O75 Public Administration

IMF warns on debt and high house prices

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 11-Oct-18

The International Monetary Fund’s latest global financial stability report notes that Australia is one of several advanced economies where the rising cost of house prices is a concern. The IMF also expressed concern that the household debt-to-GDP ratio is rising in Australia and a number of other countries. Australia’s household debt-to-GDP ratio is currently around 122 per cent, while the nation’s household debt-to-income ratio is close to 200 per cent.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Dutton slams tech giants over encryption laws

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Oct-18

The federal government continues to face opposition to its proposed digital encryption laws. However, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton argues that the laws are necessary due to the growing use of encryption services by criminals and terrorists, adding that existing laws are inadequate to deal with such technologies. Dutton has also noted that Silicon Valley-based technology companies are among the biggest critics of the proposed laws, despite their poor track record in protecting personal data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Business to go it alone on climate

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: W1 & W2 : 11-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia’s energy and climate change committee has considered a proposal for energy companies and heavy industry to pursue carbon reduction measures independently of the federal government. The companies that comprise the committee were largely supportive of the national energy guarantee. However, the government’s focus under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has shifted from cutting carbon emissions to ensuring a reliable energy supply and reducing electricity prices.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Companies’ tax cuts on fast track

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Oct-18

The federal government intends to bring forward a reduction in the tax rate for small and medium enterprises. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to announce that the SME tax rate will be reduced to 26 per cent in 2020-21 and 25 per cent in 2021-22. The full tax cuts package for SMEs was originally slated to take effect in 2026-27. The government began looking into fast-tracking SME tax cuts under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, after it dropped plans to reduce the tax rate for large companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL

Taylor forces NEG security onto states

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 10-Oct-18

Power retailers will be required to guarantee a reliable electricity supply under a new proposal by the federal government. The proposal for a reliability mechanism – which was a key element of the national energy guarantee – will be put to the upcoming meeting of the COAG Energy Council. The reliability mechanism is one of the initiatives of Energy Minister Angus Taylor which are aimed at reducing electricity prices while ensuring a reliable energy supply as the proportion of electricity generated by renewables increases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS. ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, HYDRO TASMANIA, ERM POWER LIMITED – ASX EPW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Regions plan a thought bubble: ALP

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Oct-18

Labor has criticised the federal government’s proposal to ban some immigrants from settling in major capital cities for up to five years. Shadow workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor has described it as a "thought bubble", arguing that the government’s priority should be to take action on the issue of temporary work visa holders. He notes that 1.6 million people are now on such visas, while 1.8 million Australians are unemployed or underemployed and looking for more work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Economic outlook clouded but IMF forecasts may be wide of the mark

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 25 : 10-Oct-18

The International Monetary Fund’s chief economist Maurice Obstfeld has conceded that rising trade tensions means its previous forecast for global economic growth may have been "over optimistic". The IMF has cut its growth forecast from 3.9 per cent to 3.7 per cent, but the ANZ Bank’s chief economist Richard Yetsenga anticipates global growth of nearly four per cent. ANZ also expects China’s economy to grow at a slightly higher pace in 2019 than the IMF has forecast.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

US, China trade war warning

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Original article by Simon Benson, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Oct-18

The International Monetary Fund expects Australia’s economic growth to slow to just 2.8 per cent in 2019, citing the impact of the US-China trade war. However, the IMF now expects the domestic economy to expand by 3.2 per cent in 2018, which is slightly higher than its previous forecast. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says a resolution of the trade tensions between the US and China is in the interests of Australia and the world. The IMF has scaled back its global economic growth forecasts for both 2018 and 2019 to 3.7 per cent.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence consolidates to 117.3

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Oct-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 0.7% to 117.3 in the week ended 7 October, reversing the gain of 0.7% in the previous week. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 2%, after three consecutive weekly gains. Sentiment towards future financial conditions fell 0.6%, adding to the fall of 1.2% in the previous week. Sentiment towards current and future economic conditions fell by 0.2% and 2.0% respectively, after both indices rose in the previous week. The "time to buy a household item" sub-index increased by 1.2%, its second consecutive weekly gain.

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

ABCC warns of union rally fines

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Oct-18

Work at building sites across Australia is likely to be disrupted by a series of protest rallies organised by the ACTU over the next month. However, the Australian Building & Construction Commission says building workers who participate in the rallies without written approval from their employee risk both having their pay docked and being prosecuted for unprotected industrial action. The penalty for such action is $42,00. Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker has also warned of the potential for legal action against unions and workers.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA