Author: roymorgansocial

Bauer sacks 60 Pacific Magazines staff

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: Online : 5-May-20

Bauer Media is believed to have retrenched employees at Pacific Magazines and put the print editions of some titles on hold just days after taking control of the former Seven West Media business. Some 60 jobs at Pacific Magazines are said to have been cut, following Bauer’s recent move to stand down or lay off about 140 of its own employees. ‘InStyle’, ‘Men’s Health’ and ‘Women’s Health’ are among the Pacific Magazines titles that have been affected.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA KG, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Cost of Covid: $4bn a week

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-May-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will use a National Press Club speech on 5 May to warn that the coronavirus pandemic will reduce GDP by about $50bn in the June quarter. However, he will contend that the GDP hit could have been around $120bn if Australia had imposed the more restrictive lockdowns of some European countries. Frydenberg will add that economic activity will be reduced by nearly $4bn for every week that lockdown restrictions remain in place, and that the economic impact of the pandemic would have been much worse without initiatives such as the JobKeeper scheme.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Finally a profit for Citic iron ore mine

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 5-May-20

The annual report of Citic indicates that the Chinese group’s Sino Iron magnetite project in the Pilbara was profitable for the first time in 2019. The $16bn project benefited from the strong price of iron ore during the year, with its revenue rising by 15 per cent. Mining and processing magnetite is more expensive and uses more energy than traditional iron ore projects, but the fact that Sino Iron has made a profit will give encouragement to other proponents of magnetite, including Fortescue Metals Group.

CORPORATES
CITIC LIMITED, SINO IRON PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, KARARA MINING LIMITED

Mag queen tips Bauer will axe Pacific titles

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-May-20

Bauer Media completed a $40m deal to acquire Seven West Media’s Pacific Magazines division on 1 May. Magazine industry veteran Deborah Thomas expects Bauer to suspend the print editions of some Pacific titles due to the coronavirus-induced downturn in the advertising market. Four of the print editions of Bauer’s own titles were recently put on hold, and some industry executives doubt that several of them will resume publication. Bauer has also stood down or laid off up to 140 employees in Australia, while its New Zealand operations were shut down in April.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BAUER MEDIA KG, BAUER MEDIA (NZ) LIMITED

Virgin bidders set to team up after talks

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Liam Walsh, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-May-20

Virgin Australia’s administrators Deloitte stated on 30 April that 20 parties had expressed an interest in buying the failed airline. However, that number could fall to around a dozen or less, following recent talks between potential bidders about the possibility of joining forces. Private equity firm BGH is said to be in discussion with AustralianSuper about a possible deal, with Singapore’s state owned investment fund Temasek also said to be involved in their talks. Other potential bidders include US private equity fund Indigo Partners and mining magnate Andrew Forrest, with Forrest possibly teaming up with David Baxby, the former aide of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, as Baxby and Forrest have close ties.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, INDIGO PARTNERS LLC, TEMASEK HOLDINGS (PTE) LTD, VIRGIN GROUP LIMITED

Roy Morgan’s unemployment measure for April shows 2.16 million Australians were unemployed (15.3% of the workforce) with an additional 1.32 million (9.4%) under-employed

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-May-20

Roy Morgan’s unemployment measure for April shows that in total a massive 3.5 million (24.7%) Australians are now either unemployed or under-employed. This is 439,000 fewer than the 3.92 million (27.4%) during the last two weeks of March (March 20-31, 2020), immediately before the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program was announced. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 15.3% for April is now almost three times higher than the current ABS estimate for March 2020 of 5.2%. The ABS figure for March was based on interviews conducted in reference to early March (pre shut-downs) and did not include data related to the situation in late March (post shut-downs).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Bad debts hang over Westpac dividend plans

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Original article by James Frost, Aleks Vickovich, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 19 : 4-May-20

Westpac’s dividend payout is likely to be a key focus for investors when its half-year financial results are released on 4 May. Westpac has already advised of $1.6bn in impairment charges for coronavirus-related loan losses. Matt Williams of Airlie Funds Management says Westpac should not pay an interim dividend, arguing that investors expect companies to preserve capital in the current environment. David Walker of Clime Asset Management in turn expects Westpac to pay a much lower half-year dividend and opt for a dividend reinvestment plan.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AIRLIE FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CLIME ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

FMG gives BHP nod at Port Hedland

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-May-20

BHP and Fortescue Metals Group are both seeking to increase their iron ore export capacity at Port Hedland, by 14 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines says Port Hedland would be able to cope with increased shipments, although she stresses that applying for extra capacity does not necessarily mean that the iron ore giants will increase production and export volumes. Gaines also expects demand for iron ore to remain strong in China, as the nation’s urbanisation program fuels continued growth in steel production.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Are Australia’s big four banks equipped for recession?

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Original article by Ian Verrender
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-May-20

The general expectation is that Australia’s major banks will ride out the coronavirus-induced economic downturn relatively unscathed. However, contrary to popular opinion, the nation’s financial system did not cope well with the global financial crisis; indeed, the federal government had to underwrite bank loans and guarantee deposits. Meanwhile, Australia’s banks now have significant exposure to the residential and commercial property sectors. With unemployment likely to reach double digits, there will be growing pressure on already heavily indebted households; demand for office space will also fall as more people become jobless or work from home permanently, which will in turn reduce commercial property values.

CORPORATES

Covid kickstart: states fire up

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Original article by David Penberthy, Paul Garvey, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-May-20

The easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions will be considered by the national cabinet earlier than expected, due to the rapid take-up of the CovidSafe app. However, the South Australian government will relax some restrictions, such as allowing children to visit playgrounds and skate parks, while travel within the state may be permitted within days. Premier Steven Marshall says the state is on track to eliminate the virus rather than simply suppressing it. Western Australia recently permitted residents to gather in groups of 10 and lifted restrictions on some recreational activities. Meanwhile, the eastern states are keeping lockdown restrictions in place for now.

CORPORATES
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET