Weekly media index: 4 - 10 October 2008

New developments came thick and fast as the U.S. financial crisis quickly spread across global share markets and financial systems, with huge falls in most major markets, most European countries guaranteeing deposits and interest rates being cut deeply by central banks across the world, after the eventual passing of the US$700bn U.S. bailout did little to stem the panic, with scores of banks broke or close to it and the U.S. and all of Europe expected to slide into recession immediately.

The RBA was one of the first central banks to respond strongly to the global situation, surprising all of the business media and financial analysts by cutting official interest rates a full percentage point, twice what most expected. There was intense political debate over whether banks should pass on the full rate cut, the Government accusing Malcolm Turnbull of irresponsibility who in turn accused the PM and Treasurer of doing the banks PR work, with the four majors quickly announcing rate cuts of 0.8%.

The NRL Grand Final was as lopsided as the AFL Grand Final was close, with Manly scoring early and then running away with the game for a record win in the game’s 100th year. Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy apologised to the judiciary the day after the game while many of the Sea Eagles were picked in the Kangaroos side for the upcoming World Cup

Intense coverage of the disappearance of Britt Lapthorne continued last week, with the media focusing on the identity of a body found in the sea by Croatian authorities early last week, while the owners of the hostel at which Ms Lapthorne was staying also came under scrutiny.

A worrying year of safety incidents continued for Qantas this week, with a large number of passengers injured on a flight from Singapore to Perth after a sudden drop in altitude. There was considerable media speculation about the causes of the incident, although there was no official result from the inquiry by the end of the week.

After plenty of speculation about what the teams thought of each other and plenty of pre-match sledging, the First Test against India started with Australia batting and captain Ricky Ponting leading the way once more with a big hundred.

Many of the leading pundits have virtually given the U.S. Presidential election to Barack Obama after John McCain failed to claw back ground in the second debate, with most commentators thinking Obama’s lead will be further increased by the economic crisis.

In other news, the Bathurst 1000 rolls around this weekend as the NSW Central West town becomes the heart of all things V8; Bill Henson was the centre of yet another controversy surrounding an alleged primary school visit; and amidst all the carnage the Commonwealth Bank has picked up BankWest for $2.1billion.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“hell... easy to enter and almost impossible to exit"
Warren Buffett’s view of the derivatives market…in 2003

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Weekly media index: 29 September - 3 October 2008

DOMESTIC
Garnaut Report – The release of the complete Garnaut Report on emissions trading was somewhat overshadowed by the American financial crisis, however there was still plenty of discussion of Garnaut’s targets and recommendations for the timing and speed of carbon pricing and the resulting drop in emissions that can be expected by both 2020 and 2050, while some of the media focused on the recommendation to eat more roo.

Maternity leave – The Productivity Commission’s recommendation for 18 weeks paid maternity leave to replace the baby bonus was hailed as long overdue by many commentators, with the Government saying they would definitely introduce some form of paid leave, although business groups warned against any proposal that went more than 14 weeks or involved extra burdens on business.

Rob Guest – Widely known musical and theatre star Rob Guest died this week following a massive stroke, he was best known for his long running role as the Phantom of the Opera, but had appeared in scores of theatrical productions, as well as television, after starting as a pop singer in New Zealand.

Interest rates – The Treasurer Wayne Swan was very quick to warn people with a mortgage not to expect banks to pass on any cut the Reserve Bank makes to interest rates next week in full or even at all due to the international credit crisis, leading Malcolm Turnbull to call Swan and the PM bank apologists. The bank is expected to cut the rate by either 25 or 50 basis points.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Britt Lapthorne – The investigation into the disappearance of a young Australian backpacker, last seen at a youth hostel in Croatia two weeks ago has received extensive coverage, with Ms Lapthorne’s family joining the search and Australian authorities offering assistance to the Croatian police.

Paul Newman – the Hollywood star, renowned for his good looks and as well known for his race car driving and philanthropy as for his many huge hit movies in a more than fifty year acting career, passed away this week aged 83 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

US Presidential race – The focus turned solely to the financial crisis as both candidates returned to the Senate to vote for the bailout package, while today’s vice presidential debate was seen as a major test of Republican candidate Sarah Palin.

BUSINESS NEWS
Wall Street Crisis – The US administration’s $700bn bailout failed at the first hurdle, after most House Republicans and a large proportion of Democrats voted against the bill, causing the NYSE and world stock markets to spiral into their biggest single day dive ever. A modified bill passed the US Senate during the week but has yet to pass the House

In other business news: The ASX was slightly less severely affected than the US stock exchange, but still suffered a massive single day drop early this week before regaining some of the lost ground later in the week; and the ACCC has approved BHP’s attempted takeover of Rio Tinto, although some business commentators doubt BHP’s ability to complete the takeover.

TALKBACK
Maternity leave was the number one issue on talkback, as issues close to home received more discussion than the global financial crisis, with most callers in favour but some questioning the motives of the Government; while the AFL and NRL grand finals both received plenty of calls during the week, as did the Garnaut Report.

SPORT
Controversy has dominated the lead-up to the NRL Grand Final in the code’s centenary year, with Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy fined $50,000 for his comments following the suspension of Storm skipper Cam Smith, while Manly tried to focus on overturning last year’s loss to the Storm; In the AFL Grand Final a tight contest was predicted by many and that’s what it turned out to be for most of the game, the Hawks beating the odds to win their first title for 17 years.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"You can bail out Wall Street but you can't bail out the planet"
Greens Leader Bob Brown tries to keep the focus on climate change

Tracking the media, monitoring the message