M69 Professional Scientific and Technical Services

Robots to take 500,000 jobs

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 10-Dec-14

The Department of Industry’s "Australian Industry Report 2014" suggests that many white-collar jobs that involve routine tasks could automated in coming years. These include roles such as accountants, bank tellers, supermarket cashiers and pharmacists. Some 78.6 per cent of people in roles that are risk from automation hold a university degree. A report in 2013 found that around 47 per cent of jobs in the US could potentially be replaced by automation

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, OXFORD UNIVERSITY. OXFORD MARTIN SCHOOL

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Stop-Start Grind Higher

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Dec-14

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.3 per cent to 113.9 in the week ended 30 November 2014. This is a small setback following a solid 1.2 per cent rise in the previous week. Looking through the weekly volatility, consumer confidence is trending modestly higher. Confidence in households’ finances compared with 12 months ago fell by 1.9 per cent. However, expectations of the economic outlook and household finances improved

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

Small businesses hopeful but cautious

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 25-Nov-14

The Westpac and Melbourne Institute "Small Business Index" for November 2014 shows a rise of 10.4% in sentiment over the past three months. However just a fifth of the respondent said they were planning to invest capital in expansion. One area attracting more funding is online social networking media. The findings largely echo those of the separate "Australian Attitudes to Small Business Report" study by American Express. The credit card company is launching a new promotion to boost consumer spending at small businesses

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, LICENCE TO BILL

Sliding profits build pessimism

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-Nov-14

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Kate Carnell has issued the employer lobby group’s latest survey of small business conditions. While the residential construction sector is strong because of increased housing demand, for all other types of small enterprises there has been a decline across the 11 indicators measured. Subdued sentiment among consumers as well as businesses has meant the Reserve Bank of Australia’s official interest rate cuts have failed to spark increased spending that would lift the economy

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Chucking 10 sickies a year costs employers $33 billion

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 17-Nov-14

A survey by Direct Health Solutions has found that Australian workers take an average of 9.5 days of sick leave each year. This is estimated to cost $A3,230 for each employee, or more than $A33bn overall. An unexpected illness was cited by 82 per cent of employers as the main reason why workers take sick leave, while 55 per cent believe that workers have a sick day without a valid reason. Tourism and hospitality industry workers were found to use the most personal leave

CORPORATES
DIRECT HEALTH SOLUTIONS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, CBP LAWYERS

Have yourself a tax deductible Christmas party

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Original article by John Corias
BRW – Page: Online : 12-Nov-14

Small business owners are advised to minimise their entertainment expenses by using all available tax deductions. This matter is particularly important when budgeting for work Christmas parties. Under the minor benefit rule, an expense of no more than $A300 is not subject to the fringe benefit tax. Businesses can also ask employees to make personal contributions toward party expenses

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Business confidence weakens in October – lowest since June

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Nov-14

The latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey has found that Australian business confidence fell by eight points to 114.9 in October 2014. Business confidence is now at its lowest level since June 2014, and below the four-year average. It is also 21.4 points below the peak of 136.3 in October 2013. Roy Morgan Research’s Norman Morris notes that the proportion of businesses that expect to be better off financially in the next 12 months has fallen to 33 per cent, compared with 47 per cent in January

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Unchanged at 114.6

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Nov-14

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia was unchanged at 114.6 in the week ended 2 November 2014. The four-week average remains at its highest level since late April. Perceptions of household finances compared with 12 months ago rose by 0.9 per cent, and continues to point to a modest pickup in consumer spending. However, households’ expectations of the economic outlook over the next year fell by 5.8 per cent

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

Ahh, to be young … and rich

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Original article by John Stensholt, Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 & 11 : 31-Oct-14

Members of "BRW" magazine’s 2014 Young Rich List have a combined wealth of $A8.3bn. The list is headed by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar of software group Atlassian, who are collectively worth $A2.1bn. They are followed by Campaign Monitor’s Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson, who are worth a combined $A500m. Carman’s Fine Foods’ Carolyn Creswell is the highest-ranked woman on the list, with personal wealth of $A83m

CORPORATES
ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, CAMPAIGN MONITOR PTY LTD, CARMAN’S FINE FOODS PTY LTD, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, DRAGONEER INVESTMENT GROUP LLC, INSIGHT VENTURE PARTNERS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TESCO PLC, J SAINSBURY PLC, VANTAGE, YAHOO! INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN CAREERS NETWORK LIMITED – ASX ACO, REWARDLE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX RXH, BPM CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Cream of the crop at carnival

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 31-Oct-14

The Big Group handles the catering for some of the exclusive marquees at the Melbourne Cup. Big Group director Bruce Keebaugh notes that the Melbourne Cup is now a major networking event for a lot of companies. Tabcorp, Lexus and Emirates are among the companies that will have marquees at the 2014 Melbourne Cup

CORPORATES
THE BIG GROUP, THE EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, LEXUS AUSTRALIA, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EMIRATES AIRLINES, LION PTY LTD, J BOAG & SON LIMITED, JOHNNIE WALKER, DIAGEO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, GINGERBOY PTY LTD, EZARD, ATTICA BRASSERIE AND BAR PTY LTD