O75 Public Administration

Fast cash to calm virus storm

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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.

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

Lockheed refuses to lock in locals for subs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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.

CORPORATES
LOCKHEED MARTIN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NAVAL GROUP

Flash crash pushes Aussie to an 11-year low

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 10-Mar-20

The Australian dollar fell by 4.6 per cent to an intra-day low of $US0.6312 during a 20-minute period in local trading on 9 March. It was the currency’s lowest level since early March 2009, as growing concern about the coronavirus weighed on financial markets. Sean Callow of Westpac says the sell-off appears to have been driven by Japanese investors exiting their Australian dollar positions, with the ‘flash crash’ coinciding with a rally in the yen against the greenback. The Australian dollar rebounded to around $US0.6550 late in the local trading session.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

RBA may need $30b in bonds for a shot at QE, says Deutsche Bank

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Mar-20

Deutsche Bank economist Phil O’Donaghoe does not expect quantitative easing to be necessary in response to the coronavirus. He says another official interest rate cut in April and the federal government’s stimulus package should result in a 2019-20 Budget deficit of about 1.2 per cent of GDP. However, O’Donaghoe warns that if the Reserve Bank of Australia does resort to quantitative easing, it would need to purchase up to $30bn worth of bonds to generate the same macroeconomic stimulus as a rate cut of 25 basis points.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

$150bn shares rout as oil crunch sparks panic

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Mar-20

The Australian sharemarket has recorded its biggest one-day fall since the global financial crisis. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed 455.6 points or 7.3 per cent to close at 5,760.6 points on 9 March. The local market has now lost 19.6 per cent in less than three weeks. Asian markets were also heavily sold down. Mining and energy stocks have been amongst the hardest hit, with BHP falling 14 per cent and Oil Search down 35 per cent after a big fall in the crude oil price.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH

Job sharing: Why Australian businesses should rethink full-time work

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Killian Plastow
The New Daily – Page: Online : 6-Mar-20

Job sharing has traditionally involved two people with similar skills splitting a full-time job in half. However, the University of New South Wales has called for this arrangement to be revised because of the changing nature of work. It states that future arrangements should allow job-sharing employees to work unequal hours, for senior staff to share jobs with junior colleagues, and for the ‘senior’ work partner to be in charge of decision making. With underemployment being a growing problem in Australia in recent years, Professor Rosalind Dixon from the UNSW says these new job-sharing arrangements would help both those who are working too hard and those who are underemployed.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Green lawfare hits projects worth $65bn

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Mar-20

The Institute of Public Affairs claims that 28 projects between 2000 and 2019 were delayed as a result of action by activist groups using section 487 of the federal Environment Protection Act. The IPA claims that these projects have a combined value of more than $65 billion. They include Adani’s $16.5 billion coalmine in Queensland, a $140 million port in the Northern Territory and a $30 million salmon farm in Tasmania. Kurt Wallace from the IPA claims that 94 per cent of the cases instigated by activists under s 487 failed to bring about any significant change to the original project.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Trade figures underscore economy’s reliance on mining and China

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Euan Black
The New Daily – Page: Online : 6-Mar-20

Official data shows that Australia’s trade surplus fell by three per cent to $5.2bn in January, although this was better than economists had expected. The value of iron ore exports was 17.4 per cent lower than the peak in July, while coal exports were down 25 per cent from a May peak. The data also shows that the total value of the nation’s exports to China was 12 per cent lower than the peak recorded in June. This is despite the fact that China accounted for 38 per cent of exports in January. Indeed economist Callam Pickering says the figures demonstrate the Australian economy’s dependence on the mining sector and trade with China.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, INDEED INCORPORATED

Jobs subsidy plan to bust recession

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 6-Mar-20

Treasury expects the impact of the coronavirus to reduce economic growth by at least 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, while the recent bushfires will cut growth by a further 0.2 per cent. The federal government’s stimulus package will aim to prevent economic growth from also being negative in the June quarter; it will include wage subsidies, a business investment allowance and tax breaks to assist with cash flow. Greens leader Adam Bandt says the stimulus package should also include an increase in unemployment benefits and financial assistance for workers who are not entitled to paid sick leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Unions urge paid leave for quarantined staff

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 5-Mar-20

The federal government has advised workers who have recently been overseas to undertake self-quarantine for 14 days. Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari contends that workers should not be penalised if they are ordered to stay at home and do not have the option of telecommuting. He says they should receive full pay and not be required to use their annual or personal leave. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has urged the federal government to provide financial support to casual workers and contractors who are not entitled to paid leave.

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, ACTU