ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

Unemployment rises to 10.3% in January – Under-employment down from record high in December

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Feb-16

A Roy Morgan Research survey on Australia’s labour market has found that the real unemployment rate was 10.3 per cent in January 2016. The number of people in the workforce has risen to a record 13,098,000 (up 471,000 since January 2015), and a record 11,752,000 Australians are employed (up 358,000 in the last 12 months). Meanwhile, the number of people who are under-employed has risen by 196,000 in the last 12 months to 1,229,000 (9.4 per cent of the workforce). The official unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent in December 2015. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says Australia’s outdated industrial relations laws and work practices can only be properly reformed if the "cash economy" is tackled at the same time – otherwise any efforts at IR reform will be of limited benefit, as Government revenue increases will be negligible.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence on the crawl – down 1pt to 111.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Feb-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by one per cent to 111.2 in the week ended 31 January 2016, and it has fallen by 4.4 per cent over the last four weeks. On average, confidence was 2.1 per cent lower in January compared with December. It is unusual for confidence to fall in January, and this is the first time since 2008 that the year has started on a pessimistic note. The sub-index on "financial situation compared to a year ago" has fallen by 2.9 per cent, although the sub-index on "economic conditions in the next 12 months" has risen by 2.3 per cent.

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

Terms of trade slump mires budget outlook

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jan-16

The Australian Government’s mid-year budget update in December 2015 had forecast a 10.5 per cent decline in the nation’s terms of trade in 2015-16. However, the latest trade data has prompted analysts to estimate that the terms of trade declined by between 4.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent in the December 2015 quarter. The downturn in the prices of key export commodities have hit the terms of trade, which may in turn significantly impact on government revenue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED

Inflation uptick takes interest rate cut off the table

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 28-Jan-16

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that consumer inflation rose by a higher-than-expected 0.4 per cent in the December 2015 quarter. The annual inflation rate was also above expectations at 1.7 per cent. Financial markets have responded to the inflation data by downgrading the chances of a rise in the cash rate in February to just four per cent. Morgan Stanley’s Daniel Blake says a mid-year rate cut remains on the cards given the CPI data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BANK OF JAPAN, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence down for the third week in a row to 112.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Jan-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.9 per cent to 112.2 in the week ended 24 January 2016, and is now down 3.6 per cent over the past three weeks. Consumer confidence is now below its long-run average for the first time in almost four months. The recent falls are largely a reflection of ongoing global concerns and financial market volatility. The sub-index on "economic conditions in the next 12 months" has fallen by 13.5 per cent since early December, while the sub-index on "time to buy a major household item" has fallen by 7.9 per cent over the past three weeks.

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

Sydney air passengers hit record

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 21-Jan-16

New figures show that Sydney Airport’s passenger throughput rose by three per cent in 2015, to a record 39.656 million. The number of domestic passengers rose by 2.3 per cent to 25.9 million, while international passenger numbers grew by 4.3 per cent to 13.7 million. The airport benefited from an increase in airlines’ capacity. Meanwhile, a total of 33.1 million passengers passed through Melbourne Airport during 2015.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, MELBOURNE AIRPORT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence down again to 113.2 (down 0.9pts)

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jan-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.8 per cent to 113.2 in the week ended 17 January 2016, following a 1.9 per cent fall in the previous week. Further losses on the sharemarket amid ongoing concerns about China’s economic growth prospects are likely to have weighed on consumer confidence. The sub-index on the "economic outlook in the next 12 months" fell by 7.5 per cent, and it is now is now at its lowest level since Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the sub-index on "finances compared to a year ago" rose by 8.6 per cent.

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

Income growth lowest in 50 years

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 6 : 18-Jan-16

A report by Deloitte Access Economics forecasts 1.2 per cent growth in Australia’s national income in 2016, which is the lowest rate of growth since 1960. Factors such as a downturn in export prices and cost-cutting in the corporate sector is dampening growth in incomes, which will in turn affect government revenue. Deloitte notes that lower growth in wages will eventually negatively affect economic growth. The firm expects the domestic economy to expand by just 2.2 per cent in 2016 and 2.1 per cent in 2017.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence falls following rout on Australian share-markets

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jan-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 1.9 per cent to 114.1 in the week ended 10 January 2016, retracing the 0.8 per cent rise in the previous week. Concerns around China’s economic growth prospects and volatility on global financial markets are likely to have had an impact on consumer confidence. The fall was largely driven by a 9.9 per cent dip in consumers’ views towards their current finances, which recorded the largest fall since March 2012. The sub-index on "economic conditions in the next 12 months" fell a modest 0.3 per cent, whereas "economic conditions in the next five years" rose by 2.6 per cent.

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence increases to 116.3 to start 2016

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jan-16

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.8 per cent to 116.3 in the week ended 3 January 2016. This reverses the fall seen in the last survey conducted in mid-December, leaving confidence above its long run average (+3.2 per cent). Consumers’ views towards their current finances have risen by 6.4 per cent in the last week, leaving the sub-index at its strongest level in the history of the weekly survey (which started in October 2008). However, consumers’ views towards their financial situation in the next 12 months fell by 1.4 per cent.

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