Retail rescue: rent, tax relief
Scott Morrison is considering an emergency stimulus package to underwrite the commercial rents, rates, taxes and utility bills of retailers and small businesses facing collapse after tens of thousands of jobs were shed on Thursday as the nation moved towards a retail shutdown. The Aus
200,000 jobs on the block
Up to 200,000 West Australians could lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis as experts warn that the State will not even be saved by the resources sector. The West
Dramatic Year 12 option as schools ready to shut
Year 12 ATAR exams could be cancelled this year because of the disruption to studies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The West
Mystery behind 115 virus cases
At least 115 confirmed coronavirus cases acquired in Australia have no known source, leaving health authorities around the country scrambling to identify carriers who could be unknowingly transmitting the deadly infection. The Fin
Virus won’t halt TPG-Vodafone plans for merger
TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia say the coronavirus crisis will not derail their merger plans, after the $15 billion deal received approval from US regulators. The Fin
Test for $85m facility as ship build begins
Australia’s biggest ship assembly hall will be put through its paces with construction of the first offshore patrol vessel to be built in WA starting today. The West
Farmers win as toilet-roll effect boosts grain prices
Farmers are big winners from worldwide panic buying that has sent wheat prices soaring. The Fin
Investors rally to support Cochlear
Cochlear chief executive Dig Howitt is confident hospitals will return to normal before too long and has welcomed the completion of a huge capital raise to tide the hearing implant company over the COVID-19 crisis. The Fin
ACCC clears Bauer’s PacMag buy from Seven
The competition watchdog has cleared the path for Bauer Media’s $40 million acquisition of Pacific Magazines from Seven West Media. The Fin
Bleak outlook as nine out of 10 companies say they’re bleeding
As the coronavirus crisis continues to worsen, a survey of corporate Australia has found 90 per cent of companies expect to suffer a significant blow from the pandemic and the emergency measures taken to control its spread. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: National cabinet is considering ways to free businesses of overheads such as rents, mortgage repayments and some employment obligations while shut down, as some of Australia’s richest landlords and retailers face off over a shopping centre rent strike.
World leaders fear some developing nations will collapse due to the economic ruin being caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Page 3: At least 115 confirmed coronavirus cases acquired in Australia have no known source, leaving health authorities around the country scrambling to identify carriers who could be unknowingly transmitting the deadly infection.
A rescue mission involving charter flights supported by either the federal government or cruise companies is under way to bring home thousands of stranded Australians in the face of coronavirus travel bans.
Page 4: Employers and unions have struck a deal to allow more than a million administrative staff to work irregular hours from home without extra penalties during the coronavirus crisis.
Page 6: Economists have warned that increasing the minimum wage this year could jeopardise an economic recovery, arguing the unprecedented coronavirus crisis means any decision should be stayed until next year.
Page 8: The government’s backflip on a 30-minute time limit for haircuts while keeping the four-square-metre social distancing rule amid the coronavirus crisis is ‘‘outrageous’’, says hairdresser Phillip Galbraith, co-owner of Noddys on King in Sydney.
Page 10: Australia’s loss-making aluminium smelters have warned they may never return if forced to join the rest of society in coronavirus lockdowns, and urged governments to grant them an exemption.
Page 12: Farmers are big winners from worldwide panic buying that has sent wheat prices soaring.
Page 13: Amid a global travel lockdown, turmoil in businesses and the need to limit all unnecessary movements, the Australian Taxation Office is giving Australian citizens usually based overseas flexibility around tax obligations.
Page 16: Indonesia’s resource and digital sectors are stumping up cash to buy protective equipment for health workers caring for COVID-19 patients, as the national government struggles to cope with the rapidly escalating crisis.
Page 17: Cochlear chief executive Dig Howitt is confident hospitals will return to normal before too long and has welcomed the completion of a huge capital raise to tide the hearing implant company over the COVID-19 crisis.
Smiggle owner Premier Investments is closing all its Australian stores for four weeks and will refuse to pay rent for the duration, taking global job losses at the clothing and accessories retailer to 9000.
Page 19: TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia say the coronavirus crisis will not derail their merger plans, after the $15 billion deal received approval from US regulators.
Page 23: AMP has said it is no longer confident of its previous $464 million underlying profit estimate for the 2020 financial year amid the coronavirus uncertainty, but remains committed to its timeline for client remediation and business transformation.
The competition watchdog has cleared the path for Bauer Media’s $40 million acquisition of Pacific Magazines from Seven West Media.
Page 24: With both state and federal governments declaring Australia’s iron ore industry exempt from the strict lockdown measures now being introduced, the coronavirus’ impact on Rio Tinto’s finances looks set to be at the margins.
Fortescue Metals chairman and major shareholder Andrew Forrest has recouped a small part of his more than $1 billion loss from the initial crash in the value of the iron ore miner’s shares with some well-timed purchases.
The Australian
Page 1: Scott Morrison is considering an emergency stimulus package to underwrite the commercial rents, rates, taxes and utility bills of retailers and small businesses facing collapse after tens of thousands of jobs were shed on Thursday as the nation moved towards a retail shutdown.
Fourteen cruise ships were being held off Australian ports on Thursday night after another Australian passenger died from coronavirus contracted on a cruise.
Page 4: Almost one-third of Western Australia, vast tracts of the Northern Territory and a score of remote Queensland communities are being locked down amid warnings that coronavirus is already “at the doorstep” of the places the most vulnerable people live.
Page 5: Australia could run out of ICU beds to treat coronavirus patients in as little as 10 days if infections continue to rise at the current rate of exponential growth.
Page 8: As the coronavirus crisis continues to worsen, a survey of corporate Australia has found 90 per cent of companies expect to suffer a significant blow from the pandemic and the emergency measures taken to control its spread.
Page 15: The country’s largest shopping malls are taking a hard line against national chains calling for rent relief amid a wave of store closures, but landlords have conceded some ground to smaller retailers by pledging not to evict tenants that cannot pay.
Page 17: Pallets and pooling giant Brambles and logistics giant Linfox have emerged as major beneficiaries of surge buying by customers in grocery stores in America, Europe and Australia in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Page 19: Australia’s largest brickmaker says the federal government acted too slowly to contain the coronavirus outbreak amid concern an extended shutdown of the economy may cripple the construction industry.
The West Australian
Page 4: Year 12 ATAR exams could be cancelled this year because of the disruption to studies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Page 5: Body bags — including those for children — have been sent into remote indigenous communities to prepare for the worst-case pandemic scenarios.
Page 7: Up to 200,000 West Australians could lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis as experts warn that the State will not even be saved by the resources sector.
Page 8: More than 800 German, Austrian and Swiss travellers aboard the MS Artania cruise ship anchored off the WA coast will be evacuated to Perth Airport and flown home as soon as tomorrow after a joint decision by the Federal Government and the German Embassy.
Page 12: Greedy health funds have been accused of exploiting the coronavirus crisis by refusing to cancel hefty premium hikes despite bans on non-urgent elective surgery saving them billions.
Business: Australia’s biggest ship assembly hall will be put through its paces with construction of the first offshore patrol vessel to be built in WA starting today.
Many local governments have yet to come up with support packages for vulnerable small businesses battling to survive the coronavirus.
The lockdown in China that has gripped the original epicentre of the coronavirus for more than two months is finally set to end, spurring investors into action as they gauge which companies will benefit most.
One of WA’s aspiring sulphate of potash producers has stopped exploration at its northern Goldfields project in a bid to safeguard a remote Aboriginal community from COVID-19.
Coronavirus has now claimed some of WA’s best-known holiday resorts, with the RAC closing its nine tourism properties to most guests until May.