Author: roymorgansocial

Growing super’s $3 trillion funds pool

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Feb-20

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that the total value of assets managed by the nation’s superannuation funds increased by 13 per cent to $2.951bn in 2019. Rice Warner forecasts that the super pool will increase to about $7trn by 2034, and so-called mega funds will dominate the sector. MySuper accounts boasted assets under management of $802bn at the end of 2019, up nearly 20 per cent, while self-managed super funds had assets totalling $739.7bn, an increase of 7.8 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD

Virus triggers surplus retreat

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Feb-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 2,711, and more than 80,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. Meanwhile, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has warned that the virus will have a greater economic impact on the Australian economy than the summer bushfires, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed the impact of the virus is not restricted to the education and tourism sectors. Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics says there is still a chance that the government will achieve a Budget surplus for 2019-20.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Earnings shredded as virus fears bite

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Original article by Eli Greenblat, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 26-Feb-20

The coronavirus outbreak has become a major theme for the February reporting season, with a growing number of listed companies issuing earnings downgrades due to the impact of the virus. Treasury Wine Estates, Blackmores and Seek are among the latest companies to issue profit warnings; Treasury has downgraded its earnings expectations for the third time in 2020. Meanwhile, retail group Mosaic Brands had advised that its dividends have been put on hold until the impact of the coronavirus becomes clear.

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, MOSAIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX MOZ

ACCC takes fight up to digital giants

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Feb-20

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has advised that it now has more than 10 active investigations into digital platforms, compared with five when the final report into its landmark inquiry into the sector was released in July. ACCC chairman Rod Sims says it is examining both competition and consumer issues in relation to digital platforms. He notes that the use and abuse of consumers’ data by such platforms is one of the key concerns.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

ASIO uncovers sleeper agent running spy ring

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Feb-20

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess says countering terrorism remains ASIO’s top priority. He was delivering the Annual Threat Assessment on 24 February, with Burgess stating the ­number of active terrorist leads ASIO was investigating had doubled in the past 12 months. He revealed that ASIO had uncovered a ‘sleeper agent’ running a major spy ring, although he did not disclose what had happened to the agent. Burgess said ASIO had used controversial new encryption laws within 10 days of them coming into effect in 2018 in order to prevent a possible terrorist attack.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards 2019: Automotive and Airline Winners

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-20

The annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards were presented in Melbourne on 18 February. The automotive and airline categories included wins by first-time and past winners, as well as Qantas securing both domestic airline awards. Past award winner Lexus once again secured the Car Manufacturer of the Year award, taking its total to five award wins in the category. Mazda won its first Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Award in the new category of Major Car Manufacturer of the Year. Meanwhile, the three airline awards were presented to two winners. Qantas won both the Domestic Airline and Domestic Business Travel Airline categories in convincing fashion while Singapore Airlines put together another strong 12 months, winning the International Airline of the Year category for a sixth time.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LEXUS AUSTRALIA, MAZDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED

Inflation expectations much higher among ALP supporters than Liberal, National or Greens supporters

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-20

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 3.9% annually over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for January 2020. This is a slight decrease of 0.1% on December, but down 0.3% on a year ago. This is the lowest expectation of future price increases to start a year since the series began in 2010, and compares to price expectations of 6.6% annually over the next two years in January 2011. Comparing price expectations by Federal voting intention shows that the highest price expectations are held by those voting for Independents/Others at 4.4% annually over the next two years, equal to those who can’t say who they would vote for (also 4.4%). In terms of supporters of the major parties, ALP supporters expect annual price increases of 4.1% over the next two years which is slightly higher than the national average of 3.9% and significantly higher than both L-NP supporters on 3.5% and Greens supporters on 3.7%. January Inflation Expectations are based on personal interviews with a nationally representative sample of 4,052 Australians aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

News Corp underpaid super

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 25-Feb-20

News Corp Australia says that about 2,500 current and former employees have not received their correct superannuation entitlements due to payroll system errors. A spokesman says that most of the affected employees were underpaid by less than $250, and they are collectively owed around $1.5m. The underpayments were discovered during a review of News Corp’s super contributions, which also revealed some instances of wages being overpaid.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

ATO probes Rio on its pricing of aluminium

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 25-Feb-20

Rio Tinto’s Australian aluminium business is the subject of a transfer pricing assessment by the Australian Taxation Office. It is understood that the ATO’s investigation is looking at Rio’s Boyne aluminium smelter in Queensland, and the manner in which transactions between Boyne and Rio’s Singapore marketing hub have been structured in recent years. The ATO’s investigation comes at a time when Rio is holding discussions with governments concerning a possible rescue package for its loss-making Australian aluminium smelters. The ATO also launched a $212 million transfer pricing claim against Alcoa in December.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards 2019: Australia’s retail winners announced

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-20

The 2019 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards have been presented in Melbourne. The winners of the retail categories included some of Australia’s biggest brands, as well as some lesser-known businesses, all of which have earned their place at the top of their respective industries. There were several winners in the retail category that won 12 straight monthly awards throughout 2019. These include The Reject Shop (Discount Variety Store), Bunnings Warehouse (Hardware Store), Subway (Major Quick Service Restaurant), Rebel (Sports Store) and Foodland (Supermarket). Myer (Department Store) and IKEA (Major Furniture/Electrical Store) followed on from their wins last year, while Supercheap Auto (Auto Store), The Athlete’s Foot (Shoe Store), First Choice Liquor (Liquor Store), Harris Scarfe (Discount Department Store), Betta Home Living (Furniture/Electrical Store), Crust Pizza (Quick Service Restaurant), Guardian (Chemist/Pharmacy) and Michel’s (Coffee Shop) returned to the winners list after absences. Just Jeans (Clothing Store) won its first annual award.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED