Survey shows SMEs concerned about finding staff, Shares up: Economy Roundup

A survey of more than 1,500 employers by DBM Consultants shows that SME’s concerns have dropped substantially, but fears about finding staff are rapidly rising as the prospect of a new war for talent emerges.

The survey shows worries about the GFC still remain, but this is now the key concern for 53% of respondents, down sharply from 70% in February.

In more positive news, the percentage of SMEs expecting revenue to grow over the next 12 months climbed from only 35% in February to 51% in August.

But with the recovery getting under way, SMEs are again becoming concerned with finding staff (19%), government regulations (22% of respondents, and particularly those in agriculture, finance and construction) and increasing competition (20% of respondents and particularly those in business services and retail).

DBM Consultants managing director, Dhruba Gupta, says firms that see good revenue growth on the horizon are now thinking about whether they have the right staff to underpin that revenue.

“We could go back to the times of two or three years ago where one of the biggest problems was finding the right talent to work for you. Right now people are staying put. But employee confidence will rise and people will start job-hopping.”

Australian shares up higher on Wall Street rally

The Australian sharemarket has opened higher today after good results on Wall Street, where good performances in equity markets and commodity prices led stocks higher.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 50.9 points or 1.09% to 4714.6 at 11.55 AEST. The Australian dollar has also moved up higher, reaching a 13-month high of US87c.

NAB shares rose 1.2% to $29.81, while Commonwealth Bank shares gained 1.5% to $49.59. Westpac shares moved up 0.9% to $25.19, while ANZ gained just 0.1% to $23.35.

QBE Insurance Group has now launched a fixed six-year senior note issue in the UK in order to raise $1.025 billion in funds, with the company saying it will be used to repay expiring sterling senior notes and replace short-term borrowings. The company also said the notes will mature on 28 September 2015.

AWB launches capital raising

Grain exporting group AWB has launched a $459 million capital raising to pay debt, and has successfully negotiated a $575 million refinance of corporate debt facilities.

The company has also reissued its guidance for the 2009 financial year, droppings its earnings forecast to between $160 million and $175 million – a decline of approximately $5 million.

The company’s capital raising will help reduce net corporate debt to $490 million by 30 September, according to a statement from managing director Gordon Davis.

“The capital raising is being undertaken to strengthen AWB’s balance sheet and to provide financial flexibility through the subsequent reduction in net debt,” Davis told the ASX.

Macquarie Airports has requested its security holders support a management internalisation proposal from Macquarie, saying it will launch an entitlement offer to fund the $345 million payment.

The company has also planned a general meeting for shareholders to vote on the proposal on 30 September, with the company’s independent board committees supporting the original internalisation proposal from Macquarie, and not a counter proposal from Global Airport.

“The independent board committees (IBCs) of Macquarie Airports have considered and evaluated GAp’s suggestions and have decided not to pursue them on the basis that they pose unacceptable risks for MAp security holders from both a financial and operational standpoint,” Macquarie Airports said.

Keating says big four cannot merge

Former prime minister Paul Keating has told Fairfax that none of the major Australian banks should be allowed to merge and that wealth management groups AMP and AXA should be given similar regulations as well.

“A first mover advantage is not much of a public policy… so by keeping them separate it puts a suture on tomfoolery,” he said.

In the US, world leaders have joined together at the G20 summit to discuss strategies for emerging from the global economic crisis, but French economic minister Christine Lagarde has said signs of a recovery could undermine efforts to introduce new financial regulation.

“We are currently seeing, notably in the United States, sufficient signs of recovery that numerous players are saying… let’s go back to our old habits and carry on with our business as we did in the past,” Lagarde said at a press conference.

However, British prime minister Gordon Brown, currently chairman of the G20, said he had been “talking to many countries in Asia, as well as in Europe, and I have been talking to President Obama and others, and I believe that there is support for that framework”.

On Wall Street, stocks finished higher as investors assumed the Federal Reserve will continue its policy of pushing for an economic recovery ahead of the Fed’s two-day meeting beginning today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51.01 points, or 0.52%, to 9,829.87.