Author: roymorgansocial

Santos clears last hurdle for $5.8b Barossa gas field

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Apr-25

A spokeswoman for oil and gas group Santos has advised that first production at its Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea remains on track for the September 2025 quarter. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety & Environmental Management Authority has granted the last major regulatory approval for the $5.8bn gas project, which has faced numerous delays due to environmental ‘lawfare’. Santos had advised in February that the Barossa project was 91 per cent complete.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL OFFSHORE PETROLEUM SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

Housing crisis puts even safest seats at risk

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Original article by Ronald Mizen, Nila Sweeney, Tom Rabe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Apr-25

Analysis of data from Cotality suggests that the housing affordability crisis could potentially undermine support for the Coalition and Labor in traditionally safe seats at the election on 3 May. The analysis shows that a number of such seats have recorded the biggest decline in housing affordability since the previous federal election in 2022. They include the Labor seats of Watson, Blaxland and Kingsford Smith, and Coalition-held seats such as Banks and Moncrieff. Both major parties have announced new initiatives aimed at helping people to buy their own home.

CORPORATES
COTALITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Bluesfest Byron Bay to return as tune changes

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Original article by Geordie Gray
The Australian – Page: 9 : 23-Apr-25

The success of the 2025 Byron Bay Bluesfest over the Easter long weekend has prompted the event’s director Peter Noble to cancel plans to disconinue the popular music fesival. Noble had announced in late 2024 that this year’s Bluesfest would be the last one, citing the large losses that the event recorded in 2023 and 2024. About 109,000 ticket for the four-day festival were sold, with the 2025 Bluesfest boasting the third-highest attendence since the festival began in 1990. Noble says this persuaded him to stage the event again in 2026.

CORPORATES
BYRON BAY BLUESFEST

Dutton’s march to a war footing

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Original article by Ben Packham, Greg Sheridan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-Apr-25

Opposition leader Peter Dutton will announce details of the Coalition’s defence policy in Perth today. Amongst other things, the Coalition will propose to increase defence spending to 2.4 per cent of GDP by the fourth year of the budget’s forward estimates period, and to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030. The Coalition’s ultimate aim will be to lift defence expenditure to three per cent of GDP over the next decade, in line with the Trump administration’s push for America’s allies to meet this benchmark. The Coalition will also commission a new national security strategy, with Dutton noting that the world has changed significantly since the last such strategy was prepared a decade ago.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

‘Liar, liar’: Leaders’ bitter row over campaign truth

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 6 : 23-Apr-25

The Nine Network hosted the third leaders’ debate between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton on Tuesday. The latter expressed confidence that the Coalition can win the election on 3 May, despite trailing in public opinion polls. Dutton noted that polling is not always accurate, and conceded that the last federal government to serve just one term was in 1931; however, he added that there has not been a worse federal government since then. Meanwhile, the two leaders questioned each other’s integrity; Dutton accused Albanese of not being able to "lie straight in bed" during an exchange on the issue of Medicare bulk-billing, while Albanese accused Dutton of not being truthful about the Coalitions plans to cut government spending to pay for its proposed nuclear power stations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Forecast for Australian growth cut

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Apr-25

The International Monetary Fund has downgraded Australia’s economic growth forecast for 2025 to just 1.6 per cent; its previous forecast issued in January was for GDP growth of 2.1 per cent in the current calendar year. Both the Treasury and the Reserve Bank had also previously forecast economist growth of at least two per cent, although this was before the global turmoil caused by the Trump administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook report also forecasts global growth of just 2.8 per cent this year.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

ASX faces bear market as profit recession looms

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 23-Apr-25

The S&P/ASX 200 Index has shed more than nine per cent since reaching a record high in mid-February. MST Marquee believes that the local bourse is set for a further decline; senior research analyst Hasan Tevfik says both corporate profits and economic growth are set to fall. The general consenus of market watchers is that companies in the ASX 200 will record earnings growth of about nine per cent in 2025-26, but MST anticipates a modest earnings contraction; this in turn will result in an earnings-per-share recession. Tevfik notes that Australia has experienced a bear market in each of the last six such recessions.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MST MARQUEE

PM’s $1.65b refinery in offshore JV

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Apr-25

RareX and Iluka Resources have teamed up to make a joint bid for the right to develop the Mrima Hill rare earths project in Kenya. The two companies propose to ship ore from Mrima Hill to Western Australia, and process it at Iluka’s Eneabba rare earths refinery which is under construction. RareX’s MD James Durrant says the company has spent several years building trust and relationships in Kenya amid growing interest in the Mrima Hill deposit among countries such as the US and China. Iluka has received more than $1.6bn in taxpayer support for the Eneabba refinery.

CORPORATES
RAREX LIMITED – ASX REE, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024: the best brands in banking and finance

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Apr-25

The 2024 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards were presented in April. A total of 12 awards in the banking and finance categories were awarded – included many companies which backed up on wins a year ago. There were two first time winners, two previous winners returning to the winner’s circle, and six companies continuing their winning streaks. P&N Bank won the Bank of the Year after collecting six monthly satisfaction awards and placed highly in the overall ‘Best of the Best’ Award with an average customer satisfaction rating of 91.6% – the second highest of any banking or finance brand. Major Bank of the Year was again won by the Commonwealth Bank after winning seven monthly satisfaction awards during 2024; this was the CBA’s 12th straight win as the Major Bank of the Year. Perth-based RAC has won the Major General Insurer of the Year award, with a perfect record of 12 monthly satisfaction awards and a sixth straight win in the category. UniSuper has won the Industry Super Fund of the Year award for a third straight year, with nine monthly satisfaction awards, and the overall Super Fund of the Year for a second straight year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, P&N BANK, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RAC INSURANCE PTY LTD, UNISUPER LIMITED

Roy Morgan Poll: ALP increases election-winning two-party preferred lead to 55.5% cf. 44.5% L-NP as early voting has now started

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Apr-25

If a Federal Election were held now the ALP would be returned to Government with an increased majority with the ALP on 55.5% (up 1%) ahead of the L-NP Coalition on 44.5% (down 1%) on a two-party preferred basis, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Roy Morgan Government Confidence was unchanged at an 18-month high of 86 – although still below the neutral level of 100. Now 48% (down 0.5%) of Australians say the country is ‘going in the wrong direction’ compared to 34% (down 0.5%) that say the country is ‘going in the right direction’. This was the first week in which all candidates were known and support for both major parties increased at the expense of Independents and Other Parties. Primary support for the ALP increased 2.5% to 34.5% and is just ahead of the Coalition on 34%, up 0.5%, while the Greens were unchanged at a six-month high of 14.5% and One Nation was unchanged at 6%. The declaration of candidates meant a drop in support for Independents, down 2.5% to 7.5% with Independent candidates not running in all 150 seats. There was also a decline in support for Other Parties, down 0.5% to 3.5%, with many minor parties running in only a handful of seats.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY