Author: roymorgansocial

Coles, Woolies strike out on beauty boom

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

Sales of non-food groceries in supermarkets fell by 0.7 per cent in the 12 months to May, according to IRI, while sales of packaged food rose by 2.3 per cent in the same period. Health and beauty sales in supermarkets were down 0.1 per cent, while sales of general merchandise products fell 4.6 per cent. Alistair Leathwood from IRI says consumers are making more informed decisions about purchases because of the amount of information they are getting online, allowing them to buy items that they would normally buy in supermarkets at other outlets for a cheaper price.

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IRI COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Greens win Senate backing for federal ICAC

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

A private members bill sponsored by the Greens that calls for the introduction of a federal anti-corruption commission was passed by the Senate on 9 September. Labor, Centre Alliance and independent senator Jacqui Lambie supported the bill, which was passed 35-32. The federal government will likely use its numbers to ensure that the bill does not get put to a vote in the House of Representatives, while government senators claimed that the Greens’ proposed model for a federal anti-corruption commission was too broad.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY CENTRE ALLIANCE

New WA mining boom brings automation to the fore, but the unions aren’t happy

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Original article by Bridget Fitzgerald
abc.net au – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

Mining jobs in Western Australia are at their highest level since the peak of the last mining boom in 2013, with over 106,000 people currently employed in the sector. WA State Training Board chairman Jim Walker is working with mining companies and South Metropolitan TAFE on courses that will prepare workers for increased automation, with a recent McKinsey report estimating that over 30 per cent of jobs in the Pilbara region, where mining is the dominant employer, will be impacted by automation. Union official Jeff Carig says it is important that those of its members impacted by automation are offered the chance to retrain, while Volker Schilling, who has worked in the iron ore sector for many years, says automation has improved the way he works.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. STATE TRAINING BOARD RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO McKINSEY AND COMPANY

Business Confidence post-election bounce continues

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

Roy Morgan Business Confidence was up 0.3pts (+0.3%) to 114.3 in August. Business Confidence has now averaged 114.4 over the last three months, which is up 1.7pts (+1.5%) since the same period a year ago. The small increase was driven by an increasing number of businesses saying the next year is a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, up 4.4ppts to 53.1%, and an increasing majority of businesses, 54.1% (up 2.1ppts), expecting ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next five years. The improvement for Business Confidence over the last four months means the index is now virtually level with the latest weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence, which was at 114.4 on August 31/September 1, 2019. Business Confidence in August 2019 is now 4.1pts above its level of a year ago in August 2018 but is still 1.3pts below its long-term average of 115.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Important life events are happening later in life

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

New data from Roy Morgan shows that important life events such as moving away from parents, sharing a household, renting, and then paying off a home and finally owning a home, are all occurring later in life for Australians than they were a decade ago. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Australians are living at home for longer, renting until their late 30s or even 40s, and paying off their homes well into their 60s and 70s, as the changing nature of Australian society impacts on the living arrangements of many. Levine says the changing way Australians decide upon their living arrangements and living their lives is clearly having a huge impact on the choices Australians make as consumers and where they decide to spend their dollars for leisure and entertainment, as well as for necessities and consumables.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Sydney’s lockout laws set to be wound back across CBD but Kings Cross still under curfew

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Original article by Paige Cockburn
abc.net au – Page: Online : 9-Sep-19

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian says that Sydney’s lockout laws should be rolled back, in order to bolster Sydney’s night-time economy. A joint parliamentary committee is investigating Sydney’s night-time economy, and is due to release its report in coming weeks. It is expected that 1.30am lockouts would be lifted in Sydney’s CBD entertainment district, but would remain in place in Kings Cross. Venue operators have welcomed the prospect that the lockout laws will be eased, but St Vincent’s Hospital has expressed its disappointment; it notes it has not seen one alcohol-related assault death since the laws were introduced in 2014.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Bosses seek Fair Work’s EBA data to allay anxiety

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Sep-19

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has called on the Fair Work Commission to release comprehensive data about its approval of enterprise agreements. Employer groups have previously expressed concern about the time it takes to get agreements approved, with ACCI CEO James Pearson saying it hopes discussion on the issue of approval times could lead to changes that would see agreement approvals become quicker, simpler and more predictable. He says that this could help to reverse the ongoing decline in enterprise agreement coverage.

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AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Australia retain the Ashes after England fail to save fourth Test at Old Trafford

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Original article by Vic Marks
theguardian.com – Page: Online : 9-Sep-19

Australia has retained the Ashes, after defeating England by 185 runs in the fourth Test at Old Trafford to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. England managed to hold out until 6.15pm on the last day, before Josh Hazelwood trapped Craig Overton LBW to win the game. Steve Smith and Pat Cummins played the major part in both the victory at Old Trafford and Australia’s retention of the Ashes, but captain Tim Paine should also take some of the credit. For its part, England seem to becoming overly reliant on miracles.

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Morgan unveils processing advance for Titan’s balls of nickel

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: Online : 9-Sep-19

Comet Minerals announced in 2016 that it had detected a unique type of mineralisation at its Titan nickel project in Nigeria. Hugh Morgan, the former WMC Resources boss who heads up Comet Minerals, has told the recent Africa Down Under conference that another of his firms has developed a processing technique that will enable Comet Minerals to recover 100 per cent of nickel from the mineralisation at Titan. He said the technique has been successfully tested on gold and copper mineralisation, and that it does not involve any toxic reagents.

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COMET MINERALS, WMC RESOURCES LIMITED

Test for Labor as PM eyes victory

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Sep-19

The federal government looks set to get bills that would see drug testing for welfare recipients introduced and its cashless welfare card expanded passed, after independent senator Jacquie Lambie indicated she would support them. In return for her support, the federal government will waive the $157 million housing debt that Tasmania owes the commonwealth. Labor caucus is said to be divided over Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s decision to enforce a ‘no vote’ on both bills, while manager of opposition business Tony Burke claims the two bills will not create any more jobs but will just "humiliate" people.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY