Author: roymorgansocial

BHP to trial own contact tracing app on sites

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 8-May-20

BHP will shortly commence field trials of a coronavirus contact-tracing app that has been developed in-house. BHP will initially trial the app at its mines in Chile, although the app may be rolled out across its global operations. BHP has stressed that employees and contractors can choose not to use the app, and it says data gathered by the app will only be accessed by the company’s health and safety officers. BHP is also encouraging its Australian employees to download the federal government’s COVIDSafe app.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

HT&E radio, digital and outdoor advertising business going strong in coronavirus environment

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: Online : 8-May-20

HT&E has one of the strongest balance sheets in the Australian media sector, according to chairman Hamish McLennan. He noted at the radio, digital and outdoor advertising group’s AGM that it has no undrawn debt and it boasted net cash of $111m at the end of 2019. Meanwhile, CEO Ciaran Davis said the newly-launched Dynamic Audio targeted digital advertising system will enable HT&E’s Australian Radio Network to deliver real-time, personalised advertising to radio audiences.

CORPORATES
HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD

Energy key to recovery, says Rio

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 8-May-20

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has told the resources group’s Australian annual meeting that its local aluminium assets are "very well run" and high power costs is their main problem. He emphasised the need for a "viable and sustainable solution" to this problem; he added that high energy prices will also be a key issue for the federal government in restarting the domestic economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Jacques also said it now appears to be ‘business as usual’ in China, which is Australia’s key iron ore export market.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PACIFIC ALUMINIUM PTY LTD

Employers want power over app

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

The federal government has advised that its CovidSafe app has now been downloaded 5.1 million times. Meanwhile, the rights of employees with regard to the app is under scrutiny. Stephen Cartwright, the CEO of the NSW Business Chamber, says employers should have a legal right to require staff to download the app as a condition of returning to work when lockdown restrictions are eased. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that employers should not have the power to force workers to download the app.

CORPORATES
NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER LIMITED, ACTU

Fiscal stimulus is almost the world’s biggest

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-May-20

Analysis by BIS Oxford Economics shows that 46 advanced and emerging countries have spent a combined US8trn ($13trn) on direct stimulus measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Qatar tops the list, with its stimulus measures equating to 13 per cent of GDP; it is followed by Australia and Thailand, with stimulus worth 10.6 per cent and 8.9 per cent of GDP respectively. Gabriel Sterne of BIS Oxford Economics says Australia’s stimulus package was much bigger than the firm had expected, and he notes that the nation was in a strong fiscal position at the onset of the pandemic.

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BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Virgin headed for another disaster, warns REX boss

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Original article by Tony Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 7-May-20

Regional Express’s executive chairman Lim Kim Hai says the administrator of Virgin Australia seems to merely want a quick sale of the airline. However, Lim says Deloitte’s Vaughan Strawbridge should pursue a complete restructure of Virgin, otherwise it will face more financial problems under new owners. Lim argues that amongst other things, Virgin’s "restrictive and punitive" enterprise bargaining agreements need to be rewritten, although he concedes that unions will ensure that this does not happen.

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VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, REGIONAL EXPRESS AIRLINES, REGIONAL EXPRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REX

Rich hit hard as households lose $102b

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

Research by the Australian National University highlights the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The ANU’s survey suggests that the nation’s employment rate fell to 58.9 per cent in April, compared with 62 per cent in February. This equates to the loss of about 670,000 jobs. The ANU also estimates that the total loss of income for Australian households since the lockdowns began is about $102bn, while after-tax income on a per capita basis has fallen from $740 a week to $663. The richest 10 per cent of households have been hardest hit, with their income falling from $2,110 per week to $1,688.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Single virus case could shut us down: mine boss

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 7-May-20

The coronavirus pandemic has had less impact on the mining industry than other sectors of the Australian economy. However, Northern Star Resources’ executive chairman Bill Beament has warned against complacency, arguing that a mine would be completely shut down if just one case of the virus were detected at the site. Saracen Mineral Holdings CFO Morgan Ball agrees that it is too soon to relax COVID-19 restrictions in the sector. Meanwhile, major resources groups support the Western Australian government’s plan to step up the testing of fly-in, fly-out workers for the virus.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, SARACEN MINERAL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SAR

Secondary capital raisings ease on hope of reopening

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 20 : 7-May-20

Data from ASX Limited shows that IPO activity slowed significantly in April, with seven new listings raising a combined $97m. This compares with the $1.2bn that was raised from new listings in April 2019. In contrast, the total value of capital raisings by companies that are already listed rose from just $2.3bn in April 2019 to $13.3bn. Max Cunningham, the executive general manager of listings and issuer services, expects the slowdown in IPOs to continue while coronavirus restrictions remain in place.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Foxtel steals Stan’s thunder with HBO deal

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 7-May-20

Pay-TV group Foxtel has secured a new deal with WarnerMedia to retain the Australian rights for content from television networks such as HBO. Foxtel’s existing content deal was scheduled to expire in 2022, and streaming video provider Stan had also been in talks with WarnerMedia. Stan currently has the rights to some WarnerMedia content, but it will lose this later in 2020 due to the Foxtel deal.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WARNERMEDIA, HBO, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD