ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

Jobs on the line as home builds slide

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-19

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that new housing approvals fell by 1.2 per cent during June and 26 per cent year-on-year. Apartment approvals were 40 per cent lower in June than at the same time in 2018. Matthew Hassan of Westpac expects further weakness in dwelling approvals over the remainder of 2019 and during the first half of 2020. George Tharenou of UBS warns that the downturn in housing approvals could put about 100,000 construction industry jobs at risk.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Aussies no better off since GFC

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-Jul-19

The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey shows that average household income in Australia increased by just 3.5 per cent (or $3,156) between 2009 and 2017. Analysis also shows that the median annual income in 2017 was $542 lower than in 2009, while the median income has fallen by $100 since the Coalition was elected in 2013. Meanwhile, the share of households in relative poverty has increased to 10.4 per cent, while the share of households living in absolute poverty has been steady at around four per cent since 2012. Interviewing for the HILDA survey is conducted by Roy Morgan.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

RBA could cut cash rate as soon as August

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 30-Jul-19

The futures market has priced in a 20 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce the cash rate for a third consecutive month in August. Inflation data to be released on 31 July may influence the timing of any rate cut; market expectations are for a CPI of 1.5 per cent for the June quarter, below the RBA’s forecast of 1.6 per cent. National Australia Bank economist Tapas Strickland says the CPI reading would probably need to be around 1.3 per cent or 1.4 per cent for the central bank to reduce the cash rate in August.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Women earning more, but have the stress to match

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Original article by Rebecca Urban, Victoria Laurie
The Australian – Page: 5 : 30-Jul-19

The proportion of women in employment rose to 71 per cent in 2017, which is the highest level since the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey began in 2001. The survey also shows that 39 per cent of women in the workforce have full-time jobs, and their average salary has increased by 24 per cent since 2001. In contrast, the average salary of full-time male employees has risen by 21 per cent. Meanwhile, the average work-family conflict score for working mothers has risen since 2001, while there has been a slight fall in the average score for working fathers.

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Building slowdown tipped to hit bottom in 2019-20

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 29-Jul-19

New building starts are expected to fall by eight per cent in 2019-20, according to BIS Oxford Economics, having fallen by an estimated 12 per cent in 2018-19. An improvement in non-residential construction in 2019-20 is tipped to be outweighed by a decline in residential activity. However, BIS Oxford Economics expects building activity to rebound in 2020-21 and the years beyond, as factors such as new first-home buyer stimulus programs and cuts to interest rates help to generate a recovery in the market.

CORPORATES
BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Inflation data set to drift further from RBA target

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Jul-19

The consensus of economists polled by Bloomberg is that Australia’s underlying inflation rate eased from 1.6 per cent to 1.5 per cent in the June quarter. The CPI data to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 31 July is likely to heighten expectations that the Reserve Bank will further ease monetary policy by October, while it might also boost the local sharemarket.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Health insurance exodus continues at alarming rate

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 26-Jul-19

The percentage of Australians aged between 20 and 28 with private health insurance cover for hospitals fell by 6.9 per cent in 2018, according to data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The overall percentage of Australians with hospital cover at the end of 2018 was 44.6 per cent, the lowest level since December 2006. The latest data follow a recent report from the Grattan Institute which claimed that the private health insurance sector is in a "death spiral" because of the continued decline of people with cover.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL

Energy policy, IR changes urgent

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 7 : 26-Jul-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has backed comments by top bureaucrat Martin Parkinson on the nation’s declining productivity rate. Willox says that uncertainty regarding energy and carbon emissions policy has contributed to Australia’s underperformance in terms of productivity growth, and he has urged action on these issues. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has in turn stressed the need for industrial relations reforms in order to lift productivity. Parkinson will shortly retire as the head of the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Top bureaucrat’s warning on threat to living standards

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-19

The Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet’s outgoing secretary Martin Parkinson says Australia’s productivity growth has fallen below global standards. He warns that growth in Australia’s living standards will decline over the next decade unless action is taken to boost productivity. Parkinson adds that political instability and policy uncertainty may have contributed to the fall in productivity over the last decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up to 116.3

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Jul-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.3% to 116.3 in the week ended 21 July. The financial and economic conditions subcomponents were positive, implying the detail was better than the headline suggested. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 2.8%, while views towards future financial conditions were up 0.3%; both indices are comfortably above their respective long-term average. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions rose 3.4% and views toward future economic conditions rose 1%. The ‘time to buy a household item’ index was the only subindex that fell, dropping 4.4%. The four-week moving average for inflation expectations was flat at 4.0%, though weekly inflation expectations rose for the third consecutive week.

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