Author: roymorgansocial

Catalano flags return of regional newspapers

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 16 : 5-Jun-20

Antony Catalano has indicated that Australian Community Media is looking at digital opportunities, but it has no plans to adopt a digital-only model for any of its regional titles. ACM put the print editions of some titles on hold in April in response to the coronavirus-induced downturn in the advertising market; Catalano says publication of these titles will resume as soon as possible, but it will depend on factors such as the pace at which lockdown restrictions are eased. He adds that there are signs of an upturn in the advertising market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA

2.09 million Australians unemployed in May, down 69,000 on April

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jun-20

In May 14.8% of the workforce (2.09 million Australians) were unemployed and 9.7% (1.37 million) were under-employed. This is a total of 3.46 million (24.5%) unemployed or under-employed as Australia begins to open up, according to the latest Roy Morgan employment estimates – obviously an under-estimation as 3.5 million are currently subsidised on JobKeeper. Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says: "Australia has entered its first recession for three decades and a quarter of the Australian workforce is unemployed or under-employed. To emerge from recession quickly businesses and unions must work together to forge sensible and equitable solutions that encourage employers to hire new workers. A Roy Morgan survey this week showed the Federal Court decision to award extra entitlements to certain casual employees will effect up to 794,000 Australian businesses. 567,000 businesses say they will be deterred from hiring casual employees and 123,000 say the decision will ‘force them to close’. This shows if businesses and unions don’t work together hundreds of thousands of Australians will struggle to find new jobs."

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Bidders spell out Virgin job cuts to unions

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Original article by Jemima Whyte,Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 4-Jun-20

Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners must submit binding offers for Virgin Australia by 22 June. The two final bidders for the failed airline are under growing pressure to outline their plans for Virgin, including the likely job losses. Unions held talks with Bain and Cyrus on 3 June, and some sources have suggested that more than 20 per cent of Virgin’s employees could be retrenched. BGH Capital is said to have been looking at cutting 2,000 jobs if it had acquired Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH,BAIN CAPITAL LLC,CYRUS CAPITAL PARTNERS LP,DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED,BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD

Online shopping boom permanent: Gumtree

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 4-Jun-20

Gumtree MD Mark Kehoe expects the shift to online shopping during the coronavirus lockdown to be a permanent trend. He adds that traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers are being forced to catch up by expanding into the online space. Kehoe notes that consumers were searching Gumtree for items like gym equipment and office desks in the initial stages of the lockdown, but searches for outdoor equipment such as bikes increased as the restrictions eased.

CORPORATES
GUMTREE.COM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,EBAY INCORPORATED

RBA tips fewer ATMs and an end to cheques

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 : 4-Jun-20

The Reserve Bank of Australia could introduce a ‘least-cost routing’ regime for credit card transactions unless merchants take the initiative themselves, according to assistant governor Michele Bullock. This is among the options that will be considered in the RBA’s review of the payments system. Bullock also notes that the coronavirus pandemic has seen a sharp downturn in ATM usage, which may prompt the nation’s ATM network to be scaled back. She adds that cheques could soon be phased out, given that this payment option has been in steady decline for the last two decades.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Vale fights to meet iron ore guidance

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-Jun-20

Macquarie Wealth Management’s analysis of port data shows that BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group are on track to achieve their iron ore export guidance for 2020. However, Macquarie believes that Brazilian rival Vale will struggle to meet its full-year guidance of 310 million to 330 million tonnes, despite ramping up shipments in the last two weeks. Macquarie estimates that Vale will need to export more than six million tonnes per week to achieve the lower end of its guidance; its weekly shipments have averaged 4.5 million tonnes so far in the June quarter.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO,FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG,VALE SA,MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Cost of beating virus: recession

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Original article by Patrick Commins,Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Jun-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has confirmed that the Australian economy is in recession for the first time in 29 years. GDP data shows that the economy contracted by 0.3 per cent in the March quarter, while economic growth slowed from 2.2 per cent to 1.4 per cent in the year to March. Frydenberg has also warned that the economic contraction in the June quarter will be much worse; economists expect GDP growth to fall by 6-9 per cent as the full impact of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions took effect. Meanwhile, the federal government has delayed its mini-budget until 23 July, which will allow it to assess how the economy fares after lockdown restrictions are fully lifted.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Success against virus boosts rare earths

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 4-Jun-20

Rare earths miner Hastings Technology Metals has secured a 10-year off-take agreement with German automotive parts group Schaeffler. Hastings COO Andrew Reid says Schaeffler was keen to finalise the agreement given that rare earths supply from China has been disrupted by the pandemic and Australia has performed well in containing the coronavirus. Hastings aims to commence work on a rare earths processing plant in Western Australia in 2021, with initial production by 2023.

CORPORATES
HASTINGS TECHNOLOGY METALS LIMITED – ASX HAS,SCHAFFLER TECHNOLOGIES AG

Surging dollar harming export earnings

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 4-Jun-20

The Australian dollar peaked at a five-month high of $US0.6983 in local trading on 3 June, having fallen to an 18-year low of $US0.551 earlier in 2020. The currency has averaged $US0.648 so far in the first half of the calendar year, compared with an average of around $US0.68 in the second half of 2019. The dollar’s recent rebound has boosted offshore interest in Australian equities, although it will weigh on the nation’s export earnings.

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Federal Court’s ruling on casual employees set to have impact on hundreds of thousands of businesses says Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine

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Original article by Michele Levine
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Jun-20

The business community and union movement must come together and reach an equitable solution about how to handle the implications of the decision in the interests of a healthy Australian jobs market. The biggest direct impact is that businesses will be deterred from hiring casual employees. Businesses mentioned ‘double-dipping’ and that ‘casual workers already get a 25% loading for sick pay and annual leave’. In addition as many as 123,000 businesses say they will be ‘forced to close’. The reluctance to hire casual employees is a troubling development in an economy which has experienced over a million job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged working with unions and businesses to re-boot the Australian economy after the pandemic, but the impetus must be driven by business and union leaders to succeed.

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