Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

Aussie $: $0.6740 USD (down $0.0030 USD)

Iron Ore (SGX): $97.70 (up $3.05 USD)

Oil (WTI): $85.62 USD (down $1.08 USD)

Gold: $1,774.80 USD (down $3.45 USD)

Copper (CME): $3.7515 (down $0.0645 USD)

Bit-coin: $16,541.40 (down 1.67%)

Dow Jones: 33,557.89 (down 35.03pts)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Ukraine War:

Russia has lost strategically, operationally and tactically:

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley says Russia has failed "every single" objective in its war against Ukraine.

“Russians have failed every single time. They’ve lost strategically, they’ve lost operationally and, I repeat, they lost tactically. What they’ve tried to do, they failed at,” Milley said Wednesday at a press conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

“The strategic reframing of their objectives, of their illegal invasion, have all failed, every single one of them.”

Milley listed Russia’s failure to “overrun all of Ukraine” at the start of the war as well as after their refocus on the Donbas region and the capture of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

“Across the entire frontline trace of some 900 or so kilometers, the Ukrainians have achieved success after success after success, and the Russians have failed every single time,” said Milley.

Polish PM says explosion Tuesday probably caused by shooting down of a Russian missile:

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the explosion in Poland yesterday near the border with Ukraine was likely caused by a Russian missile being shot down "Without any intention on either side."

"Materials collected by our services and provided by our allies most probably indicate that the explosion in Przewodów, in eastern Poland, was caused by the shooting down and destruction of a Russian missile," he said.

Morawiecki tweeted that "There are many indications that one of these missiles fell on Polish territory without any intention on either side."

Earlier Wednesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said his government doesn’t have any evidence to suggest that the missile that landed in Poland on Tuesday was fired by Russia.  

“Probably it was shot by the Ukrainian Air Defense, and unfortunately, it fell onto Polish territory,” he said.

He reiterated that nothing shows that it was an “intentional attack” against Poland. 

Albanese moves to strike series of trade pacts

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Matthew Knott - Portmac.News Summary

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has held talks with his British and Indian counterparts on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali.

The federal government hopes to finalise free-trade agreements with both nations by the end of 2023.

Albanese also met with senior European Union officials, and said they were very positive about the prospect of successfully negotiating a trade deal with Australia.

Meanwhile, Albanese told French President Emmanuel Macron that he wants to build closer defence and security ties with France in the wake of the fallout from the cancellation of a submarine contract.

Albanese also chatted briefly with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit's gala dinner, just hours after the first meeting between the leaders of the two nations in six years.

Bombshell video reveals VIC 'Seats for sale' scandal

Herald Sun - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Michael Warner, Matt Johnston - Portmac.News Summary

The Victorian election campaign has been rocked by allegations that the state's voting system has been manipulated.

Whistleblower candidates have released a two-hour recording of a meeting with so-called 'preference whisperer' Glenn Druery in which he claims that he will be able to control who wins multiple upper house seats at the election.

Druery claims that Victoria's Group Voting Ticket system in the upper house allows the election to be "Gamed", and alleges that Labor has not changed the system because the party benefits from his scam.

The video has been leaked by the Angry Victorians Party, which will forward it to the Victorian Electoral Commission and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

Burke backs end to 'Vandalism' of ports dispute

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 17 November 2022 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - Portmac.News Summary

The Fair Work Commission has commenced hearing submissions on a push to terminate or suspend a move by tugboat operator Svitzer to lock out its employees.

The Maritime Union of Australia said that it supports suspending the protected industrial action until after Christmas to allow for more bargaining; however, the union opposed terminating the industrial action as doing so would trigger arbitration.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the federal government also supports terminating the industrial action.

He has accused Svitzer of engaging in "Economic vandalism".

Get Aussie green jet-fuel onto the runway soon

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Hans van Leeuwen - Portmac.News Summary

Global demand for sustainable aviation fuel is expected to grow significantly in coming years; the industry is forecast to be worth $US15bn by 2030, compared with just $US66m in 2020.

The Australian aviation industry has urged the federal government to quickly take action to support local production of SAF, amid fears that feedstock supplies will be locked into long-term export contracts.

Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie says it would be a a strategic loss to Australia if the nation's feedstock went elsewhere and investment in the sector followed it.

Banks can end identity honeypots for hackers

The Australian Financial Review - Page 24 : 17 November 2022 - Original article by James Eyers - Portmac.News Summary

National Australia Bank executive Angie Mentis says the Optus and Medibank data breaches highlight the need for an overhaul of Australia's system for verifying a person's identity.

The 100-point ID system was introduced in 1988, and Mentis says it has not kept pace with the shift to a digital economy.

The nation's banks have developed a new digital identification system called ConnectID, which allows companies such as insurers and telcos to access a central repository of bank customers' personal information without having to hold the data themselves.

ConnectID will be launched in 2023.

Heritage & People's Choice banks merge

The Australian Financial Review - Page 27 : 17 November 2022 - Original article by James Eyers - Portmac.News Summary

Heritage Bank CEO Peter Lock has described the merger with People's Choice as a "Milestone moment" for Australia's mutual banking sector.

The merged entity will be the nation's largest mutual bank, with 720,000 customers and a $23bn loan book.

Lock will be the inagural CEO of the new entity, while People's Choice counterpart Steve Laidlaw will initially be deputy CEO before succeeding Lock in 18 months' time.

Members of Newcastle Permanent and Greater Bank also recently approved a proposed merger.

Medibank yet to contact hundreds of customers

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Josh Taylor - Portmac.News Summary

Medibank's recent data hack dominated the private health insurer's annual general meeting on Wednesday. Several shareholders who are also Medibank customers criticised the company for failing to inform affected customers in a timely manner.

CEO David Koczkar told shareholders that customers whose health claims data has been posted on the dark web are being notified of this within 48 hours.

However, customers whose personal data - but not their health claims data - has been posted online have yet to be informed by Medibank.

Retirees are feeling more pessimistic

The New Daily - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Rod Myer - Portmac.News Summary

Investment Trends has released the findings of a survey which shows that most Australians of pre-retirement age are concerned about their ability to live comfortably after ceasing work.

Some 47% of respondents expect to outlive their superannuation savings, while the proportion of Australians who say they feel financially and emotionally prepared for the end of their working life has fallen from 76% in 2021 to just 51%.

Meanwhile, 42% are concerned about inflation, compared with just 28%t in 2021. The survey also found that 39% of respondents plan to work beyond the legal retirement date, while 53% intend to reduce their spending in order to help fund their retirement. 

Deliveroo collapse leaves 15,000 riders out of work

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Patrick Durkin - Portmac.News Summary

UK-based food delivery company Deliveroo has advised that its Australian business has been placed in voluntary administration and it will exit the local market.

The company has attributed the move to a "highly competitive", and rejected suggestions that the federal government's reforms to the gig economy contributed to the decision.

Deliveroo had 120 employees and 15,000 riders in Australia.

No Win 'Social casino' apps

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Ben Butler - Portmac.News Summary

A parliamentary inquiry will review Australia's online gambling laws, amid the growing popularity of so-called 'Social casino' mobile games.

Users pay real money to play virtual poker machine games such as Slotmania; however, these apps are not regarded as gambling under current Australian laws because users cannot cash out their winnings.

Lauren Levin of Financial Counselling Australia argues that social casino games should either be banned or be subject to the same regulation as traditional gambling.

Latest Netflix feature lets users boot out unwanted freeloaders

The New Daily - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Genevieve Thorpe - Portmac.News Summary

Subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix has introduced a feature which allows customers to see what devices are logged into their account.

Netflix users will be able to remove a device from their account with one click.

The new account-management feature addresses a flaw which can allow a device to continue to access an account if the subscriber forgets to log out, such as when using Netflix on a smart TV at a hotel.

Users will also be able to automatically sign out of all devices and reset their password if they suspect that their account has been hacked.

Murdoch turns on Trump

The New Daily - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Rodney Tiffen - Portmac.News Summary

Rupert Murdoch's media outlets have traditionally supported Donald Trump, but the 'New York Post' and the 'Wall Street Journal' are among the newspapers that turned on Trump after the Republican Party's weaker-than-expected performance in the US mid-term elections.

Murdoch has been on the winning side of every British election since 1979.

However, this has not been the case in the US or Australia, with the Murdoch press backing Trump in 2020 and Scott Morrison's Coalition in 2022.

Meanwhile, Fox News has had a very close relationship with Trump over the last six years; any move by Fox to shift its allegiance as Trump prepares to make a third run for president may risk alienating its audience and cause viewers to turn to other right-wing media outlets.

Regional rental boom peters out as rents slump

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Nila Sweeney - Portmac.News Summary

Data from SQM Research shows that the national housing vacancy rate is at a 16-year low of 1%.

The vacancy rate in Sydney fell to 1.3% in the month to mid-November, while Melbourne's vacancy rate fell to 1.5%.

However, vacancy rates in some regional towns that boomed during the pandemic have risen, while asking rents in some of these regions have fallen sharply.

In contrast, average asking rents for dwellings in Sydney and Melbourne have risen by 28.4% and 22.8% respectively over the last year.

Louis Christopher of SQM suggests that the trend is being driven by people returning to capital cities as the pandemic abates.

Government's million new homes target hammered by rate increases

The Australian - Page 15 : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Ben Wilmot - Portmac.News Summary

The Housing Industry Association expects detached housing starts to total 123,370 in 2022, which is 17% lower than in 2021.

This is forecast to fall to 114,530 housing commencements in 2023, while the HIA anticipates that 965,760 new homes will be built in the five years to 2028.

The HIA has warned that further increases in the cash rate would result in its forecasts being downgraded and put the government's target of one million new housing starts over five years at risk.

The HIA notes that the full impact of rate rises in 2022 is unlikely to flow through to the residential construction sector until 2024.

ASX Shares fall as missile strike hits sentiment

The Australian Financial Review - Page 32 : 17 November 2022 - Original article by Vesna Poljak - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 16 November, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.3% to close at 7,122.2 points.

Aristocrat Leisure was down 5% at $35.98, GrainCorp fell 2% to finish at $7.83 and Medibank eased 0.7% to end the session at $2.79.

However, Pilbara Minerals rose 1.9% to $4.92 and Nufarm was up 8.9% at $5.90.