Author: roymorgansocial

Unemployment jumps through June

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Original article by Lachlan Maddox
investordaily.com.au – Page: Online : 17-Jul-20

Unemployment in Australia rose to 7.4 per cent in June, according to the Australian Bureau Statistics, up from 7.1 per cent in May. However, Roy Morgan’s unemployment figures indicate that the unemployment rate has already reached 14.5 per cent, while the underemployment rate is 10.1 per cent. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the federal government needs to seriously consider extending the JobKeeper scheme beyond September, given Treasury figures that indicate around 3.5 million working Australians are relying on it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS ROY MORGAN LIMITED

China warning over dumping

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Original article by John Durie Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 17-Jul-20

Data from the Department of Industry shows that Australia exported $79.1bn worth of iron ore to China in 2019. The nation’s export volumes have increased in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Anti-Dumping Commission has received a submission from China warning that BlueScope Steel’s pursuit of alleged breaches of anti-dumping rules in the steel industry could have a flow-on effect for iron ore producers. BlueScope has lodged almost 20 anti-dumping complaints since 2015.

CORPORATES
BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL AUSTRALIA. ANTI-DUMPING COMMISSION AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Melbourne set for harder lockdown

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jul-20

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that further coronavirus lockdown restrictions may be necessary in response to the rising number of infections in the state. Stage-four restrictions have yet to be imposed in any Australian jurisdiction, with metropolitan Melbourne land the Mitchell Shire currently subject to state-three restrictions. Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton has also flagged the possibility of increased restrictions. Meanwhile, the Australian Defence Force will deploy an additional 1,000 personnel across the state to assist in containing the virus’s spread.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE

NZ PM Jacinda Ardern on track for easy re-election as National’s leader Todd Muller resigns after fewer than two months in the job

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jul-20

In June support for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party was at 54.5% – down 2% since May, but still more than double the support for National on 27% (up only 0.5%) two months before the election in mid-September. If an election were held today Labour could govern without the help of either New Zealand First or the Greens. The large decline in support for National since being level with Labour on 40% in January prompted the Opposition to replace former leader Simon Bridges with Todd Muller in late May. The latest results for June show the change in leadership had a negligible impact on support for National and this week Muller resigned after less than two months in the job, citing health reasons. This New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a NZ wide cross-section of 879 electors during June. Of all electors surveyed 6% (up 0.5%) didn’t name a party.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), NATIONAL PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND FIRST PARTY, GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Business in push to fast-track tax cuts

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jul-20

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has used its pre-budget submission to call for comprehensive tax reform, including bringing forward legislated personal income tax cuts. The ACCI also advocates a gradual reduction in the JobSeeker allowance to pre-coronavirus levels, while it says the domestic economy will be vulnerable to further shocks for several years due to the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, a Menzies Research Centre paper argues that all of the national cabinet’s decisions on coronavirus lockdowns measures should be subject to a cost-benefit analysis. The report by economists Henry Ergas and Joe Branigan was written before the new virus outbreaks in Melbourne and Sydney.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE MENZIES RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence slips 0.5 pts to 91.6 after Melbourne forced back into lockdown after surge of COVID-19 cases

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jul-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 0.5pts to 91.6 in the week to 11/12 July, and is now at its lowest level since May 9/10 (90.3). Consumer Confidence is now 24.3pts lower than a year ago (115.9) and 3.3pts below the 2020 weekly average of 94.9. Now 21% (down 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 34% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 34% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 18% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Just 7% (unchanged) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 48% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 33% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 36% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ was stable at 3.2%.

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

Movement data in CBDs remains far below pre-COVID-19 levels

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jul-20

A special analysis of movement data in the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs shows that neither have returned to anything like the levels of earlier in the year, even before the latest Stage 3 lockdown in Melbourne and renewed fears of an outbreak in Sydney. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of devices seen in the Sydney CBD during the first week of July averaged only 53% of the levels seen during January and February. In recent days, several new cases of COVID-19 have been discovered around Sydney and the prospect of a return to lockdown appears to be rising. Further south, the number of devices seen in the Melbourne CBD during the first week of July averaged only 39% of the levels seen earlier in the year. The Melbourne metropolitan area has had restrictions progressively tightened since mid-June and returned to a Stage 3 lockdown during the past week. Although restrictions eased in both cities during May, and early June, the movement data for both CBDs remained well below the average levels in the pre-COVID-19 period as working from home has remained the norm for many city office workers throughout this period.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Labor likely to back extension of IR changes

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Jul-20

Labor has given indications that it will support an extension of coronavirus-induced temporary changes to workplace laws that allow employers to reduce their employees’ hours of work and change their duties and location of work. However, this would be conditional on the JobKeeper scheme being extended in the federal government’s upcoming economic statement. Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the government should announce details of any changes to the JobKeeper program immediately.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Rift no barrier to China iron ore demand

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 15-Jul-20

China has reported that its iron ore imports rose by 35.3 per cent year-on-year in June, following 3.9 per cent growth in May. The customs figures also show that the nation’s iron ore imports rose by 9.6 per cent to 547 million tonnes in the first six months of 2020. Xu Xiangchun of MySteel expects demand for iron ore to remain strong in coming months, but not at the same pace as June. China’s imports of Australian iron ore have not been impacted by growing tensions between the two nations.

CORPORATES
CHINA. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, MYSTEEL.COM LIMITED

Black Lives Matter protest linked to tower cluster

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 15-Jul-20

Victoria recorded 270 new coronavirus cases on 14 July, and there are now 1,803 active cases in the state. The national death toll has risen to 110 after two elderly persons in Victoria succumbed to the respiratory illness. Meanwhile, health authorities have confirmed a link between two COVID-19 cases associated with the Black Lives Matter rally on 6 June and the cluster at public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington, which now comprises 242 people. However, a Department of Health & Human Services spokesman says it is unlikely that the exact origin of many large clusters in the state will ever be determined.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES