O75 Public Administration

RBA eyes housing rebound as economic growth slows

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Sep-19

The latest national accounts data is expected to show that Australia’s GDP growth slowed to about 1.5 per cent in the year to June, well below the federal government’s May 2019 Budget forecast of 2.25 per cent growth. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has reiterated that economic growth will improve "gradually"; he notes that although new housing construction activity remains weak, there are signs of an upturn in the established housing market. The central bank’s decision to leave official interest rates on hold in September coincided with the release of data confirming a current account surplus of $5.9bn for the June quarter, the first since the 1970s.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 114.4

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Sep-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.3% to 114.4 in the week ended 1 September, its second straight weekly gain. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 3.3% after a strong rise in the previous week, but views towards future financial conditions gained 1.3%; both measures are above average. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions fell 2.7%, the fifth consecutive decline, while views towards future economic conditions gained 3.8%; both sub-indices are below average. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ index gained 1.7% following a rise of 4% in the previous week, and the four-week moving average for inflation expectations rose 0.1ppt to 4%.

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

Business cash flow tax would lift investment

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 3-Sep-19

Economist Ross Garnaut has called on the federal government to adopt a business cash flow tax that would incorporate a full deduction for corporate expenditure. He says a full tax write-off for business expenditure provides a significant incentive for investment, and is in line with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s recent call for companies to boost productivity by increasing capital investment in preference to share buybacks and special dividends. Garnaut and former federal Labor minister Craig Emerson have undertaken economic modelling on a possible switch from the traditional profit-based company tax to a tax based on cash flow.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Quiet Australians shifted votes because of Shorten, not Morrison

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Sep-19

Research undertaken by the Australian National University shows that 28.5 per cent of electors switched their voting intentions during the federal election campaign. The analysis of voters’ behaviour also shows that 39.6 per cent of electors who had intended to vote for Labor when the election was called in April subsequently voted for the Coalition on 18 May. Likewise, 37.2 per cent of electors who had expressed their intention to vote for the Coalition ended up giving Labor their vote. The research has concluded that the unpopularity of former Labor leader Bill Shorten was a key factor in the election outcome, rather than Labor’s policies or the personal appeal of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Look through soft growth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Sep-19

There is speculation that the latest national accounts data will show that Australia’s growth slowed to about 1.4 per cent in the year to June. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says GDP data for the June quarter is likely to be particularly weak, given that it was dominated by the federal election and the US-China trade war. He expects economic conditions to improve in the September quarter, citing stimulatory factors such as the Coalition’s income tax cuts and back-to-back interest rate cuts in June and July. Frydenberg stresses that the Australian economy’s fundamentals remain strong.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Sharing power with Greens a mistake

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: 4 : 2-Sep-19

Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White says the party will not share power with the Greens in the future. White has told Labor’s state conference that past alliances with the Greens were a "mistake", while she claims that the Greens talk down to anyone who disagrees with their views. White says the results of the most recent federal and Tasmanian elections show that Labor needs to reconnect with its traditional voters. With the next Tasmanian election due by March 2022, White says Labor will concentrate on policies to boost jobs and to restore health and other services.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Cash softens blow for ousted MPs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Analysis shows that at least 20 politicians who lost their seats at the 18 May federal election are entitled to receive a resettlement allowance. The amount of the lump sum payment varies depending on factors such as how long a politician has been in parliament, and it was designed to provide outgoing MPs and senators who do not have access to parliament’s superannuation scheme with re-skilling and re-employment assistance. Kerryn Phelps, Steve Martin and Sarah Henderson are amongst those who are entitled to receive the allowance, which is expected to cost about $1.3m in total.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Albanese slams diabolical donations crisis

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has criticised the culture of Labor’s New South Wales branch in the wake of the scandal over a $100,000 cash donation from a Chinese property developer. He says there are clearly accountability issues within NSW Labor and has called for a review into how the scandal occurred. However, Albanese has rejected a proposal to relocate NSW Labor’s head office, which is currently close to Sydney’s Chinatown precinct. Meanwhile, there is speculation that suspended NSW Labor secretary Kaila Murnain could potentially face criminal charges over her role in the scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

CEOs to PM: support long-term growth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Durkin, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Business leaders have put forward suggestions for boosting the Australian economy, amid expectations that upcoming GDP data will show that growth slowed to a 10-year low of 1.4 per cent in the year to June. JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray has emphasised the need for policy initiatives that support long-term economic growth, rather than merely stimulating the economy. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci and Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner agree that further easing monetary policy is unlikely to be sufficient to boost the economy, while Cardo CEO Ian Ball has called for increased investment in transport infrastructure.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CARDNO LIMITED – ASX CDD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

We’re in a terrible state: NSW Labor leader

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-19

New South Wales Labor leader Jodi McKay says Kaila Murnain will not return to her role as the party’s general secretary following her suspension on 28 August. McKay adds that she cannot understand how the scandal over a $100,000 cash donation to NSW Labor was allowed to ‘fester’ for so long. She also says Labor is unlikely to win office in the state until it regains the trust of voters. Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has declined to comment on the donations scandal in NSW.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION