FILE PHOTO: Tables at an open restaurant are seen mostly deserted on a quiet morning at the waterfront of the Sydney Opera House, where scheduled public performances have been cancelled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sydney, Australia, March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Friday delayed its federal budget by five months to October saying the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to make sensible economic forecasts, as it prepared to dramatically expand its stimulus spending to avoid recession.
The country's banks said separately they would defer loan repayments for small businesses impacted by coronavirus for six months at a cost to their bottom lines of A$8 billion (4 billion pounds), amid fears of massive job losses.
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