A nation in shutdown

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Mar-20

The federal government has announced details of a ‘stage one’ coronavirus lockdown following a meeting of the national cabinet. Businesses that provide non-essential services will be forced to close from midday on 23 March, including pubs, clubs, cinemas and casinos. Churches and indoor sports facilities are also among the venues that must close indefinitely. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned that more onerous stage two restrictions will be imposed if people fail to comply with the initial restrictions. Schools in most states will remain open for the remainder of the first term.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

News vow: we won’t miss an edition

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 23-Mar-20

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted a surge in sales and subscriptions for print and digital newspapers are consumers seek trusted sources of information in an era of ‘fake news’. News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller says the media group’s mastheads will continue to be published during the crisis, and none will miss any editions. Miller has held talks with more than 60 business leaders and advertisers in Australia over the last week, giving assurances that News Corp will continue to support them during the crisis.

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NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Morgan emerges as possible AAP buyer

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 23-Mar-20

Roy Morgan’s executive chairman Gary Morgan has expressed interest in buying the whole of Australian Associated Press, but only if the news wire service is a "viable business proposition". Morgan notes that AAP would have to be a "a very different company" without Nine Entertainment and News Corp Australia as customers, given that they account for about 60 per cent of its revenue. Media reports have indicated that a number of parties have expressed interest in buying some of AAP’s businesses, although CEO Bruce Davidson stresses that a deal may not eventuate. AAP is slated to shut down in June unless a buyer emerges.

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AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Newcrest axes FIFO route into PNG’s Lihir mine

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 20-Mar-20

Newcrest Mining has responded to the coronavirus pandemic by suspending the use of Australian fly-in, fly-out workers at the Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea. The move will take effect within days, but Newcrest will continue to use FIFO workers at its mines in Australia. The company has noted that it primarily uses local workers at Lihir, rather than employees on FIFO arrangements. Australia’s gold, iron ore, copper, oil and gas sectors are particularly reliant on FIFO workers.

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NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM

APRA relaxes buffers as CBA slashes rates

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Original article by James Eyers, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 22 : 20-Mar-20

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will temporarily ease the "unquestionably strong" equity capital buffers that it imposes on banks. This will allow them to make billions of dollars worth of additional loans to small businesses that are struggling to maintain cashflows during the coronavirus crisis. The Commonwealth Bank responded to APRA’s announcement by cutting its interest rates on small business loans by 100 basis points, while it also cut rates on one-, two- and three-year fixed-rate home loans by 70 basis points.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

PM looks to nationalise failing firms

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

The federal government may be forced to nationalise some companies as part of its response to the economic problems being caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Virgin Australia is cited as one company that the government cannot allow to fail, as having a domestic aviation network essentially dominated by one airline once the worst of the virus has passed would not be considered tolerable. Economist Chris Richardson notes that the government is going to have to spend huge amounts of money to fix the Australian economy "without batting an eyelid".

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VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Major hit, big job losses ahead: RBA

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Mar-20

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says the unemployment rate can be expected to rise in coming months, as the coronavirus is likely to result in "significant" job losses. However, he says the labour market should rebound quite fast if the virus’s outbreak in Australia can be contained. Lowe also said the virus and measures to combat its spread will have a "severe" impact on the economy, although he is hopeful that this will be temporary. Lowe has indicated that housing market activity is likely to be affected by the pandemic.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Government relents on Newstart

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Mar-20

The second phase of the federal government’s stimulus package will include an increase in the Newstart allowance for people who are currently unemployed. The Coalition had previously flagged a higher income payment than Newstart for workers who lose their job due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, it has long opposed an increase in unemployment benefits, arguing that getting a job is the best form of welfare. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has conceded that getting people off Newstart and into the labour market will be difficult over the next six months due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

$105b bridge across the chasm

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, James Eyers, James Frost, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Mar-20

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has warned that the cash rate is likely to remain at the new record low of 0.25 per cent for three years. The emergency interest rate cut on 19 March is the RBA’s first out-of-cycle move since 1997; it has coincided with the announcement of a government bond-buying program which aims to ensure that the benchmark three-year bond yield remains at around 0.25 per cent. Lowe says there will be no limit to the bond-buying program. The RBA has also announced a $90bn line of credit for banks to provide low-interest loans to small and medium enterprises; the federal government will provide an additional $15bn to small lenders to help with their funding.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has highest Net Trust Score of all political leaders while Australian PM Scott Morrison has a Net Distrust Score to overcome

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

A special Roy Morgan survey on ‘Trust’ and ‘Distrust’ of government leaders shows New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern scores the highest ‘Net Trust Score’ of all – meaning the ‘Trust’ felt toward the New Zealand leader far outweighs the ‘Distrust’ – according to a special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey of 974 Australians aged 14+ conducted over the last two days. Other leaders to score highly on Net Trust include Opposition Leader in the Senate Penny Wong, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and former ALP Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is mentioned as a ‘Trusted’ leader by more Australians than any other. However, there are far more Australians that have a ‘Distrust’ of the Prime Minister than ‘Trust’ him – leaving Morrison with a ‘Net Distrust Score’. Other prominent political leaders that have ‘Net Distrust Scores’ include Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, US President Donald Trump and former National Party Leader Barnaby Joyce.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED