No point going to the shops:

YD

The Australian government is planning to pay a significant share of employers’ wage bills to keep workers in jobs and put the economy in a stronger position to recover once the virus is contained.

The Australian Financial Review reported late on Saturday night that the government would pay up to 80 per cent of wages for companies forced to stand down workers during the crisis.

Finance Minister Matthias Cormann later confirmed the government was working on such a scheme during an interview on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, with the subsidy expected to be capped at the average weekly wage.

Amid warnings that almost two million jobs could be temporarily lost to the coronavirus, Senator Cormann declined to offer details of the proposed subsidy as they are yet to be finalised.

But he said the support would come via the country’s existing tax and welfare system and be subject to businesses retaining their staff.

“We are going to do it in an Australian way,” Mr Cormann said when asked if the government’s policy would mimic the UK’s.

“We’re going to do it in a way that actually is going to be able to be delivered, using our existing systems and our existing architecture.”

The UK government last week said that it would pay 80 per cent of a company’s wage bill – up to the value of GBP2500 ($5010) a month per worker – if the business held onto its staff.

Read more:

https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/03/29/coronavirus-w...

Meanwhile:

The coronavirus has succeeded where lawmen like Bobby Kennedy and Rudy Giuliani failed for more than a century — by putting the freeze on the mob.

The wholesale cancellation of major sports in the face of the contagion has wiped out tens of millions of dollars in illegal gambling income, a “historic” blow to the Mafia, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

“There’s never been a time when they weren’t making money through gambling,” said one insider said. “Since the days of Lucky Luciano, when the Five Families started.

“This is historic.”

Thanks to the Internet — which replaced the cramped social-distancing nightmares of yesteryear’s wire rooms — it looked as though illegal betting would emerge unscathed during the virus’ early days, sources said.

Then came the postponements and cancellations — the NBA, MLB, March Madness, the NHL, MLS, horse-racing and pro golf, to name a few.

With virtually all American sports in an indefinite timeout until the disease burns out, a few dedicated gamblers have tried their hands at wagering on African cricket and Australian soccer matches, sources said, but the underground betting scene has largely gone dry.

“A lot of people are living off that money,” said one source, with the lost lucre estimated to be in the eight figures — and the worst of the disease yet to come.

Read more:

https://nypost.com/2020/03/29/how-coronavirus-cripples-the-new-york-mafia/

A self-made billionaire, who is one of Australia's biggest private landlords, has defended asking some of his commercial tenants to keep paying rent, saying he should not be made a "scapegoat" for the coronavirus-driven economic crisis if those tenants have been successful.

• Billionaire John Van Lieshout has asked business tenants to pay rent until the Government details plans to help them
• Mr Van Lieshout says successful tenants should "first use some of their own capital" but will offer relief to some in distress
• Some businesses say it is unfair to be charged rent when the Government shut down much of their business

John Van Lieshout has declined to extend rent relief to all businesses across his $1 billion-plus property portfolio. 

They cannot be evicted, because on Sunday the national cabinet placed a six-month moratorium on evicting commercial tenants.

Mr Van Lieshout said he was considering requests for rent relief but would not commit until he knew what the Government was doing.

But he said he would help those in distress, depending on their size and length of time trading.

"I've got some tenants that have only started you know, a beauty salon for 12 months," Mr Van Lieshout said.

"Some of those people I'm going to be very kind to because I know that they cannot possibly [pay] because the Government's closed it down completely.

"But the burden of this should be also accepted by the tenants themselves that have run successful businesses for many years."

Arif Memis, owner of Cowch Dessert Cocktail Bar in South Brisbane, was told by Mr Van Lieshout's company that rent was due despite his trade being "decimated" by the ban on restaurant dining.

"I don't understand what planet he lives on," Mr Memis said.

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-31/coronavirus-queensland-business-l...

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Send him to prison or "give him the virus" for not playing the game...