- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
Five weeks that shocked Team Australia to the financial limit
Josh Frydenberg was in Saudi Arabia when the virus drama unfolded with unprecedented force and the nation's focus shifted from a budget surplus to saving lives and shoring up the economy.
- Live
Two die in NSW and Victoria; Death toll climbs to 71
Two men aged 84 and 94 died from coronavirus on Sunday. There were 45 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 0.7 per cent to 6611. Follow our live coronavirus blog here.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
China must be held to account for a global catastrophe
Scott Morrison hasn't heard from Xi Jinping this year. In the wake of the COVID-19 disaster, the global community must resist Beijing's growing arrogance.
'Only fair': Facebook, Google ordered to pay up on news
Facebook and Google will be forced by the federal government to pay Australian media companies for publishing their news stories under a world-first mandatory code of conduct after negotiations with the two global digital giants failed.
ASX set to open steady after market rally
Australian shares are set to open steady after markets rallied, but there is plenty of economic data to come this week and not all of it is promising.
- Exclusive
- Superannuation
Hostplus pulls $1.5b from property fund in liquidity dash
Hostplus is seeking to withdraw $1.5 billion from one of the country's biggest property investment funds ahead of what could be an avalanche of requests by out-of-work hospitality and tourism workers for early access to their retirement savings.
This bear market will be a generational wealth opportunity
Will Culbert credits his family's entrepreneurial history with teaching him about creating long-term wealth, beginning with a horse that netted £6000 in winnings from a £160 investment.
How the coronavirus is changing markets, business and politics.
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- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
![Many parts of the world are now entering the second month of lockdown and social distancing. We are starting to enter the realm where our newly formed habits are done without thinking.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Fire the epidemiologist, hire a shrink
If repetition is the key to reforming habits, investors need to realise we are starting to enter the realm of COVID-19 where permanent changes will arrive.
![Tracking](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
How the infection is spreading
The coronavirus is spreading in all Australian states. The total number of confirmed cases in Australia has exceeded 6500. Here's the latest on the numbers.
![The Grattan Institute has warned up to 3.4 million jobs could be lost as the country seeks to control the coronavirus pandemic.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Jobless shock 'worst since depression' despite JobKeeper
Grattan Institute forecasts a jobless rate of more than 12 per cent, even with JobKeeper disguising the full extent of damage from the pandemic restrictions.
Consumers go 'back to basics' post pandemic
Dining out, having a domestic or international holiday or taking in a show or film have been given higher priority over a visit to the gym among plans of Australians after the COVID-19 crisis has passed.
BCA plan to get the economy from life support to acceleration
The Business Council for Australia wants safety, confidence and growth at the heart of moves to reopen the Australian economy.
Companies
- Analysis
- Due diligence
![it is critical to understand this headwind would not have had such a rapid or intense toll if not for Virgin's poor pre-virus financial health.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Behind Virgin Australia's crash landing
April 22 will mark the end of Virgin's nine-day trading suspension and hopefully deliver some clarity on the carrier's immediate future. For now, the big question is how it all went wrong.
- Exclusive
- CEOs at home
![AGL CEO Brett Redman](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
AGL CEO sees more bill pain ahead
Brett Redman says the virus shutdown will fundamentally change how AGL and other companies do business.
- Analysis
- Coronavirus pandemic
![](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Australia's $55b car dealers teeter as sales plummet
Australia's car dealership sector is pleading with the government to come to its assistance after sales fell more than 60 per cent.
!["We have other products the group is offering and other products the group will shortly release," says James Mawhinney.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
'Show goes on', says defiant Mayfair 101
Mayfair Group founder James Mawhinney said the Federal Court's ruling against it was "unclear" and he would continue pursuing ambitious growth and launch plans.
Auto parts billionaire says bring car making back
Rich Lister Vivek Sehgal has a blunt message for the Morrison Government's new manufacturing taskforce.
RCR Tomlinson insolvent weeks before administration
RCR's liquidators say the collapsed engineering group was trading while insolvent in late 2018 as former directors are investigated for potential breaches of duties.
- Exclusive
- Streaming
Foxtel hopes streaming Binge will boost subscribers amid COVID-19
There is growing speculation Foxtel will launch a new entertainment streaming service called Binge, as it looks to battle churn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Markets
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
![Many parts of the world are now entering the second month of lockdown and social distancing. We are starting to enter the realm where our newly formed habits are done without thinking.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Fire the epidemiologist, hire a shrink
If repetition is the key to reforming habits, investors need to realise we are starting to enter the realm of COVID-19 where permanent changes will arrive.
- Analysis
- Bulls & bears
![Goldman Sachs has upgraded Afterpay to 'buy'.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Why margins matter for Afterpay analysts
Professional analysts follow one key operating metric more than any other to inform their views on whether or not to buy Afterpay shares.
![Markets are torn between optimism and despair,](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Threat of super withdrawals overshadows ASX bull
Australian investors are holding back from enthusiastically embracing the bull market as superannuation withdrawals loom and earnings damage becomes clearer.
Renaissance quant models failed during March mayhem
For Jim Simons, history is repeating itself, at least when it comes to meltdowns in the quant fund world. The setback for one of the industry's best known hedge funds is another example of the turmoil wrought by the coronavirus.
Everything you need to know about COVID-19 capital raisings
New temporary rules have led to a flurry of emergency equity raisings, but how do you tell a company on life support from one just banking blood?
Opinion
Barnaby isn't the only one afraid of government tracing
Scott Morrison’s problem is that Barnaby Joyce is voicing a deep community distrust of digital technology to track people’s movements and possible contact with COVID-19 cases.
Columnist
Australia's $55b car dealers teeter as sales plummet
Australia's car dealership sector is pleading with the government to come to its assistance after sales fell more than 60 per cent.
Investigative journalist and columnist
Crisis opens door for pro-growth agenda at last
The fright of their livelihoods suffered by millions of quiet Australians has opened the political door for a policy reset that the Morrison government must now commit to fully walking through.
Editorial
Business must now do the post-virus heavy lifting
Action by government has created much-needed hope. Now business has to help turn that hope into a recovery.
Contributor
Can the young now lead Australia back to post-virus safety?
The Morrison government is working out a phased return to normal. There are good arguments for letting the under-35s out the door first.
China must be held to account for unleashing a global catastrophe
Scott Morrison hasn't heard from Xi Jinping this year. In the wake of the COVID-19 disaster, the global community must resist Beijing's growing arrogance.
Columnist
Politics
- Opinion
- Competition
![Tech giants will be forced to pay for news content.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Forget the lip service: it's time Google and Facebook paid for news
Foreign digital giants have no right to be the judge, jury and executioner of local news.
![Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Australia leads calls for independent review of outbreak's origins
Australia has called for an independent review of the coronavirus outbreak, as Foreign Minister Marise Payne warned Australia's relationship with China will change in its wake.
![Greg Hunt](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Australia shows 'genuine' flattening of COVID-19 curve
Australia is achieving a "sustained and genuine flattening" of the coronavirus curve, with the rate of increase in new cases below 1 per cent for seven consecutive days.
The COVID-19 SWAT teams coming to a suburb near you
Several hundred healthcare, logistics and emergency response experts could be deployed to crush local virus outbreaks
- Opinion
- The Turnbull Memoir
Malcolm's memoir struggles in the time of COVID-19
The pandemic has changed everything, including the optics on the former prime minister's new book.
World
!["Our relationship with China was good until they did this." Donald Trump during a news conference on Saturday.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Trump suggests China may be 'knowingly responsible' for virus
'If they were knowingly responsible, yeah, then there should be consequences,' President Donald Trump told a White House news conference.
![Former pro-democracy lawmaker Martin Lee, 81-year-old, second right, leaves a police station in Hong Kong, Saturday, April 18, 2020. Hong Kong police arrested at least 14 pro-democracy lawmakers and activists on Saturday on charges of joining unlawful protests last year calling for reforms.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Crackdown raises fears for Hong Kong's status as financial centre
Hong Kong police arrested 15 of the city's most prominent democracy figures in the latest sign that China is preparing to exert more political control over the territory's civil rights.
![Normally vivacious Madrid has become a coronavirus ghost town.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
As Spain limps out of lockdown, will it ever be the same again?
The pandemic's demand for social distancing has taken a toll on Spain's compulsively gregarious culture and business practices.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Migrants the key to post-virus economic crunch
The government's 'go home' message trashes Australia’s reputation for the future, deepens the recession and makes recovery more difficult.
Parts of Sweden hope to achieve 'herd immunity' next month
The country's laissez-faire experiment with coronavirus restrictions has made it a European outlier and drawn intrigue from around the world.
Property
![Nigel Satterley : We are allowing some buyers to swap their lots for smaller ones.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
A third of buyers walking away from house-and-land contracts
The surge in buyer cancellations in Perth and Melbourne has cut sales volumes by 80 per cent, according to Nigel Satterley.
![Conserving cash to preserve jobs and prepare for opportunities: Mirvac CEO Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Mirvac cuts exec salaries to conserve cash, pounce on opportunities
Developers, like other organisations, are taking steps to conserve cash to make it through what could be an extended downturn.
![](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Lendlease cannot sustain its juggling act: CLSA
If its cash flow and earnings deteriorate, Lendlease may be pushed into a dilutive capital raising to defend its credit rating, according to CLSA.
NT freehold desert oasis has $15m hopes
The vendors Roy Chisholm and his wife Janet are selling up after buying the Little Minnows cattle farm in Bowral for $5 million last year.
What will the post-pandemic office bring? More elbow room, for a start
While the much-maligned hot-desking may become a thing of the past, a scaled-down version of the work-from-home experiment may be here to stay.
Wealth
![Making the payment from the accumulation account would be more tax-effective.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Helping hand from SMSF to COVID-19 casualty
A fund can lend $75,000 to a family member in a remortgaging pickle, writes John Wasiliev, who answers your questions on super.
How to navigate working-from-home tax claims
The ATO is making it easier to claim deductions but it will be looking for documented evidence.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Winning super contribution strategies in tough times
Market falls can make some transfers of personal assets into your self-managed superannuation fund worthwhile.
Technology
![Fetch TV users can access Amazon Prime from Tuesday](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Fetch signs up Amazon Prime Video for platform
The latest offering joins other subscription video on-demand services Netflix, Stan and Optus Sport on the platform starting from Tuesday.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
![caption to come](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Why Nintendo is a compelling play
COVID-19 has made it clear demand remains strong, with the company reporting a worldwide shortage of the console thanks to people staying home.
- Opinion
- Tech for the shutdown
![Huawei Mate Xs](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
If you were locked up with only one gadget, this should be it
Huawei's new Mate Xs folding phone has a massive screen, an enormous battery life... and a huge software problem.
Work & Careers
![One in three workers have been given the opportunity to work part-time or flexible hours during the COVID-19 pandemic, but only 15 per cent have taken advantage.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Anxious workers shun job flexibility
One in three workers have been given the opportunity to work part-time or flexible hours during the COVID-19 pandemic, but only 15 per cent have taken up the .
Virus proves value of board diversity: Gonski
ANZ chairman David Gonski says his decision to appoint health expert Jane Halton to the bank's board has been vindicated amid the coronavirus crisis.
Life & Luxury
![Illustration Simon Letch](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Need a break from virus news?
We've been collecting tips on what to read, watch and do At Home; advice on how to Work in the Shutdown; all the best Tech for the Shutdown, and if you want to see how corporate leaders are spending their working isolation, check out CEOs at home.
![Not quite live: like most musicians, The Teskey Brothers, seen here playing Sydney's Metro Theatre in 2019, are on an enforced break from touring.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
How musicians are coping with coronavirus closures
With live venues shuttered and touring off the cards, musicians are exploring new ways to connect with their fan base.
!["In those days, gay men were the enemy along with the virus. Now, the enemy is the virus itself, " says Alex Stewart..](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
'Back then we ran scared, now I am calm': AIDS vs COVID-19
Alex Stewart, who has been HIV positive for 38 years, explains why the current pandemic doesn't scare him the way AIDS did.
![The English Channel by Michael Perekowhai (2015).](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Why James Cook belongs in a museum
On April 29, 1770 James Cook first met Australia's indigenous inhabitants. Now, 250 years later, it's time to take him off his pedestal to unite all Australians, says art historian Alice Procter.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
![Sunrise over London's Tower Bridge on April 16, as the British capital enters its fourth week in lockdown.](/web/20200419215005im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Life in London lockdown: bittersweet, and here to stay
The small consolations of Britain's corona-dystopia are diluted by the growing realisation that social distancing might be here to stay.