Coronavirus update for business: RVs for essential workers, cannabis companies thrive and Australia’s credit rating loses its shine

Going the distance

Motorhome-sharing startup Camplify is adding its name to a growing list of startups striving to use their products for social good during the COVID-19 crisis.

The startup is utilising its ‘emergency fleet’ of RVs, to provide safer accommodation for essential workers on remote worksites across the country.

Workers will be able to hole up in a private camper in pop-up campsites, allowing them to follow social distancing recommendations more easily, and in (relative) style.

“Our vans are essentially apartments on wheels, offering all the comforts of home,” Camplify founder and chief Justin Hales said in a statement.

“Whether it be assistance for on-site workers across essential industries or supporting frontline workers in the health service, we’re ready to discuss solutions with customers now.”

Bad credit?

Yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled the government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy, and according to his Twitter, as of 8am this morning, more than 113,000 businesses had registered their expression of interest in the scheme.

But, according to The Australian Financial Review, while the measure will likely stem unemployment and allow the economy to recover more quickly, it could put a smudge on Australia’s hitherto spotless credit rating.

“Our fixed income strategists today noted that there is a very good chance that Australia’s sovereign AAA credit rating will now be lost,” Gareth Aird, an economist at Commonwealth Bank, reportedly said.

Feeling green

And, while the Australian stock exchange has been taking a hammering as the coronavirus crisis deepens, there’s one industry that seems to be hanging on in there. In fact, it’s going strong.

According to The Motley Fool, listed Aussie cannabis companies are taking a hit, but the businesses themselves are quietly expanding.

One business has even said March promises to be its biggest revenue month in history. Specifically, it’s shipping more product to the UK than ever before.

Make of that what you will.

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