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Topic:Supermarkets
Coles and Woolworths will be in focus as they respond to the ACCC's inquiry into supermarket pricing and competition.
Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
By Rhiana Whitson
Prices current around 9:56am AEDT.
By Caitlin Rawling
Former ACCC chair Graeme Samuel says the supermarket giants tend to overload their consumers with information.
"They tend to treat consumers as mugs," he told NewsRadio earlier this morning.
"They tend to say, 'well, consumers, you don't know what these loyalty schemes are all about.
He said the ACCC wants an inquiry in three years into the loyalty schemes.
Samuel added that out of the 20 recommendations in the report that was released, "11 of them relate to the relationship between the supermarkets and suppliers.
"We've already had a major inquiry into those relationships conducted by Craig Emerson, and the government has adopted all of his recommendations.
"I don't know why we've got another 11 recommendations relating to the supplier relationships," he told NewsRadio.
By Caitlin Rawling
The ACCC has found both Coles and Woolworths have a 'limited incentive' to be so competitive on prices.
Here are a few key points on what the inquiry into the supermarkets has found:
You can read more in my colleague Emilia Terzon's article here:
By Rhiana Whitson
After a rebound on Wednesday (US time), Wall Street closed in the red on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 11.31 points, or 0.03%, to 41,953, the S&P 500 lost 12.40 points, or 0.2%, to 5,662, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 59.16 points, or 0.3%t, to 17,691.
Among the eleven primary S&P 500 sectors, seven ended in the red, with materials down 0.6 percent and consumer staples declining 0.5 percent leading the losses, while energy and utilities posted the strongest gains, each rising 0.4 percent.
Despite a temporary rebound on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve's policy announcement, most major tech stocks lost momentum by late Thursday.
Only Nvidia and Meta bucked the trend, rising 0.8 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.
The US Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 223,000 for the week ending March 15, slightly below economists' expectations of 224,000, with claims fluctuating between 203,000 and 242,000 this year as layoffs remain low and hiring slows.
Traders largely expect the Fed to not make any moves before officials see the impact of President Donald Trump's tariff plans.
A tariff exemption on select Canadian and Mexican imports expires on April 2.
On balance, March Fed leaned more toward growth risks, suggesting Fed put is alive and well, Yuri Seliger, credit strategist with Bank of America Securities, said Thursday.
"Worried policymakers are good for risk assets," said Seliger, referring to downside risks from the Fed's latest Summary of Economic Projections issued on Wednesday.
"Bull markets don't die of old age. They die of fright, and what they're most afraid of is recession," said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research's chief investment strategist. "We're not heading into a recession, but we still really don't know, because of the tariffs, what exactly will happen."
– with Reuters
By Stephanie Chalmers
Coles has responded to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's final report of its supermarket inquiry, which scrutinised pricing in the sector.
The ACCC found Coles and Woolworths have increased their earnings margins in recent years, with a more significant increase at Woolworths.
In response, Coles said it is currently reviewing the report in detail:
Coles believes Australia's grocery sector is highly competitive, is evolving rapidly, and offers consumers greater choice than ever before.
Over recent years, Coles has not only been competing with traditional supermarkets like Woolworths and IGA but also now with major multinational players like ALDI, Costco, and Amazon, who have all established significant businesses in Australia and are expanding their market share.
For example, Amazon has substantially grown and has introduced more than 6,000 product lines that overlap with our offering, significantly increasing competition from a new source.
We also fiercely compete with thousands of specialty retailers and independent supermarkets, as well as major retail chains like Bunnings, Chemist Warehouse, and Priceline who are all now selling products found in supermarket aisles.
Even among supermarket players alone, Coles holds less than 30 percent of the market share.
Customers are increasingly cross-shopping and splitting their grocery spend across a range of retailers — both in store and online — which means Coles must compete vigorously for a share of consumers' grocery baskets.
This diverse and evolving competitive landscape in Australia benefits consumers by providing more choice and greater value.
By Stephanie Chalmers
A long-awaited inquiry has found Coles and Woolworths have so much power that they don't need to compete hard on price.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has told ABC News Breakfast there needs to be more scrutiny and competition in the supermarket sector.
You can watch the interview here:
By Stephanie Chalmers
Good morning — Steph Chalmers here to bring you through this morning on the business blog.
The big news over night was the report from the ACCC into Australia's supermarket sector — Woolies and Coles no doubt spring to mind first for most Australians, and that's with good reason.
The regulator found the two majors dominant the sector and that dominance looks set to continue, despite competition from the likes of Aldi.
Both major players are listed on the ASX, so we'll be monitoring the market reaction closely.
More broadly, the local share market is poised to dip following falls on Wall St.
Stick with us for all the latest.
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