Supermarkets dominate Australia’s most trusted brands in 2021 led by Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings & ALDI

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

Roy Morgan data scientists analysed nominations from more than 20,000 Australians to identify the nation’s 20 most trusted brands, and the 20 most distrusted brands. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a retail sales boom on the back of record Government support for the economy, and it is perhaps unsurprising that leading supermarket and retail brands fill five of the top six spots as Australia’s most trusted brands. The latest Roy Morgan Risk Report reveals that the nation’s two largest supermarket brands, Woolworths and Coles, took out first and second places on the list of most trusted brands in the country in early 2021, followed closely by leading hardware retailer Bunnings Warehouse and fellow supermarket ALDI. The Roy Morgan Risk Report also reveals the top-20 list of Australia’s most distrusted brands, with several brands entering the top 10 for the first time including Amazon, Rio Tinto and Huawei, and brands such as Crown Resorts, Uber, Twitter and TikTok new entrants into the top 20 list. Leading banks including NAB, ANZ and CBA were among the big improvers on the distrust ladder with all three dropping well out of the top-10 most distrusted brands. The Roy Morgan Risk Monitor surveys approximately 1,800 Australians every month to measure levels of trust and distrust in more than 900 brands across 26 industry sectors.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED, TIKTOK, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

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

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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

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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

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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

ABC lashed over call to fund Milligan case

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 5-Jul-21

The ABC’s policy on employees’ usage of social media is under renewed scrutiny after the public broadcaster advised that it will pay the legal costs of investigative reporter Louise Milligan in a defamation case. Federal MP Andrew Laming alleges that his personal and professional reputation were "irrevocably" damaged after Milligan posted a series of tweets regarding claims that Laming had taken a photo of a woman while she was bending over. Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has questioned the ABC’s decision to fund Milligan’s legal defence, adding that taxpayers have the right to know whether it would also pay up if damages are awarded against her.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Sims welcomes Facebook deals with two outlets

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Jul-21

Facebook has secured a content deal with online news website Guardian Australia under the federal government’s news media bargaining code. Guardian Australia content will be featured on the Facebook News platform, which has yet to be launched. Country Press Australia has also secured a content deal with the social media giant. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says the majority of local media companies have now secured such deals, adding that they would not have been achieved without the media bargaining code.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, COUNTRY PRESS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

International airlines may be forced to suspend flights to Australia after arrival cap halved

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Original article by Matilda Boseley, Royce Kurmelovs
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-21

National cabinet recently agreed to reduce the number of international arrivals from 6,070 to 3,035 a week, with the cuts to take effect as from 14 July. Board of Airline Representatives executive director Barry Abrams says the cuts will make it hard for international airlines to maintain their current frequency of flights to Australia, while he has rejected suggestions airlines are trying to take advantage of the cut in arrivals by price gouging.

CORPORATES
BOARD OF AIRLINE REPRESENTATIVES OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Forrest joins Gates’ climate venture fund

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Jul-21

Andrew Forrest has joined a number of well-known billionaires in investing in Breakthrough Energy Venture, a venture capital fund chaired by Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates. BEV will focus on emerging greenhouse gas-reducing technologies, and it has made initial investments in 46 companies across sectors such as electricity, transport and construction. The billionaires who have initially invested in BEV all made a minimum investment of at least US50 million ($66 million).

CORPORATES
MICROSOFT CORPORATION, BREAKTHROUGH ENERGY VENTURES

China’s new front in the trade war with Australia – Africa

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Original article by Ian Verrender
abc.net au – Page: Online : 5-Jul-21

China is by far the biggest lender to Africa, with one of its more controversial strategies involving handouts being given in exchange for stakes in long-term mining projects where Chinese-government-owned firms take all the profits. It is estimated that China struck $US164 billion ($218 billion) worth of such deals across Africa in the four years to 2018, with the Natural Resource Governance Institute finding they deliver much more benefit to China than the host country. By increasing its influence in potentially iron ore-rich countries like Guinea and the Republic of Congo, China can reduce its reliance on Australia for iron ore.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RESOURCE GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Credit cards, home loans lead bank disputes lodged with ombudsman

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: Online : 5-Jul-21

Preliminary data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority shows that it handled fewer disputes with financial services providers in 2020-21. The AFCA received more than 70,000 complaints during the financial year, compared with 80,500 in 2019-20. Credit cards accounted for 14 per cent of disputes in the last financial year, ahead of home loans (nine per cent) and personal transaction accounts (eight per cent). The AFCA also received 8,303 coronavirus-related complaints in 2020-21, compared with 5,013 in the last four months of 2019-20.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY