Tension may turn RBA dovish

Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 16-Jul-18

JP Morgan expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave official interest rates on hold at 1.5 per cent until at least June 2019. However, JPMorgan analysts have indicated that the US-China trade war could adversely affect global economic growth. A slowdown in global growth could in turn prompt a fall in the global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, which has traditionally influenced the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy decisions.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED

Iron ore miners tipped to have record quarter

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 16-Jul-18

UBS estimates that Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments from the Pilbara totalled 88.9 million tonnes in the June quarter. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group are also expected to have had record quarterly shipments, at 71.7 million tonnes and 46.3 million tonnes respectively. Brazilian rival Vale is also expected to report record quarterly shipments, at 96.3 million tonnes. Meanwhile, UBS forecasts that BHP’s shipments from the Pilbara totalled 274 million tonnes in 2017-18, which is slightly below the resources group’s full-year guidance of 275-280 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Banks face $70b gap in funding

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Jul-18

Australia’s banks have experienced an increase in the gap between bank loans and deposits, according to National Australia Bank analysis. The funding gap rose from $A390 billion in the June 2017 quarter to $A457 million in the March 2018 quarter. The increase was attributed to households needing to access more of their savings and superannuation funds shifting their cash into other asset classes. Banks increased lending by 4.8 per cent in the 12 months to May, but deposits rose by just over two per cent.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, TD SECURITIES, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Bunnings satisfies most customers

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 89.5% of Australian hardware store customers were satisfied in the 12 months to May 2018, an increase of 2.2% year-on-year. Bunnings had the highest level of customer satisfaction, at 89.8% (up 1.3%), followed by Home Hardware on 89.4% (up 1.5%) and Mitre 10 on 88.1% (up 0.1%). These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s "Hardware Store Satisfaction Report", which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own homes, including over 9,000 interviews with people who have shopped in a hardware store in the last four weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, HOME HARDWARE, MITRE 10 LIMITED, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED

Strong US earnings growth tipped but it’s unlikely to last

Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 16-Jul-18

Expectations of earnings growth has been a major contributor to the rise of the S&P 500, which has gained 8.5 per cent since its February low. Market strategist Ed Yardeni notes that US corporate tax cuts in late 2017 have been the major driver of earnings growth. Analysts forecast earnings growth of 22.3 per cent in 2018 and 9.9 per cent in 2019. However, some analysts warn that earnings growth could come under pressure in the second half of 2018, due to factors such as the trade war with China and the rising US dollar.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, YARDENI RESEARCH INCORPORATED, FUNDSTRAT GLOBAL ADVISORS LLC, BLACKROCK INCORPORATED, LPL FINANCIAL LLC, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, JP MORGAN CHASE AND COMPANY, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, WELLS FARGO AND COMPANY, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED, BANK OF MONTREAL

It’s Official: Majority would consider a hybrid

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 51.6% of Australians aged 18+ "would seriously consider buying" a hybrid vehicle, compared with 48.7% three years ago. The greatest growth over the last three years came from interest in fully electric vehicles, which increased by 9.7ppts to 36.2%. Consideration for electric-based vehicles (hybrid or fully electric) increased by 4.2ppts to 55.7%. These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s "Automotive Currency Report", which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own home, including over 37,000 drivers aged 18+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Over 90% of Australians lack understanding of how leading apps use data

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

Roy Morgan’s privacy survey has found that more than 90% of Australians aged 14+ are either "not sure" or only "somewhat understand" how several leading apps use and/or share their data. This includes 94.6% of Australians who use Apple apps, 94.3% of Twitter users, 94.0% of Instagram users and 93.7% of Snapchat users. The findings are based on interviews with a representative sample of 967 Australians drawn from Roy Morgan’s Single Source panel. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that despite the concerns raised about the potential misuse of personal data, only a tiny minority of Australians (between 5-10%) believe they "fully understand" how companies such as Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Google use and/or share their personal data.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, APPLE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, MESSENGER, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Rockmans, Jeanswest, Sportsgirl & Just Jeans lead for customer satisfaction

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

Rockmans has won Roy Morgan’s Clothing Store Customer Satisfaction Award for May 2018, with a customer satisfaction rating of 91.9% (up 3.1% in the last 12 months). It is followed by Jeanswest on 91.3% (up 2.4%) and Sportsgirl on 90.1% (up 1.9%). The biggest improver over the last year is Just Jeans, which has improved its customer satisfaction by 8.3% to 89.1%, just ahead of another big improver, Katies (up 6.2% to 89%). Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine notes that Roy Morgan’s recent surveys on "Trust" and "Distrust" have revealed that retailers consistently perform strongly as one of the most trusted industries in Australia.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ROCKMANS STORES LIMITED, JEANSWEST CORPORATION PTY LTD, SPORTSGIRL, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, KATIES FASHIONS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Overseas travel intentions rise steadily, but not to China

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey, which was carried out in the year to March 2018, shows that 11.4% of Australians aged 14+ (more than 2.3 million people) intend to travel overseas in the next 12 months. This compares with just 7.2% (1.2 million) in the year to March 2008. The proportion of Australians who plan to travel to Asia in the next 12 months has risen from 2.9% to 5.1% over the last decade. Indonesia is the most popular Asian destination; 10.9% of Australians plan to travel to Indonesia in the next 12 months (up 3.4ppts from 2008), followed by Japan (10.5%; up 5.7ppts). However, just 5.3% of Australians plan to travel to China in the next 12 months (down 4.6ppts), although it is worth remembering that the Beijing Olympics were held in August 2008.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Tough vetting cuts migrants

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-Jul-18

Australia’s permanent migrant intake fell by over 21,000 to just 162,417 in 2017-18, according to the Department of Home Affairs. The decline has been attributed to more stringent vetting measures imposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, with the annual migrant intake falling to its lowest since 2007-08. Dutton says he wants Australia’s migrant intake to focus on quality and integrity, rather than on what he calls Labor’s "slavish drive for quantity".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY