O75 Public Administration

Kiwi cut raises the prospect of negative interest rates

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 8-Aug-19

The Australian dollar reached a 10-year low of $US0.6680 in local trading on 7 August, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced official interest rates by 50 basis points to 1 per cent. Central bank governor Adrian Orr has not ruled out the prospect of negative interest rates or measures such as quantitative easing. The RBNZ’s move is likely to strengthen the case for further monetary policy easing in Australia before the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BLOOMBERG LP, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Unfair dismissal: retreat over pay

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-Aug-19

Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code is "ambiguous and open to interpretation". She adds that small businesses would be in a better position to comply with the code if ambiguous language were removed. Carnell has also argued the case for the Fair Work Commission to establish a small business division, although she now favours reviewing the maximum compensation for unfair dismissal after a revised code has been operating for at least 12 months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS

Costello’s warning to retirees

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Original article by Greg Brown, Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Aug-19

Future Fund chairman Peter Costello has urged the US and China to "sensibly negotiate" a resolution to their ongoing trade dispute in the wake of a global financial rout. The Australian sharemarket has shed $86bn in the last two trading sessions, following China’s move to devalue its currency; Costello has warned that Australians’ savings and the federal Budget will be impacted if the trade dispute is not resolved. However, he says it is important to not "overhype" the recent market slump.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

RBA lowers GDP, inflation forecasts

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 7-Aug-19

The Reserve Bank of Australia has downgraded its GDP growth forecast for 2019 from 2.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent, after leaving the cash rate unchanged on 6 August. Central bank governor Philip Lowe again indicated that official interest rates will remain low for some time, and that any change in monetary policy will depend on the outlook for the unemployment rate and inflation. The inflation rate was 1.6 per cent in the year to June, and the RBA now does not expect it to reach the bottom end of its 2-3 per cent target range until 2021.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Super, massive trade surplus holds up economy

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Aug-19

Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans says Australia could be set to post its first current account surplus since 1975, following the release of the latest balance of trade data. The nation’s trade surplus rose to a record $8.04bn in June and totalled $19.7bn for the June quarter, which is $5.2bn higher than the March quarter. The result was driven by strong growth in iron ore export volumes and the price of the steel input during the period. Australia’s overall export volumes increased by 1.4 per cent in June, while there was a 3.6 per cent decline in imports.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence slips to 115.8

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Aug-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.3% to 115.8 in the week ended 4 August, after two straight weekly gains. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 4.3% and views towards future financial conditions were down 1.9%; however, both components are comfortably above their long-run average. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions fell 6.1%, more than reversing the prior week’s big jump, but views toward future economic conditions gained 3.8%. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ index fell 2.6%, and the four-week moving average for inflation expectations was down 0.1ppt to 4.0%.

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

Business Confidence down slightly at 114 in July

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Aug-19

In Australia, Business Confidence eased 0.7pts (-0.6%) to 114.0 in July 2019, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. Business Confidence has now averaged 114.4 over the last three months, after an 11.2% jump in May. Business Confidence is now 0.4pts above its level of July 2018, but 1.6pts below its long-term average of 115.6. Now 53.9% (unchanged) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the equal highest figure for this indicator since April 2018), while 19.8% (up 5.7ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’ financially this time next year. Meanwhile, 49.1% (down 0.4ppts) of businesses expect the Australian economy to have ‘good times’ over the next year, while 43.2% (up 3.5ppts) expect the economy to have ‘bad times’. However, 48.7% (up 7.5ppts) of businesses say the next year will be a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, while only 38.9% (down 4.5ppts) say it will be a ‘bad time to invest’.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Push for Darwin Port to be nationalised to end Chinese ownership of strategic northern asset

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Original article by Andrew Greene
abc.net au – Page: Online : 5-Aug-19

Federal Labor MP Nick Champion has called for Chinese company Landbridge’s 99-year lease on Darwin Port, which it was awarded by the Northern Territory Government in 2015 under a $500 million deal, to be scrapped. Champion, who is the Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, says he does not think that placing the port back into Commonwealth control will anger the Chinese government. Neil James from the Australian Defence Association says the suggestion to nationalise Darwin Port is a sensible one.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LANDBRIDGE GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE ASSOCIATION

Union’s EBA push for indigenous voice

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 5-Aug-19

Menzies Research Centre director Nick Cater has criticised the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s proposed enterprise bargaining agreement with subcontractor Gabba Waterproofing. It includes a First Nations People clause, which amongst other things requires the subcontractor to hold ‘welcome to country’ ceremonies when the number of workers on the North Queensland Stadium project reaches 20. Cater says the CFMMEU’s demands are all about union turf wars rather than Aboriginal land rights. The EBA was lodged with the Fair Work Commission in July.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GABBA WATERPROOFING PTY LTD, THE MENZIES RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Job snobs leave bosses in the lurch

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Aug-19

Almost 60 per cent of businesses looking for lower-skilled roles are finding it hard to find new staff, while almost 50 per cent are finding it hard in general to recruit new employees. This is according to research by the Department of Employment, which found amongst other things that many potential employees were disinterested in the job, lacked personal presentation skills or submitted applications that were of poor quality. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson says the survey demonstrates that action is needed to address the problem of prospective employees who are not job-ready.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY