O75 Public Administration

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 4.4pts to 107.8 after multiple major Australian cities placed into lockdown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Jul-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 4.4pts to 107.8 on July 3/4, after multiple Australian cities were concurrently placed under lockdown. Consumer Confidence plunged in Sydney (down 10pts) and Brisbane (down 8.7pts) and is now sitting below the 2021 weekly average of 111.2; however, it remains 15.7 points higher than the same week a year ago (92.1). Now 27% (down 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 27% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 37% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 15% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 16% (down 3ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 19% (up 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 41% (down 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 24% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Employment surge turns up heat on rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom Dusevic
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jul-21

Further indications that the Australian economy is continuing to strengthen may prompt the Reserve Bank to increase the cash rate earlier than expected. There was three per cent growth in job advertisements during June, according to data from the ANZ Bank, and the number of job ads is now 39.1 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, revised data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that retail spending increased by 0.4 per cent in May and 7.7 per cent over the year to May. The COVID-19 lockdown in Greater Sydney is tipped to hit retail sales for June, although economists expect any impact to be short-lived.

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

Breaches threaten Sydney lockdown exit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jill Margo, Finbar O’Mallon
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Jul-21

New South Wales has reported 35 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, although 24 were in isolation while infectious and another four had been partially isolating. The new cases include three people who attended a party at an inner-Sydney hotel in breach of lockdown rules, as well as two additional residents of an aged-care home. There are now 312 active cases state-wide. Professor Raina MacIntyre believes that the state must record no more than five new cases of community transmission on 8 July for lockdown restrictions in Greater Sydney to be eased on the following day. Meanwhile, more than 600 health workers at two Sydney hospitals are self-isolating after being deemed to be close contacts of an unvaccinated student nurse who had worked at both hospitals while she was infectious with Covid-19.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Is the COVID-19 honeymoon over for New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern?

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jul-21

Support for New Zealand’s Labour/Greens government dropped 5% points to 51% in June – the lowest for the Government since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Support for the Labour Party was down 6.5% points to 38.5%, while support for the Greens was up 1.5% points to 12.5%. The governing parties are now just 7.5% points ahead of the Parliamentary opposition National/Act NZ/Maori Party on 43.5%, up 4.5% points since May. Support for National was up 1% point to 29.5% in June and support for Act NZ was up 2.5% points to a record high of 11.5%. Support for the Maori Party increased by 1% point to 2.5%. A small minority of 5.5% of electors support other minor parties outside Parliament with support for NZ First down 0.5% points to 1.5% and The Opportunities Party (TOP) up 0.5% points to 2% in June. The latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 951 electors during June. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating dropped by 10pts in June to 124 – the lowest it has been since October 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY, THE OPPORTUNITIES PARTY

Feds should lead the charge on payroll tax reform: ACCI

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 6-Jul-21

Payroll tax is consistently one of the most pressing issues for business, according to a survey by the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is viewed as an impediment to employment and economic growth. The ACCI has called the federal government to lead the way in its abolition by making up some of the revenue that would be lost by the states and territories if it was scrapped, with the states having levied almost $27 billion in payroll taxes in 2018-19. One possible option to replace money lost by scrapping payroll tax would be for the federal government to increase the GST and diverting the extra money raised back to the states.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 114.1 in June

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jul-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 114.1 in June, a little under its historical average of 120. Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation rose 7 points to +14%, by far its strongest post-COVID level; meanwhile, a net 22% of consumers expect to be better off financially this time next year, down 5 points. In addition, a net 22% of consumers think it is a good time to buy a major household item, up 3 points to a post-COVID high. Perceptions regarding the next year’s economic outlook rose 4 points to +3%, and the five-year outlook fell 8 points to +10%. CPI inflation expectations jumped 0.7%pts to 5.1%, a record high in data that starts in 2010.

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

Miners, LNG insulated from tax

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Weekend Australian – Page: 21 & 25 : 3-Jul-21

The OECD estimates that the new minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent could generate up to $US150bn ($201bn) in additional global tax revenue. The global tax regime has been backed by 130 countries and jurisdictions, including Australia; they have agreed to exclude ‘extractive industries’ such as mining and energy from the regime, which will make Australian companies in these sectors more attractive to international investors. Jones Day tax partner Niv Tadmore says large global companies will no longer be able to shelter their profits in other jurisdictions to avoid paying tax. This will include digital giants such as Google and Facebook, which have been widely criticised over the amount of tax they pay.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, JONES DAY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Virus exit plan leaves us behind: business

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Hannah Wootton, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Jul-21

Business leaders have generally welcomed the federal government’s four-step plan to reopen Australia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they have called for greater clarity regarding the timeframe for reopening the economy, as well as the vaccination targets that will be required for each step of the plan. The four-point plan aims to phase out snap lockdowns and state border closures in early 2022, while the nation’s international borders will re-open later in that year. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the success of the exit strategy will depend on co-operation from the state and territory governments.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Australian unemployment drops to 9.4% in June – before three States enforce COVID lockdowns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jul-21

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.39 million Australians were unemployed in June, down 99,000 on May, for an unemployment rate of 9.4%. The workforce in June was 14,768,000 – comprised of 13,374,000 employed Australians (an increase of 305,000) and 1,394,000 unemployed Australians looking for work (up 99,000). In addition to those who were unemployed, 1.26 million Australians (8.5% of the workforce) were underemployed – working part-time but looking for more work. This was unchanged from May. In total, 2.65 million Australians (17.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or underemployed in June, a drop of 98,000 on May. The decrease was driven by the fall in unemployment. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.4% for June is more than 4% points higher than the current ABS estimate for May 2021 of 5.1%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Global tax reform: 130 countries commit to minimum corporate rate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Partington
The Guardian – Page: Online : 2-Jul-21

The OECD has advised that 130 countries and jurisdictions have agreed to plans for a global minimum corporate tax rate. The principle of the agreement is that multinationals would be compelled to pay a minimum of 15 per cent tax in each country in which they operate, with the global minimum tax rate expected to raise around $US150 billion. The agreement also looks to curtail profit shifting, with over $US100 billion (Stg73 billion) expected to be raised by curbing this activity.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT