10 things you need to know this morning in Australia
Morning, folks.
1. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller confirmed to reporters this morning the state's tough new social distancing measures will last for 90 days – meaning until the end of June. This has of course alarmed people – and with good reason, I might add – but it's worth remembering this is just the default and can be reviewed if the situation demands it. Or extended. But that doesn't bear thinking about right now.
https://twitter.com/michaelkoziol/status/1245462504257404928
2. A report in the AFR today says a package on rent relief for commercial tenants is set to be considered by the national cabinet. Struggling tenants would be offered "a combination of part deferrals and part waivers on their rents" funded by lifting land tax and council rates.
3. The Reserve Bank expects the economic fallout from the coronavirus will persist into the June quarter and likely longer. "While it was not possible to provide an updated set of forecasts for the economy given the fluidity of the situation, it was likely that Australia would experience a very material contraction in economic activity, which would spread across the March and June quarters and potentially longer," the minutes from the central bank's March meeting read.
4. Australian property prices rose by 0.7% in March, the smallest rise since July. This is no great shock, considering... you know, all the news lately. It came as buyer confidence plummeted due to the coronavirus outbreak, with CoreLogic observing a marked shift in the market halfway through the month. As the government bans open houses and live auctions, sales are expected to dry up, and prices could tumble as the economic outlook deteriorates, although the rolling support measures like the JobKeeper payment will likely blunt it to some extent.
5. The goal of the government's economic policy right now, by its own account, is putting the economy into 'hibernation'. This means the government wants to essentially put the system into a deep sleep – directly safeguarding jobs, businesses, mortgages and livelihoods to withstand the unavoidable economic shock, which will no doubt result. The issue here will be how quickly we can rover and get the gears spinning again – and opinions vary on how that will play out.
6. Well, it was nice while it lasted. The Dow Jones plummeted 974 points on Wednesday as President Trump issued a dire warning about the likely impact of the coronavirus on the United States. The White House projected that the US could see 100,000 to 240,000 deaths from COVID-19. The losses came on the heels of the worst-ever first quarter for the Dow Jones industrial average.
7. The announcement of the US government's new modelling comes as Vice President Mike Pence concedes the country could be on a trajectory similar to Italy's. Over 4,700 people in the US have now died from the virus. Trump also admitted he downplayed the coronavirus initially as he wanted to be a "cheerleader" for the country. “I knew everything. I knew it could be horrible, I knew it could be maybe good,” the president said. “I don’t want to be a negative person.”
8. The ASX is set to follow Wall Street down, though perhaps not to the same extent. ASX futures were down 169 points or 3.2% to 5055 at 7am AEDT, and the Aussie dollar is down 0.9%. It follows a period of slight hope in global share markets as various stimulus measures were announced. Now, cold reality is likely setting in.
9. The list of events scrapped due to coronavirus continues to grow. Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time since World War II. The organisers of the event, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, had previously said they were weighing cancellation over postponement, given the grass conditions later in the summer. Th French Open has also been delayed until September.
10. The UK’s current coronavirus death toll indicates the country is on a worse trajectory than China, according to economists Pantheon Macroeconomics. The country recorded two worst-ever death tolls in a row on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 944 deaths from the virus in 48 hours.
BONUS ITEM
I've given you 10 coronavirus updates. Now I fulfil my end of the deal with one funny video.
https://twitter.com/classicdad/status/1245050632672808962?s=21
