New Yearly High Of $2.40 Hit Today, page-20

interesting article in AFR

side note I’m hearing of a positive announcement coming very soon




National retail sales surged 7.1 per cent in November as Melbourne shoppers exited lockdown to splurge on household goods, clothes and at cafes.Strong internet sales during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales period also contributed to the stellar rebound in spending after Victoria's three-month lockdown.Seasonally adjusted retail sales were also upgraded in October, rising by 1.4 per cent - an improvement on the previously reported zero growth for the month.The 7.1 per cent rise in retail sales for November was a tiny improvement on the 7 per cent monthly increase in preliminary retail data that was released before Christmas.Australian Bureau of Statistics statistician Ben James said: "The rise is led by Victoria (up 22.4 per cent) as Melbourne retail stores were able to trade for a full month in November."Excluding Victoria, turnover rose 2.6 per cent.”Other states and territories to record an increase in turnover were Queensland (4.5 per cent), New South Wales (2.3 per cent), Western Australia (1.2 per cent), Tasmania (3.4 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (2.5 per cent), and the Northern Territory (2.2 per cent).The brief lockdown in South Australia (-0.2 per cent) led to a relatively flat result, as falls in most industries were offset by a rise in food sales, the ABS said.The 7.1 per cent monthly rise for November, compared to October, was bettered by a 13.3 per cent rise in retail turnover in November 2020 compared to November 2019.Spending on clothing, footwear and personal accessories jumped 26.7 per cent.Strong rises were also recorded for household goods (12.7 per cent), department stores (21.1 per cent), and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (6.7 per cent) in November.Underlining the growing popularity of internet sales, online sales made up 11 per cent of total retail turnover in November 2020, compared 7.2 per cent in November 2019.The result continues a strong run of economic data released in the near year.Job ads surged 9.2 per cent in December and more than 159,000 vacant positions were advertised, to rise above pre-pandemic levels, according to the ANZ Australian job advertisement series published last week.Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said personal income tax cuts meant shoppers had "more money in their pockets" over the summer break.There was a $7 billion boost to household incomes from an acceleration of personal income tax cuts and tax offsets for low-income earners from July 1, 2020 to January 3, according to new Tax Office data released by Mr Frydenberg on Monday.More than 11.5 million people are expected to receive a tax cut in 2020–21, with low and middle income earners expected to receive tax cuts of up to $2745 for singles, and up to $5490 for dual income families, compared with 2017–18 settings, Mr Frydenberg said.“Our economic recovery plan continues to support a private sector-led recovery by creating jobs, rebuilding our economy and securing Australia’s future,” he said.interesting article in AFR regarding retail - a line in there about footwear up 20%+. AX1 doing well above that.