Australia’s top state economy just did it again
The latest CommSec report showed the state leading in three key areas indicating consistent economic growth
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South Australia has performed an economic hat trick, once again coming out on top as the best performing state in the country.
The latest CommSec State of the States reported South Australia was the most consistent performer, sitting in top spot for the third consecutive quarter, followed not far behind by Western Australia and then Victoria. New South Wales languished in seventh position, just ahead of the Northern Territory.
South Australia was number one in three of the report’s eight key economic indicators of relative unemployment, completed construction work and dwelling starts. However, Western Australia was snapping at the heels, leading on relative population growth and home lending.
Senior economist at CommSec, Ryan Felsman, said the economic performance of Australia’s states and territories was backed by strong employment and population growth during a period of ‘higher-than-desired’ inflation.
“South Australia’s continued high-ranking is being driven by a solid job market and construction activity,” he said.
“While South Australia retains first place, Western Australia is seeing the strongest annual economic momentum, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming quarters.”
“New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland slipped down the rankings this quarter. Generally speaking, state economies have slowed as consumers respond to higher borrowing costs and price pressures. The future economic path will be dependent on the resiliency of the job market and interest rates.”
CommSec assesses and ranks the economic performance of each state and territory on a quarterly basis using eight key indicators including economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements.
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Starbucks is making another major leadership change just one week after new CEO Brian Niccol started his job.
Michael Conway, the 58-year-old coffee chain’s head of North America, will be retiring at the end of November, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The decision came only six months after Conway took on the job. His position won’t be filled. Instead, the company plans to seek candidates for a new role in charge of Starbucks’ global branding.
The chief brand officer role will have responsibilities across product, marketing, digital, customer insights, creative and store concepts.
“Recognizing the unmatched capabilities of the Starbucks team and seeing the energy and enthusiasm for Brian’s early vision, I could not think of a better time to begin my transition towards retirement,” wrote Conway in a statement.
Conway has been at Starbucks for more than a decade, and was promoted to his current job—a newly created role—back in March, as part of the company’s structural leadership change under former CEO Laxman Narasimhan.
The coffee giant has been struggling with weaker sales in recent quarters, as it faces not only macroeconomic headwinds, but also operational, branding, and product development challenges.
Narasimhan was taking many moves to turn around the business, but faced increasing pressure from the board, shareholders, and activist investors.
One month ago, Starbucks ousted Narasimhan and appointed Brian Niccol, the former CEO at Chipotle, as its top executive. The stock has since jumped 20% in a show of faith for Niccol, who started at Starbucks last week.
When he was at Chipotle, Niccol made a few executive hires that were key to the company’s turnaround.
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