Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

Aussie $: $0.6730 USD (up $0.0090 USD)

Iron Ore (SGX): $95.45 (up $2.45 USD)

Oil (WTI): $77.42 USD (down $3.62 USD)

Gold: $1,738.14 USD (down $0.26 USD)

Copper (CME): $3.6455 (up $0.0390 USD)

Bit-coin: $16,487.19 (up 1.92%)

Dow Jones: 34,218.94 (up 120.84pts)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Ukrain War:

Russia launches fresh wave of missile strikes across Ukraine:

A punishing new barrage of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure has caused power outages across large parts of the country, piling more damage onto Ukraine's already battered power network as it enters winter.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched around 70 cruise missiles on Wednesday and 51 were shot down, as were five exploding drones.

Multiple regions reported attacks in quick succession and Ukraine's Energy Ministry said: "The vast majority of electricity consumers were cut off."

Moldova crippled as damage from Russian missile strikes crosses border:

More than half of Moldova has been plunged into darkness after an onslaught of Russian missile strikes knocked out Ukraine’s last three fully functioning nuclear plants.

In the latest escalation, the crippling impact of Russia’s attacks crossed into Ukraine’s neighbour, a nation of 2.6 million people, as most of Ukraine was also cut off from the grid.

The deadly onslaught which triggered a nationwide alert came hours after an overnight rocket attack destroyed a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a two-day-old baby.

The baby’s mother and a doctor were pulled alive from the rubble.

Moldova’s president Maia Sandu said in a statement that Russia’s strikes on Ukraine had “left Moldova in the dark”.

The pro-Western leader vowed that the future of Moldova “Must remain toward the free world.”

VIC ALP Government set to win with a reduced majority

Market Research Update - Page Online : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Roy Morgan - Portmac.News Summary

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll shows that the Victorian ALP on 55% (down 2% points since early November) has an election-winning lead over the L-NP Coalition on 45% (up 2% points) on a two-party preferred basis.

The Poll shows a swing of 2.3% points away from the ALP since the 2018 Victorian Election in which the ALP on 57.3% defeated the L-NP on 42.7% (a near record margin of 14.6% points).

Primary vote support for the two major parties shows the ALP now at 38% (down 4.9% points from the 2018 Election) ahead of the L-NP on 32.5% (down 2.7% points).

Support for the Greens is at 12.5% (up 1.8% points) while total support for 'Other parties and independents' is now at 17% (up 5.8% points).

There are many seats on tight margins that will be closely contested at the election.

If the Roy Morgan Poll result of a uniform swing of 2.3% points away from the ALP to the Liberal-National coalition is the outcome this would lead to five or six seats being lost to the Liberal Party.

However, even if the Liberal Party does pick up five or six seats from the ALP Government they may lose three or four seats to a 'Teal Independent' candidate elsewhere.

This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 1,195 Victorian electors aged 18+ conducted from Tuesday November 22 to Wednesday November 23. 

Burke flags more IR exemptions

The Australian Financial Review - Page 4 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Phillip Coorey - Portmac.News Summary

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says 97.5% of businesses will now be exempt from the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill's single-interest multi-employer bargaining stream.

This follows the federal government's decision to increase the employee threshold for small businesses from 15 to 20, in line with a Senate committee's recommendation.

However, the Opposition has called for the threshold to be increased to 200, while business groups want it to be set at 100 employees.

The government's compromise means that an additional 500,000 businesses will be exempt from multi-employer bargaining.

The government is still in negotiations with independent senator David Pocock.

Labor finds surprising ally in giving Fair Work more power

The Age - Page Online : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Angus Thompson - Portmac.News Summary

NSW Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope has expressed support the federal government's push to give the Fair Work Commission powers to intervene in industrial disputes.

Tudehope has used a submission to the Senate inquiry into the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill to back giving the FWC additional powers; however, he said the proposed scheme must each side an incentive to negotiate without resorting to arbitration.

NSW has been hit by a number of industrial disputes in recent months, and Tudehope has previously urged federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke to intervene in the state's rail dispute.

Multi-employer bargaining pays off for workers & businesses

The Australian Financial Review - Page 39 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Chris F Wright - Portmac.News Summary

The multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill have been widely criticised by employers' groups.

However, even these groups agree that the current enterprise bargaining system is broken, but they have not put forward an alternative to multi-employer bargaining.

The Fair Work Act placed collective bargaining at the enterprise level at the heart of the workplace relations system, but the current laws make it too easy for businesses to opt out of enterprise bargaining while it has become too hard for workers to negotiate new agreements.

The rest of the world is moving towards multi-employer bargaining, as it benefits businesses as well as workers.

Australia should embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so as well.

Public hearing test 'strikes right balance'

The Australian - Page 4 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Rosie Lewis - Portmac.News Summary

The Greens have confirmed that they will support legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

However, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather and other crossbenchers have urged the federal government to lower the threshold for public hearings of the NACC.

As it stands, the NACC bill requires hearings to be held in private unless there are "exceptional circumstances". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the exceptional circumstances test, arguing that it strikes a balance between the benefits of public hearings and the potential negative impacts.

Taxpayer funds approved for Morrison's robo-debt royal commission appearance

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Angus Thompson - Portmac.News Summary

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has approved taxpayer funding for the legal expenses of six former Coalition frontbenchers in relation to a royal commission into the ill-fated 'Robodebt' scheme for welfare recipients.

They include former prime minister Scott Morrison and other ex-ministers whose portfolios were linked to the scheme.

Morrison was the social services minister when the controversial debt recovery scheme was developed.

However, it is uncertain as to whether Morrison or his former ministers will appear before the inquiry, which will resume its hearings in early December

Liberals expected to give MPs freedom on 'Indigenous voice'

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Josh Butler - Portmac.News Summary

Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton recently stated that the Liberal Party has yet to decide whether its MPs will be given a free vote on the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament.

Sources within the party have indicated that a decision is unlikely to be made before the federal government reveals more details of the proposed referendum. However, it is widely expected that the Liberals will have a free vote on the issue, despite former prime minister John Howard cautioning that such a move would be "Unwise".

The Nationals will also not decide their position on the voice until more details of the proposal are released.

NZ Reserve Bank nails our RBA's failure

Herald Sun - Page 49 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Terry McCrann - Portmac.News Summary

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has stated that wage outcomes must be consistent with the return of inflation to the central bank's target range of 2-3%.

Increasing wages in line with the inflation rate would inevitably result in large-scale job losses and further boost inflation.

Allowing inflation to remain well above the target range for too long would also heighten the risk of a wage-price spiral.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand recognises these risks; its cash rate was increased by 75 basis points on Wednesday, and it seriously considered a 1% increase.

In contrast, the RBA increased the cash rate by just 25 basis points in November, despite the inflation rate in both countries being nearly identical.

NZ's cash rate is now 4.25%, but Australia's cash rate will still be just 3.1% if - as expected - the RBA announces a 25 basis point increase in December.

Medibank hack exposes real risk to its future

The Australian - Page 21 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - Portmac.News Summary

Medibank and Optus are both likely to lose customers in the wake of their data breaches, although the potential long-term ramifications are more significant for Medibank.

Like most private health insurers, it has aggressively targeted younger Australians in recent years, to offset rising insurance claims from older customers.

This resulted in younger people accounting for 70% of its new members in 2021.

The career prospects of younger Australians may be affected if employers become aware of their medical history, such as treatment for drug or alcohol abuse.

Medibank will need to avert an exodus of younger customers to ensure that it remains sustainable as the nation's population ages.

Food price shock to persist for two years

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Tom McIlroy, Michael Read - Portmac.News Summary

Independent Food Distributors Australia CEO Richard Forbes has warned that consumers can expect big increases in the price of food for the next several years.

He says price rises of 6-8 per cent are likely in both 2023 and 2024.

Forbes notes that Australia has a renewable energy strategy, but it lacks a plan to address high food prices and the food shortages of recent years.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that food prices are increasing at the fastest pace in 16 years.

Qantas soars after tipping $1.45b profit

The Australian Financial Review - Page 14 & 18 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Lucas Baird - Portmac.News Summary

Qantas has advised that growing demand for air travel has prompted an upgrading of its pre-tax profit guidance for the first half of 2022-23 to between $1.35bn and $1.45bn.

This is $150m higher than had been forecast in its previous market update in October.

Qantas has stated that travellers are willing to spend money on airfares despite cost-of-living and inflation pressures, as well as a sharp rise in the price of airfares in recent months.

The carrier also flagged the possibility of a capital return to shareholders in February due to the upbeat outlook.

Steve Johnson of Forager Funds Management says this is likely to comprise a share buyback. Qantas shares rose 5.5% to $6.19 on Wednesday.

'Business class fares, economy seats'

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 2 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Samantha Hutchinson, Lucas Baird - Portmac.News Summary

AirTree Ventures founder Daniel Petre says high domestic airfares are a major source of frustration for executives who must commute for work; he adds that most businesses are reconsidering their corporate travel requirements.

A number of factors have prompted airlines to increase their fares, including reduced capacity, high fuel prices and cost inflation.

Qantas has estimated that it is now back to 94% of its pre-pandemic capacity; however, the carrier advises that a slight reduction in its roster of flights has helped maintain service levels during the latest wave of COVID-19.

Debelle steps down as Fortescue CFO

The Australian Financial Review - Page 14 & 18 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Brad Thompson - Portmac.News Summary

Fortescue Metals Group has appointed Felicity Gooding as the interim chief financial officer at its clean energy subsidiary, Fortescue Futures Industries.

This follows Guy Debelle's decision to step down as CFO; he took up the role in March following his retirement from the Reserve Bank of Australia, where he had been the deputy governor.

Debelle is still recovering from injuries sustained in a bike accident in August, and says this means he cannot do justice to the role of CFO. He will instead join FFI's board of directors.

Housing affordability set to worsen despite falling house prices

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Nila Sweeney - Portmac.News Summary

The latest ANZ/CoreLogic Housing Affordability report shows that rising interest rates saw the cost of servicing a mortgage surge in the September quarter.

The proportion of income needed to repay a new mortgage rose by 4.4 percentage points nationwide, to 43.3%.

This metric rose to a record high of 51.1% in Sydney, while it increased by 4.3% to 42.4% in Melbourne.

Eliza Owen of CoreLogic says mortgage serviceability is likely to worsen given that further increases in the cash rate are expected.

Selling gets tough : Prices slashed by up to $865k

The Australian Financial Review - Page 30 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Nila Sweeney - Portmac.News Summary

The downturn in the residential property market has prompted some vendors in Sydney to list their homes at prices that are well below those they paid during the boom.

Propertybuyer CEO Rich Harvey says the level of discounting reflects the weakness in the housing market, while buyer's agent Jack Henderson adds that the length of time a home remains on the market will determine the size of the price discount.

Harvey expects an upturn in distressed sales by mid-2023. Meanwhile, research from Roy Morgan shows that more than one in four mortgage holders in Australia are at risk of mortgage stress by January.

ASX Qantas powers bourse to a 6m high

The Australian Financial Review - Page 26 : 24 November 2022 - Original article by Alex Gluyas - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a solid gain on 23 November, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.7% to close at 7,231.8 points.

BHP was up 1% at $43.92, Beach Energy rose 2.6% to $1.75 and Qantas finished 5.3% higher at $6.18.

However, Fortescue Metals Group eased 0.7% to end the session at $19.07 and PolyNovo was down 8.9% at $1.90.