Woolworths reports a $1.62bn profit on food, ASX and Australian dollar inflation, driven by higher iron ore prices, as happened (2023)

Thanks for joining us today. Join us again tomorrow when Qantas announces its annual earnings.

Here's a post by Kirsten Aiken on what's on in Business tonight:

“The supermarket giants – Woolworths and Coles – are losing hundreds of millions of dollars from supermarket theft.

Don Meij, general manager of Domino's Pizza, joins me after revealing that higher prices are negatively impacting the company's bottom line. Net profit for 2023 fell more than 74%.

And I ask Luke Achterstraat of COSBOA what's behind the largest number of small businesses to fail in four years.

Watch ABC News at 8:44 p.m., after breaking news on ABC TV and anytime on ABC iView."

Former ASIC president James Shipton told a parliamentary committee that an abusive advertising campaign against him by an accused billionaire made him feel suicidal.

In late 2020 and 2021, Shipton faced a six-month ad campaign by a billionaire businessman, who targeted him for more than $118,000 in tax advice paid for by ASIC.

"The announcements were nothing but devastating to me, my family and my friends," Shipton said.

"They were relentless, they cut me to the core."

"One Sunday morning, after months of relentless advertising, I collapsed in front of the newsstand as my own face and imaginative words stared back at me from the yellow page of a newspaper."

"Then the ads finally became too much."

"That was the moment I wanted to end my life."

He said that the defendants had been charged with crimes instigated by the ASIC.

Mr. Shipton served as Chairman of ASIC from 2018 to 2021 and resigned due to payment for tax advice by ASIC.

Shipton also said that his final months as ASIC chairman were also marred by unacceptable behavior from a senior colleague.

And he said the responses from ASIC and the government were "fundamentally flawed."

"Unfortunately, in both cases of inappropriate behavior, the government at the time and ASIC did virtually nothing to stop it."

"When I asked for protection, they denied it to me."

"By the time some arrived, it was already too late."

Shipton said the ASIC needed reform.

"This can never happen again."

• ASX 200: +0.4% is 7,148
• Australian dollar: +0.1% to 64.30 cents on the dollar
• Nikkei: +0,5% hasta 32.010
• Shanghai: -1.1% to 3.048
• Hang Seng: +0.1% to 17.810
• Dow Jones: -0,5% a 34.289
• S&P 500: -0,3% a 4.388
• Nasdaq: +0,06% a 13.506
• FTSE 100: +0.2% to 7,271
• EuroStoxx 600: +0.7% up to 452
• Spot gold: +0.3% to $1,903.74 an ounce
• Brent oil: -0.2% to $83.90 a barrel
• Iron ore: +3.1% to $114/ton
• Bitcoin: +1% to $26,109

Lots of angry comments today.Woolworths has an annual profit of 1.620 million dollarsamid analysis by some economists that corporate profits do more to fuel inflation than consumer spending.

Woolworths says annual profit was boosted by food inflation.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has launched a price gouging inquiry, chaired by Professor Allan Fels, a competition expert.

treasurer todayJim Chalmersannounced a review of its competition policy and was asked by reporters about its impact on the market power of dominant companies like Woolworths.

"A key objective of this competitive study will be to put downward pressure on the cost of living."

"As companies' costs are moderate, we want their prices to be as well, and we have made this clear on several occasions."

"So if costs moderate, we want prices to moderate as well."

These are the top climbers of the ASX 200 Index.

An increase in annual profit ofWoolworthsand stronger iron ore prices have helped the ASX 200 gain.

The ASX 200 rose 0.4 percent to nearly 7,148 points, breaking its daily high.

Consumer Stocks and Minersboosted earnings, with Woolworths (+3.5 percent) and BHP (+1.9 percent) driving the market.

Technology and energy stocks weighed on the market, with 6 of 11 industry sectors ending in the red.

Domino's pizza(+11.8 percent) was the best performer in the ASX 200 Index after announcing it would lay off 200 employees worldwide to cut costs.

That was after earnings plummeted after it drove prices up.

Wise Tech Globalit fell by nearly a fifth as investors were disappointed by 2024 earnings expectations of up to $490 million of EBITDA.

According to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the number of people receiving old age pensions will decline in the coming decades, even as more Australians age.

The government's latest Intergenerational Report, outlining the outlook for the economy and budget for the next forty years, will be published in full by Mr Chalmers tomorrow.

The report shows that the reliance on old-age pensions will decrease as a result of increasing pension balances.

Chalmers says it shows that Super is achieving its goal of providing retirement support.

"Spending on pensions, retirement and service pensions will fall from around 2.3 percent of the economy last year to 2 percent by the end of the RSI period. This is an absolutely astonishing result considering the aging of our population.

It is important to note, however, that by 2040, tax breaks associated with pensions will exceed pension spending, reaching 2.4 percent of GDP in 2063.

Here's more from senior business correspondent Peter Ryan.

High property prices in Australia mean that first-time home buyers have to save on average at least 16 years for a deposit on a home and 12 years for an apartment.

This is reported by the financial comparison website Finder.

Finder says this would save him almost $300,000 on a home deposit and $188,523 on an apartment.

Richard Whitton, Finder's home loan expert, says many first-time homebuyers simply can't afford to save such large deposits.

“Wage growth over the past few decades has simply not kept pace with skyrocketing house prices.

“Saving enough for a down payment, especially when the cost of everything from food, energy and insurance – not to mention rent – ​​is rising, is a significant barrier to overcome.

"Buying a home is increasingly out of reach for many Australians."

New South Wales is the most expensive place to buy: it takes households an average of 20 years to save for a deposit of $470,660.

You can understand why many people will never be able to access real estate.

The Northern Territory and Western Australia were the best places to save for a housing deposit, with NT households taking an average of eight years to save for a housing deposit of $151,584.

Therefore, the RBA says the pilot project has provided valuable insight into how the industry could use a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia, potentially alongside other digital money innovations, to explore the capabilities of the payments system. .

The various use cases explored in the project are said to highlight a variety of areas wheretokenized moneyadd value, including facilitatingprogrammable payments,atomic settlementin the markets for tokenized assets, andoffline payment.

It says the project has also highlighted opportunities for CBDCs to develop new forms of privately issued digital money (includingtokenized bank depositsofCBDC-backed stablecoins) that could address some of the business needs identified in the use case presentations.

In this sense, a CBDC could be seen as an enabling complement, and not a substitute, for private sector innovation,” the report says.

But here was the last comment on the pilot project:

"Finally,It is important to recognize the limits of the scope of this project.and its place in the broader spectrum of CBDC-related research that has been going on for a number of years at the RBA and elsewhere.

"The project did not purport to provide a full assessment of the costs, benefits, risks and other implications of introducing a CBDC..

"Instead, he focused more narrowly on exploringhow the industry can use a CBDC to improve the operation of the payment system.

“It is our hope and expectation that the findings of this project will help formulate a future research agenda, including the additional work that the project sponsors intend to undertake in the coming years to explore the political arguments in favor of a CBDC.

“Given the many problems that still remain to be solved,A decision on a CBDC in Australia is likely to be several years away.

Central bank digital currencies are fascinating when viewed from a certain angle.

For example, the steps that central banks are currently taking to enter this space reflect aFight for powerthat is happening now.

In 2021 theBank for International Settlements (BIS),, the central bank of the world's central banks, has released a report calling on the world's central banks to develop their own digital currencies to meet the needs of crypto-attracted citizens.

That report saidbitcoinsIt was not money, but a speculative asset that organized crime could use to launder money and launch ransomware attacks.

I wrote about that BIS report at the time (link below).

Well that's a piece of history.

If you've been following the Reserve Bank's tentative moves into the world of digital currencies, you may be aware that today it released a report on the results of a pilot project it ran from March to July of this year.

Here's the report, but I'll use the next post to take a look at it.

• ASX 200: +0.7% to 7,173 (live updates below)
• Australian dollar: +0.3% to 64.39 cents on the dollar
• Nikkei: +0,3% hasta 31.963
• Shanghai: -0.6% to 3.103
• Hang Seng: +0,25 % to 17.838
• Dow Jones: -0,5% a 34.289
• S&P 500: -0,3% a 4.388
• Nasdaq: +0,06% a 13.506
• FTSE 100: +0.2% to 7,271
• EuroStoxx 600: +0.7% up to 452
• Spot gold: +0.2% to $1,900.80 an ounce
• Brent oil: 0.2% to $84.19 a barrel
• Iron ore: +3.1% to $114/ton
• Bitcoin: stable at $25,835

The federal government has announced a review of competition policy to make it more difficult for large companies to absorb smaller ones.

Vice Minister of CompetitionAndreas Leighsays that productivity growth in Australia has slowed over the past decade and reduced competition has contributed to this.

The review will examine competition laws, policies and institutions, and a task force on competition has been set up in the Ministry of Finance.

The evaluation will consider:

• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission proposals on merger reform and other competition law issues

• Options for coordinated reforms with states and territories, to be developed through the Council on Federal Financial Relations

• Non-compete clauses and related clauses that prevent employees from moving on to a higher-paying job

• Advice on competitive issues arising from new technologies, the net-zero transformation and the growth of the healthcare economy.

Former ACCC chair Rod Sims and current ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottleib have called for stronger laws to stop mergers that entrench market power.

"We always have to find the right balance in merger reform," Leigh said.

"The ACCC proposals...are serious proposals that deserve careful consideration"

Woolworths boss Brad Banducci warns of a tough consumer climate but hopes slowing inflation could lead to lower prices at supermarkets.

The supermarket giant made a profit of 1.62 billion dollars in 2023.

"Looking into FY24, we expect food inflation in Australia and New Zealand to continue to moderate, but will likely remain high in some packaged food categories," Banducci said.

The supermarket chain registers higher rates of theft due to the high cost of living.

Banducci told ABC's senior business correspondent Peter Ryan that shoplifting has increased and organized gangs are stealing goods for resale.

• ASX 200: 7,168 +0.7% to 7,128 (live updates below)
• Australian dollar: +0.4% to 64.47 cents on the dollar
• Nikkei: +0,2% hasta 31.915
• Dow Jones: -0,5% a 34.289
• S&P 500: -0,3% a 4.388
• Nasdaq: +0,06% a 13.506
• FTSE 100: +0.2% to 7,271
• EuroStoxx 600: +0.7% up to 452
• Spot Gold: +0.2% up to $1,900/ounce
• Brent oil: stable at $84 a barrel
• Iron ore: +3.1% to $114/ton
• Bitcoin: stable at $25,835

The Australian stock market is off to a slow start and is up 0.7 percent around midday.

The ASX 200 is driven by consumer, bank and mining stocks after iron ore prices rose overnight.

Technology stocks and healthcare companies are taking a hit.

Woolworths is up 5.1 percent after posting higher profits.

Domino's Pizza has risen despite a major drop in profit as it cuts 200 jobs and restructures.

These are the main drivers:

• Education for displaced persons: +9.7 percent to $25.53
• Monadelphous: +9.4 percent to $14.74
• Domino's Pizza: +8.1 percent to $51.92
• WiseTech Global: -19.2 percent to $70
• Nanosonics: -9.2 percent to $4.08
• Illuka sources: -7.4 percent to $4.08

Some other earnings results from today:

Logistics software companyWise Tech GlobalNet profit for 2023 increased 9 percent to $212 million.

Shares tumbled as investors are disappointed with the earnings outlook for 2024.

engineering officeWorley Parsonssaw its annual profit fall 78 percent to $37 million after a $240 million loss on the sale of a North American maintenance company.

Education for internally displaced personssays net earnings rose 45 percent to $148.5 million for the year, while student placement revenue rose to nearly $982 million as the global student market recovered from COVID.

Business Travel Management Provider Corporate Travel Managementsays net profit for 2023 increased from $3.2 million in 2022 to $77.6 million, while revenue increased 70 percent due to new customer acquisition.

But one such client is Britain, which controversially pays CTM $3 billion to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers, including on a ship in Dorset.

"In April 2023, CTM was awarded the largest customer contract to manage the accommodation needs of asylum seekers in the UK."

"It is expected to contribute significantly to the results of the European region in the coming years."

Oil and gas giantsantosalso reported its half-year results this morning, with its after-tax profit slashed by nearly a third.$790 million ($1.23 billion).

Last year, Santos reported a half-year profit of $1.17 billion.

The companiesProduction volume fell 13% to 45 million barrels of oil.equivalent, andSales volume also fell 15% to 41.7 million barrels of oil.equivalent.

Billing also fell 21 percent, which according to Santos was the result of lower realized oil and gas prices.

Despite falling earnings, Santos will be adividend of 8.7 cents per share, which he says is 14% higher than last year's results.

• ASX 200: 7,130 +0.1% to 7,128 (live updates below)
• Australian dollar: +0.2% to 64.31 cents on the dollar
• Nikkei: -0,2% a 31.776
• Dow Jones: -0,5% a 34.289
• S&P 500: -0,3% a 4.388
• Nasdaq: +0,06% a 13.506
• FTSE 100: +0.2% to 7,271
• EuroStoxx 600: +0.7% up to 452
• Spot gold: +0.2% to $1,897 an ounce
• Brent oil: -0.6% to $83.92 a barrel
• Iron ore: +3.1% to $114/ton
• Bitcoin: stable at $25,835

Stock markets are in a holding pattern ahead of a major speech this week by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is expected to signal where US interest rates are headed.

The ASX 200 Index is flat in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Technology stocks lead losses, while energy stocks are among the sectors weighing on the market.

WoolworthsThe shares rose 2.9 percent to $37.27 after rising full-year gains.

Education, consumer staples and mining stocks are up.

Upper bands:

• Education for displaced people: +9.4 percent
• Imagen: +5.1 percent
• Monadelphi: +4.7 percent
• WiseTech: -15.1 percent
• Iluka Resources: -8 percent
• Business travel management: -6.9 percent