Author: roymorgansocial

Business Confidence hits a record low of 95.1 in March – declines accelerated throughout the month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Apr-20

In Australia, Business Confidence fell 9.5pts (-9.1%) to a new record low of 95.1 in March 2020, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey; this is more than 4pts below the previous bottom of 99.8 the decade-old index hit in July 2011. Business Confidence is now 11.6pts lower than it was year ago, and 19.8pts below the long-term average of 114.9. Analysing Business Confidence by dividing March into fortnights reveals a tale of two distinct halves. In the first two weeks of the month the index continued its recovery from the summer bushfires and averaged 107.5, an increase of 2.9pts from February. However, this recovery was halted in mid-March, with the index averaging only 71.4 over the last half of the month. It plunged day-by-day through to the end of March as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic hit Australia and prompted increasing government restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for March are based on 885 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

New Zealand’s Netflix, Lightbox and Amazon Prime Video experience double digit growth in viewership

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Apr-20

New data from Roy Morgan shows that a total of 2.42 million New Zealanders have access to Netflix in their household, an increase of 291,000 compared with a year ago. It is followed by Sky TV (including Neon) on 1.70 million (+66,000), Lightbox on 875,000 (+113,000), Apple TV on 377,000, Amazon Prime Video on 322,000 (+191,000) and YouTube Premium on 234,000 (-7,000). This new pay television data has been obtained from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over six thousand New Zealanders each year. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that while Netflix remains the most popular pay television service, a number of its competitors are also experiencing considerable growth. Levine adds that the coronavirus lockdown should provide a boost to not only new entrants such as Disney Plus but also more established services as housebound Kiwis look for ways to entertain themselves.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SKY NETWORK TELEVISION LIMITED – ASX SKT, NEON, LIGHTBOX, APPLE TV, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, YOUTUBE PREMIUM, DISNEY+

Covid casuals: money for jam

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Geoff Chambers, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Apr-20

The federal government has reached a compromise with the ACTU regarding the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme. Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter negotiated a deal with ACTU ­secretary Sally McManus to address the union movement’s concerns about draft legislation to amend the Fair Work Act. Labor still favours implementing the scheme via the Fair Work Commission, but it intends to vote for the legislation when parliament reconvenes for a one-off sitting on 7 April. Meanwhile, new data suggests that some casual workers may be paid significantly more under the JobKeeper scheme than they earned prior to the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Crown casino inquiry put on ice

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 6-Apr-20

The New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority has advised that its inquiry into casino operator Crown Resorts has been put on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It says the inquiry will resume when it is considered "safe and practicable" to do so. The focus of the inquiry is the proposed sale of shares in Crown to Lawrence Ho’s Hong Kong-based casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment by James Packer’s CPH Crown Holdings.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED, CPH CROWN HOLDINGS, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT LIQUOR AND GAMING AUTHORITY, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR

Future of FIFO mines is residential, says Pitt

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 6-Apr-20

More than 50,000 workers in Australia’s resources industry are employed on a fly-in, fly-out basis. However, federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt expects the sector to be much less reliant on FIFO workers once the coronavirus crisis is over. He says they are likely to focus more on using workers who live in close proximity to resources projects. However, he concedes that FIFO workers will still be needed for projects in remote areas. Restrictions on crossing state borders have prompted some mining companies to significantly to increase the shifts of their FIFO workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED

Santos sailing steady ship but gas delay on horizon

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Weekend Australian – Page: 28 : 4-Apr-20

Oil and gas group Santos remains confident that its $3.6bn Narrabri gas project in New South Wales will receive state government approval, but it has conceded that this may not occur before mid-2020 due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, Santos chairman Keith Spence has told the group’s annual meeting that it has no plans to undertake a capital raising at present, despite the recent slump in the crude oil price. Santos has already delayed several growth projects.

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SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Unions push for reasonable test in JobKeeper compromise deal for casuals

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
The New Daily – Page: Online : 6-Apr-20

Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that he is open to a compromise regarding casual workers’ access to the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme. All eligible employees will be paid $1,500 per fortnight, regardless of their current income; this may include some part-time casuals who earned less than $750 a week prior to the pandemic. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has urged the federal government to introduce a ‘reasonable test’ for casual employees who had expected to work over the next year but had been with their current employer for less than 12 months.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ACTU

Economy to contract almost 4pc in 2020

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 23 : 6-Apr-20

The median forecast of economists is that the Australian economy will contract by 3.9 per cent in calendar 2020, and by 1.1 per cent in the year to 30 June. The quarterly survey of economics also shows that the economy is expected to contract by 1.5 per cent in 2020-21, while economic growth is not forecast to rebound from the coronavirus until the end of 2021. Meanwhile, economists generally expect the unemployment rate to peak at 8.5 per cent by the end of June 2020, compared with 5.1 per cent at present. The inflation rate in turn is forecast to be 1.4 per cent in June, falling to 1.25 per cent by the end of the year.

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Non-banks clamp down on new loans

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 6-Apr-20

Non-bank lender Pepper Australia has increased its home loan interest rates and tightened its credit criteria as it assesses the impact of the coronavirus on its operations. Pepper will stop offering construction loans and will require a bigger deposit for commercial loans, while larger deposits will also be needed for its two types of home loans. Fellow non-bank lender Bluestone has also introduced new credit criteria as well as increasing the rates on all of its loan products by 35 basis points.

CORPORATES
PEPPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BLUESTONE GROUP PTY LTD

Social restrictions slowing the spread

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Apr-20

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia rose by just 139 on 5 April, or 2.5 per cent. The nation’s infection rate was rising by an average of 25 per cent each day just two weeks ago. Chief Health Officer Brendan Murphy says the latest figures show that efforts to contain the virus are continuing to ‘flatten the curve’, and he is optimistic that measures such as lockdowns and social distancing will allow the nation to avoid the large-scale crisis that has hit some countries. However, the nation’s death toll from the virus has risen to 35; three of the four new fatalities in New South Wales had been on the ‘Ruby Princess’ cruise ship.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER