Shopping centres risk collapse as retail tenants threaten to walk away
By business reporter Andrew Robertson
With many retailers either shut down or suffering massive revenue falls, shopping centre landlords are under pressure to slash rents or risk thousands of empty shops.
Topics: covid-19, retail, economic-trends, small-business, social-distancing, australia
As panic buying subsides the reality of the retail recession is sinking in
By business reporter Stephanie Chalmers
Sales of tinned food, toilet paper, rice and pasta all surged in March, but there was a pay back in April, with sales across all retail sectors falling as panic buying subsided.
Topics: retail, business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, epidemics-and-pandemics, australia
Easing of COVID-19 restrictions could see the return of the great Aussie road trip
With international travel off the cards, Australians are being asked to explore their own backyard, prompting tour operators to adapt their offerings.
Topics: epidemics-and-pandemics, covid-19, travel-and-tourism, economic-trends, business-economics-and-finance, tourism, margaret-river-6285, wa, australia
Australia’s biggest economies are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus recession (photos)
By business reporter Michael Janda
New ABS data provides some hope the worst of the coronavirus recession and job losses may already be behind us, but also shows some states and regions have been hit a lot harder than others and will take longer to recover.
Topics: economic-trends, tourism, unemployment, covid-19, australia, grafton-2460, coffs-harbour-2450, nsw
‘That’s not fair’: Plight of Australia’s young workers and graduates laid bare on Q+A
By Paul Johnson
Young Australians feeling the impact of the economic fallout from coronavirus are told if they want to get ahead they may have to put some of their career dreams on hold.
Topics: health, diseases-and-disorders, covid-19, community-and-society, business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, work, unemployment, australia
China imposes 80pc tariff on Australian barley
By political reporter Dan Conifer
The import tax will remain in place for five years, according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, globalisation—economy, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, economic-sanctions, agricultural-policy, federal-government, agribusiness, rural, agricultural-crops, trade, international-aid-and-trade, covid-19, diseases-and-disorders, health, china
Social distancing vs the economy: 47 economists have had their say and the consensus is in Analysis (photos)
By Peter Martin
Maintain social distancing or end isolation? A group of Australia’s leading economists have had their say and the answer is ‘R’, writes Peter Martin.
Topics: covid-19, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, community-and-society, economic-trends, australia
Coronavirus has revealed big racial disparities. It’s also having a gendered impact
By North America correspondent Kathryn Diss
Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on labour markets across the globe. A closer reading of the numbers shows it’s impacting women more than men, reversing gains made towards workplace equality.
Topics: covid-19, unemployment, government-and-politics, family-and-children, gig-economy, economic-trends, child-care, united-states
How COVID-19 hastened an economic revolution Analysis
By business editor Ian Verrender
The dominant economic theories of the past century been turned on their heads by the coronavirus pandemic, and it could lead to a completely different global economy on the other side, writes Ian Verrender.
Topics: covid-19, infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases, economic-and-social-development, globalisation—economy, trade, economic-trends, australia
The battle to beat the corona crisis has exposed a split on values Analysis
By David Speers
The Prime Minister and Treasurer want it known the various coronavirus support payments on offer are only temporary. But Labor disagrees, writes David Speers.
Topics: covid-19, infectious-diseases-other, federal-government, federal-parliament, economic-trends, business-economics-and-finance, political-parties, australia
Beer overflows Ben Rylands portrait image
Topics: economic-trends, rural-tourism
Black Saturday losses ‘easy’ compared with coronavirus era, bushfire victim says
Ashraf Doos lost his home and business in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, but says falling between the cracks in the $130 billion JobKeeper scheme has left him more frustrated.
Topics: covid-19, economic-trends, work, community-and-society, unemployment, east-melbourne-3002, vic, australia, marysville-3779
Amid the coronavirus carnage, some are using it as chance to change careers
By Matt Garrick, Henry Zwartz and Katrina Beavan
As the coronavirus crisis upended lives and put thousands out of a job, some people in the NT turn the pandemic into the catalyst for a career change.
Topics: health, diseases-and-disorders, covid-19, business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, community-and-society, government-and-politics, darwin-0800, nt, australia
The graph that shows why we have a big jobs problem Analysis
By Jeff Borland
The scale and speed of COVID-19’s impact on the Australian labour market is difficult to comprehend but there are three steps forward, writes Jeff Borland.
Topics: unemployment, tax, youth, welfare, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, gig-economy, economic-trends, covid-19, australia
The city exodus may just be beginning, say real estate agents seeing surge in regional demand (photos)
By business reporter Nassim Khadem
Experts say COVID-19 will hit national house prices, but it has also sparked a new wave of enquiries from people interested in moving from capital cities to regional areas.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, housing-industry, housing, house-and-home, covid-19, economic-trends, money-and-monetary-policy, lifestyle, budget, federal-government, australia
The unemployment figures are some of the most confusing — and dire — in Australia’s history Analysis
By business reporter Gareth Hutchens
The surprisingly small rise in the unemployment rate has obscured the reality of what’s actually happening on the ground — this is why.
Topics: covid-19, economic-trends, business-economics-and-finance, gig-economy, unemployment, infectious-diseases-other, australia
Global air traffic not predicted to return to pre-coronavirus levels until 2023
The director-general of the International Air Transport Association says it will take longer than originally thought for international travel to bounce back from COVID-19.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, travel-and-tourism, diseases-and-disorders, infectious-diseases-other, government-and-politics, economic-trends, community-and-society, australia, united-states, united-kingdom
If Australia measured unemployment like the US the jobless rate would be 11.7pc, ABS says
By business reporter Michael Janda
Australia’s unemployment rate has posted its steepest monthly rise on record, but even that figure massively understates the scale of job losses, with more than 2.7 million people leaving employment or having their hours cut in April.
Topics: unemployment, economic-trends, work, federal-government, money-and-monetary-policy, australia
Australia’s in recession but there’s a dramatic fall in calls to the National Debt Helpline. Here’s why
By business reporter David Taylor
Even as Australia plunges into its sharpest recession since the Great Depression, calls to the National Debt Helpline have dropped 20 per cent. It seems odd, but the financial counsellors who run it say it makes perfect sense.
Topics: consumer-finance, consumer-protection, economic-trends, unemployment, work, epidemics-and-pandemics, health, diseases-and-disorders, covid-19, money-and-monetary-policy, federal-government, australia
Banks are holding payments back from investors to save themselves in a worst-case scenario
By Andrew Robertson and Stephen Long
Up to $10 billion in income could be ripped out of the economy in the space of months as the major banks suspend or slash dividend payments in response to a massive rise in bad loans and the risk of a house price crash.
Topics: banking, consumer-finance, economic-trends, superannuation, money-and-monetary-policy, covid-19, australia
Australia risks a 32pc house price crash in a ‘prolonged downturn’, CBA warns
By business reporter Michael Janda
Australia’s biggest home lender warns Australian house prices could tumble by a third if coronavirus leads to a “prolonged downturn” and extended period of high unemployment.
Topics: banking, economic-trends, consumer-finance, money-and-monetary-policy, company-news, covid-19, australia
JobKeeper, JobSeeker end date could ‘push the economy back into recession’ (photos)
By business reporter Michael Janda and finance correspondent Phillip Lasker
The JobKeeper and JobSeeker schemes are “temporary” measures to get Australia’s economy to the end of September but, unless COVID-19 is totally under control by then, several leading economists warn a sudden stimulus withdrawal risks plunging Australia into a double-dip recession.
Topics: economic-trends, work, unemployment, small-business, federal-government, covid-19, australia
Josh Frydenberg outlines dire economic outlook from COVID-19 Video
The Treasurer Josh Frydenberg details the economic outlook for Australia amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Topics: economic-trends, australia
Has Australia already passed the peak of its COVID recession?
By business reporter Stephanie Chalmers
CBA’s credit and debit card transactions show consumer spending improved last week in all states and most categories, with purchases of furniture and other household equipment up more than 50 per cent compared to last year.
Topics: epidemics-and-pandemics, business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, australia
Frydenberg warns of huge hit to state economies if restrictions forced to return
By Dan Conifer
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was due to deliver the Budget tonight, but with COVID-19 throwing the economy into chaos, he will instead deliver a scaled-back financial statement to Parliament.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, government-and-politics, covid-19, australia