Author: roymorgansocial

NAB reveals $1.4bn writedowns

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 16 : 21-Apr-20

National Australia Bank has advised that its cash profit for the six months to 31 March will be marred by writedowns totalling $1.14bn. This includes a $188m provision for customer remediation and an impairment charge of $742m associated with its software capitalisation policy. Westpac recently warned that its half-year results will include some $1.43bn worth of write-downs. Meanwhile, analysts expect the major banks’ loan losses and dividend payouts to be a key focus for investors when their interim results are released.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Bushfires freed two years’ worth of CO2

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Original article by Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 7 : 21-Apr-20

The Bushfires Royal Commission has been told that the 2019-20 bushfires released 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, the extra emissions will not be counted towards Australia’s 2020 Kyoto and 2030 Paris emission reduction targets, as it is assumed that the CO2 will be reabsorbed by trees as they regrow. The federal Environment Department has told the royal commission that 96 per cent of emissions from the 2002-03 Canberra bushfires have been reabsorbed, while the amount of CO2 released by the 2019-20 bushfires was almost double Australia’s annual emissions from energy, industry and transportation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

BHP iron ore shipments steady as Vale falls short

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 21-Apr-20

BHP will release its quarterly update on 21 April, and analysts estimate that its Pilbara iron ore shipments totalled 68 million tonnes in the first three months of 2020. This means BHP should be on track to achieve its full-year guidance for iron ore exports. Fortescue Metals Group also seems set to achieve record export volumes for the year. Brazilian iron ore giant Vale recently advised that it produced 59.6 million tonnes of iron ore fines in the March quarter, which is well below its revised target of 68-73 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

CSL to step up flu vaccine production

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 : 20-Apr-20

CSL subsidiary Seqirus will produce an additional two million doses of the influenza vaccine, amid strong demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Danielle Dowell of Seqirus says the company is set to supply a record number of flu shots during the 2020 flu season, and stresses that consumers should call their pharmacy or medical clinic ahead of time to ensure that the vaccine is available. The federal government will provide 13.5 million free flu shots via its National Immunisation Program. The flu vaccine does not provide protection against the coronavirus.

CORPORATES
CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, SEQIRUS PTY LTD, SIGMA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SIG, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API

ABC’s cash-for-Covid doctor slammed for seeking access to federal GP advisory contract

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Original article by Greg Brown, Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 3 : 20-Apr-20

Dr Norman Swan, the host of ABC Radio National’s ‘The Health Report’, has been accused of a ‘conflict of interest’ by federal Liberal MP Craig Kelly. This follows reports that a company of which Swan is a director was trying to secure a contract for an advertising campaign funded by the federal government to promote awareness of COVID-19 among GPs at the same time that Swan was criticising the government’s strategy on the virus. Kelly claims Swan’s predictions about the impact of COVID-19 had been shown to be "alarmist and hopelessly wrong".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Energy companies face huge asset writedowns

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 20-Apr-20

The price of Brent crude oil is trading at around $US28 a barrel. Energy industry sources have warned that Australian oil and gas producers may have to announce significant full or half-year impairment charges if the oil price remains subdued for the remainder of 2020. Allan Gray Australia Simon Mawhinney says $U30 a barrel is not sustainable for the industry. Futures market pricing suggests that the long-run oil price may average $US44 a barrel until 2023.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Jobless blow will be worst since 1930s

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 20-Apr-20

A report from the Grattan Institute has forecast that jobs in the hospitality, arts and recreation, retail and education sectors will be hardest hit by the coronavirus and the measures that have been deployed to contain it. The public policy think tank estimates that 14-26 per cent of Australian workers will soon be out of work, or up to 3.4 million people. In addition, the Grattan Institute warns that the JobKeeper scheme will not prevent the unemployment rate from rising to 10-15 per cent.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Coalition pressure to rescue Virgin

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Original article by Simon Benson, Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Apr-20

It is understood that Virgin Australia could be placed into voluntary administration within days unless the federal government steps in to save the airline or it can be rescued by the private sector. Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie, who gave Virgin $10 million to base its headquarters in Brisbane in 2000, says the tourism sector would be "devastated" if the airline goes under. Federal Liberal MP Jason ­Falinski believes that Virgin needs to be kept afloat, and that the federal government and taxpayers may end up being the "buyer of last resort".

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

BCA plan aims to accelerate recovery

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Apr-20

The Business Council of Australia has developed a three-tier plan for restarting the domestic economy when coronavirus lockdown restrictions start to be eased. Amongst other things, the discussion paper proposes a gradual resumption of office-based work, with appropriate health and safety measures to protect workers. The BCA has also called for regulatory and industrial relations reforms to boost economic activity, while it says the focus of government assistance should shift to accelerating the economy rather than keeping it on ‘life support’.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Bipartisan call to investigate China’s role in spread of virus

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Apr-20

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has called for an independent investigation into how China and the World Health Organization handled the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the role of China’s wet markets in the virus’s creation. Shadow health minister Chris Bowen says Labor would support such an investigation, while Peter Jennings from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says the G20 might be an appropriate body to conduct the type of investigation that the federal government is calling for.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)