Australia’s Lockdowns Scramble Optimism Over Corporate Earnings With Australia’s most-populous city to be sealed off from the rest of the nation for at least another month -- affecting the tourism and retail sectors -- it’s becoming clear that the economic impact could be severe, at least in the short term.
The economy will contract by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to Commonwealth Bank of Australia, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
is forecasting a 1.3% contraction. Covid Zero The failure to stem the outbreak shows the challenge so-called “Covid Zero" nations face in eliminating the virus, as variants including delta break through their defenses.