Author: roymorgansocial

World’s largest trade pact an enormous victory: Morrison

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Nov-19

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will come into effect in 2020, after the leaders of the 15 participating nations agreed to the terms of the trade deal at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok. The RCEP will comprise members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has welcomed finalisation of the trade deal and indicated that India could still join the RCEP at a later date. The trade deal will comprise about 30 per cent of global GDP.

CORPORATES
REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP, EAST ASIA SUMMIT, ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Rapid growth in use of Buy-Now-Pay-Later digital payments – such as Afterpay, zipPay and zipMoney

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Nov-19

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1.95 million Australians aged 14+ used one of the latest ‘buy-now-pay-later’ digital payment methods such as Afterpay, zipPay or zipMoney in the year to September 2019, up from 1.38 million in the previous 12 months. Australians between the ages of 14-34 account for 55.9% of ‘buy-now-pay-later’ users, with those in the 25-34 age range making up 33.5% of all users. To put this in perspective, that age group represents only 18.1% of the population aged 14+, which means that those aged 25-34 are nearly twice as likely to be using a ‘buy-now-pay-later’ system as the average across the whole population. By contrast, Australians over 50 make up only 14.2% of pay-later users despite being 40.7% of the population aged 14+. Meanwhile, the use of credit cards is declining, with the percentage of Australians holding a credit card down about 3% points over the past year. This data is from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with around 50,000 consumers each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ZIPPAY, ZIPMONEY

Environmental issues seen as the biggest problem facing Australia – for the first time since February 2011

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Nov-19

New in-depth research from Roy Morgan shows that a record 41% of Australians regard Environmental problems as the major concern facing Australia, up 17% points since June. A further 22% (down 12% points) cited Economic problems. This is the lowest level of concern for Economic issues since April 2006, prior to the Global Financial Crisis. Environmental problems are also clearly regarded as the biggest concern facing the World. An unchanged 46% of Australians mentioned some form of Environmental concern as the most important problem facing the World – nearly three times as many as the 16% who mentioned Economic problems. This is the first time Environmental problems have topped the list of concerns facing both Australia and the World since February 2011, when massive floods hit Queensland and its capital city Brisbane, as well as soon after the devastating Black Saturday bush fires in 2009 that killed over 170 Victorians. These are the key findings from a special Roy Morgan online survey of 1,054 Australians aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

More Westpac pain ahead as dividends cut

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 5-Nov-19

Westpac has posted cash earnings of $6.85bn for 2018-19, which is 15 per cent lower than previously. Its net interest margin fell 10 basis points to 2.12 per cent in the year to 30 September, while the final dividend has been reduced from $0.94 per share to $0.80. Westpac has also advised that its customer remediation costs have totalled $1.9bn pre-tax since 2017, and CEO Brian Hartzer has warned of the potential for further compensation and litigation. Meanwhile, a $2.5bn capital raising will lift Westpac’s common equity tier one capital ratio to around 11.25 per cent.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Treasurer’s push to ease SME squeeze

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 1-Nov-19

The federal government will seek to make it easier for small and medium enterprises to access credit by urging banks to waive responsible lending standards for the sector. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg notes that the distinction between a small business loan and a personal loan is often a grey area, given that small business owners often use their family home as security when taking out a loan. Council of Small Business of Australia CEO Peter Strong says banks often advise small business owners to take out a personal loan instead, as they are cheaper and less complicated.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Doubts remain as AGL embraces costly transition to energy future

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 1-Nov-19

Macquarie Wealth Management has reiterated its ‘underperform’ rating on AGL Energy, following the power company’s annual investor briefing. Analysts note that AGL will have to spend billions on clean energy sources to replace the coal and gas-fired power stations that it intends to close over the next few years. RBC Capital Markets has a ‘sector perform’ recommendation on AGL, with analyst James Nevin saying AGL appears to be positioning itself to respond to the changing and uncertain market.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Back pay problems besiege big firms

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-19

Many companies have opted to replace or upgrade their payroll systems in response to the introduction of the Australian Taxation Office’s digital Single Touch Payroll reporting system. This has in turn resulted in some companies discovering that they have been underpaying their employees, although Woolworths’ wages scandal is not believed to be linked to the transition to the STP system. Australian Retailers Association CEO Russell Zimmerman has called for an overhaul of the modern award system, contending that its complexity has contributed to the rising number of companies that have self-reported wage underpayments to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION AND TAXATION OMBUDSMAN, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, THALES AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, ERNST AND YOUNG, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BAKER’S DELIGHT HOLDINGS LIMITED, CHEMIST WAREHOUSE

Aged care: the sorry truth

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-19

The interim report of the royal commission into aged care has described the aged care system as being in a state that "diminishes Australia as a nation". Federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck says the report has put the government, the industry and the Australian community on notice. The report claims that Australia has developed an ageist mindset that has led to a failure to properly value and engage with older ­people, and this has translated into "apparent indifference" towards aged-care services. The report calls for urgent action on three issues: the use of chemical restraints in nursing homes; getting 6,000 young disabled people out of aged-care homes as soon as practicable; and an immediate boost to funding for high-need, in-home care recipients.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO AGED CARE QUALITY AND SAFETY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

ANZ warns of tough going as profit falls

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 1-Nov-19

The ANZ Bank’s 2018-19 cash profit was steady at $6.47bn, although its net profit fell seven per cent to $5.95bn. ANZ has warned that trading conditions are likely to remain ‘challenging’ for some time, with CEO Shayne Elliott noting that consumers are opting to save rather than spend their money in the low interest rate environment. He has also rejected suggestions that banks are ‘profiteering’, arguing that ANZ’s return on equity of 10.9 per cent is not unreasonable. ANZ’s final dividend of $0.80 per share will be franked to 70 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Rio Tinto could hit iron ore goal in 2022

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 1-Nov-19

The head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, Chris Salisbury, has told investors that production at its Koodaideri mine in Western Australia is slated for late 2021. He also said the mine will give Rio Tinto the capacity to ship 360 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara each year. This target was first set in 2013, but to date the most Rio Tinto has shopped from the Pilbara in a single year is 338.2 million tonnes. Analysts expect its Pilbara shipments to total 325.5 million tonnes in 2019.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VUMA FINANCIAL LIMITED