Author: roymorgansocial

Kyiv wins Biden OK on missile strikes in Russia

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Original article by Gordon Lubold, Alexandra Ward
The Australian – Page: 11 : 19-Nov-24

US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use the US’s Army Tactical Missile System to conduct strikes on Russia. The ACTAMS have sufficient range to be used in the Kursk region, where Russia has amassed over 50,000 troops in a bid to recapture it from Ukraine, which seized it earlier in the year. Biden’s permission is seen as a sign that he wants to give as much help as he can to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office, with Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance expected to push for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Roy Morgan Poll: Coalition maintains a narrow two-party preferred lead over Labor for the third straight week

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be ‘too close to call’ with the Coalition 51% (up 0.5%) ahead of the ALP 49% (down 0.5%) on a two-party preferred basis, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. The close result means either the ALP or Coalition would require the support of minor parties and independents to form government. The Coalition increased its primary vote to 39% (up 1.5%) and is now 10% in front of the ALP on 29% (down 1.5%) – the largest primary vote lead since July. The rise in support for the Coalition comes in the first full week of interviewing conducted entirely after Donald Trump’s victory in the Presidential Election.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Woolworths not guilty of land-banking, says supermarket’s property boss

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Original article by Jessica Yun
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

Woolworths managing director of property Ralph Kemmler has appeared before the ACCC’s supermarket inquiry, with Kemmler denying that it engages in land banking, which it defines as accumulating land for future retail or industrial sites. The ACCC has a different definiton of land banking, defining it as the accumulation of land for the purpose of blocking competition, and ACCC counsel assisting Naomi Sharp SC asked Kemmler whether a section in its 2023 internal balance sheets titled ‘sites held for strategic reasons’ was a reference to land banking, to which Kemmler replied that he did not believe so.

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WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Where cash buyers are splurging billions

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 & 28 : 19-Nov-24

Data from electronic conveyancing firm PEXA Group shows that more home buyers in Australia are opting to pay with cash rather than take out a mortgage. The firm’s analysis of settled residential property transactions during 2023-24 shows that $138bn worth of sales were made using cash across NSW, Victoria and Queenland; this represents a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent. Some 114,000 properties were settled with cash, an increase of 3.9 per cent. PEXA’s chief economist Julie Toth says cash buyers could help to sustain house prices, noting that interest rates have less impact on them.

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PEXA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PXA

Crown versus Alan Jones, accused sexual predator

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Original article by Stephen Lunn, Liam Mendes, Ellie Dudley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 19-Nov-24

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones was charged on Monday with 24 counts of historical sexual and assault ­offences by NSW police, with his lawyer, Chris Murphy, saying Jones "denies any misconduct" and will "assert" his innocence in court. The charges followed Jones’ arrest at his Circular Quay apartment at around 7.45am, with his alleged offences involving eight males. Assistant commissioner in charge of state crimes Michael Fitzgerald told a press conference that the youngest of Jones’s alleged victims was 17, and that police ­believe more people would come forward with allegations against Jones; Jones was granted conditional bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on 18 December.

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‘Trump’s network’: Fox News is riding high after election night blowout

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Original article by Ben Makuch
The Guardian – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

Fox News attracted millions more viewers on US presidential election night than rival CNN, with one Fox News host describing Trump as " as a phoenix from the ashes". Senator Marco Rubio, who Trump has nominated as his secretary of state, is one of a number of Trump cabinet appointments who were either regular fixtures or paid contributors to Fox News, while Wendy Via, the co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, says that Fox News will become "Trump’s network" during his second term as president.

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FOX NEWS, CABLE NEWS NETWORK

NAB sued over hardship silence

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 19-Nov-24

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has launched legal action against the National Australia Bank, alleging it breached its requirements to fairly deal with customers suffering financial hardship. ASIC claims the NAB failed to respond to at least 345 customers seeking help from it over several years, including people suffering medical emergencies and people fleeing domestic violence. The case against the NAB follows a similar case against Westpac, and ASIC chair Joe Longo noted it was a "sign of the times", with tougher economic conditions resulting in the financial sector having to deal with a rise in hardship cases.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Young Australians cut back in cost-of-living crisis while older people shop more, data shows

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Original article by Catie McLeod
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

Analysis of the de-identified payments of about seven million Commonwealth Bank customers has revealed that 18- to 29-year-olds reduced their spending in the September quarter by 2% when compared to the same period in 2023. Spending by people aged between 30 and 39 was also down when compared to the same period in 2023, but spending by people aged 60 to 69 was up by 3.9% overall, while over-70s increased their spending by 7.7%. Wade Tubman from the CBA said the differences in spending between younger and older Australians was in contrast to the period immediately after the pandemic, when younger people were quicker to start going out and spent more than older people.

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COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Inflate this: PM’s public service splurge costs taxpayers extra $5bn

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Nov-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 26,100 permanent positions have been added to the federal public service since Labor took office in May 2022. The annual public sector wages bill has risen from $32.5bn in June 2022 to more than $37bn, and the federal public sector workforce has risen to 365,400. Meanwhile, the total cost of the public service across Australia’s three tiers of government is now almost $250bn a year. Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher contends that the federal government has been rebuilding the Australian Public Service after a decade of neglect under the Coalition. However, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor says Labor is using the public sector to prop up the jobs market and GDP.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Victoria’s debt levies haul in far more than expected

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 13-Nov-24

The Victorian government’s budget update shows that the state’s net debt is slated to top $188bn by 2027-28. The update also reveals that the government’s Covid debt levies are expected to raise $529m more over four years than had been forecast in the 2023 budget. The levy on businesses with payrolls exceeding $10m had been expected to raise $3.9bn over four years, and the levy on property investors was slated to raise $4.7bn. Meanwhile, the government’s employee expenses rose by 7.94 per cent to $15.48bn in 2023-24.

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