ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

Australian employment at record high in December driven by a record high level of part-time employment

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jan-15

A Roy Morgan Research survey on Australia’s labour market has found that the real unemployment rate was 10.9 per cent in December 2014. The number of people in the workforce now totals a record 12,901,000 (up 266,000 since December 2013), while the number of people who are underemployed has risen by 154,000 in the last 12 months to 1,246,000 (9.7 per cent). The official unemployment rate was 6.2 per cent in November. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the high level of unemployment and underemployment means the Federal Government must look seriously at industrial relations reform

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

‘Back to normal’ as trade deficit widens

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Original article by Vera Sprothen, James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 16 : 7-Jan-15

New figures show that Australia posted its eighth successive monthly trade deficit in November 2014. The trade deficit of $A925m compares with a revised deficit just $A877m for October. Deutsche Bank economist Phil O’Donaghoe says the trade surpluses posted in 2010 and 2011 were an anomaly and the nation has returned to its "normal" trend for the balance of trade to be in deficit

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DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BARCLAYS BANK PLC

Discounts spur $800m retail boost

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Original article by Madeleine Heffernan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 7-Jan-15

Data from National Australia Bank suggests that there was a 13.5 per cent increase in consumer spending in the week beginning 22 December 2014. The figures, which are based on credit card and eftpos transactions by the bank’s customers, shows that consumer spending topped $A1.2bn in the week after discretionary retailers introduced price discounts. Craig Woolford of Citigroup says many consumers waited until retailers began discounting before doing their Christmas shopping

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NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA POST, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, SEPHORA USA LLC, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE QUANTIUM GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Debt soars on the home front

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Jan-15

A report from the Reserve Bank shows that Australia’s total housing debt now exceeds total household income by 39 per cent. This compared with a differential of just 29 per cent prior to the global financial crisis (GFC). Meanwhile, the interest paid on mortgage loans now accounts for about 7.2 per cent of household income, down from nearly 11 per cent prior to the GFC. The figures also show that total household assets significantly exceed household disposable income

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Mosman sales break $1b level

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Original article by Luke Malpass
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 19-Dec-14

Corelogic RP Data has reported that sales of houses in the Sydney suburb of Mosman have topped $A1.1bn in calendar 2014, compared with almost $A8.1m in 2013. Tim Foote of Belle Property notes that Australian house buyers have dominated sales activity in the last year, whereas Chinese buyers accounted for many of the sales in Mosman during 2013. The Melbourne suburb of Brighton is ranked second in terms of the value of house sales, with $A797m worth of homes changing hands

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CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD

Ad market rallies as splurge in government spending delivers

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Dec-14

The latest Standard Media Index data shows that Australia’s advertising market grew by 3.8 per cent year-on-year in November 2014. There was a 110 per cent increase in spending on government advertising, while travel industry advertising and telecommunications advertising increased by 12.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively. Newspaper advertising declined by 12.2 per cent and free-to-air TV advertising was down 0.2 per cent

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SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED, STW COMMUNICATIONS GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGN, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, OGILVY AND MATHER, J WALTER THOMPSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Stevens calls for US75c dollar

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Michael Stutchbury
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 12-Dec-14

The Australian dollar is currently trading at around $US0.83, but Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens believes that it needs to fall further. He argues that a more appropriate level for the currency would be about $US0.75, arguing that the decline in Australia’s terms of trade means the dollar needs to be lower. Stevens also says that the need for stability is a major reason why interest rates were kept on hold during 2014, and stresses that any further easing of monetary policy would need to has a positive effect on business and consumer confidence

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Hockey warns living standards could fall

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Dec-14

Australia’s economic growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent in the September 2014 quarter, and by 2.7 per cent year-on-year. Economic growth contracted in all states except New South Wales. The national accounts also show that Australia has entered an "income recession", with real net disposable income contracting in the last two quarters. Treasurer Joe Hockey has urged opposition parties to support government policy in the Senate, warning that a decline in living standards is likely if reforms are not implemented

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Stop-Start Grind Higher

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Dec-14

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.3 per cent to 113.9 in the week ended 30 November 2014. This is a small setback following a solid 1.2 per cent rise in the previous week. Looking through the weekly volatility, consumer confidence is trending modestly higher. Confidence in households’ finances compared with 12 months ago fell by 1.9 per cent. However, expectations of the economic outlook and household finances improved

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

Fewer Australians work or look for work as workforce shrinks to just over 12 million in October

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Nov-14

A Roy Morgan Research survey on Australia’s labour market has found that the real unemployment rate fell by 0.8 per cent to 9.1 per cent in October 2014. The workforce fell by 215,000 to 12,00,000 in total, and the number of people who were underemployed rose by 102,000 to 9.3 per cent. The official unemployment rate was 6.2 per cent in September. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that October was the 29th straight month in which more than one million Australians were unemployed, as well as the 35th successive month in which more than two million people have been either unemployed or underemployed

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ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA