Author: roymorgansocial

Journalists’ union says it will quit ineffectual Australian Press Council

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Apr-21

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s members have voted to withdraw from the Australian Press Council, the self-regulatory body for print media. The journalists’ union will give the requisite four years’ notice to quit the APC, and the MEAA’s Marcus Strom hopes its move will prompt debate about media regulation. The MEAA has called for a simpler system of self-regulation that is consistent across all platforms and organisations. The APC’s adjudications have been widely criticised by journalists and the print media.

CORPORATES
MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL

RBA lauds $50bn budget boost

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Apr-21

The federal government had forecast a $198bn Budget deficit for 2020-21 in its mid-year economic and financial outlook. The Department of Finance has advised that the Budget bottom line improved by $23bn during the first eight months of the financial year; some economists now expect the full-year deficit to be about $50bn lower than had been forecast in December. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia says the strong economic rebound has seen national GDP growth return to its pre-pandemic level. The RBA reiterated in the minutes of its monthly board meeting that the cash rate is likely to remain on hold until at least 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM pushes jobs on road to net zero

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Apr-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government will adopt a ‘technology-first’ approach to reducing carbon emissions. He will reveal plans for the government to invest in four clean hydrogen hubs in regional Australia, as well as carbon capture and storage technology. These initiatives will cost some $540m, while Morrison says they will create 2,500 jobs. Morrison has also committed to ensuring that the government’s climate policies will not penalise industries that have high carbon emissions, such as mining and agriculture.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Crown board to front WA royal commission

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Apr-21

Crown Resorts’ chair Helen Coonan and directors Jane Halton and Antonia Korsanos will appear before the Western Australian government’s royal commission into the company’s Perth casino. Just one former Crown director, John Horvath, has been granted leave to appear before the inquiry, although commissioner Neville Owen has indicated that others may have the opportunity to give evidence in the future. Many directors left Crown’s board in the wake of the Bergin inquiry in New South Wales, whose findings prompted the royal commissions in WA and Victoria.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Super shines as economy bounces back

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 21-Apr-21

Data from Chant West shows that the median growth superannuation fund achieved a return of 12.2 per cent in the first nine months of 2020-21. Mano Mohankumar of Chant West says super funds are on track to deliver a double-digit return for the financial year. The median growth fund gained 3.3 per cent in the March quarter and 2.2 per cent so far in April. Hostplus and Sunsuper are among the growth funds that have posted returns of more than 20 per cent so far in 2020-21.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, SUNSUPER PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 114.0

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.1pts to 114.0 on the weekend of April 17/18. Consumer Confidence has remained well above the 2021 weekly average of 110.9, and it is now 29.8pts higher than the same week a year ago (84.2). Now 27% (down 4ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 25% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 39% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 13% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 23% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the highest figure for this indicator since March 1, 2020), while 15% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since October 2010). Meanwhile, 44% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 24% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

RAA tops for general insurance customer satisfaction – marginally ahead of RACT, RAC and Shannons

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

The latest Roy Morgan General Insurance Satisfaction report shows that South Australia-based RAA had the highest general insurance satisfaction rating of 94% in December 2020, an increase of 3% on a year ago. It is followed by Tasmania’s RACT with a customer satisfaction rating of 92% (down 1%), Western Australia’s RAC on 92% (up 5%) and Suncorp Group-owned Shannons on 91% (up 1%). The largest improvement among the leaders for general insurance satisfaction has been by the Suncorp Group’s Bingle, which increased customer satisfaction by 8% points during 2020 to an impressive 88%. The larger general insurance brands which cater to a more diverse range of customers nation-wide have also had a good year, with improvements in customer satisfaction across the board. The big improvers include CommInsure (up 8% points on a year ago), Budget Direct (up 8% points), Allianz (up 5% points), and the larger State-based RACQ in Queensland (up 5% points) and NRMA in NSW (up 3% points). Overall in December 2020 a majority of 82% of Australians are satisfied with their general insurer, up 3% points from the same time a year ago (79%). These latest results are based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 50,000 consumers per annum, including over 35,000 with general insurance.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RAA INSURANCE LIMITED, RACT INSURANCE PTY LTD, RAC INSURANCE PTY LTD, SHANNONS, BINGLE.COM PTY LTD, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, COMMINSURE, BUDGET DIRECT INSURANCE AGENCY PTY LTD, ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RACQ INSURANCE LIMITED, NRMA INSURANCE LIMITED

Boost for IPO market as Fahour’s Latitude soars on debut

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 21-Apr-21

Shares in non-bank lender Latitude Financial closed at $2.70 on 20 April, four per cent above the stock’s listing price of $2.60. Latitude reached an intra-day high of $2.99, and the stock finished its first day of trading with a market capitalisation of about $2.7bn. Latitude’s successful sharemarket debut after several failed attempts in the past is likely to bolster the IPO market; indeed, a number of rival non-bank lenders are considering a sharemarket float, including SocietyOne and Pepper Australia.

CORPORATES
LATITUDE FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP LIMITED – ASX LFS, SOCIETYONE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PEPPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Bonanza for iron ore miners

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 21-Apr-21

Rio Tinto’s quarterly production report shows that its iron ore exports from the Pilbara totalled 77.79 million tonnes in the first three months of 2021, an increase of seven per cent year-on-year. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners expects Rio Tinto to post an underlying profit of $US17.69bn ($22.7bn) for calendar 2021, eclipsing its record profit of $US15.5bn in 2011. The strength of the iron ore price during the March quarter has boosted the profits of Australia’s five biggest producers of the steel input. The iron ore price recently reached its highest level in more than nine years.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

Australians divided over PM Scott Morrison’s handling of COVID-19 and all related issues

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

New research by Roy Morgan shows that 51% of Australians disapprove of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s handling of COVID-19 and all related issues. A majority of younger Australians under 35 years of age, women, people in capital cities and Victoria, as well as supporters of the ALP and the Greens disapprove of Morrison’s handling of the pandemic. However, there is majority support for Morrison’s handling of COVID-19 related issues among Australians aged 65+, people in country areas, the States of NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania, and L-NP supporters. Australians who disapprove of Morrison’s handling of COVID-19 and related issues have consistently brought up the ‘bungled’ vaccine rollout and the perception that he is always ‘passing the blame’ to the states and others for anything that goes wrong and taking credit when it is the states that have done the greater part of the job dealing with COVID-19. For the 49% of Australians who approve of the way Morrison is handling COVID-19 and all related issues the main reason is that Australia is in a better position than just about anywhere else in the world, and this is a marker of the PM’s good handling of COVID-19.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET