Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases to 84.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Apr-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 7.7% to 84.2 in the week to 19 April. Now 20% (down 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 41% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 36% (up 4ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 24% (down 3ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. However, just 5% (unchanged) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 54% (down 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 28% (up 8ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 47% (down 7ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ fell 0.2ppt to 3.8%. The weekly reading dipped to 3.1% from 3.8%.

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

Chinese demand has BHP optimistic

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 22-Apr-20

BHP produced 68 million tonnes of iron ore in the March quarter, a year-on-year increase of four per cent. Production for the first nine months of 2019-20 rose to a record 205 million tonnes. BHP notes that demand for iron ore in China remains strong, but it has flagged a potential double-digit fall in steel production outside of China in 2020. BHP’s quarterly production report also shows that output at its coal mines in Queensland was 16 per cent lower than in the December quarter and seven per cent lower year-on-year.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

$A doing its job to help stabilise the economy

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Original article by Sarah Turner, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 22-Apr-20

The Reserve Bank of Australia has bought $47bn worth of federal and state government bonds since 20 March. The central bank has progressively reduced its daily bond purchases from $5bn to just $500m since then, and it will now buy federal government bonds three times a week and state bonds just once a week. Meanwhile, RBA governor Philip Lowe says the Australian dollar fell more sharply than he had expected in March. It reached a low of $US0.5741 and has since recovered to around $US0.63. Lowe says the currency has been a "great shock-absorber" for the domestic economy over the last three decades.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

TV networks brace for potential 30 per cent fall in ad revenues despite rising viewership

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Original article by Rod Myer
The New Daily – Page: Online : 21-Apr-20

The coronavirus lockdown has prompted a spike in ratings for TV news bulletins as Australians seek information on the pandemic. Think TV CEO Kim Portrate says there has been strong growth in audiences for traditional linear TV, broadcast video-on-demand and subscription video-on-demand services. However, TV networks’ revenue is being hit by a sharp fall in bookings from advertisers; Jane Ratcliffe from Standard Media Index estimates that ad revenue could fall by 25-30 per cent in April.

CORPORATES
THINK TV, SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED

Miners seek assurance on fuel tax break

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 21-Apr-20

The resources sector is lobbying the federal government not to touch the diesel excise rebate as it looks at ways to repay the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rebate is worth around $2 billion to the resources sector; it is also received by other industries, including fishing and agriculture. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable contends that imposing higher taxes to pay for the cost of COVID-19 will harm jobs and curtail growth, while she notes that both the Henry tax review and Treasury are of the view that the fuel tax credit is sound economic policy.

CORPORATES
MINERAL COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

China rejects call for probe of virus origins

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 21-Apr-20

China’s Foreign Ministry claims that it has "serious concerns" about Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. A spokesperson for the Ministry has suggested that Australia should not "blindly follow other countries", and should instead focus on improving epidemic control and on improving its relationship with China. Australia-China Relations Institute director James Laurenceson says he does not think China would agree to such an inquiry; he notes that the global financial crisis began in the US, but that the US "did not open up its books" to show what happened.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE. DEPT OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY, AUSTRALIA-CHINA RELATIONS INSTITUTE

Labor launches Senate push to reverse IR changes

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Apr-20

Shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke has questioned the need for reforms which reduce the amount of time employees are given to vote on proposed changes to workplace agreements from seven days to just one. The reform was prompted by the pandemic, but Burke argues that any such changes to enterprise agreements will remain in place after the coronavirus abates and will need to be removed via another vote by employees. Labor will put a disallowance motion to the Senate when parliament resumes, and it intends to seek the support of crossbenchers.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Ailing Virgin’s crash landing

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Original article by Simon Benson, Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Apr-20

Virgin Australia’s creditors are unlikely to recover much of the money they are owed after the struggling airline was placed into voluntary administration. Virgin’s international shareholders agreed to the move after the federal government rejected a request from the carrier for a $100m emergency grant. Private equity firm BGH is believed to be among two potential buyers of Virgin, which could be revived as a low-cost airline focusing on the domestic market. Labor and unions have urged the government to take a stake in Virgin to ensure that it survives.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Lowe: Business needs reforms to recover

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 21-Apr-20

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has warned that the nation is facing a "very significant economic contraction" due to the coronavirus pandemic. He is expected to use a speech on 21 April to call for further policy reform, amid growing concern that business investment will not rebound when the crisis abates. Some economists are also of the view that economic reform will be necessary, arguing that fiscal and monetary stimulus will not be sufficient to boost business investment.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

No dirty tactics, ACCC tells tech giants

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 21-Apr-20

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has warned that technology companies will face significant financial penalties if they fail to comply with the mandatory code of conduct. He adds that 8-14 per cent of Google’s search results include news stories, so the company is unlikely to block such content in response to the federal government’s decision to make digital platforms pay news publishers for their content. The ACCC has been given responsibility for developing the payment model.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY