BHP’s fresh punt on Bass Strait

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 3-Jul-20

BHP is one of several companies that provided funding for a 11,500sq km seismic survey in Bass Strait. This has prompted speculation that BHP may be hoping to make a new gas discovery as a prelude to divesting its 50 per cent stake in the Bass Strait joint venture. ExxonMobil is pressing ahead with plans to sell its stake; some observers believe that BHP’s non-operating stake could be more appealing to prospective buyers, and that it could potentially secure a deal before ExxonMobil.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION

Over 2 million Australians still unemployed in June, down 42,000 on May

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jul-20

Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says the unemployment estimate for June shows 2.05 million Australians were unemployed (14.5% of the workforce) and 1.41 million (10.0%) under-employed – a total of 3.45 million Australians (24.5%). The small changes in unemployment and under-employment in June show how much new growth is required to provide jobs for the more than 1 million Australians now unemployed that were working prior to the Australia-wide shut-downs enforced in mid-March. In addition the renewed outbreak of COVID-19 in Melbourne over the last two weeks demonstrates the virus poses an ongoing threat to lives, livelihoods and the economy more broadly.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Jobs clawback sees 250,000 return to work

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 1-Jul-20

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of employees on companies’ payrolls has increased by 2.7 per cent since mid-April. This equates to about 250,000 workers, and follows an 8.8 per cent fall in payrolled jobs in the four weeks from 14 March. However, there are still 670,000 fewer workers on companies’ payrolls than prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The figures are based on payrolls data from the Australian Taxation Office.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Fair Work backs penalty rates waiver

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 1-Jul-20

The Australian Services Union has failed in its bid to end flexible working arrangements for administrative employees who are covered by the clerks award. The ordinary hours of work for clerical employees while telecommuting were extended beyond traditional working hours in response to the coronavirus. The deal regarding overtime and penalty rates was initially slated to end on 30 June, but the full bench of the Fair Work Commission has agreed to extend it until the end of September.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Australia to spend $270bn building larger military to prepare for poorer, more dangerous world

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Original article by Jade Macmillan, Andrew Greene
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 1-Jul-20

The federal government will shift the focus of its defence policy to the Indo-Pacific, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison warning of a heightened risk of conflict in the region in the post-coronavirus environment. The government will increase its defence budget by $270bn over the next 10 years. Amongst other things, it is expected to spent about $800m on long-range anti-ship missiles from the US which have a much larger range than Australia’s current generation of missiles. About 800 additional Australian Defence Force members are expected to be recruited over the next decade, while the defence R&D budget will include research into hypersonic weapons.

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AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Capital raising rush far from over

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 1-Jul-20

Data from Refinitiv shows that Australian-listed companies raised $US14.9bn ($21.8bn) via the issuance of new shares in the June quarter, as they sought to boost their balance sheets in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the highest quarterly total since late 2010, while some $US18.8bn worth of new shares were issued in the first half of calendar 2020. Fund managers generally expect the capital raisings momentum to be maintained in the second half. Meanwhile, the total value of mergers and acquisitions fell to $US24.9bn in the first half of 2020, compared with $US48.2bn for the first half of 2019.

CORPORATES
REFINITIV AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Shareholders likely to miss out altogether from Virgin sale

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-Jul-20

Virgin Australia’s joint administrator Richard Hughes has advised that the failed airline’s creditors are unlikely to be repaid in full. He has also warned that Virgin’s shareholders are highly unlikely to receive any payout from its US-based private equity firm Bain Capital. Sources close to several of Virgin’s five major foreign shareholders have indicated that this outcome had been expected. Bain Capital will formally take control of Virgin on 1 July.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BAIN CAPITAL LLC

Aussie gas spurs Shell’s $12bn hit

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 1-Jul-20

Macquarie expects more companies in Australia’s energy sector to announce writedowns in the second half of 2020, in the wake of the sharp fall in the crude oil price. Global energy giant Shell has advised of impairment charges of up to $US22bn; this includes a writedown of between $US8bn and $US9bn on its gas business, primarily due to its gas projects in Australia. The price of Brent crude is trading at around $US40 a barrel, and Macquarie notes that Australian energy producers typically use a price of $US70 to $US75 a barrel for impairment testing purposes.

CORPORATES
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Greed, fear: ASX wraps worst year since 2012

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 24 : 1-Jul-20

The Australian sharemarket shed 10.9 per cent during 2019-20, in a turbulent financial year for investors. The local bourse reached a record high in February, before the coronavirus pandemic prompted a savage sell-off. However, a number of stocks performed well during 2019-20, with Afterpay, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Mesoblast all gaining more than 100 per cent. Fund managers warn that the August reporting season will be a key test for the sharemarket’s recent rebound.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AFTERPAY LIMITED – ASX APT, FISHER AND PAYKEL HEALTHCARE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX FPH, MESOBLAST LIMITED – ASX MSB

Victoria reimposes drastic lockdowns in 10 hard-hit COVID hotspots across Melbourne

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Jul-20

Victoria reported a total of 64 new coronavirus cases on 30 June, prompting the state government to reimpose stage three lockdowns in 36 suburbs in Melbourne’s north and west for four weeks from 11.59pm on 1 July. Residents in the postcodes of 3012, 3021, 3032, 3038, 3042, 3046, 3047, 3055, 3060 and 3064 will only be allowed to leave their homes to go to work or school, for care or care giving, for daily exercise or to buy food and other essential items until at least 29 July. Police will be deployed to enforce the lockdown in the coronavirus hotspot suburbs.

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