Today's News - Thursday 13 August 2020
Today's News - Thursday 13 August 2020
Our Backyard
Documents reveal the Federal Government's plans for a massive roll-out of a vaccine to protect Australians against COVID-19, even before a successful inoculation has been discovered anywhere in the world.
"The Commonwealth of Australia … is working to seek early access to and delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments as soon as they are available," an official 'Request for Information' (RFI) document said.
The tenders, jointly issued by the Departments of Health and Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, seek information from local companies about producing and distributing the vaccine here.
The documents were only created on Monday, August 10, and tenders must be lodged by 2pm on August 20.
The tenders, available on the Government's AusTender procurement website, also seek companies who have "capacity and capability" with packaging, materials and storage, particularly cold-chain management.
The political blame game over Victoria’s bungled hotel quarantine has intensified with the Victorian Premier Dan Andrews accusing Defence Minister Linda Reynolds of “playing politics” and wasting the time of public officials fighting the deadly pandemic.
Mr Andrews has consistently argued that the idea that hundreds of defence force personnel were on offer to assist the bungled hotel quarantine scheme but that offer was rejected is completely wrong.
But as the Morrison Government increasingly moves to hold Mr Andrews to account over the program, Senator Reynolds has directly challenged Mr Andrews’ account with a statement insisting ADF assistance was offered.
ACT residents who have been waiting to get home from Victoria have been given a “brief window of opportunity” on a specific route mapped out by authorities.
Permits for transiting through NSW expired last Friday and dozens of Canberrans were caught off-guard and turned around by border police, with some people since sleeping in their cars.
But as a result of changes to border orders, ACT residents have been permitted to drive home by road from Victoria over a five-day period between 9am and 3pm from Thursday, August 13 until Monday, August 17, NSW Health said in a statement on Wednesday.
More than 2600 staff at the National Australia Bank will have to reapply for jobs in three divisions as the financial giant restructures itself under a new chief executive and deals with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief executive Ross McEwan told staff in an internal email on Wednesday to complete the restructure as soon as possible and warned costs were critical. "Remember, every time we spend money at NAB we must ... ask ourselves would our shareholders want us to spend it," Mr McEwan said. "That is the discipline required of each of us."
The Commonwealth Bank has posted a 11 per cent drop in full-year profit and will pay a final dividend of 98c a share, as the banking giant's bottom line was hit by charges for bad debts as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
In one of the most keenly-anticipated results of this earnings season, CBA on Wednesday reported cash profits from continuing operations of $7.3 billion for the year, mainly because of previously announced provisions for soured loans.
As investors brace for a wave of COVID-triggered bad debts. CBA's expense for impaired loans rose more than $1.3 billion to $2.5 billion, but this largely was as a result of a provision for COVID-19 that CBA announced three months ago.
CBA said the number of loans that had been deferred head fallen from a peak of 154,000 to 135,000 at the end of July, which was equal to 8 per cent of accounts. CBA said about 14 per cent of these deferred loans were receiving the wage subsidy JobSeeker.
Moreover, Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has signalled the lender is still assuming a drop in house prices of up to 12 per cent, as it braces for rising unemployment and a slower recovery owing in part to Victoria’s second lockdown.
However, the head of the country’s biggest bank says the property market has so far been more resilient than it expected a few months ago, with prices only drifting slightly lower.
Transurban has swung to a $111 million full-year net loss after the COVID-19 pandemic took traffic from its network of toll roads.
The ASX-listed giant, which made a $171 million profit last year, said on Wednesday that average daily traffic on its roads in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and North America fell 8.6 per cent in the 12 months to June 30.
Traffic across the group was down 25 per cent in July compared to the same month last year, with Melbourne's CityLink down 48 per cent due to the stage four restrictions in place.
Proportional toll revenue, its preferred measure of revenue, fell 3.4 per cent to $2.4 billion.
Jim’s Mowing boss Jim Penman is demanding an “urgent meeting” with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, claiming he was leaving small business owners “facing financial ruin”.
Last week, Mr Andrews said cleaners and gardeners would be prevented from working under Victoria’s tough new coronavirus rules – but at the time, Mr Penman claimed his comments contradicted the government’s own official guidelines on the Department of Health and Human Services website.
As a result, Mr Penman argued that his franchisees would not be breaking the law if they kept working during the lockdown, offering to pay for any fines that may be issued and urging Mr Andrews to clarify his stance.
All of the major political parties in South Australia have reached out for federal and state government support throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The SA division of the Liberal Party has claimed a total of $110,000 in payments in the first six months of the year, according to new figures from the Electoral Commission of South Australia.
That figure is made up of $60,000 worth of JobKeeper payments and a $50,000 cashflow boost, both funded by the Federal Government.
University students who fail half their subjects in their first year will lose access to government subsidies and loans under a crackdown on excessive enrolments and ballooning HELP debts that are not being repaid.
The measures to prevent people taking on study loads they cannot handle have been revealed in a newly released bill covering the government's sweeping overhaul of university funding.
Under the changes, universities will face tougher requirements to verify people's academic suitability for their chosen courses and monitor their ongoing progress. Students will also be able to wipe their debts for subjects when their progress has been harmed by special circumstances.
The crackdown is targeted at extreme examples of students enrolling in an unreasonable number of courses at multiple institutions, persistently failing and amassing extraordinary HELP debts. In one case, a person enrolled in 44 courses with 26 providers, accruing a debt of $663,000 and attaining no qualifications. Another person enrolled in 11 courses at four institutions, accruing $455,000 in debt and completing three courses.
Sydney will host the largest renewable gas trial in Australia after the Berejiklian government approved NSW's first hydrogen gas facility.
The Western Sydney Green Gas Project was given so-called fast-track approval status as part of NSW's post-coronavirus recovery just three weeks ago, and now has a formal sign-off.
Media companies have ripped apart a federal government proposal which would allow law enforcement agencies to request journalists hand over classified information without a search warrant.
The idea was floated by the AFP and Home Affairs earlier this year. Today media bosses told a Senate committee the proposal was "hollow" and "bereft of detail".
The Right To Know Coalition wants laws changed to protect journalists and whistle-blowers.
Pharmacies across Queensland will soon be allowed to test for coronavirus after people were forced to line up for hours to be tested for the virus.
Tens of thousands of Queenslanders came forward to be tested following a recent virus scare linked to two women who spent eight days unwell across Brisbane's south late last month.
Cars were queued up for hundreds of metres outside some Brisbane testing clinics last month and some residents spent hours lining up for a test.
The opening of Sydney's multibillion-dollar NorthConnex motorway is facing potential delays as the coronavirus pandemic restricts access to supplies and overseas expert consultants.
Tolling giant Transurban, responsible for delivering and operating the $3 billion tunnel, on Wednesday softened its guidance on the slated opening from "the third quarter of 2020" to the "coming months".
In revealing a $111 million full-year net loss for Transurban, chief executive Scott Charlton said the nine-kilometre tunnel was “very, very close” to opening, but added there were some challenges facing the final commissioning stage.
“Third quarter thereabouts, maybe a couple of weeks [later]. The commissioning has been a bit more challenging for the contractor,” Mr Charlton said.
World News
Britain's economy shrank by a record 20.4 per cent in the second quarter when the coronavirus lockdown was tightest, the most severe contraction reported by any major economy so far, with a wave of job losses set to hit later in 2020.
The data confirmed that the world's sixth-biggest economy had entered a recession, with the low point coming in April when output was more than 25 per cent below its pre-pandemic level.
A key supplier to Apple and a dozen other tech giants plans to split its supply chain between the Chinese market and the US, declaring that China's time as factory to the world is finished because of the trade war.
Hon Hai Precision Industry chairman Young Liu said the company - also known as Foxconn - is gradually adding more capacity outside of China, the main base of production for gadgets from iPhones to Dell desktops and Nintendo Switches. The proportion outside the country is now at 30 per cent, up from 25 per cent last June.
That ratio will rise as the company - the world's biggest electronics manufacturer - moves more manufacturing to Southeast Asia and other regions to avoid escalating tariffs on Chinese-made goods headed to US markets, Liu told reporters after his company reported financial results.
Three people have been killed and six injured after a passenger train derailed south of Aberdeen in Scotland.
British Transport Police said officers were called to the scene at Stonehaven, about 160 kilometres north-east of Edinburgh, at 9:43am (local time) along with paramedics and the fire brigade.
The area had experienced heavy rainfall and flooding on Tuesday evening.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-12/scotland-train-derails-stonehaven-nicola-sturgeon/12552302
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has announced California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, ending weeks of increasingly frenzied speculation.
If Biden defeats Donald Trump on November 3, Harris would become the first female vice-president in US history. Just two women – Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Republican Sarah Palin in 2008 – have previously been on the ballot as US vice-presidential candidates.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai was let out of police custody on Tuesday evening after more than 40 hours to cheers from supporters of the pro-democracy movement.
The South China Morning Post newspaper says Lai had to pay the equivalent of around $US37,600 ($52,000) in bail money, on top of an additional security deposit.
Tesla will split its stock for the first time in its history so more investors can afford to buy a stake in the electric car pioneer following a meteoric rise in its market value.
The five-for-one stock split announced on Tuesday won't change how much Tesla's business is worth, but will automatically reduce the price of its shares by 80 per cent when it's completed on August 31.
The sharp drop in price per shares creates a wider universe of potential investors and also often has the psychological effect of making it seem as if a stock is on sale.
Those factors often spark rallies after a split is announced. For instance, Apple's stock price has surged by 14 per cent since the iPhone maker disclosed a four-for-one split less than two weeks ago.
The top opposition candidate in the Belarus presidential vote who refused to concede her defeat has fled the country amid a massive police crackdown on protests, Lithuania's Foreign Minister says.
Ms Tsikhanouskaya had previously dismissed the official results of Sunday's election showing authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko had won a sixth term by a landslide.
When asked on Monday if she was planning to go abroad to avoid being arrested, Ms Tsikhanouskaya said she had no such plan and saw no reason why she would be arrested.
But after submitting her formal demand for a recount to the Central Election Commission, she told her allies: "I have made a decision, I must be with my children."
She had previously sent her children to an unspecified European country after receiving threats.
Four bones found on a beach on the Isle of Wight, off England's south coast, belong to a new species of theropod dinosaur, the group that includes Tyrannosaurus rex and birds, say researchers at the University of Southampton.
The new dinosaur, which has been named Vectaerovenator inopinatus, lived in the Cretaceous period 115 million years ago and was estimated to have been up to four metres long.
The bones are vertebrae from the neck, back and tail of the new dinosaur.
They were found separately over a period of weeks in 2019 by two individuals and a family group.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-13/new-species-of-dinosaur-discovered-on-isle-of-wight/12552908
Covid-19
Hundreds of shoppers have been ordered to watch for symptoms after positive coronavirus cases visited Westfield Parramatta and Rhodes Ikea NSW.
A positive case visited Westfield Parramatta, in Sydney’s west, on August 5 between 4pm and 5.30pm and on August 8 between 12pm and 1pm.
NSW Health has also warned shoppers who attended Rhodes Ikea on August 8 between 1.20pm and 2.20pm to monitor for symptoms after a positive case shopped there for the listed hour.
A virus warning was also issued for Castle Towers Shopping Centre, in Sydney’s northwest, last night.
The positive case visited the Castle Hill shopping centre on August 7, between 3.30pm and 5pm, NSW Health confirmed.
Russia has become the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine for use in tens of thousands of its citizens despite international scepticism about injections that have not completed clinical trials and were studied in only dozens of people for less than two months.
President Vladimir Putin said while announcing the approval on Tuesday that one of his two adult daughters already was inoculated. He said the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and was shown to provide lasting immunity to the coronavirus, although Russian authorities have offered no proof to back up the claim of its safety or effectiveness.
New Zealand will re-enter coronavirus lockdown restrictions after four new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in Auckland.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday night that four cases with an unknown source had been discovered in one household. Contact tracing was under way but authorities had not been able to pinpoint the origin of the outbreak.
New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, will undergo mass testing as residents enter level three restrictions for the next three days.
The rest of the country, which will be isolated from Auckland, will enter level two restrictions.
Moreover, with New Zealand back in lockdown, officials are now investigating the possibility that the new coronavirus cases came through imported freight.
The cases have no known source, and health experts are now scrambling to figure out how, in a country that closed its borders months ago and was so successful at containment, four people managed to contract the virus.
- As many around the world struggle with unemployment during the global pandemic an Israel-based jeweller has been commissioned to make a $US1.5 million ($2.1 million) coronavirus mask made out of 18-carat gold and studded with 3,600 black and white diamonds. Isaac Levy, owner of the Yvel jewellery brand, said the mask would also be fitted with an N99 filter to offer a high level of protection.
- The grandmother of Brazil's first lady has died after more than a month fighting COVID-19 in a public hospital on the outskirts of Brasilia.
- Vietnam's Prime Minister says the next 10 days will be critical in the Southeast Asian country's fight against a new coronavirus outbreak, which resurfaced late last month after three months of no domestic cases.
- A city in China's eastern Anhui province has discovered coronavirus on the packaging of shrimp from Ecuador, in the latest instance of the virus being detected on imported products. State television network CCTV said the virus was detected on the outer packaging of frozen shrimp bought by a restaurant in Wuhu city when local authorities carried out a routine inspection.
- Authorities in the Belgian capital of Brussels have introduced mandatory mask rules across the city to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Belgian Crisis Centre spokeswoman Frederique Jacobs said the capital region had seen an "alarming" 57 per cent rise in infections over the previous week.
- Jordan is closing its land trade border crossing with Syria for a week after a spike in COVID-19 cases coming from its northern neighbour. Officials said the Interior Minister's decision to close the Jaber crossing would come into effect on Thursday morning.
https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus
Property News
The powerful Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust plans to build new fitness facilities, including two swimming pools, for its gold members next to the $828 million Sydney Football Stadium under construction at Moore Park in the inner city.
The move has sparked claims from Labor of a further "land grab" after the trust sought planning approval to expand the boundaries of the stadium redevelopment by more than 1000 square metres in order to incorporate the new facilities into the project.
LOGOS Property has formed a new partnership with the NSW government's financial management and investment arm, TCorp, in the acquisition of $172 million worth of assets from Sigma Healthcare.
It is under a sale and leaseback agreement for 15 years, with options to extend the lease, and comprises two distribution centres from Sigma Healthcare in Kemps Creek, in Sydney's west, and Berrinba, Queensland.
SALES
- Rowville - sale of an office/warehouse at 1/12 Macro Court for $601,000 to a local owner/occupier.
- Cremorne - The popular city fringe suburb is still a hit with investors. A local owner-occupier has paid $4,175,000 for an office/warehouse at 131-135 Dover Street
- Cheltenham - Demand for classic brick warehouses in the south-east remains popular. A 418 sq m building on 618 sq m of land at 1 Hewitt Street sold with vacant possession for $965,000.
- Braeside - A fully fitted food production facility with a long-term secure tenant sold to an investor for $800,000 in a deal negotiated by Crabtrees Real Estate. The factory at 24a Braeside Drive is returning rent $62,496 per annum net from Prestige Food Manufacturing Pty Ltd who just recently renewed a six-year lease.
· Coburg North - An industrial warehouse at 10-12 Hocking Street has sold for $2.09 million. The property, leased to CCC Operations trading as chocolate maker Ernest Hillier, changed hands on a yield around 7.35 per cent. Ernest Hillier also occupies the building directly behind the premises.
· Kew - A small shop near Kew Junction at 149 High Street was snapped up for $1 million. The premises, rented for $33,745 net a year until October, sold on a strong 3.4 per cent yield.
· Burnley - In a tightly held pocket, a strata office at 5/151 Barkly Avenue had multiple offers from buyers and was sold one week into being marketed. The 170 sq m office sold for $750,000.
· Hampton Park - Telco giant Telstra has sold a ready to develop vacant site at 104 Robjant Street in a deadline private sale for $460,000. Gray Johnson’s Rory White said the 1122 sq m, of which a total of 895 sq m is available for potential development, was purchased by a local residential developer-builder.
LEASING
· Richmond - A 110 sq m ground floor shop at 166 Swan Street, next to Messina and directly opposite Grill'd, has been leased to Mexican food chain Zambreros. The property received multiple offers and achieved a sq m rate above $700, Morley Commercial’s Tom Larwill said.
· Richmond - The former home of Jimmy Grants at 427 Church Street has been leased to burger franchise New York Minute for seven years. The deal was transacted at an annual rental of $100,000 per annum net.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/cremorne-still-a-hit-with-investors-20200810-p55k9d.html
Market News
The Australian share market has finished off its lows despite another plunge in the price of gold, which fell by around $US150 in just 24 hours.
At one point spot gold fell below $US1,870 an ounce as investors took profits, having traded above $US2,040 a little more than a day earlier.
The All Ordinaries index ended down 0.2 per cent to 6,257 points.
Banks led the gains, with Westpac doing the best, up 2.3 per cent to $18.19.
Investors sold off major technology-related stocks like Facebook (-2.6pc), Amazon (-2.1pc) and Apple (-3pc). which drove the market lower.
The Nasdaq index dropped 1.7 per cent to 10,783 points.
The S&P 500 shed 0.8 per cent to 3,334, while the Dow Jones fell by a modest 0.4 per cent to 27,687 points.
The Australian dollar slipped (-0.2pc) to 71.26 US cents.
https://www.smh.com.au/business
Michael Tran
Director Relationships
Judo Bank