Adam Bandt pushes for formal power-sharing deal with Anthony Albanese in case of minority election

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Greg Jennett
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-Dec-24

Greens leader Adam Bandt has outlined his party’s terms for helping Labor to form government if the 2025 federal election results in a hung parliament. Bandt says there would be a "lot of merit" in establishing a formal power-sharing deal with Labor that clearly states the legislative priorities for the next parliament. Bandt adds that priority areas will include expanding Medicare to include dental and mental health care for adults, free access to GPs, and action to address the rising cost of rental housing. The Greens have been more co-operative in recent weeks, and the party backed more than 40 government bills on the final day of parliament for the year.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2.7pts to 88.4 as Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales provide boost to confidence

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4 Deceember 2024

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.7pts to 88.4 in the week to 1 December, to its highest level since May 2022 – just after the last Federal Election. Consumer Confidence is now 12 points above the same week a year ago (76.4), and 5.6 points above the 2024 weekly average of 82.8. A look at Consumer Confidence by State shows varied results around the country with increases in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia, but decreases in Victoria and South Australia. Now 23% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 34% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 29% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 8% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 29% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 31% (up 7ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the highest figure for this indicator since April 2022), while 42% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since June 2022).

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

Government spending splurge props up GDP

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 4-Dec-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that federal and state government spending totalled $195.8bn in the September quarter. This is eight per cent higher year-on-year, and compares with average annual spending growth of 5.3 per cent in the decade prior to the pandemic. The ABS notes that recurrent government spending increased by 1.4 per cent in the quarter, which is partly due to federal and state government electricity bill subsidies. Meanwhile, Westpac says government spending is set to reach a record 27.8 per cent of GDP in the quarter, compared with 27.3 per cent in the three months to June. National accounts data to be released on Wednesday is expected to show that annual GDP growth rose to 1.1 per cent in September.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Cbus union payments in the spotlight

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 4-Dec-24

Deloitte has made 26 recommendations following its independent review of payments made by construction industry superannuation fund Cbus to the CFMEU. A spokesman for Cbus has indicated that it will accept ‘in principle’ all of the recommendations in Deloitte’s report, and it will work with the accounting firm to develop an action plan to implement each of the recommendations. Amongst other things, Deloitte concluded that Cbus lacked appropriate procedures to ensure that payments to the union were in accordance with its requirement to act in the best financial interest of members.

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CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Glut forces home sellers to cut prices

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 4-Dec-24

Data from SQM Research shows that the average asking price for homes in Sydney has fallen by 0.9 per cent in the last month, while asking prices in Melbourne are down 0.7 per cent. SQM Research MD Louis Christopher says the downturn in asking prices began in October, in response to a sharp increase in the volume of properties that are listed for sale. The number of dwellings that have been on the market for more than six months has also risen sharply; BresicWhitney CEO Thomas McGlynn says many of these homes are likely to be withdrawn from sale in coming days and returned to the market in early 2025.

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SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, BRESIC WHITNEY ESTATE AGENTS PTY LTD

Bunnings is Australia’s most trusted brand again ahead of Aldi, Kmart and Toyota, while Big W and NRMA improve

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Dec-24

Bunnings is the most trusted brand in the 12 months to September 2024. The hardware chain has held top spot as Australia’s most trusted brand for four consecutive quarters, since taking top spot at the end of last year from previous leader Woolworths. Filling out the top three most trusted brands for a third consecutive quarter are supermarket Aldi followed by discount department store Kmart. Toyota in fourth, Apple in fifth and Australia Post in sixth were all unchanged from last quarter. Meanwhile, Optus remains the most distrusted brand for a sixth straight quarter. The telco is followed by major supermarkets Woolworths and Coles; they held the top two spots as Australia’s most trusted brands in mid-2023, but they have since fallen completely out of favour, having lost well over 200 places in the trust rankings compared to a year ago.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, APPLE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA POST, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL

Aussie to drop materially in 2025, CBA warns

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Dec-24

The Commonwealth Bank is bearish about the outlook for the Australian dollar in 2025, amid fears of a trade war when US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The currency has fallen by 7.3 per cent since its most recent peak in September; it was fetching $US0.6470 on Tuesday, having reached a low of $US0.6432 last week. The Commonwealth Bank now expects the currency to fall to $US0.61 by September, but head of international equities Joseph Capurso says it could fall much further and faster if the trade war is more disruptive than anticipated.

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COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

ASX 200 tops 8500 on Santa rally

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Original article by Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Dec-24

Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu says the Black Friday sales should boost investor sentiment in the lead-up to Christmas. Liu notes that the S&P/ASX 200 consumer discretionary index gained seven per cent in November; it also rose by 1.2 per cent on Tuesday, contributing to the S&P/ASX 200’s rise above the 8,500-point level for the first time. Andrew Mitchell from Ophir Asset Management says Donald Trump’s presidential election win has prompted renewed optimism among investors in the US and Australia.

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STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY INDEX, TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD, OPHIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Class action on Covid-19 jabs doomed to fail: Defence

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Original article by Duncan Murray
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Dec-24

Brisbane law firm NR Barbi Solicitor is leading a class action against the federal government in the federal court, with the action alleging that it was negligent in approving Covid-19 vaccines. It seeks damages on behalf of those who suffered "serious adverse events" after taking one or more of the vaccines; one of those listed as members of the class action is Michelle Grace Hunder, who alleges she was diagnosed with vaccine-induced pericarditis. Kate Eastman SC, the barrister appearing for the respondents named in the action, told a hearing on Monday they were seeking to have the lawsuit thrown out on the basis it had no reasonable chance of being successful.

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NR BARBI SOLICITOR, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Northern Star in De Grey takeover

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Valerina Changarathil
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 3-Dec-24

Northern Star Resources will acquire smaller gold producer De Grey Mining via a scheme of arrangement. The all-scrip $5bn deal has been unanimously backed by De Grey’s directors, and is subject to shareholder and court approval. Northern Star’s offer comprises 0.119 of its shares for each De Grey share; the latter’s assets include the undeveloped Hemi project in Western Australia, which is slated to produce 530,000 ounces of gold a year during the first decade of operation. Northern Star CEO Stuart Tonkin says he is not concerned about acquiring Hemi without final federal and state environmental approvals in place.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, DE GREY MINING LIMITED – ASX DEG