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No going back: AusPost delivers as online shopping takes off

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Jan-21

Australia Post has advised that it delivered a record 52 million parcels during December, which is 20 per cent higher year-on-year. Acting CEO Rodney Boys says the postal service recorded strong growth in parcel deliveries throughout 2020, noting that the structural shift to online shopping is likely to be sustained. Boys adds that Australia Post hired an additional 5,000 people and ramped up its fleet of delivery vans to meet the December rush, and many of the extra resources will be retained. He says it will also bring forward some of its future investment plans.

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AUSTRALIA POST

Pioneering economics writer Alan Wood dies aged 76

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Original article by Andrew Clark
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-Jan-21

It has been revealed that highly regarded economics journalist Alan Wood passed away on 27 December at the age of 76 after a short illness. He began his career as a copy boy, before moving on to become a cadet and then finally a graded journalist. He worked for ‘The Australian’, ‘The Australian Financial Review’, and ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’, and his work has been attributed as playing a significant part in the push to reduce tariffs and open up the Australian economy in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Nick Scali upgrades profit as retailers end 2020 on a high

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 6-Jan-21

Shares in furniture retailer Nick Scali rose to record highs during trading on 5 January after it advised that it expected its profit for the six months to 31 December would be $40.5 million, double the result for the previous corresponding period. The company also stated that its sales for the past three months were up by 58 per cent. Meanwhile, Sydney retailers other than those in the Sydney CBD have indicated that they saw strong foot traffic for the Boxing Day sales; National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb noted the Sydney CBD had been a "ghost town".

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NICK SCALI LIMITED – ASX NCK, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Masks go on in malls but shoppers are nowhere to be found

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Original article by Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 5-Jan-21

Sydney retailers stated there were few shoppers to be seen on 4 January, but those that were about seemed to be complying with new mask rules. Marianne Davies, the owner of Victoria & Albert Antiques and Jewellery, says the new mask rules are a bit "annoying", while some retail workers said they had not been given any official communication about the new rules from their head offices. Shopping Centre Council of Australia executive director Angus Nardi said initial feedback from its members was that compliance with the new rules was good.

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SHOPPING CENTRE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Trial phases of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Melbourne researchers given cash boost

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Original article by Alanah Frost
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 3-Jan-21

The federal government has announced $10.1 million in funding for six clinical trials relating to COVID-19 vaccines, including two vaccines that are being developed by Melbourne researchers. Teams at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity are among those involved in the development of the two vaccines, which can be readily modified to combat COVID-19 mutations. Phase 1 clinical trials of the vaccines are due to begin in mid-2021, while the federal government will maintain its plans to roll out the Pfizer vaccine in March

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. PETER DOHERTY INSTITUTE FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY

More than $1b wrongly taken out of super

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Jan-21

Just under $36 billion had been withdrawn from superannuation under the federal government’s coronavirus early release scheme when the scheme closed at midnight on 1 January. The Australian Taxation Office has estimated that over $1 billion could have been incorrectly withdrawn by people who were not eligible for the scheme, but the ATO has noted that compliance with the scheme was very high. Superannuation Minister Senator Jane Hume contends the pandemic has made people pay more attention to how their super is being managed, but critics of the scheme claim it will have an adverse impact on people’s retirement savings.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Avalon outbreak inflicted $3.2bn hit

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jan-21

The lockdown of Sydney’s northern beaches because of a COVID-19 outbreak is expected to have resulted in 34 million fewer hours being worked in December, according to modelling by KPMG. KPMG estimates this reduction in working hours would have inflicted a $3.2 billion hit to the economy, and would have reduced Treasury’s forecast that the Australian economy would grow by 3.2 per cent over the three months to December by 0.7 per cent. The Tourism and Transport Forum has separately predicted that Australians would spend $2.6 billion between Christmas Eve and 11 January, compared to an annual average of $5.5 billion in previous years, with the TTF representing large Australian hotel and travel businesses

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KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, TTF AUSTRALIA LIMITED TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM

Blackmore plays long game on vitamins

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 4-Jan-21

Marcus Blackmore stepped down from the board of vitamins maker Blackmores in late October, though he remains its biggest shareholder, with a 21.5 per cent stake. The company was started by his father in 1932, while Marcus Blackmore served as a director for 47 years. He says Blackmores’ shares may struggle to find favour with investors for some time to come, as it is among the stocks with "China exposure". Blackmore says COVID-19 has reinforced the need for people to take care of their health and to look after their immune system.

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BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL

99 Bikes says global snags hit imports

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Original article by Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 4-Jan-21

Matt Turner says that delivery times for importing bicycles from China is now double what it would be normally be. Turner is the CEO of Pedal Group, the company behind the 99 Bikes retail brand, with the surge in delivery times a combination of increased global demand for bikes and logistical issues. Turner’s comments come as Pedal Group reported a 51 per cent revenue jump to $199.9 million for the 2020 financial year, with post-tax profits up from $3.4 million to $12.4 million.

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PEDAL GROUP PTY LTD, 99 BIKES PTY LTD

NSW records eight new COVID-19 cases, infections at BWS Berala put authorities on edge

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Original article by Paige Cockburn
abc.net au – Page: Online : 4-Jan-21

New South Wales recorded eight new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 on 3 January, with five of the eight cases linked to the BWS Berala cluster in Sydney’s west. There is a health alert for anyone who visited the BWS bottle shop on 20 December, and between 22 and 31 December, with over 2,000 people who visited the store having already been contacted by NSW Health. The Berala cluster has now increased to 13, and NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says it is very concerning that transmission of the virus has occurred during only very brief visits to the store.

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