Billions in stimulus to stop slump
The Morrison government harbours real fears Australia is at risk of falling into recession from the coronavirus, as it prepares a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package which will focus heavily on tax relief measures. The Fin
Billions of dollars and at least 60,000 jobs at risk
WA’s biggest resources companies will hold a crisis meeting tomorrow to forge a co-ordinated response to the risk of coronavirus infecting their armies of fly-in, fly-out workers. The West
Exporters banking on China stimulus
Australian companies have a lot riding on how the Chinese Communist Party responds to the country’s worst economic crisis since the Cultural Revolution. The Fin
Anglo gets go-ahead to rescue Sirius mine
Mining giant Anglo American has won the go-ahead to rescue Sirius Minerals, the British potash play backed by Gina Rinehart. The Fin
Fool’s gold: $2bn hedge hole
Australian gold miners could miss out on up to $2bn in additional cash if the gold price remains near record levels over the next few years, as a legacy of underwater hedges locked in as the gold price started to surge in 2019. The Aus
Footy may play to empty stands
While major sporting events in China, Italy and Japan have been postponed or cancelled, Australian health authorities have so far stopped short of stepping in to cancel sporting events, including the season-openers for the AFL and rugby league. The Fin
TPG-Vodafone judgment savages ACCC
The competition regulator’s lawyers failed dramatically to make any impression on Federal Court judge John Middleton in their effort to prevent the $15 billion merger of TPG and Vodafone, court documents reveal. The Fin
Shares dive after shock US rates cut
Fear of a global recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak drove Australian shares and bond yields sharply lower while the Australian dollar rose after an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve to head off “evolving risks to economic activity” from the virus weakened the US dollar. The Aus
China catches a cold, but the lucky country catches a break
Many Australian miners have enjoyed a perverse rise in prices for their products since the outbreak of coronavirus, defying expectations that mass disruption in China would spark a widespread commodity price slump. The Fin
Federal bodies scramble to exit Chinese-owned data host
Five of Australia’s most sensitive government bodies are scrambling to remove servers from a Chinese-owned data centre in Sydney ahead of a self-imposed September deadline triggered by security fears. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Morrison government harbours real fears Australia is at risk of falling into recession from the coronavirus, as it prepares a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package which will focus heavily on tax relief measures.
Page 3: Five of Australia’s most sensitive government bodies are scrambling to remove servers from a Chinese-owned data centre in Sydney ahead of a self-imposed September deadline triggered by security fears.
Page 4: Australia’s annual economic growth climbed to 2.2 per cent before the coronavirus and bushfire crises hit, up from 1.8 per cent in the previous quarter, according to official figures released yesterday.
Page 6: Market economists are calling on Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to quickly pump an initial $4 billion into the economy to cushion the coronavirus downturn, because growth will probably be negative in the March quarter.
Page 9: Employers should pay workers who are forced to stay at home over coronavirus concerns without eroding their annual leave or sick leave, unions said.
Page 10: While major sporting events in China, Italy and Japan have been postponed or cancelled, Australian health authorities have so far stopped short of stepping in to cancel sporting events, including the season-openers for the AFL and rugby league.
Page 11: Australian companies have a lot riding on how the Chinese Communist Party responds to the country’s worst economic crisis since the Cultural Revolution.
Page 15: The competition regulator’s lawyers failed dramatically to make any impression on Federal Court judge John Middleton in their effort to prevent the $15 billion merger of TPG and Vodafone, court documents reveal.
Besieged Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will launch a last-ditch charm offensive to persuade the federal government to allow it to build 5G networks in Australia, despite revealing it will dissolve its Australian board.
Page 19: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank are among the big Australian companies looking to increase their use of Google’s Cloud computing services, as the tech giant ramps up its bid to topple Microsoft and Amazon Web Services with a new data centre in Melbourne.
Page 20: Farmers are facing supply shortages that could eat into food production after coronavirus shutdowns in Chinese manufacturing.
Many Australian miners have enjoyed a perverse rise in prices for their products since the outbreak of coronavirus, defying expectations that mass disruption in China would spark a widespread commodity price slump.
Page 21: Mining giant Anglo American has won the go-ahead to rescue Sirius Minerals, the British potash play backed by Gina Rinehart.
The Australian
Page 1: Treasury and the Reserve Bank are forecasting the coronavirus will cut growth by 0.5 percentage points, likely putting the economy in negative territory for the first three months of the year, despite a lift in consumer spending helping to push GDP up in the December quarter.
Page 4: Handing France’s Naval Group the $80bn Future Submarine project without a Plan B has effectively left the nation “captured” by the company, the government’s Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board says.
Page 5: Government should stop rationing aged-care funding and focus more on services that improve the quality of life and independence of 1.3 million older Australians, the aged care royal commission has heard.
Page 6: Michael McCormack has warned that the Morrison government can’t provide economic recovery packages for “every industry and every downturn” fanned by the coronavirus and natural disasters, saying the states have been “let off the hook” over bushfire recovery responses.
Page 8: Many mainstream doctors are simply unaware that children’s hospital gender clinics carry out invasive medical treatments based on low-quality evidence, says a new global watchdog body.
Page 17: Fear of a global recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak drove Australian shares and bond yields sharply lower while the Australian dollar rose after an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve to head off “evolving risks to economic activity” from the virus weakened the US dollar.
Page 18: Private equity suitors for Village Roadshow are expected to break up the company if they are successful in an acquisition, according to some industry experts.
Dutch brewer Heineken is being tipped as a potential acquirer of at least some of the alcoholic brands that could be up for sale by Japan’s beverage giant Asahi following a planned $16bn acquisition of Carlton & United Breweries.
Page 19: Australia’s competition and financial regulators are joining forces to investigate the increasing use of supplier payday lending schemes among the nation’s biggest companies.
Page 20: Australian gold miners could miss out on up to $2bn in additional cash if the gold price remains near record levels over the next few years, as a legacy of underwater hedges locked in as the gold price started to surge in 2019.
The West Australian
Page 1: WA’s biggest resources companies will hold a crisis meeting tomorrow to forge a co-ordinated response to the risk of coronavirus infecting their armies of fly-in, fly-out workers.
Page 3: Local businesses have emerged as the real winners of Sunday’s Highway to Hell event, with a number of pubs, cafes and restaurants on Canning Highway clocking up their best trading day on record.
Page 5: Chief of Australia’s Defence Force Angus Campbell says he was “discomforted” by the use of ADF footage in a Liberal Party advertisement during the bushfire crisis and raised his concerns with Scott Morrison.
Page 6: The resources sector needs to brace for the full economic impact of the coronavirus crisis over the next six months, one of the nation’s top economists predicts as the RBA told the government last night the Gross Domestic Product would take a 0.5 per cent hit.
Supermarket giant Woolworths has responded to the country’s toilet paper buying hysteria by slapping an extraordinary four-packet loo roll cap on its customers.
Page 8: Opportunistic Perth sellers have turned to Gumtree to make a quick buck by selling their stockpiles of toilet rolls and hand sanitiser at exorbitant prices.
Page 15: Liberal MPs are pushing for nuclear energy to be considered as part of the Federal Government’s yet-to-be-released technology investment roadmap for emissions reduction.
Business: Factories in China that closed over the coronavirus are slowly reopening, but local manufacturers using imported packaging are now struggling to source imported supplies.
An investment allowance, GST relief and accelerated infrastructure spending top WA’s wish list as Canberra draws up a multibillion-dollar package aimed at limiting the economic hit from coronavirus.
Industry superannuation fund WA Super and the $105 billion Sydney-based giant First State have revealed they are deep in talks over a likely merger this year.
The big four banks are set to rake in $109 million in interest charges by taking their time to pass on the latest rate cut.
Pioneer Credit’s first major backer has quit the board of the stricken debt management company, just weeks out from a vote on a $120 million takeover.
