29 March 2024
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REUTERS/Loren Elliott

5 things you need to know today

Switzer Daily
25 March 2021

1. BHP salutes judge!

BHP has avoided a $9 billion class action bill and they can thank an English judge. The big Aussie miner found itself in an English court because of a class action by 200,000 Brazilians seeking compensation for the 2015 Samarco dam disaster. The miner had already won the case in a lower court last November but the AFR reveals that the class action lawyers PGMBM said at the time they were “overwhelmingly confident” of getting the decision overturned on appeal. However, on Wednesday, the Appeal Court’s Lord Justice Peter Coulson threw out the appeal, describing the November judgment as “the first and last night of the show”. That said, BHP will have to face another court room in Brazil, where the claimants want over US$ 30 billion but the date for this showdown hasn’t been determined.

2. JobKeeper ends along with a possible 150,000 jobs

Up to 150,000 workers are expected to lose their jobs next week as the Federal government’s wage subsidy programme, JobKeeper, ends.  The $28 billion events industry as well as overseas travel businesses will be in trouble and jobs are bound to go until normal trading conditions return, which might not be until 2022. The SMH says Treasury secretary Steve Kennedy believes the staff most at risk of losing work when JobKeeper finishes on March 28 are those on zero or low hours, which means CBD businesses missing customers who are now working from home, will be likely to cut jobs next week with the end of the government wage support.

3. Will Westpac ditch Kiwis?

Westpac is considering ditching our neighbours across the ditch. On Wednesday, Westpac told the market it was weighing up either a spin-off or sale of its operations in NZ as it faces tougher capital requirements imposed by the country’s Reserve Bank. It has asked Macquarie Capital to assess its options but this will come as a surprise to the Kiwis. The Australian says our top four banks are believed to be continuing to assess their strategies for operations across the Tasman following the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision. What’s that means is the Kiwi central bank wants our banks to lend less out of deposits and keep more to make them safer. But the banks say it reduces their profitability so they’re considering exiting some or all of their operations there. Or it could be good old argy bargy to pressure the Government to change the new rules. Banks are good at argy bargy.

4. Pet frog named 2021 Cadbury Bunny

Betty the Australian White's Treefrog from Orlando, Florida has been been voted as the 2021 Cadbury Bunny in the US. Betty is the first amphibian to take out the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts and will feature in her own commercial. "She has been a wonderful companion at college and thanks to the support of my friends, family and the amphibian community, I know she'll make Cadbury proud as she inherits the bunny ears," said Betty's owner, Kaitlyn.

5. US stocks close lower

The Nasdaq dropped 265.81 points or 2.01% lower on Wednesday to 12,961.89, with Tesla falling 4.82% and falls of 2% or more for Apple, Facebook and Netflix. The S&P 500 fell 21.38 points or 0.55% to 3,889.14, and the Dow Jones dipped just 3.09 points or 0.01% to 32,420.06.

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