Author: roymorgansocial

Retail, Transport and Manufacturing are the industries least likely to offer working from home

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-20

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has forced many employers to consider encouraging, or even forcing, their employees to work from home to reduce the possibility of the virus spreading around the community; however, this is not possible for all jobs. The latest in-depth employment data from Roy Morgan shows that 71% of employed Australians do no work from home, down by only 1% from a decade ago. In contrast, 29% of workers do undertake some work from home, up from 28%. Until this year, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, these figures have barely changed in the last 10 years. Importantly, there are several industries for which working from home is simply not an option for all employees. Over three-quarters of employees in the Retail (87%), Transport and Storage (82%), Manufacturing (82%) and Recreation and Personal (77%) do no work from home. There are two industries for which ‘doing some work from home’ is reported by almost half of the workforce including Finance, Property and Business Services (49% have done at least some work from home) and Communications (44%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australian consumers unconvinced about online retail giant Amazon

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-20

New Roy Morgan research into online retailer Amazon shows that the shopping giant is well behind on several consumer indicators when compared to other major retail brands. Some 26% of Australians said ‘I’d consider shopping at Amazon’; this compares to 61% for Bunnings, 58% for Kmart, 56% for Big W, 51% for JB Hi-Fi and 35% for eBay. Meanwhile, only 14% said Amazon has good quality products; this compares to 47% for Bunnings, 25% for Kmart, 27% for Big W, 41% for JB Hi-Fi and 14% for online-only auction site eBay. It is worth noting in this context that unlike the others on this list, in addition to selling goods directly Amazon acts as a marketplace for other retailers, while eBay is purely a marketplace. These findings are from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth face-to-face interviews with 1,000 Australians each week and over 50,000 each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, EBAY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND PTY LTD

A majority of Australian businesses say we’re in recession

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-20

A majority of 56% of Australian businesses say Australia is in its first ‘recession’ in nearly three decades, according to a special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey of 621 Australian businesses. Analysing by States shows over two-thirds (68%) of Queensland businesses say Australia is now in a ‘recession’ – higher than any other State. A majority of businesses in New South Wales (56%) and a slight majority in Victoria (51%) also agree that Australia is now in a ‘recession’. Although a small sample, Tasmanian businesses are more likely than those in any of the three larger States to say Australia is in a ‘recession’. In contrast a slim majority of businesses in both Western Australia (53%) and South Australia (52%) say Australia is ‘not’ in a ‘recession’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Economy in recession fear businesses

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: Online : 18-Mar-20

Businesses across the nation have declared the economy in recession for the first time in almost 30 years, as the death toll from the deadly coronavirus reaches five and infections soar above 450. Almost 60 per cent of more than 600 Australian businesses surveyed by Roy Morgan said the economy was in "recession" already, including almost 70 per cent in Queensland – more than any other state – whose tourism sector is expected to be hit especially hard by the collapse of international travel. "Some industries have been hit harder than others but majorities of businesses in most industries agree Australia is in a ‘recession’ including Manufacturing, Construction, Wholesale trade, Accommodation & Food services and Education & Training," said Roy Morgan chief executive Michelle Levine. "Although it’s obvious Australia is already in a ‘recession’ there are only a few things that can save Australia from experiencing a full-blown ‘depression’ which is recognised as a fall in GDP of at least 10 per cent," she added. The last recession in Australia in the early 1990s saw the jobless rate surge from 6.6 per cent to 9.5 per cent in the 12 months to 1991.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Qantas to announce new cuts by weekend

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Mar-20

Qantas has advised that the new quarantine rules for people travelling to Australia and New Zealand will force it to further reduce capacity on some routes. The airline recently cut capacity on domestic and international routes by five per cent and 23 per cent respectively in response to falling demand for air travel due to the coronavirus. A spokesman for Virgin Australia says the airline is still assessing its response to the new travel restrictions, while Air New Zealand has flagged redundancies and a looming 85 per reduction in international capacity.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ

AFL cuts season, opener in doubt

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Original article by John Ferguson, Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Mar-20

The Australian Football League has responded to the coronavirus crisis by reducing the 2020 home-and-away season from 22 rounds to just 17. The AFL has yet to decide whether to cancel round one or stage matches in empty stadiums. Delaying the start of the season until late May is also an option. CEO Gillon McLachlan has stressed that protecting the community is the league’s top priority. Reports have suggested that AFL players may be asked to take pay cuts of up to 20 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Crown, Star close every second pokie to keep punters apart

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Mar-20

Crown Resorts will shut down every second poker machine and electronic gaming table at its Melbourne casino complex. This follows the decision by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to declare a state of emergency, in order to try and curtail the spread of the coronavirus. The shutting of poker machines and electronic gaming tables is one of a number of social distancing measures that Crown will adopt at its Melbourne complex, with its social distancing policy being approved by the Victorian Chief Health Officer. Star Entertainment is shutting down half of the poker machines and electronic gaming tables at its Pyrmont casino in Sydney.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR

Virus could stall progress on Rio Tinto’s Mongolia project

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 17-Mar-20

Rio Tinto has advised that work on the multi-billion dollar underground expansion of its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia is being slowed as a consequence of efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Rio had previously reported in February that copper deliveries from the mine to buyers in China were being delayed due to border control measures aimed at tackling the spread of the virus. The underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine has been the subject of ongoing delays.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Economic dose of medicine

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Mar-20

The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to make an emergency interest rate cut in response to the coronavirus pandemic. RBA governor Philip Lowe has also flagged a government bond purchasing program to ensure that financial markets continue to function smoothly. The central bank injected some $5.9bn into the banking system on 16 March in order to boost liquidity. The US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced out-of-cycle interest rate cuts on 16 March; US rates have been reduced to near zero and NZ rates have been slashed by 75 basis points to just 0.25 per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Call to delay minimum wage rise

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Mar-20

The Australian Industry Group has not made a recommendation on an increase in the minimum wage in its submission to the Fair Work Commission. It has cited the uncertain outlook for the economy by 1 July, when any rise in the minimum wage is slated to take effect. Ai Group has also urged a delay in any such increase until 15 July; it argues that the FWC should hold off on finalising its wage review until after the release of national accounts data on 3 July. Ai Group CEO Innes Willox has warned that every segment of the economy will be affected by the coronavirus.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP