Author: roymorgansocial

Virus to shatter weak consumer confidence

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elias Visontay
The Australian – Page: 18 : 16-Mar-20

KPMG has stated that the coronavirus could result in an 0.9 per cent hit to the Australian economy in 2020, and that up to 36 million work days could be lost. Simon Bligh, the CEO of data analytics company Ilion, notes that there was a big jump in people falling behind in credit card and mortgage repayments in the lead-up to the virus outbreak, while he suggests that consumer confidence could fall to its lowest point since the global financial crisis as a result of the coronavirus. Bligh contends that the $750 payments being made to low-income earners as part of the federal government’s $17.6 billion stimulus program are a "great initiative".

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ILION TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

Rout offers BHP a fast-track for potash decision

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 16-Mar-20

BHP is due to decide by February 2021 whether to spend at least $US5.3 billion on developing the Jansen potash project in Canada. However, the coronavirus outbreak has given it the opportunity to immediately become a potash producer by launching a takeover bid for Canadian miner Mosaic. The outbreak has seen Mosaic’s shares fall by 50 per cent in the past two months, making it cheaper for BHP to acquire it than to develop Jansen, which would be unlikely to commence production until 2026.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, THE MOSAIC COMPANY

Virus puts nation on war footing

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 6,492. More than 168,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness, including 300 in Australia, while the nation has recorded its fifth death from the pandemic. The federal government has announced that all people arriving in Australia from overseas will be required to self-isolate for 14 days; those who fail to do so can be jailed for up to 12 months and fined up to $50,000. International cruise ships will also be banned from Australian ports for at least 30 days, while a ban on non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people takes effect on 16 March.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Isolate rule to kill airlines: Flight Centre

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Mar-20

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner does not expect that self-quarantining people who arrive in Australia will be effective in stopping the coronavirus from spreading, while he warns that it will have a major impact on airlines and the domestic economy. Meanwhile, Qantas and Jetstar will offer travel credit vouchers to customers who want to cancel domestic and international flights that have been booked up to the end of May. Virgin Australia has advised that it is still considering its response to the new travel restrictions.

CORPORATES
FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Production on a roll as panic buying curbs fail

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Mar-20

ABC Tissue general manager Sunny Ngai says production at its three toilet paper manufacturing plants has increased by 15 per cent in the past two weeks. ABC Tissue is the largest maker of toilet paper in Australia, with brands that include Quilton. However, limits on purchases of toilet paper by retailers such as Coles and Woolworths has not stopped panic buying by consumers, while Woolworths is working with supplies to focus on producing smaller packs of toilet paper, as they are take up less space on pallets and in trucks.

CORPORATES
ABC TISSUE PRODUCTS PTY LTD COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Event cancellations to hit resilient hotel sector

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 13-Mar-20

Sydney and Melbourne hotel rooms experienced vacancy falls of around 20 per cent in the first week of March when compared to the same time in 2019, according to research company STR. STR was making a presentation on the impact of COVID-19 thus far, with hotels in Asia and parts of Europe seeing a much greater impact than Australian hotels. However, STR expects COVID-19 to have a much greater impact on the Australian hotel sector in coming months, due to the likelihood of major events being cancelled and the prospect of restrictions being imposed on domestic travel.

CORPORATES
STR GLOBAL LIMITED

Productivity lags France, US

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-20

Australia has the fifth-highest hours worked per person in the OECD, according to the Productivity Commission. However, it only ranks 16th among OECD nations when it comes to productivity. Productivity commissioner Michael Brennan notes all available evidence indicates higher productivity results in higher wages. Australia is more productive in sectors such as mining and construction when compared to the US, although its service industries are reckoned to be between 20 per cent and 60 per cent less than those in the US; however, this is in part due to the long distances that Australian service workers have to cover in their jobs.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

EY, Atlassian join corporate exodus home amid virus panic

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Edmund Tadros Rohan Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 13-Mar-20

Law firm King and Wood Mallesons and technology company Atlassian were among the major companies to send staff home on 12 March, due to concerns that staff may have been exposed to COVID-19. In the case of Atlassian, it closed its two Sydney offices after a service provider reported flu-like symptoms. Media company Nine also sent a small number of Sydney staff after it was disclosed that actress Rita Wilson and her husband actor Tom Hanks had been diagnosed with COVID-19; Wilson had visited Nine’s Willoughby campus earlier in the week.

CORPORATES
KING AND WOOD MALLESONS ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Coronavirus crisis: stay calm and keep spending, says Scott Morrison

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: Online : 13-Mar-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians to keep calm over the coronavirus crisis in a nationally televised ­address on 12 March. Morrison said the federal government was taking the crisis seriously, and that it had a "clear plan" to see Australia through it. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had earlier unveiled a $17.6 billion stimulus package, aimed at preventing Australia from falling into recession for the first time since 1991; it will include $11 billion worth of direct stimulus prior to 30 June. Frydenberg noted he was in contact with global counterparts who were working on their own stimulus packages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Woolies to pay self-isolating casuals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 13-Mar-20

Woolworths announced on 12 March that it would pay its casual workers two weeks pay if they have to self-isolate because of COVID-19. The retailer is Australia’s biggest employer, with 190,000 staff and around 55,000 casual workers. It will also pay full-time and part-time staff if they have to self-isolate and have used up all their paid sick leave. Meanwhile, the federal government has announced it will waive the waiting period for casuals who wish to apply for sickness payments available through the federal welfare system.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS