Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence lifts to 111.9

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Mar-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 2.2% to 111.9 in the week ended 17 March, after a fall of 4.6% in the previous week. The index is still below the long-term average of 113.1. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 6%, after falls in the previous three readings; views toward future financial conditions rose 1.7%. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions were up 4.8% after the sharp fall of 7.9% in the previous week, and views toward future economic conditions were up marginally by 0.1%. The ‘time to buy a household item’ index fell by 0.5%, its third consecutive fall.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Westpac retreats from financial advice

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 20-Mar-19

Westpac will cease serving its existing personal financial advice customers at the end of June, after striking a deal with Viridian to exit the sector. Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer concedes that its personal finance advice business has not been profitable for some time, and increased regulation was a major factor in its decision to withdraw from the sector. Westpac faces restructuring costs of $250m to $300m, while about 900 full-time equivalent employees will be impacted by the decision to exit financial advice. Westpac expects the move to result in annual savings of $280m by 2020.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, VIRIDIAN ADVISORY PTY LTD

Shorten slaps down union super bosses

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Mar-19

The union movement continues to attract scrutiny for using industry superannuation funds to promote its industrial relations agenda. Labor leader Bill Shorten says the legal requirement of super fund trustees to act in the best interests of members overrides any other allegiances they may have. ACTU president Michele O’Neil recently urged super funds to use their influence as investors to ensure that companies offer secure and well-paid jobs. O’Neil is an alternate director on the board of AustralianSuper, which is partly owned by the ACTU.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, TWUSUPER, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, EQUIPSUPER PTY LTD, SUNSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Wage rise will cost jobs: retailers

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

Master Grocers Australia has urged the Fair Work Commission to limit the 2019 increase in the minimum wage to 1.2 per cent, which equates to $8.60 a week. It warns that a large increase in the minimum wage would force independent retailers to cut staff numbers or allocate more shifts to junior employees. The ACTU is pushing for the minimum wage to be increased by $43 a week, while the Victorian and Queensland governments have called for it to be increased by $40.66 and $25 a week respectively.

CORPORATES
MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, IGA, FOODWORKS SUPERMARKET GROUP LIMITED, CELLARBRATIONS, THE BOTTLE-O, DUNCAN’S LIQUOR

G20 must act on social evils

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

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says greater regulation of social media platforms should be a top priority for the next G20 leaders’ meeting in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attack. Morrison has written to G20 chairman Shinzo Abe arguing that the internet should not be regarded as an ungoverned space, and technology companies should be more accountable for the objectionable content that is distributed via their digital platforms. Facebook removed some 1.5 million live-streamed videos from its platform during the first 24 hours after the attack.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

Surplus powered by iron ore and coal

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 19-Mar-19

Ernst & Young expects the federal Budget’s bottom line to be $9.2bn better off over the next two years than Treasury had forecast in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The firm’s modelling of the Budget outcome is based on factors such as the price of iron ore and coal. Iron ore has averaged $US72 per tonne so far in 2018-19, compared with the MYEFO forecast of $U55/tonne. The price of metallurgical coal is also trading well above the MYEFO forecast so far in the current financial year.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Furious PM’s office threatens Ten over Waleed Aly’s emotional Christchurch plea

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
The New Daily – Page: Online : 19-Mar-19

Sources at the Ten Network have confirmed that the office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has complained about comments made by Waleed Aly on ‘The Project’ in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks. Aly did not mention Morrison by name in his editorial, in which he said a member of the Coalition’s shadow cabinet in 2010 suggested that the party should capitalise on anti-Muslim sentiment in the community. Aly then said the unnamed person is now Australia’s "most senior politician", a comment which prompted Morrison’s office to warn of the potential for defamation action.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Tribalism dividing Australia: Morrison

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Original article by Ben Packham, John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 19-Mar-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for a more inclusive Australia, as well as attacking the dangers of tribalism. Speaking just days after the Christchurch mosque killings, Morrison said people on both sides of politics are seeking to distort public debate in order to divide Australians in the aftermath of the attacks. He said Australians should be allowed to express concerns about population growth without being labelled racist or anti-migrant, while opposition leader Bill Shorten said politicians should try to avoid point-scoring in the wake of the attacks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA-ISRAEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Butter outspreads margarine in Australian kitchens

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

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that more than 12.3 million Australians aged 14+ bought butter, margarine or another type of butter blend/dairy spread in an average month during the year to December 2018. This compares with just under 11.9 million in 2014. The survey also found that 8.6 million Australians (or 42%) bought butter in an average month in 2018, an increase of more than 1.1 million in the last four years. In comparison, just over five million Australians (25%) bought margarine in an average month in 2018, representing a significant decline of over 1.3 million in four years. In addition, nearly 2.6 million Australians (13%) bought a butter blend/dairy spread in an average month in 2018, an increase of nearly 650,000 from four years ago. The survey is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted with over 50,000 Australians each year in their own homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Cash rate could fall below 1pc, UBS says

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 19-Mar-19

George Tharenou of UBS says the Reserve Bank of Australia should immediately reduce the cash rate by 50 basis points to one per cent, given the state of the economy and the housing market. Tharenou adds that the central bank should also signal that it is prepared to cut official interest rates even further in order to avoid a market shock later on. He has also not ruled out measures such as quantitative easing. Tharenou expects rate cuts in July and August, although he says weak labour market data could force its hand earlier.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY