ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Rating weakens 1.2% to 112.4

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Oct-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 1.2% to 112.4 in the week ended 15 October 2017, dragging the index below its long-term average. The loss was broad-based, with four out of the five sub-components showing a decline. Consumers’ views about the current financial situation fell 1.6%, although the index remains comfortably above its long-term average. Households’ outlook on near and medium-term economic conditions worsened for the second consecutive week, with the indices declining by 2.0% and 2.4% respectively. Both the indices remain below their long-term averages.

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

IMF jitters over ‘high’ Australian debt

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Oct-17

Household debt in Australia now exceeds GDP by 23 per cent, prompting the International Monetary Fund to express concern about the nation’s vulnerability to "risk premium shocks". The combined debt of governments, business and households in Australia is now 147 per cent higher than GDP, compared with just 87 per cent a decade ago. The IMF’s data also shows that the combined debt of Group of 20 nations has risen by $US60trn to $US135trn since the global financial crisis.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence picks up modestly, up 0.4% to 113.8

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Oct-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.4% to 113.8 in the week ended 8 October 2017, recovering some of the previous week’s losses. Sentiment towards economic conditions fell slightly, but views on financial conditions improved. Consumers’ views towards current and future financial conditions improved, with the indices increasing by 0.7% and 0.3% respectively. After a strong show in the previous week, households’ views on economic conditions edged lower. Both the indices recorded a slight decline, and remain well below their long-run averages.

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

More workers wanted as world demand for resources grows

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Oct-17

Job advertising site Indeed has reported an 84 per increase in jobs for "fly-in, fly-out" workers compared with 2016. Western Australia is the most popular state for FIFO jobs, with 45 per cent of adverts, followed by Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia. The surge in jobs for FIFO workers can be attributed to a number of factors, including restrictions on visas for overseas workers and an improvement in commodity prices.

CORPORATES
INDEED INCORPORATED

Business Confidence down again in September to 113.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Oct-17

Business Confidence in Australia fell 1.2pts (-1.0%) to 113.2 in September 2017, according to the Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey, as discussion continued about the mounting cost of energy heading towards the peak Summer season. Some 48.5% of businesses expect to be "better off" financially this time next year, while only 20.1% expect to be "worse off". Meanwhile, 51% of businesses now expect "good times" for the Australian economy over the next year, while 43.2% expect "bad times". The fall in Business Confidence was driven by falls in confidence in several industries, including Transport, postal & warehousing, Information, Media & Telecommunications, Finance & Insurance and Accommodation & Food services.

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Rating edges down again to 113.4

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Oct-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence slipped 0.6% to 113.4 in the week ended 1 October 2017. The detail was mixed; sentiment towards economic conditions improved, but this was more than offset by a fall in households’ views of their own finances. Consumers were more optimistic about both current and future economic conditions (up 2.5% and 2.0% respectively). Views towards current economic conditions have improved since the low point in May; however, sentiment towards both current and future conditions remains below long-run averages. Households’ views towards both current and future financial conditions fell 1.6%. Still, both sub-indices are showing some resilience and remain above their long- term averages.

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

Income slump hits the middle

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 29-Sep-17

The Department of the Treasury has released a report which shows that wages growth slowed to 1.9 per cent in the year to June 2017. Meanwhile, real wages growth has been significantly lower over the last five years than in the previous decade. The figures also show that despite claims of growing income inequality, university graduates have experience lower growth in wages than people with no higher education since 2010. The report identifies a number of factors that have contributed to the low growth in wages over recent years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

RBA keeping close eye on home owners

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Age – Page: 23 : 27-Sep-17

The Reserve Bank’s assistant governor for the financial system, Michele Bullock, says the central bank is closely monitoring the high levels of household debt. She has warned that mortgage borrowers who have capitalised on historically low interest rates would be especially vulnerable to any "economic shock". Bullock adds that consumer spending may be affected when interest rates begin to rise. She also notes that measures aimed at restricting growth in higher-risk mortgage lending have made the banking system less vulnerable to a financial shock.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Labour market holding us back

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Sep-17

Switzerland, the US and Singapore are the highest-rated countries in the World Economic Forum’s latest global competitiveness index. Australia is ranked 21st out of 137 countries, with the nation performing poorly on a number of key indicators. Australia is ranked 28th in terms of labour market efficiency and 72nd for co-operation in labour-employer relations. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey has found that restrictive labour market practices, taxes and government bureaucracy are the biggest problems when doing business in Australia.

CORPORATES
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence: remains steady

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Sep-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence eased 0.6% in the week ending 24 September. The moderation in confidence was driven by a solid decline in views towards future economic conditions, which was somewhat offset by an increase in the "time to buy a major household item" index. The remaining sub-indices showed little change. Consumers’ views towards current economic conditions remained unchanged (+0.1%). Meanwhile, consumers seem less optimistic about future economic conditions, with the sub-index falling 6.5%. The four-week moving average aggregate economic conditions index remains well below its long-run average. Similarly, households’ views towards current financial conditions showed little change (+0.1%), while confidence around future financial conditions slipped 0.8%. The four-week moving average aggregate financial conditions index has risen above its long-term average through September.

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