Author: roymorgansocial

Health minister says Australia cannot predict how many will die from coronavirus

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Original article by Melissa Davey
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 4,607; more than 125,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness, including 129 in Australia. Meanwhile, Health Minister Greg Hunt stresses that it is too soon to predict the mortality rate in Australia or the number of people who will become infected. Some projections have suggested that up to 400,000 Australians could die, but virology experts argue that there is still not enough data for accurate modelling of the virus’s likely impact.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Over 2.4 million Australians looking for work following summer of bushfires along Australia’s east coast

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Mar-20

The latest data for the Roy Morgan employment series shows that 12,913,000 Australians were employed in February 2020, up 739,000 from a year ago. The rise was driven by a significant increase in full-time employment of 514,000 over the last year (to 8,673,000), and an increase of 225,000 in part-time employment (to 4,105,000). The figures also show that 1,174,000 Australians (8.3% of the workforce) were unemployed in February, down 118,000 on a year ago, with the unemployment rate falling 1.3%. An additional 1,269,000 Australians (9% of the workforce) were under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, up 113,000 (or 0.4%) over the last year. In total, 2,443,000 Australians (17.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in February, down 5,000 on a year ago. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.3% for February is higher than the current ABS estimate for January of 5.3%. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that more Australians are working than ever before and 67.1% of Australians of working age are now in the workforce – up 2% points on a year ago and a two-and-a-half year high.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

PM’s cash splash to save jobs

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Original article by Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Mar-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is confident that all necessary legislation for the federal government’s economic stimulus package will be passed in the last sitting week of Parliament prior to the Budget in May. The package will cost almost $18bn in total, in addition to the government’s $2.4bn health plan in response to the coronavirus. Small and medium enterprises will be a focus of the package; they will receive a cash payout of between $2,000 and $25,000, plus a wage subsidy to ensure that they continue to employ apprentices. The threshold for the instant asset write-off will be increased from $30,000 to $150,000. The stimulus package will rule out a Budget surplus for 2019-20.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Bull to bear in three weeks with market down 20pc as Trump leaves the world waiting

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 12-Mar-20

The Australian sharemarket is now officially in bear market territory, having shed 20 per cent since reaching a record high of 7,162.5 points just three weeks ago. Some $13bn worth of shares changed hands on 11 March, which is the fifth-highest daily total on record. Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter expects market volatility to persist for at least another month or so. Meanwhile, Josh Williamson of Citigroup now expects Australia to record minus 0.25 per cent GDP growth in the March quarter and zero growth in the June quarter.

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BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Fast cash to calm virus storm

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Original article by Simon Benson, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Mar-20

Cabinet’s expenditure review committee is set to approve the federal government’s economic stimulus package within days. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will use a speech on 10 March to argue that the stimulus must be targeted and position both the domestic economy and the federal budget to rebound when the coronavirus crisis is over. He will also urge large companies to support their employees, customers and suppliers, and to ensure that small businesses are paid promptly. National Australia Bank’s chief economist Alan Oster says the package must be worth at least $10bn and should include measures such as a business investment allowance and income tax cuts.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Grocery delivery delay as online orders soar

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Mar-20

Online grocery sales rose 45 per cent year-on-year in the four weeks to 22 February, according to Nielsen Homescan data. The surge in demand has been attributed to the coronavirus crisis, with consumers wanting to secure supplies of products such as toilet paper and paper towels. Coles and Woolworths are struggling to keep up with online demand, and Coles is advising consumers to collect orders rather than have them delivered. It is also giving priority to the elderly, the sick and those with special needs.

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THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Banks, retailers in talks over card fees

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 10-Mar-20

The Australian Retailers Association has estimated its members pay over $500 million a year in merchant fees on bank card transactions. ARA CEO Russell Zimmerman was invited to a meeting with Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh and Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn on 9 March, at which the fees issue was discussed. An initiative known as ‘least-track routing’, which aims to boost competition within the debit card market and to help reduce card payment costs, was among the other topics discussed.

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AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Building shortages threaten site shutdowns

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Mar-20

Australian Shop & Office Fitting Industry Association CEO Gerard Ryan says its members are looking at delays to projects of up to six weeks because the corona­virus outbreak is delaying the supply of products from overseas. The outbreak has also prompted calls for a national security strategy to boost the nation’s stocks of medicine and fuel. Industry Minister Karen Andrews says the federal government is looking to increase local manufacturing to help ease supply chain disruptions, although she says she is hearing anecdotally that "the supply chains are OK".

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AUSTRALIAN SHOP AND OFFICE FITTING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

Australian privacy watchdog launches court action against Facebook over Cambridge Analytica access

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Original article by Jack Snape, Ariel Bogle
abc.net au – Page: Online : 10-Mar-20

The Australian Information Commissioner has taken social media firm Facebook to the Federal Court for allegedly breaching the privacy of around 311,127 Australians in regard to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The Commissioner has stated that the court can impose a fine of up to $1.7 million for each "serious and repeated" offence. The UK privacy watchdog has previously fined Facebook Stg500,000 billion ($998,000) over the Cambridge Analytica episode, while a US Federal Trade Commission investigation resulted in Facebook paying US5 billion ($7.64 billion) over allegations that it duped users over their ability to control personal information.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION COMMISSIONER, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Lockheed refuses to lock in locals for subs

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Mar-20

Lockheed Martin will provide the AN/BYG-1 combat control system for Australia’s new fleet of submarines. The entire submarine project is expected to cost $80 billion, with the combat system tipped to account for around 40 per cent of its cost. France’s Naval Group stated in February that it would commit to giving 60 per cent of the work on the submarines’ design and construction to Australian firms, but Lockheed Martin is unwilling to give a similar commitment in terms of the percentage of work that Australian firms might secure for the combat system.

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LOCKHEED MARTIN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NAVAL GROUP