O75 Public Administration

ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator – Quarterly Update March 2020

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Mar-20

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator shows that the financial wellbeing of Australians improved by 1% year on year, from 59.6 (as a score out of 100) in December 2018 to 60.2 in December 2019. Financial wellbeing improved in the 12 months to December 2019 across most states and territories. However, financial wellbeing declined slightly in Queensland and the NT, and remained constant in NSW. The lack of growth in overall financial wellbeing in NSW can be attributed to a 3.1% fall in ‘resilience for the future’ during 2019. The improvement in national financial wellbeing was despite no change in financial wellbeing in the December 2019 quarter, and was due primarily to an improvement in ‘meeting everyday commitments’, which increased by 3.2% during 2019. ‘Resilience for the future’ – the ability to cope with financial setbacks – is strongly influenced by active saving habits. After steady growth in recent years, resilience declined nationally by 1.9%, from 53.7 in December 2018 to 52.7 in December 2019. This was due primarily to a decline in the number of month’s income in savings that Australians have on hand, weakened by slower deposit growth and subdued improvements in household incomes over the period.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Businessmen Dick Smith, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest score highest for Net Trust

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Mar-20

A special Roy Morgan survey on ‘Trust’ and ‘Distrust’ of business leaders shows Australian entrepreneurs Dick Smith, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest have the highest ‘Net Trust Scores’ – meaning the ‘Trust’ felt towards the three far outweighs the ‘Distrust’ – according to a special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey of 974 Australians aged 14+ conducted this week. Behind the top three is Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Also scoring highly for ‘Trust’ are Medical Leaders/Professionals and the Australian Medical Association, which is currently at the forefront of dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. At the other end of the scale are business leaders whose ‘Distrust’ outweighs their ‘Trust’ among Australians. Media proprietor Rupert Murdoch scores the highest ‘Distrust’ of any businessman, ahead of ex-politician and mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer and fellow miner Gina Rinehart. All three fill the rankings for the highest ‘Net Distrust’ and are followed by retailer Gerry Harvey of Harvey Norman. Also scoring high levels of ‘Net Distrust’ are the generic ‘Banks/Bank CEOs’ and ‘Mining companies’. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Australians often look towards high-profile business people to provide leadership in times of crisis.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Jobless rate could hit 13.8pc despite priming of the pump

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Mar-20

The federal government and the Reserve Bank have now announced a combined $189bn worth of coronavirus stimulus measures. This includes cash payments for small businesses and non-profit organisations. However, many companies that operate in sectors that employ a lot of people will not be eligible for financial relief. The construction, retail, hospitality, recreation and education are major employers; it is estimated that the unemployment rate would rise from 5.1 per cent to 13.8 per cent if they shed just 25 per cent of their workforce, or about 1.2 million people.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Insolvency law change to head off avalanche

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 23-Mar-20

The federal government will make temporary changes to laws governing insolvent trading in response to the pandemic. Amongst other things, directors will be exempt from personal liability if a company is found to be trading while insolvent, while the threshold at which creditors can initiate bankruptcy proceedings against a company will be increased from $5,000 to $20,000. These measures will remain in place for at least six months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

A nation in shutdown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Mar-20

The federal government has announced details of a ‘stage one’ coronavirus lockdown following a meeting of the national cabinet. Businesses that provide non-essential services will be forced to close from midday on 23 March, including pubs, clubs, cinemas and casinos. Churches and indoor sports facilities are also among the venues that must close indefinitely. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned that more onerous stage two restrictions will be imposed if people fail to comply with the initial restrictions. Schools in most states will remain open for the remainder of the first term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Third bailout being prepared as $66b injected to help first blows

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Mar-20

The second stage of the federal government’s stimulus package includes the introduction of a welfare wage for workers who lose their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. They will be eligible for a fortnightly payment of up to $1,100, while the existing Newstart allowance will be increased and renamed the Jobseeker Payment. Workers who are stood down will also be able to withdraw up to $20,000 from their superannuation fund. Meanwhile, businesses with annual turnover of up to $50m will be eligible for a cash payment of up to $100,000. The government and the nation’s banks will also jointly provide a $40bn loan facility for small and medium enterprises.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM looks to nationalise failing firms

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Mar-20

The federal government may be forced to nationalise some companies as part of its response to the economic problems being caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Virgin Australia is cited as one company that the government cannot allow to fail, as having a domestic aviation network essentially dominated by one airline once the worst of the virus has passed would not be considered tolerable. Economist Chris Richardson notes that the government is going to have to spend huge amounts of money to fix the Australian economy "without batting an eyelid".

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Government relents on Newstart

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Mar-20

The second phase of the federal government’s stimulus package will include an increase in the Newstart allowance for people who are currently unemployed. The Coalition had previously flagged a higher income payment than Newstart for workers who lose their job due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, it has long opposed an increase in unemployment benefits, arguing that getting a job is the best form of welfare. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has conceded that getting people off Newstart and into the labour market will be difficult over the next six months due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Major hit, big job losses ahead: RBA

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Mar-20

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says the unemployment rate can be expected to rise in coming months, as the coronavirus is likely to result in "significant" job losses. However, he says the labour market should rebound quite fast if the virus’s outbreak in Australia can be contained. Lowe also said the virus and measures to combat its spread will have a "severe" impact on the economy, although he is hopeful that this will be temporary. Lowe has indicated that housing market activity is likely to be affected by the pandemic.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

$105b bridge across the chasm

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston, James Eyers, James Frost, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Mar-20

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has warned that the cash rate is likely to remain at the new record low of 0.25 per cent for three years. The emergency interest rate cut on 19 March is the RBA’s first out-of-cycle move since 1997; it has coincided with the announcement of a government bond-buying program which aims to ensure that the benchmark three-year bond yield remains at around 0.25 per cent. Lowe says there will be no limit to the bond-buying program. The RBA has also announced a $90bn line of credit for banks to provide low-interest loans to small and medium enterprises; the federal government will provide an additional $15bn to small lenders to help with their funding.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA