Author: roymorgansocial

Jobs rush likely to postpone rate cut

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Nov-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia has noted in the minutes of its board meeting for November that there are signs that the job market is beginning to tighten. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1 per cent in October, and RBA governor Michelle Bullock has previously indicated that the strength of the labour market is amongst the reasons why further interest rate increases could be on the agenda. HSBC’s chief economist Paul Bloxham agrees with the RBA’s assessment that the labour market may not weaken further, which is likely to rule out an interest rate cut in the near-term.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC

Xi, PM tout best relations in decade

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Nov-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. The private meeting coincided with the 10th anniversary of Xi’s historic speech to federal parliament in Canberra. Xi told Albanese that there has been a ‘turnaround’ in relations between the two nations over the last decade, and expressed hope that this will continue. Albanese in turn said that the entire Indo-Pacific region will benefit from the prosperity arising from peace, security and stability. Albanese also indicated that he raised a number of issues that matter to Australia, including Taiwan, human rights, cyber security and the ongoing detention of Yang Hengjun in China.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 86.8 in mid-November – now five weeks above 85

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Nov-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 86.8 in the week to 17 November; it has nevertheless stayed above the mark of 85 for a fifth consecutive week for the first time since October 2022. Consumer Confidence is now 12.1 points above the same week a year ago (74.7), and 4.2 points above the 2024 weekly average of 82.6. A look at Consumer Confidence by State shows varied results around the country with small increases in Victoria, Queensland and WA, and small declines in New South Wales and South Australia. Now 23% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 35% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 30% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 9% (down 1pp) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 27% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since April 2022). Meanwhile, 24% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Amcor in massive $13b buyout of Berry Group

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 20-Nov-24

Amcor will maintain its primary listing on the NYSE and a secondary listing on the ASX following its proposed $13 billion all-scrip merger with rival packaging firm Berry Group. Amcor shareholders will own about 63 per cent of the merged company, which will boast 400 packaging plants worldwide, a global workforce of, 75,000 and revenues of $US24 billion. Amcor has forecast that the merger will generate synergies of about $US650m. Amcor shifted its primary listing to the US in 2019 following the acquisition of Bemis Company, and subsequently relocated its global headquarters to Zurich.

CORPORATES
AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, BERRY GROUP, BEMIS COMPANY INCORPORATED

Global Lithium AGM delayed to probe Chinese conspiracy

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Original article by Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Nov-24

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has approved Global Lithium Resources’ application to postpone its annual general meeting until 14 February. The AGM was scheduled to be held in Perth today, but the company had sought a delay in order to give the Foreign Investment Review Board more time to investigate allegations regarding Chinese-born minority shareholder Liaoliang Zhu. It has been claimed that Zhu is using his push to gain a seat on Global Lithium’s board to gain "effective control" of the company’s Manna lithium project in WA.

CORPORATES
GLOBAL LITHIUM RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GL1, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

G20 goes soft on Russia

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 20-Nov-24

The final declaration of the G20 leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro has failed to mention the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel. The declaration merely stated "deep concern" regarding the "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in the Gaza Strip and the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon. It also emphasised the need for an "unwavering commitment" to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while not mentioning the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza or the roles of Hamas and Hezbollah in the current hostilities. The final declaration also did not specifically refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but noted the "human suffering and negative added impacts of the war" in Ukraine. The G20 leaders also did not commit to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

ASX tipped to test 8600 after shares surge

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 20-Nov-24

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 briefly rose above 8,400 points for the first time on Tuesday. The local bourse’s rally has prompted Morgan Stanley to upgrade its forecast for the ASX 200 at the end of 2025 to 8,500 points; its previous year-end target was 8,100. Tony Sycamore from IG Markets is more bullish, suggesting that the ASX 200 could potentially be trading at 8,600 points by the end of next year. However, JP Morgan recently forecast that the index will fall to 7,900 points by the end of 2025.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IG MARKETS LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Perpetual backs in Murdochs at News

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Original article by Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 20-Nov-24

News Corporation will shortly hold its AGM in New York, where shareholders will vote on a proposal to abolish the media group’s dual-share structure. The existing share structure means that the Murdoch family controls 41 per cent of News Corp’s voting shares but just 14 per cent of the company’s stock overall. The push for a single class of shares is being led by hedge fund Starboard Value, but Perpetual’s head of equities Vince Pezzullo says the Australian fund manager will support the status quo at the AGM. Pezzullo says the Murdochs and News Corp’s management have made a number of strategic decisions over the last decade that have paid off, including the sale of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets at the peak of the market.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

The new $1.5 million fine facing NSW retailers

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Original article by Angus Thompson
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the crackdown on vaping products is reducing the number of unregulated vapes that are available to consumers. NSW compliance officers seized 42,000 vapes during 362 inspections between July and September; this compares with 153,000 vapes in 290 inspections in the same period last year, which was before the federal government’s ban on disposable vapes took effect. The NSW government now intends a further crackdown on illegal vapes, proposing legislation that will increase the fine for individuals who sell vapes from just $1,650 to more than $1.5m; the maximum jail term will also rise from six months to seven years.

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‘Turnaround’: Xi talks up China ties in G20 talks with Albanese

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping have held talks at Xi’s hotel in Rio de Janeiro, ahead of the G20 Summit that is being held in the Brazilian city. Xi noted that there had been "twists and turns" in the relationship between China and Australia over the last decade, but that there had been a "turnaround" in recent times. Both he and Albanese noted that their meeting was held 10 years to the day that their two countries had signed a comprehensive strategic partnership, when Tony Abbott was prime minister and Xi had visited Australia and had addressed federal parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)