Westpac Wire

Audio of an Westpac economic briefing with chief economist Bill Evans held on 9 July, 2020. Mr Evans discusses the impact of the Melbourne shutdown, budget deficits, fiscal policy, unemployment, net migration, China tensions, house prices, rates, the Australian dollar and the outlook.

In an economic briefing to business customers on June 3, 2020, Westpac chief economist Bill Evans provides an update on the economy, the first quarter GDP outcome, his forecasts and takes several questions.

Westpac Wire's Emma Foster speaks with Adam Jacobs, co-founder of a new digital labour exchange helping to redeploy employees who have been stood-down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PODCAST: What the COVID 'crunch' will look like by Westpac Wire

PODCAST: Fintech post COVID-19 pandemic by Westpac Wire

As COVID-19’s toll on the economy intensified, social enterprise Mates on the Move realised it needed to quickly change course to survive. In a podcast, operations manager Lois Dillon explains how.

As investors face into an environment characterised by record low interest rates and high equity valuations, plus the double whammy of unprecedented bushfires in Australia and the global COVID-19 scare, many are pondering what this all means for their investments.

To unearth how some of the country’s large fund managers are thinking about these trends and developments, BT Panorama hosted a panel discussion on February 27 as part of a series for investors, shared here as a Westpac Wire podcast.

On the panel, which was facilitated by BT's national manager of SMSF, Super and Investments, Paul Stark, were:

- Portfolio manager for Magellan Global Infrastructure Fund Gerald Stack;

- Portfolio manager at Pendal Property Securities Julia Forrest; and

- Senior vice president at global bond giant PIMCO John Valtwies.

It came at a topical time, with the Australian stockmarket last week experiencing one of its worst weeks in recent memory as investors reacted to the spread of COVID-19 outside China and fears it will be declared a global pandemic.

This recording is of an event which was hosted by BT Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN 38 087 480 331 which is subsidiary of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 451 141 (Westpac). Material in this presentation is current as at 27 February 2020. Material in this presentation does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and so you should consider its appropriateness, having regard to these factors before acting on it. Material in this presentation may contain material provided by third parties derived from sources believed to be accurate at its issue date. While such material is presented with necessary permission, Westpac accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of, nor does it endorse any such third party material. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we intend by this notice to exclude liability for this third party material. These projections are predictive in character. Whilst we have used every effort to ensure that the assumptions on which the projections are based are reasonable, the projections may be affected by inaccurate assumptions or may not take into account known or unknown risks and uncertainties. The results actually achieved may differ materially from these projections. Any tax considerations outlined and are general statements, based on an interpretation of the current tax law, and do not constitute tax advice. Your individual situation may differ and you should seek independent professional tax advice and consider obtaining personalised advice from a financial adviser. This presentation provides an overview or summary only and it should not be considered a comprehensive statement on any matter or relied upon as such.

On a recent trip to Australia, former Westpac CEO and ex-senior Treasury official David Morgan, in conversation with Westpac's general manager corporate and business development Macgregor Duncan, reflects on the reforms that are needed to lift economic growth, the challenges facing banks and his passion for reading, the arts and education.

For the property market, it’s hard to recall a time in recent years when the next few months meant so much amid signs of stabilisation following price falls since 2017. Westpac Wire editor Michael Bennet sits down with economist Matthew Hassan to get his thoughts on the outlook around the nation and the key data to watch in the months ahead.

“Happily redundant” marked the beginning of Larry Diamond’s journey from investment banking to co-founder of point-of-sale credit and digital payments fintech Zip Co, one of Australia’s newest “unicorns” after its market value surpassed the hallowed $1 billion mark. Westpac's Macgregor Duncan speaks with Diamond about the ups and downs of starting the business, and his views on the outlook for payments and banking