Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Apr-21
New figures show that house prices in Australia’s capital cities increased by 5.6 per cent in the March quarter. House prices rose by 2.8 per cent nationally in March, and Eliza Owen of CoreLogic says the combined value of Australian dwellings topped $7.9trn during the month. Meanwhile, the national median house price is now 5.6 per cent above the previous market peak in 2017.
CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Original article by Stuart Layt, Lydia Lynch
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 7-Apr-21
Queensland Health has advised that a 77-year-old man has died of COVID-19 complications in intensive care at a hospital near Brisbane. The man had been flown from Papua New Guinea to Redcliffe Hospital on 28 March after his condition deteriorated. It is the first COVID-19 death in Queensland since early April 2020; however, the man will not be included in the state’s official death toll as he had been diagnosed in PNG, and he had dual citizenship of PNG and the UK. Queensland has recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and there are 70 active cases in the state.
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QUEENSLAND HEALTH
Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Apr-21
The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its economic growth forecast for Australia in 2021 to 4.5 per cent. Its previous forecast in January was for growth of 3.5 per cent. The IMF now expects the global economy to grow by six per cent in 2021 and 4.4 per cent in 2022. However, the IMF’s chief economist Gita Gopinath says the COVID-19 pandemic will require governments to continue to provide economic support measures. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe expects the domestic economy to record above-trend growth in both 2021 and 2022.
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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA
Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Apr-21
Chinese steel giant Baowu bought its stake in the Australian Premium Iron project in 2014, when iron ore was fetching around $US100 per tonne. Analysts say the proposed West Pilbara iron ore project should be viable if, as expected, the price of the steel input falls back to this level in coming years. Lachlan Shaw of National Australia Bank adds that the long-delayed project is more likely to proceed if its backers can secure access to other miners’ rail and port infrastructure.
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CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB
Original article by Jill Margo
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Apr-21
The UK, Germany and Norway are among the countries that have reported cases of the blood-clotting syndrome that may be linked to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The novel syndrome has been designated as vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT) by German scientists. The Thrombosis and Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand has established a national committee on the new syndrome; Associate Professor Vivien Chen says it has some similarities to existing immune-driven clotting syndromes. A 44-year-old Melbourne man is Australia’s first suspected case of VIPIT.
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THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Original article by Kate Aubusson
The Age – Page: Online : 7-Apr-21
Data from AusVaxSafety shows that 49.7 per cent of Australians who had received the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine by the end of March had experienced at least one mild side effect. Some 1.2 per cent were sufficiently concerned to see a doctor or go to a hospital’s emergency department. More than two-thirds of people who received their first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine reported an adverse event, and 25.4 per cent said they had to take some time off from work, study or their daily duties. Meanwhile, 36.3 per cent of people reported an adverse event after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine; some 4.3 per cent had to miss work, study or routine duties.
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AUSVAXSAFETY
Original article by Nick Evans, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 7-Apr-21
The future of the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia is in doubt after Citibank filed a ‘winding-up in insolvency’ application for the plant’s operator, OneSteel Manufacturing. The application also includes Tahmoor Coal, which operates an associated coal mine in New South Wales. McGrathNicol will become liquidator of the two companies if the Supreme Court of NSW approves the application. British businessman Sanjeev Gupta is trying to secure $500m in new funding for the Whyalla steelworks following the collapse of Greensill Capital, which is the major creditor of his GFG Alliance.
CORPORATES
ONESTEEL MANUFACTURING, TAHMOOR COAL PTY LTD, CITIBANK (SWITZERLAND) AG, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, GREENSILL CAPITAL (UK) LIMITED, GFG ALLIANCE
Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 7-Apr-21
Consolidated Press Holdings has appointed investment bank Moelis Australia to advise on a possible sale of its 37 per cent stake in Crown Resorts. The private investment vehicle of businessman James Packer has stated that it is open to any "suitable transaction" for Crown shares, including the $8bn indicative bid from US private equity firm Blackstone. The offer of $11.85 per share values Packer’s stake in Crown at around $2.95bn. The casino group’s shares fell 0.84 per cent to $11.81 on 6 April.
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CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, CONSOLIDATED PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED, MOELIS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD – ASX MOE, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP
Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Apr-21
About 855,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered nationally since the federal government’s rollout began in late February. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the rollout has fallen well behind schedule because the government has not received 3.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Europe. It had contracted to buy 3.5 million doses from Europe in total, and a government source doubts that the remaining 400,000 doses will be delivered. Meanwhile, some 2.5 million doses that have been produced by CSL in Melbourne have yet to be distributed; Morrison says they must first undergo batch testing to ensure that they are safe.
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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ASTRAZENECA PLC, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL
Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 14 : 7-Apr-21
Australian retailers note that shipping costs have tripled in the last 12-15 months, and they will inevitably have to pass some of these costs on to consumers. The cost of shipping goods from China has surged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, while The Reject Shop’s CEO Andre Reich says spot shipping rates have blown out to about $2,500; this compares with $US450 to $US500 for contracted rates. Some retailers have indicated that they intend to absorb the increased freight costs.
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THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS
