Australian Economy

Ah, the magic of house prices.

Poor George.

As the National Broadband Network’s (NBN) rollout nears its completion on 30 June 2020, the costs of connecting the last remaining properties to hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) and fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) have soared: The company said today that complexities encountered in the home stretch of the main network build contributed to the higher-than-anticipated numbers.

Transurban continues to feast on the ‘Big Australia’ mass immigration policy, delivering more strong growth on its toll road network: Transurban’s half-year profit rose by 11 per cent amid higher traffic on its toll roads in Australia… Net profit totalled $162m in the six months through December, rising from $145m a year ago.

Via Damien Boey at Credit Suisse: The NAB business confidence survey was incrementally positive.

We know about the demand shock. At Crikey: The country’s top eight (Go8) universities have the highest demand from China, so they are able to lock in their enrolments months in advance.

Via NAB: The picture painted by the first survey of 2020 is broadly similar to that at the end of 2019.

He’s cooked, at the ABC: The restaurant business of former Masterchef judge George Calombaris has been put into administration, only months after being rocked by a staff underpayment scandal, with almost all venues to cease trading immediately and hundreds of employees affected.

Data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) shows that taxpayers received an average tax refund of $967 for the 2018-19 financial year.

Australia is reportedly among the first in line for a ‘free trade agreement’ (FTA) with the United Kingdom: British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hopes Australia will be in the first wave of free trade deals his country can secure in the post-Brexit era.

The wisdom of wage theft for individuals and an economy once again on display, at Domain: The hospitality empire of celebrity chef George Calombaris is on the brink of collapse and could be placed into voluntary administration as early as this week, with about 500 employees facing an uncertain future.

Via the excellent George Tharenou at UBS: Q4 retail volumes bounce 0.5% (0.4% y/y), but reflects weak price pressure Retail volumes in Q4-19 bounced 0.5% q/q (UBS 0.2%, mkt: 0.3%, pre: -0.1%). But, this reflects slower than expected prices (0.4%), indicating weaker inflation pressure than CPI.

Last week, Labor’s immigration spokesperson, Kristina Keneally, rightfully attacked the explosion in temporary visas (see next chart) across the Australian economy, claiming migrant workers were undercutting locals and contributing to Australia’s chronically low wage growth.

You don’t say.

Retail sales figures released by the ABS will boost December quarter GDP when the national accounts are released early next month.

Via Westpac just now: A viral epidemic centred in China’s Hubei Province has escalated materially in recent weeks, resulting in the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring a public health emergency of international concern in late January.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has released its new car sales report for January, which saw annual car sales collapse to their lowest level since mid-2012, driven by crashing passenger motor vehicle (PMV) sales: Annual new car sales are now running 12.4% below their March 2018 peak.

After November’s Black Friday driven lift in retail sales, the inevitable slowdown occurred in December, with retail sales falling by 0.5%: However, in trend terms, annual retail sales growth rose to 2.8%.