VIRUS DISEASES – AUSTRALIA

Fiscal stimulus is almost the world’s biggest

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-May-20

Analysis by BIS Oxford Economics shows that 46 advanced and emerging countries have spent a combined US8trn ($13trn) on direct stimulus measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Qatar tops the list, with its stimulus measures equating to 13 per cent of GDP; it is followed by Australia and Thailand, with stimulus worth 10.6 per cent and 8.9 per cent of GDP respectively. Gabriel Sterne of BIS Oxford Economics says Australia’s stimulus package was much bigger than the firm had expected, and he notes that the nation was in a strong fiscal position at the onset of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Rich hit hard as households lose $102b

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

Research by the Australian National University highlights the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The ANU’s survey suggests that the nation’s employment rate fell to 58.9 per cent in April, compared with 62 per cent in February. This equates to the loss of about 670,000 jobs. The ANU also estimates that the total loss of income for Australian households since the lockdowns began is about $102bn, while after-tax income on a per capita basis has fallen from $740 a week to $663. The richest 10 per cent of households have been hardest hit, with their income falling from $2,110 per week to $1,688.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Single virus case could shut us down: mine boss

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 7-May-20

The coronavirus pandemic has had less impact on the mining industry than other sectors of the Australian economy. However, Northern Star Resources’ executive chairman Bill Beament has warned against complacency, arguing that a mine would be completely shut down if just one case of the virus were detected at the site. Saracen Mineral Holdings CFO Morgan Ball agrees that it is too soon to relax COVID-19 restrictions in the sector. Meanwhile, major resources groups support the Western Australian government’s plan to step up the testing of fly-in, fly-out workers for the virus.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, SARACEN MINERAL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SAR

Medibank mulls cash refunds

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 16 : 7-May-20

Health fund Medibank Private expects its earnings and dividends to be in line with previous guidance, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Customers will save about $120m after Medibank opted to delay premium increases for six months, while CEO Craig Drummond has indicated that it may be open to providing partial refunds due to a fall in claims during the lockdown. NIB Holdings recently flagged the possibility of providing fund members with cash rebates due to the coronavirus.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF

ACTU wage bid ‘damaging’, puts recovery at risk

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-May-20

The ACTU has called for the minimum wage to be increased by four per cent in 2020, or $30 a week. Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has warned that the ACTU’s wage claim could jeopardise Australia’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry contends that it would increase the financial strain on businesses that are already battling during the crisis.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Let’s get 1 million back to work

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-May-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the national cabinet will set a target date of July for the majority of businesses to reopen. The states and territories will decide the exact timeline for businesses to resume trading, but retailers, cafes and restaurants are expected to be amongst the first to have coronavirus restrictions lifted. Morrison argues that while Australia has been successful in ‘flattening the curve’, the focus must now be on getting people back to work. Nev Power, who chairs the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, notes that some sectors of the economy are better placed than others to resume trading.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COVID-19 COORDINATION COMMISSION

Infected patients mingled with others at death home

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Original article by Kieran Gair, Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-May-20

The Newmarch House aged-care facility in western Sydney continues to attract scrutiny over its handling of a coronavirus outbreak. Amongst other things, questions have been raised as to why residents who have been not been diagnosed with the virus were allowed to remain in a wing of the facility with those who have been infected, and why the infected residents have not been moved to the nearby Nepean Hospital. Some 37 residents have been infected with the virus and 15 have died, while 26 staff members of the Anglicare-operated facility have contracted the respiratory illness.

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ANGLICARE AUSTRALIA

Put reform on fast track: Westpac

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 5-May-20

Westpac has reported cash earnings of $993m for the first half of 2019-20, which is 70 per cent lower than previously. As previously flagged, the half-year result was marred by impairment charges totalling $2.23bn, including some $1.6bn for coronavirus-related loan losses. Westpac has deferred a decision on the payment of an interim dividend, while CEO Peter King has urged the national cabinet to move quickly to restart the economy when the pandemic abates. He has forecast a V-shaped economic recovery in 2021.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Ad spend back 10.6% in March, but newspaper bookings soar 30.2% in response to COVID-19

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Original article by Brittney Rigby
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 5-May-20

The media agency-funded advertising expenditure market fell by 10.6 per cent in March, according to Standard Media Index, although newspaper bookings rose 30.2 per cent in response to COVID-19. The full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on advertising expenditure and marketing budgets is yet to be seen, and SMI AUNZ managing director Jane Ractliffe is tipping a decline of around 30 per cent in media agency bookings in April for both Australia and New Zealand.

CORPORATES
SMI MEDIA INCORPORATED

Ardern invited to PM’s bubble

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Original article by Graham Richardson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-May-20

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will join Australia’s national cabinet meeting on 5 May via a video link. The meeting will discuss a proposal to allow people to travel between the two countries without needing to be quarantined for 14 days. Ardern says that her country would have more to gain economically from resuming trans-Tasman travel; Australia accounted for 17.1 per cent of New Zealand’s exports in 2016. New Zealand recently eased its coronavirus lockdown restrictions, and further restrictions are expected to be lifted shortly.

CORPORATES
NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET