the empty shelves at this neighborhood
supermarket tell a story of coronavirus
fear things that out of thumb from the
warehouse level we are trying to
particularly sanitizers sanitizers are
too much in too much sanitizers masks
they're out it's a small example of
what's happening right across the
country this broad economic threat has
forced the Reserve Bank to cut rates the
first central bank in the developed
world to do so since the virus outbreak
in a statement it pointed out that the
corona virus is having a significant
effect on the economy that the
uncertainty is likely to affect spending
that economic growth right now is likely
to be noticeably weaker than expected
and that it's difficult to predict how
large and long-lasting the effect will
be rate cuts are really in part designed
to short-circuit that that really poor
confidence in the downward spiral in
risk assets and which can feed through
to the real economy prime minister Scott
Morrison took the extraordinary step of
virtually flagging the rate cut before
it happened pressuring lenders to pass
it on I would expect they would do the
right thing by those Australians who are
looking to see any support that the
Reserve Bank would be seeking to provide
at this time for these reasons all four
major lenders obliged passing on the
full 25 basis points which means a
monthly saving of $60 on a $400,000
standard variable loan but savers will
be worse off the prime minister's
comments left financial markets with the
impression that the Reserve Bank could
take even more drastic action now
there's a lingering sense of
disappointment which the RBA probably
didn't want the RBA said it's prepared
to cut rates again but there was a clear
message to the government to do more
there is a very pointed reference to the
government assisting areas most affected
by the coronavirus it's unlikely the
government needs any more convincing
Philip Laska ABC News
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