O75 Public Administration

Roy Morgan Business Confidence up for a second straight month and back in positive territory at 100.7

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Oct-22

In September 2022, Roy Morgan Business Confidence rose 4.7pts to 100.7, the first time the index has increased in consecutive months so far this year. The index is now back in positive territory and at its highest since April 2022, before the Reserve Bank started raising interest rates in early May. However, Business Confidence is 12.5pts below the long-term average of 113.2. Some 43.6% (up 3.8ppts) of businesses expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next year, while 54.2% (down 4.1ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 44.4% (up 0.9ppts) of businesses expect the business will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 24.5% (down 2.4ppts) expect the business will be ‘worse off’. Businesses are split on whether to invest in growing their business; 44.8% (up 1.3ppts) say the next 12 months will be a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, while 46.6% (down 2.8ppts) said it will be a ‘bad time to invest’ in growing the business.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

RBA slows its rate pace from breakneck to merely galloping

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Oct-22

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has indicated that further interest rises are likely as the central bank seeks to bring inflation under control. The RBA defied the expectations of most economists and investors by increasing the cash rate by just 25 basis points on Tuesday, lifting it to 2.6 per cent. The RBA has become the first major central bank to scale back the size of interest rate increases in the current monetary policy tightening cycle, having increased the cash rate by 50 basis points at each of its previous four monthly board meetings. Australia’s four major banks have increased their variable mortgage interest rates by 25 basis points in line with the cash rate.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Australia’s public education funding went backwards during COVID pandemic

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Original article by Gabriella Marchant
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-Oct-22

A report from the OECD shows that Australian governments reduced their spending on public education by nearly two per cent during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hungary was the only OECD member nation that reduced education funding by a higher margin; in contrast, overall spending among OECD nations increased by an average of 1.5 per cent. The report also shows that Australian teachers’ salaries are generally higher than the OECD average, although local teachers spend longer hours in the classroom than their overseas peers.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Nats upset by watchdog threat to grants fund

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Oct-22

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has suggested that the proposed National Anti-Corruption Commission could be given the power to investigate the targeting of seats through grant programs. However, Nationals leader David Littleproud says such programs are a mechanism for seeing that regional areas get their fair share of funding, and that they should not come under the remit of the NACC. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce says it does not view ‘pork barrelling’ as corruption but as a way of taking care of regional towns. Meanwhile, the Coalition has called for a high-ranking judge to make the final decision on whether NACC hearings are held in public.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Government jumped gun with Optus attack

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Oct-22

Optus has hired Deloitte to undertake an investigation into its security systems, controls and processes in the wake of its recent data breach, which was the largest in Australian history. Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has denied there is any rift between it and the federal government, and that the telco is fully co-operating with all requests for information. A number of federal government ministers have criticised Optus for not already having supplied it with details regarding compromised Medicare and Centrelink data, despite Services Australia having given it until 4 October to provide the information.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. SERVICES AUSTRALIA. CENTRELINK, AUSTRALIA. SERVICES AUSTRALIA. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Interest rate rises: One in four Aussie mortgage holders could face financial stress

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Original article by Sarah Sharples
News.com.au – Page: Online : 4-Oct-22

Roy Morgan research reveals that close to one in four mortgage holders would be at risk of mortgage stress if the Reserve Bank lifts interest rates by 0.5% in both October and November. It would be the equivalent of 1.1 million people, and would represent the highest number of mortgage holders classed as being at risk since July 2013; Roy Morgan defines mortgage stress as having repayments greater than between 25% and 45% of household income. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the variable that has the greatest impact on whether a borrower falls into the ‘at risk’ category is household income – which is directly related to employment. She says that if employment figures remain strong, the number of mortgage holders at risk should not reach the levels seen during the global financial crisis between 2007 and 2009, when the percentage of mortgage holders at risk peaked at 35.6% in May 2008.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Labor canvasses capping stage three tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-22

The federal government has ruled out scrapping the stage-three income tax cuts that are slated to take effect in mid-2024, although it may be open to scaling them back. The Greens and the majority of independents in the Senate favour winding back the tax cuts, which will primarily benefit people on higher incomes. Labor could potentially announce any change in its stance on the legislated tax cuts in the Budget on 25 October. The British government has reversed its decision to abolish the nation’s top tax rate, and the Greens have urged Labor to follow its example.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Interest rates: Ghost of ’89 may come to haunt us

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Oct-22

National Australia Bank’s chief economist Alan Oster expects the cash rate to rise by 50 basis points on Tuesday, followed by a 25 basis point increase in November. However, he warns that the nation could pay a heavy price for a "policy mistake" by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board, noting that the central bank’s aggressive tightening of monetary policy in 1989 ultimately led to a recession and a sharp rise in the unemployment rate. Oster is not predicting a recession in Australia at this stage, but he says the worsening global economic outlook will inevitably have an impact in Australia.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Australians are the world’s richest people: Credit Suisse

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Sep-22

Credit Suisse’s annual global wealth report shows that the median Australian adult had a net worth of $US273,900 at the end of 2021. This makes them richer than the comparable resident of any other country, according to the report. However, Australia ranked fourth on a mean wealth basis, behind Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong. The median Australian adult’s net wealth rose by $US28,450 during the calendar year, boosted by strong growth in share prices and the housing market. The number of millionaires in Australia rose to 2.18 million in US dollar terms in 2021, and Credit Suisse expects this to reach 2.94 million by 2026.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE AG

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence is virtually unchanged at 86.0 in mid-September

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Sep-22

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 86.0 in the week ended 18 September. However, it is now 17.3pts below the same week a year ago (103.3), and 4.9pts below the 2022 weekly average of 90.9. On a State-by-State basis most were up, including NSW, Queensland and WA but Victoria was down slightly. Now 23% (down 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 42% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 34% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 29% (down 3ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 7% (down 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 35% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 23% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 46% (down 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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