Jobless rate surges to 7.1pc as COVID19 economic fallout continues to bite

Australia's unemployment rate jumped to 7.1 per cent in May from 6.4 per cent in April, with the Bureau of Statistics estimating a further 227,700 jobs were lost last month. 

The participation rate surprised by slumping a further 0.7 percentage points to 62.9 per cent, the lowest level since January 2001. 

ABC's Peter Ryan says the jobless rate is set to rise further in the coming months.

Reserve Bank considered asking for real estate 'pause' amid property crash fears, FoI documents reveal

Reserve Bank economists considered urging the Federal Government to shut down the real estate industry, 'pausing' sales of established homes, to avoid perceptions of a coronavirus-inspired housing market crash. 

Read the story from ABC colleague Dan Ziffer

Highly classified documents from inside Australia's central bank also suggest house prices could slump up to 15 per cent. 

Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh tells ABC's Peter Ryan she isn't surprised the RBA would consider all options given the depth of the crisis.

Markets cautious as Fed chairman warns of dire US economic outlook

Caution has returned to the sharemarket after the world's most powerful central banker warned there'll be no economic recovery until the coronavirus has been contained.

US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell issued a reality check to global investors as sharemarkets bounce back despite the dire economic outlook.

Peter Ryan with the latest

Markets surge on Federal Reserve "sugar hit" for US economy but investors fret about COVID-19 second wave

Australian shares have surged after the US Federal Reserve ramped up its emergency stimulus for financial markets with a bond buying program. 

But ABC's Peter Ryan says it could be a temporary "sugar hit" as investors worry about the dire state of the US economy and a possible second wave of the coronavirus.

BP writes down fossil fuel asset values on bleak COVID19 oil outlook

BP will write off US$17.5 billion from the value of its oil and gas assets as the COVID-19 crisis accelerates a shift away from fossil fuels. 

The energy giant is reinventing its strategy to focus on its growing renewables business.

Here's my report from this morning's AM program

Men gambling away superannuation after emergency COVID19 access, economist Andrew Charlton warns

Men are gambling with some of their superannuation accessed under emergency measures during the COVID19 crisis, according to fresh anonymised data. 

Advisory firms Alpha Beta and Illion have accessed spending of 13,000 recipient which reveals women have focussed on essential spending like food and clothing. 

Alpha Beta director Andrew Charlton speaks with ABC's Peter Ryan. 

Cyrus Capital sees leaner, less complex Virgin Australia but top adviser Jonathan Peachy can't rule job cuts

One of the final two bidders for Virgin Australia has refused to rule out job cuts if it wins control of the troubled airline.

The US based Cyrus Capital is fine tuning it's final bid for Virgin and is confident the company can be turned around and will be strong enough to compete with arch rival Qantas. 

But Cyrus adviser Jonathan Peachey tells ABC's Peter Ryan that jobs might need to be cut in a leaner airline.