Author: roymorgansocial

New housing approvals jump 7.6pc in September

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Original article by Michael Bleby, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 1-Nov-19

Official data shows that residential building approvals rebounded in September, with overall growth of 7.6 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms. Approvals for detached dwellings increased by 2.6 per cent, and approvals apartments and townhouses rose 16 per cent. Meanwhile, dwelling approvals totalled 176,638 in the year to September, compared with 179,924 in the year to August. Separate data from the Reserve Bank shows that there was an 0.2 per cent increase in housing credit in September, and annual growth of 3.1 per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Recovery in doubt as Aussie dollar surges

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 1-Nov-19

The Australian dollar reached a three-month high of $US0.693 in local trading on 31 October, in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s third interest rate cut in 2019. Financial markets have in turn downgraded the chances of the Reserve Bank of Australia reducing the cash rate again before the end of the year. The Australian dollar gained 3.3 per cent in October, including a gain of 1.6 per cent in the last five trading sessions. RBA board member Ian Harper argues that a strong currency is not desirable at present, given weak economic growth and less than full employment.

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UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Magazine readership increases to over 15.2 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Nov-19

Roy Morgan has released the Australian Magazine Readership report for the 12 months to September 2019. A total of 15,205,000 Australians aged 14+ (73.3%) now read magazines in print or online, up 0.6 per cent from a year ago. Readership of print magazines is almost 13.3 million Australians (64.0 per cent), down 2.5% from a year ago. Five of Australia’s top 10 magazines grew their print readership over the past year. The free ‘Coles Magazine’ remains the most widely-read print magazine, with a readership of 4,762,000 (up 3.1 per cent), while ‘Better Homes & Gardens’ remains the most widely-read paid magazine with a print readership of 1,673,000 million (up 3.1 per cent). Meanwhile, Taste.com.au remains the best-read magazine title across print and digital formats, with a total cross-platform audience of almost 3.2 million (down 1.2 per cent). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 49,462 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2019.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

15.4 million Australians read newspapers in print or online

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Nov-19

Roy Morgan has released the latest readership results for Australian newspapers, for the 12 months to September 2019. Now 15.4 million Australians aged 14+ (74%) read or access newspapers in an average seven-day period via print or online, a fall of 3.7 per cent from a year ago. The standout performer over the past year is again ‘The Australian Financial Review’, which increased its total cross-platform readership by 17.1 per cent to 1,599,000; this was driven by a substantial increase in its digital audience (up 24.6 per cent to 1,359,000). ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ is still Australia’s most widely-read masthead, with a cross-platform audience of 4,209,000, which is virtually unchanged on a year ago. Meanwhile, ‘Good Weekend’ remains Australia’s most widely-read newspaper inserted magazine, with print readership of 825,000 (down 25.2 per cent over the last year). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of 49,462 Australians aged 14+ in the 12 months to September 2019.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Call to include clean coal in PM power push

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Original article by Olivia Caisley, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-Oct-19

Shine Energy CEO Ashley Dodd says the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s mandate should be expanded to include replacing Australia’s existing coal-fired power plants with high-efficiency, low-emissions plants. The federal government will inject an additional $1bn into the CEFC, but it has specifically ruled out using the extra funding to invest in new coal-fired plants or to upgrade existing plants. National Party MP Keith Pitt supports expanding the CEFC’s mandate to embrace all energy sources.

CORPORATES
SHINE ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Hidden cost of mental illness

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 31-Oct-19

The Productivity Commission has released a report which calls for ‘generational changes’ to address the issue of mental illness. The report notes that Australia has a higher rate of mental illness than the OECD average, and it costs the nation about $500m per day. Amongst other things, the report examines the direct cost of mental illness in terms of lost productivity and the provision of health services. It also warns that many people with mental illness are not receiving the support and services they require.

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AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Court says backpacker tax is discriminatory

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 31-Oct-19

Arnold Bloch Leibler partner Clint Harding says some backpackers could be entitled to tax refunds after a landmark court ruling on the federal government’s tax on the earnings of working holidaymakers. The Federal Court’s Justice John Logan has ruled that the backpacker tax breaches non-discrimination clause in Australia’s tax treaties with eight countries, including the UK, the US, Germany and Japan. The Australian Taxation Office may appeal the ruling.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ARNOLD BLOCH LEIBLER, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, TAXBACK.COM

BHP’s Colombian coal to take on Australian miners in Asia

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 31-Oct-19

The Cerrejon thermal coal mine in Colombia will shift its export focus to Asia in response to declining demand for coal in Europe. Cerrejon president Guillermo Fonseca expects the transition to clean fuels and renewable energy will take some time, and the region will still be using coal in 2050. The Cerrejon mine is jointly owned by BHP, Glencore and Anglo America, and BHP is believed to be keen to exit both Cerrejon and the Mt Arthur mine in New South Wales.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, GLENCORE PLC, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

It’s a win for artist known as What

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Original article by Emily Ritchie
The Australian – Page: 3 : 31-Oct-19

A portrait of Australian singer-songwriter Robert Forster has been awarded the 2019 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. It was selected from 30 finalists for the prestigious award, and was painted by a New South Wales-based artist who refers to himself only as What. His portrait of the co-founder of Australian band The Go-Betweens has been praised by one of the award’s judges, Kelly Gellatly.

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CPI cools further rate cut chances

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 31-Oct-19

Official data shows that the consumer price index rose 0.5 per cent during the September quarter and 1.7 per cent year-on-year. Trimmed mean inflation was 0.4 per cent during the quarter and 1.6 per cent for the year to September. With the inflation rate remaining below the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent for a 15th consecutive quarter, the cash rate now seems likely to stay unchanged at 0.75 per cent for the rest of the year. Craig James of CommSec says the three interest rate cuts in 2019 have spooked consumers.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY