THE C-SUITE GOES BACK TO SCHOOL; MORE PAIN FOR FINANCIAL SECTOR

THE C-SUITE GOES BACK TO SCHOOL; MORE PAIN FOR FINANCIAL SECTOR

Welcome to today’s business and media intelligence, with insights collected over the past 24-hours as debate continues on the reopening of schools across the country.

International news

  • MORE PAIN FOR FINANCIAL SECTOR AS HSBC PROFIT HALVES
    • Global financial institution HSBC has warned that loan loss provisions could reach a massive USD11 billion this year –  the highest levels since the financial crisis. The Financial Times reports here. (Subscriber access)
  • CHINA FACTORIES ARE BACK, BUT WHERE ARE THE CONSUMERS?
    • As the coronavirus outbreak ebbs in China, the country’s companies and officials have made big strides in restarting its economy. However, the New York Times reports that encouraging buyers might be the harder task given the financial impact of job losses and pay cuts on consumer sentiment. Read the article here.

Australian company news 

  • NAB DECISION TO PAY DIVIDEND WHILE RAISING CAPITAL UNDER SCRUTINY
    • NAB’s $3 billion placement to institutional investors went smoothly, with existing investors jumping on the chance to buy shares at the lowest level price in two decades. But some in the market are asking why NAB paid out a dividend while raising capital. Read the AFR article here. (Subscriber access)
  • “TONE DEAF”: UNI CHIEF UNDER FIRE OVER $1.5M SALARY
    • Australia’s highest-paid vice-chancellor, the University of Sydney’s Michael Spence, has been accused of being “tone deaf” after announcing $270 million in cuts, including the loss of casual lecturers, but not touching his own $1.5 million salary, as reported in The Australian. (Subscriber access)
  • MEDIA CONTINUES TO SUFFER: SEVEN AND BAUER IN THE SPOTLIGHT
    • Seven’s 1,150 crew and administrative staff have voted to receive a $750 one-off payment instead of a two per cent pay rise this year as the pandemic continues to hammer commercial media. Read more in The AFR. (Subscriber access)
    • Bauer Media, the German-owned publisher of iconic magazine titles such as The Australian Women’s Weekly, Take 5, and TV Week, has announced it will make 70 staff redundant as the company grapples with declining advertising revenue. Read the full article in Mumbrella.
  • CHOPPY EQUITY MARKETS HAVE HALTED ANSARADA’S IPO
    • Virtual data rooms company Ansarada’s IPO is on ice as a result of the current market environment. Its shareholders have instead engaged Moelis to pitch the business to potential buyers According to the AFR’s Street Talk column. (Subscriber access)

Australian markets 

  • THE C-SUITE GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
    • Between February and March, LinkedIn saw a 63 per cent increase in the number of C-level professionals viewing courses on LinkedIn Learning, highlighting that those in charge are looking to be more informed. Unsurprisingly, the most popular courses in the past month were about working remotely. The AFR speaks with LinkedIn Learning’s director. (Subscriber access)
  • EVEN NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA BUNGLE
    • It is good to know we are all in the same boat, even Nobel laureates. Immunologist Professor Peter Doherty inadvertently confused Twitter for Google when he accidentally asked his followers for the opening hours of Dan Murphy’s. Fair is fair: the man says he needs a drink. See his Twitter post and the ensuing replies which he handled with expected aplomb, complied by The Guardian.

Our daily briefing is not meant to be a summary of media coverage but rather, insights that may be helpful in understanding how organisations are communicating with stakeholders in a time of crisis – and what comes next. Sign up via email