Author: roymorgansocial

Newspaper publisher ACM may close presses in Victoria, SA and Canberra, shedding 200 jobs

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Original article by Emilia Terzon
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 9-Jul-20

Regional newspaper publisher Australian Community Media may shut down four of its nine printing plants. ACM has declined to comment on the likely job losses if the printing presses in Albury-Wodonga, Ballarat, Canberra and Murray Bridge are shut down; the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union estimates that about 200 people would be retrenched, primarily in Ballarat. ACM says reduction in printing volumes due to the coronavirus pandemic means it has excess print capacity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA

Investors brace for harder hit from second wave

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 9-Jul-20

The S&P/ASX 200 has shed 3.2 per in the last three trading sessions, while the Australian dollar has retreated ahead of Melbourne going into lockdown. Damien Boey of Credit Suisse says policymakers may have underestimated the economic cost of the lockdown, which may be closer to $26bn than the $6bn that has been forecast. He adds that the new lockdown may the "straw that broke the camel’s back" for many small businesses that were already struggling. Analysts also expect the new coronavirus outbreak in Victoria to weigh on corporate earnings and dividend payouts.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Beware Beijing’s ‘arbitrary detention’: DFAT

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Original article by Olivia Caisley, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Jul-20

The growing tensions between Australia and China have prompted the federal government to upgrade its travel advice. The Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade has warned that Chinese authorities have detailed foreign travellers on the grounds of ‘endangering national security’, adding that Australians may be at risk of detention. DFAT also recently advised caution about travelling to Hong Kong after China introduced new national security laws for the former British colony. DFAT recommends that Australian defer all overseas travel due to the coronavirus.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Big banks accused of climate hypocrisy

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 8-Jul-20

Market Forces estimates that Australia’s four major banks have provided a combined $35.5bn worth of loans for fossil fuel projects since 2016. The activist group, which is affiliated with Friends of the Earth, contends that this is inconsistent with their commitment to the Paris climate agreement. National Australia Bank’s chief risk officer Shaun Dooley recently stated that the bank aims to assist business customers to transition away from fossil fuels, due to the economic impact of a complete and rapid withdrawal from the sector.

CORPORATES
MARKET FORCES, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Retail super funds face member flight

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Jul-20

Research by KPMG suggests that nearly 25 per cent of retail superannuation fund members are likely to switch funds during the next year, compared with less than 10 per cent of industry super fund members. KPMG partner Tim Thomas says lower fees of industry funds is a major contributor to the expected exodus of retail fund members. However, he cautions that industry funds risk a similar loss of members if they do not take action to improve the quality of their services. KPMG has also found that nearly 80 per cent of consumers now prefer to interact with financial services providers via digital channels.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Melbourne locked down: Premier pleads for help

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-20

The Victorian government has extended stage-three lockdown restrictions to the 31 local government areas across metropolitan Melbourne after a record 191 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on 7 July. The six-week lockdown also includes the Mitchell Shire, which is located north of Melbourne. Premier Daniel Andrews says the growth in new cases is unsustainably high and failure to take action would have seen the virus get out of control. There are currently 772 active cases in Victoria, including 438 that have been attributed to community transmission.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Banks to extend loan deferrals

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 8-Jul-20

Australian banks have agreed to extend the deferral of household and business loan repayments by up to four months. The move follows concern about a looming ‘financial cliff’ when the current six-month deferral period ends in September. However, the Australian Banking Association has stressed that customers who have the capacity to resume loan repayments when the initial deferral period ends should do so. It is estimated that nearly 800,000 bank customers have deferred their loan repayments due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Victoria’s $12b economic hit from new lockdown

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Jul-20

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird says the six-week coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne is likely to reduce Australia’s GDP growth by about one per cent in the September quarter. While the economic cost of the lockdown to the Victorian economy is uncertain, estimates range from $1bn to $2.3bn per week. IFM Investors’ chief economist Alex Joiner says the federal government will have to take the new lockdown into account when finalising its forecasts for the economic statement to be released on 23 July. Victoria accounts for about 25 per cent of the national economy.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Leakage and larceny as supermarkets compete, with online grocery shopping the next big battleground

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jul-20

Australians spent $94.6 billion in supermarkets in the year to March 2020. Data from Roy Morgan’s latest Fresh Food & Grocery Report shows that, between them, the Woolworths Group and the Coles Group took 67.5% of that total. Woolworths has the larger share of overall spend, but Coles isn’t too far behind. However, when it comes to online grocery shopping, which has shaped up as the next major battleground, the difference is marked. At ease buying many other things online, Australians have long preferred to do their grocery shopping in person. By March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, only 3% of the nation’s total supermarket spend was taking place online. Woolworths accounted for 57.4% of all online supermarket spending, compared to Coles’ 26.1%. The arrival of the pandemic turbocharged the move to online grocery-buying to such a degree that demand could not be met and services were temporarily restricted. With lockdown no longer in place except in specific Melbourne locations, shoppers have increasingly returned to physical locations throughout Australia, but it is likely that many of those who recently made the move to online groceries will continue to use that option, at least some of the time.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 0.9 pts to 92.1 after Melbourne COVID-19 cases surge – forcing Melbourne back into six weeks lockdown

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jul-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 0.9pts to 92.1 in the week to 4/5 July, to its lowest level since May 9/10 (90.3). Consumer Confidence is now 25.5pts lower than a year ago (117.6) and 2.9pts below the 2020 weekly average of 95.0. Now 23% (up 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 37% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 35% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 18% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Just 7% (unchanged) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 46% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 35% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 36% (up 2ppts) 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