Welcome back, I’m Holly and you’re watching Kalkine TV. This is the News Beyond Markets
– a special show giving you all the news that matters to keep you up to date on the
latest and greatest at home and around the globe.
First up on the show is an update coming in on the spread of coronavirus cases - concerning
news for NSW. A government minister from the New South Wales has tested positive and the
state's health minister has moved into self-isolation. Authorities of Australia's most populous
state, New South Wales (NSW), warned of more COVID-19 cases on Thursday. NSW state Agriculture
Minister Adam Marshall said in a statement that he had tested positive, raising worries of a
virus spread in the state parliament. Hazzard said he had been directed to self-isolate
after he was deemed to be a possible close contact of a positive case and health officials
were conducting more tests.
NSW is fighting to contain a fresh outbreak of the highly contagious Delta virus variant in
Sydney where cases have swelled to more than 30 in a week. Authorities imposed
mandatory masks in all indoor locations including offices, and tightened curbs on movement and
gatherings for a week from Wednesday. Health officials have said the transmission of the
Delta variant could be happening even through minimal contact with infected persons. Sydney,
home to a fifth of Australia's 25 million population, has been effectively isolated
from the rest of the country after some states slammed their borders shut while others
introduced tough border rules.
Snap lockdowns, tough social distancing rules and swift contact tracing have helped Australia
to successfully suppress past outbreaks but NSW officials have so far resisted calls for
a hard lockdown in the state. Australia has reported just under 30,400 cases and 910
deaths since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported
18 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Thursday as officials fight to contain
the latest outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant in the state capital Sydney. Thursday's
data includes 13 local cases already announced on Wednesday after the daily cut-off deadline.
Moving on to Victoria - Victoria’s acting Premier, James Merlino, said a case from
the Sydney outbreak has been detected in Melbourne and is isolating. The Victoria government
said it was extending NSW restrictions to Greater Sydney and Wollongong. Mr Merlino
said Victoria was joining Queensland in banning people from Greater Sydney and Wollongong
from entering the state.
Moving on from Coronavirus updates to a news that matters from the investment maestro Warren
Buffett - Warren Buffett has announced that he will donate $4.1 billion worth of Berkshire
Hathaway shares to five foundations, and that he will resign as the trustee at the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This year’s donation marked the halfway point for Buffett.
The Oracle of Omaha pledged to give away all of his Berkshire shares through annual gifts
to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation,
Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation in 2006. Back then, Buffett owned 474,998 Berkshire
shares. He said that now he owns 238,624 shares, worth about $100 billion. Warren
Buffett said that he has been a trustee, though an inactive one in the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation (BMG). He is resigning from that post, just as he has done at
all corporate boards other than Berkshire’s. He further added that the CEO of BMG is Mark Suzman, who
is an outstanding recent selection and has his full support. Buffett believes that his goals
are 100% in sync with those of the foundation, and his physical participation is in no
way needed to achieve these goals.
And now, its time for a small break but stay tuned as I’ll be back with more trending
news in the News Beyond Markets show.
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Welcome back from the Break. Lets look at More on the UK’s trade deal.
Did you miss the UK’s first post-Brexit trade deal with Australia? If so, it’s
time for a sneak-peek at the new accord and to learn why is it significant for Australia. Recently,
the UK and Australia have signed a free-trade deal. Many believe that the deal is ambitious
and comprehensive for both countries as it aims to strengthen Britain’s trade relations
with other countries post-Brexit. Starting off with a little history- Britain is Australia’s
eighth-largest trading partner, and Australia is Britain’s 20th largest.
Britain and Australia used to be exclusive trading partners before 1973 when Britain
joined European Union. The recent bilateral trade agreement is significant for Australia
as much as it is for the UK. Negotiations for the deal were going on for a year. The
deal aims at eliminating all tariffs between Australia and the UK. Additionally, the UK
has also applied to be a member of the trans-Pacific trading bloc. The new accord also brings
competition to China as it may present an economic counterweight to China’s influence
within the trans-Pacific trade. As per the deal, Australian wine will now be allowed
to enter duty-free in Britain. The deal is expected to promote Australian agriculture too.
Cars, scotch whiskey and confectionery would be cheaper to export to Australia as the
deal removes Australia’s 5% tariff on the said items. Moreover, Britain’s under
35 would now be able to visit Australia easily for jobs, education, and business purposes. Now
how will Britain benefit from the deal? The Britain government considers this deal as
a steppingstone for Britain’s post-Brexit strategy. The government is aiming to shift
its trade relations from the European Union to Indo-Pacific nations. The main economic
benefit for the country is that the no-tariff deal would facilitate Britain to export its
financial, legal and professional services to Australia. Besides, the deal removes
tariffs on all British goods while opens opportunities for services providers and tech firms- making
it a liberalising one. The cherry on the cake is the fact that people can now travel and
work together in a more amicable manner. Lastly, let me take you through why is the deal beneficial
for Australia.
According to the Australian Minister for Trade David Littleproud, Australian farmers
are likely to benefit from the deal. Specifically, the meat and wine industries would be on top of
the wins. This is the reason why both the industries have welcomed the deal well. This
agreement is a ray of hope for Australia’s wine industry after China closed its markets
and imposed prohibitive tariffs on Australia. The Chief Executive of the Australian Meat
Industry Council, Patrick Hutchinson, believes that the deal brings a great opportunity for
the Australian red meat industry.
While the deal is economically beneficial, it is a good move politically and symbolically.
The UK and Australia seem to be opening up to each other which is a prelude to a
general campaign of opening up around the world. Therefore, the trade accord aims
at rebuilding Australia’s and UK’s trade relationships like they used to be before
1973. The deal also promotes bilateral trade relationships and highlights the significance
of European countries partnering with non-European countries.
And now, its time for a small break but stay tuned as I’ll be back with more trending
news in the News Beyond Markets show.
Welcome back after the Break. For the last news that matters for the day--- Australian
liquor and hotel company Endeavour Group made its debut on Thursday, fetching a valuation
of close to $8.33 billion. This is two years after grocer Woolworths Group Ltd set
into motion plans for a demerger. Endeavour's shares opened at 6.50 Australian dollars and
was trading around 6.00 dollars half an hour later. This makes the company that
operates more than 1,600 liquor stores and 330 hotels nationally valuations at around
10.85 billion Australian dollars.
Woolworths, the country's largest supermarket chain, in 2019 announced plans to merge ALH
Group, its hotel arm, with its drinks business to form Endeavour Group with plans to eventually
spin-off the company in 2020. The plans were delayed by the pandemic, which saw stay-at-home
orders across Australia hammer retail outlets, with Endeavour's hotel business also getting
hit. Meanwhile, Woolworths shares fell 15.4% on Thursday after the split. The company's
shareholders got one Endeavour share for each they already own in the former parent. For
shareholders, Endeavour plans to pay dividends based on a payout ratio of between 70%
and 75% of profit.
Well, that’s all for now. Keep watching kalkine tv as we bring you latest news and
trending market updates live from Sydney.