Author: roymorgansocial

Hunt accused of passing the buck as staff walk

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Original article by Yoni Bashan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 5-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 3,252, with Australia recording its second fatality. NSW Health has confirmed that a 95-year-old woman who died on 4 March has tested positive for the virus. More than 95,000 people worldwide have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus, including 52 in Australia. Meanwhile, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has criticised the "convoluted" process for securing emergency funding from the federal government, after NSW Health was forced to provide staff to an aged-care home whose employees failed to turn up for work following a coronavirus outbreak at the facility. The deceased woman was a resident of the aged-care home.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Australia’s economy beats expectations ahead of bushfire, coronavirus impacts

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Original article by Michael Janda
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 5-Mar-20

Official data shows that the Australian economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter and 2.2 per cent year-on-year. The general consensus of economists was for quarterly growth of 0.3-0.4 per cent and annual growth of two per cent. However, the full impact of the bushfires and the coronavirus outbreak will not be felt until GDP data for the first quarter of 2020 is released. Meanwhile, overall domestic demand increased by just 0.1 per cent in the December quarter, while business investment and resident construction fell. Sarah Hunter of BIS Oxford Economics says the economy is likely to contract in the March quarter, adding that the risk of a recession has increased.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Analysts cut bank earnings forecasts

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Original article by Gerard Cockburn, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 : 5-Mar-20

JP Morgan expects the net profits of Australia’s major banks to fall by 3-4 per cent over coming years after they moved to reduce their mortgage interest rates by 25 basis points, in line with the latest official interest rate cut. JP Morgan adds that the prospect of lower profit margins may prompt banks to reduce their dividend payouts. Macquarie has reiterated its ‘underweight’ recommendation on the banking sector, while UBS has downgraded its earnings-per-share forecast for bank stocks.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

AAP demise a wake-up call over digital giants

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Original article by Jennifer Dudley Nicholson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Mar-20

Australian Associated Press chairman Campbell Reid says the newswire service’s impending closure shows that the impact of digital platforms on traditional media companies has reached a tipping point. He warns that there will be more casualties in the media sector unless digital platforms are forced to pay for news publishers’ content. The Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance has criticised the federal government for failing to act on key recommendations of a landmark inquiry into digital platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

CFMEU slugged $486k for blockade

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Mar-20

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has been fined $404,500 for organising an unlawful blockade at the Barangaroo project in Sydney. The Federal Circuit has also ordered five current and former union officials to pay fines ranging from $7,500 to $22,500. The industrial action was aimed at forcing concreting firm De Martin & Gasparini to sign an enterprise agreement. The CFMMEU and its officials have now been fined $9.62m in total since the Australian Building & Construction Commission was reinstated in 2016.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

ABC sued for report on horse cruelty

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Mar-20

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landy is suing the ABC and journalist Caro Meldrum-Hanna for defamation. The legal action relates to a story that aired on ‘7.30’ in October, in which it was alleged that hundreds of former racehorses were sent to abattoirs. V’landy had agreed to appear on the program on behalf of Racing NSW, and stated that no horses in New South Wales were being sent to abattoirs. His lawyers will allege that the ABC acted dishonestly in not telling him that it had undercover footage of animal cruelty that it was going to air on the program, and that V’landy should have been given the chance to explain that Racing NSW had no jurisdiction in Queensland, where most of the horses that were sent to abattoirs came from.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RACING NSW

China steel stockpiles a worrying sign

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Original article by Simon Evans, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 3-Mar-20

There are reports of growing stockpiles of steel in China, which accounts for around half of the world’s production. Stockpiles have increased because construction companies and other steel users in China have been in partial shutdown due to the coronavirus, and the growing stockpiles have sparked concern of a knock-on effect to Australian iron ore miners such as Fortescue Metals Group and BHP. However, Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines says the coronavirus has not impacted on its shipping schedule at this stage, while she notes that Chinese steel mills are still operating.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Doctor caught in coronavirus firing line

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Original article by Yoni Bashan, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 3-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 3,087, with the US reporting its sixth death; more than 90,000 people worldwide have now been diagnosed with the illness. The number of people in Australia who have contracted the virus has risen to 33; a doctor is among two people who have been infected via person-to-person transmission within the local community rather than while they were overseas. Health Minister Greg Hunt and Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy have warned that it is now impossible to contain the virus.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Builders and developers struggle with supply shortages

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Original article by Nila Sweeney, Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 3-Mar-20

Australian builders and property developers are having to deal with disruptions to projects as a result of not being able to get supplies from China due to the coronavirus. A lack of elevator parts and components is of particular concern to builders, with WT Partnership Australia executive director David Stewart noting that any delays in having a building’s lift installed has a knock-on effect in terms of the rest of the building schedule. Supply-chain problems can cause delays of up to $200,000 a day on the biggest building sites.

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WT PARTNERSHIP AUSTRALIA

Lower rates won’t help: AFIC boss

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 3-Mar-20

The Australian Financial Investment Company’s MD Mark Freeman argues that official interest rates are already at a historically low level, so further monetary policy easing is unlikely to stimulate the economy or stabilise financial markets. The Reserve Bank is widely tipped to reduce the cash rate on 3 March, and there is growing speculation that it could pursue quantitative easing later in the year. However, Freeman has questioned the merits of quantitative easing. He adds that the sharemarket’s recent pullback has created some good buying opportunities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA