Author: roymorgansocial

Australia set to emerge with V-shaped recovery

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Original article by Luke Housego
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 15-Apr-20

Tim Toohey of Yarra Capital forecasts that the majority of developed economies will record a 3-5 per cent decline in GDP growth for 2020. A recent quarterly survey of economists found that the median forecast is for a 3.9 per cent decline in Australia’s GDP growth for the year. Toohey says the domestic economy is likely to experience a V-shaped recovery when it eventually comes. He adds that the "biggest unknown" is just how long the coronavirus lockdown restrictions will remain in place.

CORPORATES
YARRA CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Reserve Bank now important bond player

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 15-Apr-20

Su-Lin Ong of RBC Capital Markets says the federal government has issued some $48bn worth of bonds so far in 2019-20. She estimates that the Reserve Bank of Australia has bought about $36bn worth of these government bonds in the last three weeks, as part of its quantitative easing program. Westpac’s Damien McColough notes that the central bank has emerged as one of the largest bond fund managers in the local market. Meanwhile, Ong says government bond issuance for 2019-20 could potentially top $160bn.

CORPORATES
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Stanmore called on to pay out dividend

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 15-Apr-20

Golden Investments has lifted its stake in Australian-listed Stanmore Coal to 51 per cent since launching a new takeover bid earlier in April. Stanmore has advised shareholders to take no action pending a recommendation from its board; however, Sandon Capital analyst Campbell Morgan expects the bid to succeed and argues that Stanmore should pay a special dividend of $0.28 per share to use its remaining franking credits. Golden Investments previously made a takeover bid for Stanmore in 2019.

CORPORATES
STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, GOLDEN INVESTMENTS (AUSTRALIA) PTE LTD, SANDON CAPITAL PTY LTD

Wharfies vote to reject new EBA

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 14-Apr-20

Victoria Inter­national Container Terminal employees have voted against a new non-union enterprise agreement at Webb Dock in Melbourne. The current agreement is due to expire in October. The Maritime Union of Australia has lodged a claim with VICT that would see the pay and conditions of its workers brought into line with those at Qube, DP World and Patrick. MUA official Will Tracey says it and VICT are "not that far apart" on salaries, while the MUA may review its log of claims, given that most of it was compiled before the COVID-19 outbreak.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL LIMITED, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED

Big tech must pay media: Fletcher

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Original article by David Swan, Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Apr-20

Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has welcomed the recent ruling that Google must negotiate a deal with French news publishers to pay for their content. He adds that the government’s expectation is that digital companies will also agree to pay Australian news publishers for their content. Seven West Media director Ryan Stokes says there must be "proper and fair renumeration" for local news content; he notes that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has increased the importance of such a deal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Infection rate falls below one raising hopes virus is fading

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Original article by Tom Burton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 14-Apr-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 119,113; more than 1,917,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. There are 6,359 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Australia, and the nation’s death toll has risen to 61. Professor James McCaw of the Doherty Institute says there is now sufficient local data on the virus to publish an ‘effective reproduction rate’, which his research team hopes to do shortly. The team estimates that Australia’s effective reproduction rate has fallen below one, as social distancing measures help to curb the virus’s spread. Meanwhile, the death toll in the US has risen to 23,485 after an additional 1,380 deaths were reported in the last day.

CORPORATES
PETER DOHERTY INSTITUTE FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Crisis cabinet to outlive virus

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Paige Taylor, Joe Kelly, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Apr-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the high level of federal and state co-operation since the national cabinet was established in mid-March. He has flagged the possibility that the national cabinet model could be retained when the coronavirus crisis is over. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has called for the national cabinet to permanently replace the Council of Australian Governments, which typically meets twice a year. The 13th meeting of the national cabinet will be held on 16 April.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Virgin CEO in Canberra bailout pitch

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Original article by Robyn Ironside, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Apr-20

The federal government is believed to be considering additional financial support for the nation’s airlines, to ensure that passenger and freight services continue on essential domestic routes. Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah has been lobbying government ministers and Labor frontbenchers to secure support for a proposed $1.4bn loan facility for the struggling carrier. Virgin could opt for a creditor’s scheme of arrangement if government support is not forthcoming; this could result in a debt-for-equity swap, which would have to be approved by shareholders and a court. Labor has backed calls for the government to provide more financial support for Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Slightly more Britons (68%) than Australians (65%) now say their Government is handling COVID-19 well

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Apr-20

Over two-third of Britons (68%) say the UK Government is handling COVID-19 well, up 19% since March 18-20. This is slightly higher than the 65% of Australians who say the Australian Government is handling COVID-19 well – an increase of 22% from a week earlier, according to a Roy Morgan survey in early April. In addition, nine-in-ten Britons (89%) agree the UK Government guidance on social distancing is clear and easy to understand, compared to only 9% that disagree. Surveying in the UK was conducted by ORB International, the UK Member of the Gallup International Association and affiliated with Roy Morgan.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ORB INTERNATIONAL, GALLUP INTERNATIONAL

Records to fall as miners defy crisis

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Apr-20

Factors such as a resilient iron ore price and a rally in the price of gold have prompted expectations that the value of Australia’s resources exports will top $$299bn in 2019-20. This is $18bn higher than was forecast in December. The nation has exported $65.4bn worth of iron ore since 1 July, including $13.9bn in the first two months of 2020. Iron ore for delivery to China is trading at almost $US80 per tonne, compared with the Treasury’s forecast of $US55 a tonne. The resources and energy sector is largely continuing to operate during the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY