ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

Casualisation of workforce falls, finds ABS

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Original article by Tim Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 23-Jan-19

Official data shows that casual employees accounted for 22 per cent of the Australian workforce in May 2018, down from 22.6 per cent two years earlier. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest biennial employees earnings survey also shows that the number of employees totalled 10,647,200 in May 2018. Mark Wooden, the director of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey project, says the ABS survey provides an accurate reading on the number of casual employees as it interviews employers rather than workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, ACTU

Hayne gets blame for retail spending squeeze

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Jan-19

Australian retailers had mixed fortunes during the crucial Christmas shopping period, according to analysts. Data from ShopperTrak shows that shopping centres recorded a 12.2 per cent decline in customer traffic in December, including a 23 per cent fall in the week to December 30. Meanwhile, retail adviser James Stewart says factors such as falling house prices and tighter access to credit in the wake of the financial services royal commission are weighing on consumer spending. He adds that more retailers are likely to go into administration in 2019 following the recent collapse of clothing chain Ed Harry.

CORPORATES
SHOPPERTRAK INCORPORATED, ED HARRY MENSWEAR, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MICHAEL HILL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX MHJ, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, THE PAS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PGR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rebounds to 116.8

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 1.4% to 116.8 in the week ended 13 January. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 2.8%, rebounding after three consecutive falls; future financial conditions registered a fifth consecutive increase, rising 2.0%. Consumers’ views toward current and future economic conditions fell 0.6% and 2.3% respectively. The ‘time to buy a household item’ sub-index rose 3.9%.

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

Aust job vacancies rise 1.3pct to new peak

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Original article by Alex Druce
News.com.au – Page: Online : 10-Jan-19

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that there was 1.7 per cent growth in job vacancies during the three months to November, or 1.3 per cent in seasonally-adjusted terms. The total number of vacancies rose to 241,600, compared with 238,400 in the three months to August. The number of job vacancies in the public sector grew by four per cent to 21,600 in the November quarter, while there was 1.1 per cent growth in private-sector jobs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, INDEED INCORPORATED

Approvals for new apartments slump

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 10-Jan-19

New figures highlight the downturn in Australia’s residential construction market. Just 5,921 units, townhouses and semi-detached dwellings were approved in November 2018, which is 18.4 per cent lower than in October. In contrast, some 12,823 dwellings were approved during November 2017. There was a 9.1 per cent decline in approvals for detached dwellings in November, which is the lowest monthly level since July 2013.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Trade surplus eases in November

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 9-Jan-19

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation’s exports rose by one per cent to $38.4bn in November, while imports increased by two per cent to $36.5bn. Australia recorded an 11th consecutive monthly trade surplus in November, although it fell from a downwardly revised $2bn in October to $1.9bn. The consensus of economists polled by Bloomberg had been for a trade surplus of $2.2bn in November.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BLOOMBERG LP, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence softens to 115.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jan-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.2% to 115.2 in the week ended 6 January. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 4.3%, the third consecutive fall, while future financial condition rose 1.1%. Consumers’ views toward current and future economic conditions fell by 4.2% and 3.1% respectively. The ‘time to buy a household item’ sub-index fell 1.1%.

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

Manufacturing falls to two-year low

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Jan-19

The Australian Industry Group’s Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index declined 1.8 points to 49.5 in December. It was the lowest that the Index has been since August 2016. Five of the Index’s eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded, while the report noted the strong performance of the Victorian manufacturing sector. The decline in Australian manufacturing activity mirrors the global economy, with the US and China having both recently recorded falls in manufacturing output.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN CHASE AND COMPANY, IHS GROUP

Banks turn off the investor tap

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 3-Jan-19

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that the nation’s four largest banks held $471.4bn worth of investor mortgage loans in the year to November 2018. This compares with $471.1bn for the same period in 2017. Westpac and National Australia Bank increased their investor loan books slightly, while the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ recorded declines. Meanwhile, Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley says APRA’s recent move to abolish caps on interest-only loans is unlikely to boost the major banks’ growth in housing loans.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BANKWEST, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, P&N BANK, FINDER.COM.AU, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Private sector wage rises hit two-year high

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-Dec-18

The federal government has released data showing that there was an average pay rise of three per cent for new enterprise agreements struck in the private sector during the September quarter. However, the average pay rise for existing private-sector agreements was just 2.7 per cent. The number of private-sector workers who are covered by enterprise agreements fell by 90,000 during the quarter. Meanwhile, the average pay rise for public sector workers was 3.4 per cent in the quarter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, ACTU