks in the future. Meanwhile, South Australia has closed its borders to residents of Greater Melbourne in response to the northern suburbs cluster.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT FOR HEALTH AND AGEING

CBA breaks through $100 for first time

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-May-21

Shares in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia reached a record intra-day high of $100.20 on 26 May, ending the session at $99.58. CBA’s share price has risen by 12 per cent so far in May, giving it a market capitalisation of $176.7bn. It is now the biggest stock on the local bourse, and the world’s 11th largest bank in terms of market capitalisation. Brett Le Mesurier of Velocity Trade expects CBA shares to trade at around $100 in the near-term, but Dean Fergie of Cyan Investment Management says the stock could rise further.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, VELOCITY TRADE, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

BHP hiring as it faces critical lack of drivers

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-May-21

BHP plans to hire an additional 200 train drivers for its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, in response to what has been described as a ‘critical’ shortage in the sector. BHP’s iron ore asset president Brandon Craig says the new trainees will have "rewarding careers" at the resources group, which suggests that BHP will not follow Rio Tinto in shifting to driverless trains. BHP uses automated trucks at its Jimblebar iron ore mine, while the Gina Rinehart-backed Roy Hill aims to fully automate its fleet of trucks by 2023.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Lynas funds jabs for staff in Malaysia

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 27-May-21

Lynas Rare Earths has responded to Malaysia’s third wave of COVID-19 by advising that workers at its processing plant will be offered employer-sponsored vaccines. The Australian-listed company has also booked out an entire hotel near the plant so workers do not have to mix in the wider community when their shifts end. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to offer vaccinations for Lynas employees in Australia, and has urged them to participate in the federal government’s vaccine rollout.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

ABC says staff free to post opinions

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-May-21

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has told a Senate estimates hearing that the public broadcaster’s staff can post their opinions on their personal social media accounts without fear of being disciplined. However, staff must adhere to the ABC’s code of conduct when posting on its official platforms. Anderson has also advised that the ABC is set to secure commercial deals with Google and Facebook under the news media bargaining code. The new revenue stream will be used to boost the ABC’s news coverage in regional and rural areas.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED