Chamber boss stares down virus with bold claim
Chamber of Minerals and Energy boss Paul Everingham insists WA’s resources sector will continue operating in the face of the growing coronavirus crisis because it is essential to the resilience of the economy. The West
Scramble to get home as border closes
Australia’s borders will be closed to new foreign arrivals from 9pm on Friday in a dramatic move to slow the spread of COVID-19, as hundreds of thousands of Australian travellers scramble to return home before global air travel grinds to a halt. The Fin
$105b bridge across the chasm
The Reserve Bank of Australia and Morrison government have committed $105 billion to build a financial bridge over a growing chasm in the Australian economy, cutting interest rates to record lows, offering cheap loans to banks and small businesses and embarking on the country’s first major quantitative easing program. The Fin
Petrol to be $1 a litre
Perth motorists should be filling up with $1-a-litre petrol within a fortnight — or else they are probably being ripped off. The West
Virus enters a new phase
Only patients seriously ill with flu-like symptoms in WA hospitals will be tested for COVID-19 in the coming days. The West
Aid package to test AAA ‘elite’ rating
The federal government is preparing a second coronavirus economic package that will exceed $50 billion to cushion a sharp economic downturn, as S&P Global Ratings warns Australia’s AAA rating is ‘‘deteriorating rapidly’’ and faces a potential downgrade before the May budget. The Fin
Rio stops Pilbara heritage surveys
Mining giant Rio Tinto has stopped its heritage surveys for proposed mining tenements in the Pilbara in response to concerns by Aboriginal communities of their potential exposure to the coronavirus. The Aus
Europe passes China in deaths
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Europe’s total of more than 85,000 infections exceeds China’s 80,900. Europe has also reported just under 4000 deaths from COVID-19, compared with about 3200 in China. Italy’s death count alone is 2978. The Fin
Criminal charges for food profiteering
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says people face criminal punishment if they bulk buy groceries to send overseas or sell on the black market during the coronavirus crisis. The Fin
Cardboard king in box seat to help out
Australia’s richest person, Anthony Pratt, says his cardboard box-making and recycling company is keeping its factories open and running at full capacity as shoppers’ demand for food spikes amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Reserve Bank of Australia and Morrison government have committed $105 billion to build a financial bridge over a growing chasm in the Australian economy, cutting interest rates to record lows, offering cheap loans to banks and small businesses and embarking on the country’s first major quantitative easing program.
The federal government is preparing a second coronavirus economic package that will exceed $50 billion to cushion a sharp economic downturn, as S&P Global Ratings warns Australia’s AAA rating is ‘‘deteriorating rapidly’’ and faces a potential downgrade before the May budget.
Page 3: Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says people face criminal punishment if they bulk buy groceries to send overseas or sell on the black market during the coronavirus crisis.
Page 4: The government has dropped its longstanding opposition to increasing the Newstart allowance and has shut the nation’s borders to foreigners for at least six months, as it continues to grapple with the escalating coronavirus crisis.
Page 6: Schools and childcare centres risk being sued if they stay open and require staff to do face-to-face teaching during the coronavirus outbreak, a senior lawyer has warned.
Page 8: Australia’s confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus increased by a record amount yesterday – to more than 700 – as senior government health advisers remained optimistic that behavioural changes would stop the trajectory seen in the US and Britain.
Australia’s Olympic athletes could fly directly into Tokyo on charter flights and avoid staying in regional Japanese training camps under plans being considered to isolate competitors and reduce their risk of catching or spreading COVID-19.
Page 10: Hotels across Australia are digging in for the long haul with deals of about 30 per cent off normal rates as bookings continue to plummet - and Australia’s domestic borders begin to shut down.
Page 12: Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart would be Australia’s wealthiest person if the Financial Review Rich List were being published today, as miners hold up relatively well amid the market carnage wrought elsewhere by COVID-19.
Bupa Australia has had a first confirmed case of COVID-19 of a staff member in its Sydney offices, boss Hisham El-Ansary says.
Page 16: According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Europe’s total of more than 85,000 infections exceeds China’s 80,900.
Page 18: China’s currency traders are much less worried about the prospects of a global economic recession than their colleagues trading the S&P 500 or the Brazilian real.
Page 20: Australian Associated Press was thrown a lifeline yesterday with the emergence of ‘‘several’’ potential buyers for the newswire service, Medianet and Mediaverse.
Page 21: Coles says it could take weeks for food and grocery supplies to return to normal even if consumers heed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s warning to stop hoarding.
The Australian
Page 3: Australia’s borders will be closed to new foreign arrivals from 9pm on Friday in a dramatic move to slow the spread of COVID-19, as hundreds of thousands of Australian travellers scramble to return home before global air travel grinds to a halt.
Page 4: Australia is facing “a major hit to economic activity and incomes that will last for a number of months”, one of which is likely to involve “significant job losses”, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe said.
Page 5: Unprecedented demand for beef mince at the country’s biggest supermarkets has sent orders soaring from five tonnes on a normal day to 25 tonnes in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, as Scott Morrison calls on Australians to be “responsible” and stop panic buying.
Australia’s richest person, Anthony Pratt, says his cardboard box-making and recycling company is keeping its factories open and running at full capacity as shoppers’ demand for food spikes amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Page 17: The shutdown of global travel that has seen national carrier Qantas, as well as other airlines, slash routes and ground most of its fleet has sent a wrecking ball through the travel, tourism and entertainment sectors as shareholders see tens of billions of dollars in value shredded.
Page 20: Mining giant Rio Tinto has stopped its heritage surveys for proposed mining tenements in the Pilbara in response to concerns by Aboriginal communities of their potential exposure to the coronavirus.
Page 24: The effectiveness of the federal government’s coronavirus stimulus package has been called into question after new research revealed the government and its agencies have imposed a regulatory burden on society that has grown by 421 per cent since 1977.
The West Australian
Page 3: Qantas will axe almost all international flights — except its popular Perth-to-London non-stop route — and is trying to get stood-down staff jobs at Woolies until the coronavirus crisis is over.
Page 4: Only patients seriously ill with flu-like symptoms in WA hospitals will be tested for COVID-19 in the coming days.
Page 7: One of Perth’s top boarding schools is shutting its doors as the teachers’ union has called for educators aged over 60 to be given immediate leave or permission to work from home.
Page 11: Australian children are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety because of the continued coronavirus crisis.
Page 15: Perth motorists should be filling up with $1-a-litre petrol within a fortnight — or else they are probably being ripped off.
Business: Governments are finally getting the message they’ll have to run exponentially bigger budget deficits to stay afloat as the coronavirus brings the world economy to a sudden halt.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy boss Paul Everingham insists WA’s resources sector will continue operating in the face of the growing coronavirus crisis because it is essential to the resilience of the economy.
Companies including Woodside Petroleum and Rio Tinto will be able to defer their annual general meetings under new regulatory relief aimed at meeting tightened health restrictions around coronavirus.
WA farmers are facing a credit squeeze after a dry season last year, triggering concerns a lack of working capital could prevent them from planting optimum crops and therefore slash the size of this year’s grain harvest.
Wesfarmers has turned to a trusted insider to turn around its underperforming industrial and safety business after the sudden departure of its industrials division boss David Baxby.
