
19 May TIGHTENING PURSE STRINGS; BOARD DIVERSITY: MALE DIRECTORS WATCH OUT!
TIGHTENING PURSE STRINGS
As you may have noticed, consumers appear to have started tightening their purse strings, especially millennials.
Two sets of figures out this week confirm the trend.
First, the RBA predicted a steep slowdown in consumer spending from 5.75 per cent to 1.5 per cent next financial year amid tightening monetary policy and tax levels at the highest since the early 2000s.
And then, a new report by CBA and data science company Quantium found that during the first three months of 2023, those aged under 35 cut their spending on clothes and shoes by 8.4 per cent.
Young people also cut down on retail services such as haircuts, optometry, and beauty treatments – down by 0.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.
That being said, they are still enjoying dining out and ordering takeaway with spending in this category rising 7.1 per cent.
BOARD DIVERSITY: MALE DIRECTORS WATCH OUT!
Male directors of publicly listed companies may find their positions at risk if female board representation doesn’t quickly reach at least 30 per cent.
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) and the 26 super funds it represents are threatening to vote against the election of male directors on 97 of the country’s top 300 companies that do not meet the benchmark.
These include prominent companies such as JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Seven West Group, and Wisetech.
In response, Goodman Group (three females on an 11-person board), IAG (two females on a 10-person board), and Accent Group (one female on a seven-person board) said they are in the process of recruiting more women to their boards or had recently done so.
HIGH AT HOME
The rise in remote working has seen some people add an extra kick to their morning cuppa.
A survey by drug recovery firm Sierra Tucson found that 20 per cent of US workers admitted to taking drugs while working from home and also to being under the influence during virtual meetings (insert joke here, folks!).
Employers’ alarm bells are ringing, with some forcing their workers to take random workplace drug tests – at home.
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