Author: roymorgansocial

Regional outlets plead for government help

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Apr-20

Free TV Australia CEO Bridget Fair has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to reduce revenue across the media sector by 40-50 per cent. Regional broadcasters are holding talks with the federal government regarding financial assistance; they are believed to have cited factors such as the complexity of their operations, their large broadcast areas and the fact that metropolitan affiliates receive a significant proportion of their revenue. The print media is also struggling, with publication of some regional and community newspapers having been suspended due to the pandemic.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Bankers ready for GFC-style raising spree

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Original article by Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 6-Apr-20

Australian companies are looking to equity funding to assist them through the COVID-19 pandemic, and private equity firms are eager to participate in possible transactions. The ASX has temporarily amended its listing rules to allow companies to raise more funds via non-renounceable rights issues and share placements, while coronavirus-impacted companies that are tipped to undertake equity raisings include Virgin Australia, Sydney Airport and Tabcorp.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX CTD, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, NEXTDC LIMITED – ASX NXT, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH

Tech titans told: strike news deal now

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Apr-20

News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller says technology companies are the big winners from increased demand for the content of news publishers. Miller believes that the federal government will need to bring forward its November deadline for the digital giants to secure a revenue-sharing deal with traditional media companies. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is due to release a progress report on the issue in May, and chairman Rod Sims has warned that it may intervene if the report shows that sufficient progress has not been made.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

How Australia’s coronavirus stimulus stacks up against global competition

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Original article by Matt Johnson
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Apr-20

The International Monetary Fund has called on countries to enact ‘wartime measures’ to rescue economies crippled by the impact of COVID-19. Measures announced by the Australian government include a $130 billion wage subsidy plan and a $20 billion loan scheme. The UK has announced it will subsidise employees’ wages up to a value of Stg2,500 ($5,086) a month, while the US has introduced a $2.2 trillion rescue package that includes a controversial $500 billion corporate bailout fund to help big business.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Qantas monopoly risk if Virgin is allowed to fail, warns boss

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Original article by Lucas Baird, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 3-Apr-20

Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah has dismissed suggestions that the struggling airline is seeking a federal government bailout. He argues that the $1.4bn loan facility that Virgin is seeking would have to be repaid eventually. Scurrah also warns that Qantas could emerge with a long-term monopoly in the domestic market if Virgin collapses. The government would allow a new entrant to the market, but CAPA Centre for Aviation chairman Peter Harbison says regulatory approvals would take some time, which would further entrench Qantas’s market dominance.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CAPA – CENTRE FOR AVIATION

Big super warns of cash-in risk

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Tony Boyd, Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 3-Apr-20

Treasury has forecast that about $27bn in total will be withdrawn from superannuation funds after the federal government relaxed the rules governing early access for people who have been impacted by the pandemic. AustralianSuper CEO Ian Silk notes that industry estimates suggest that withdrawals could top $50bn. He adds that some super funds may struggle to cope with a big increase in withdrawals, but stresses that it will not be an issue for AustralianSuper. Silk also warns that a surge in withdrawals will affect the super industry’s capacity to invest in and recapitalise businesses when the crisis abates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD

Government unveils new jobs site as economists revise down unemployment forecasts

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Original article by Euan Black
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Apr-20

More than 26,000 vacancies have been listed on the federal government’s new Jobs Hub website, and this is expected to top 50,000 in the next week. The site features employment opportunities across a range of industries. The launch of Jobs Hub has coincided with the release of official data showing that the number of job vacancies nationwide fell by 0.1 per cent in February and 2.2 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, Westpac now expects the unemployment rate to peak at nine per cent – rather than its previous forecast of 17 per cent – due to the government’s wage subsidy scheme.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Property sales collapse, price falls ahead: UBS

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Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 16 : 3-Apr-20

Economists generally expect Australia’s residential property prices to decline by 5-20 per cent due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. UBS analysts have declined to forecast the likely effect of the health crisis on house prices, although they have warned that governments may need to step in with measures such as stamp duty cuts if the housing market falls too far. The investment bank adds that the ban on auctions and open houses is likely to prompt a sharp decline in sales volumes in the near-term.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Free childcare in $3bn family relief package

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Apr-20

Nearly one million families will be eligible to receive free childcare under a coronavirus package announced by the federal government. The package is expected to cost over $3 billion and run for six months, with children of essential workers, vulnerable children and parents with existing childcare placements to be given priority under the scheme. Liz Christie, the director of a Goodstart long daycare centre in Brisbane’s CBD, says the government’s announcement is a huge relief. She says the centre’s numbers have fallen from more than 200 to around 60, and that many of the parents are essential workers.

CORPORATES
GOODSTART EARLY LEARNING LIMITED

Westpac chief Peter King eyes fast restart

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 20 : 3-Apr-20

Westpac has appointed Peter King as CEO for the next two years. King, who has been acting CEO since September, says 22,000 of Westpac’s 33,000 employees are now working from home in response to the coronavirus; typically it is around 1,000. Westpac has had 100,000 requests for assistance from customers and 26,000 requests for help from small businesses since the banking sector launched its response to the virus. King says Westpac will looking at businesses that can recover quickly once the worst of COVID-19 is over in terms of the ones it decides to assist.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC