Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

A$: $0.6490 USD (up 0.0043)

Iron (SGX): $112.35 USD (down $3.85)

Oil (WTI): $83.40 USD (up $0.38)

Gold: $2,321.93 USD (down $3.85)

Copper (CME): $4.4240 USD (down $0.0590)

Bit-coin: $66,444.07 USD (down -0.11%)

Dow Jones: 38,503.69 (up 263.71 pts)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Chinese boat arrivals walked into Australia's unfenced Truscott airbase:

Remote northern residents are demanding more be done to protect the coast after Chinese men walked ashore and entered an Australian airbase without being intercepted.

The men came ashore close to the northern tip of Western Australia in early April, with sources – including one of the Chinese men involved – reporting several of the group entered the unfenced Truscott-Mungalalu Airbase apparently undetected.

This incident occured despite documents showing the Australia Defence Force started aerial activity 'in support of Operation Sovereign Borders" at the site in December.

Flights records show unmanned military drones patrolling the coast from the privately-operated airbase for hours at a time.

There's also been a ramping up of surveillance in the area as part of an operation targeting illegal foreign fishing boats.

"I think the main thought on everyone's mind is, 'How on earth did this happen?'" he says.

"If a random boat can arrive and people can walk into an airbase, what else is happening in the north?

Social media companies must do more to stamp out extremism:

Social Media companies must also assist law enforcement to track criminals, the heads of Australia’s federal police and security agencies have urged.

With the government’s stoush with Elon Musk still fresh, Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess (Above left), will use a major speech to argue “Privacy is important but not absolute”, while the AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, believes “There is no absolute right to privacy”.

The two want to tackle tech companies’ use of encryption, which is used to make online communication secret – they warn this is enabling online crime.

Burgess says existing federal legislation compelling the targeted unlocking of encrypted messages for investigative purposes is not being heeded by some companies who must “Make encryption accountable”.

Musk's lawyers to fight orders on two fronts

The Australian Financial Review - Page 4 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Nick Bonyhady, Tess Bennett, Tom McIlroy - Portmac.News Summary

Social media giant X could incur a fine of up to $782,500 for each day it does not comply with a directive to remove video footage of the Sydney church stabbing from its platform.

However, X owner Elon Musk contends that the 'Take-down' order goes too far, given that it applies globally.

The US billionaire has expressed concern about one country being allowed to censor content for all countries.

Musk's lawyers have indicated that they could challenge the take-down order in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described Musk as an egotist and accused him of being "Out of touch with common decency".

Meanwhile, the Coalition has proposed barring young children from using social media to protect them from harmful content.

Fears interest rates could be hiked in 2024

Herald Sun - Page Online : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Sarah Sharples - Portmac.News Summary

Australia's employment and inflation outlook has prompted speculation that the Reserve Bank could increase rather than reduce the cash rate in 2024.

Another official interest rate rise would put further pressure on mortgage holders.

Data from Roy Morgan shows that 1.53 million mortgage holders were at risk of mortgage stress in March; CEO Michele Levine says Roy Morgan's modelling shows that this would rise to 1.57 million mortgage holders if the central bank were to increase the cash rate by 0.25% in both May and June, to 4.85 per cent.

US 'hasn't wavered' on Australian nuclear subs

The Australian - Page 2 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Rosie Lewis - Portmac.News Summary

US State Department official Bonnie Jenkins says the Biden administration remains committed to the AUKUS defence alliance, including the sale of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

Jenkins has also responded to China's concerns about the AUKUS pact by arguing that it is aimed at ensuring the safety and security of the Indo-Pacific region.

She has emphasised that Australia will not be armed with nuclear weapons via the alliance, and the nation is permitted to have nuclear-powered submarines under the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

Madeleine King abdicates responsibility for PEP11 offshore gas project

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Mike Foley - Portmac.News Summary

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has advised that she will recuse herself from future decisions regarding Petroleum Exploration Permit 11.

Any decisions about the exploration permit area off the NSW coast will now be made by Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic.

PEP 11 is held by Asset Energy and Bounty Oil & Gas, and is jointly administered by the NSW and federal governments.

NSW legislated to ban offshore oil and gas projects earlier this year, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated during the 2022 election campaign that Labor would not allow PEP 11 to proceed.

Mortgage stress declined in March

Market Research Update - Page Online : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Roy Morgan - Portmac.News Summary

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,531,000 mortgage holders (30.3%) were 'At Risk' of 'mortgage stress' in the three months to March 2024.

This was a fall of 98,000 (-1.1%) on a month earlier, after the RBA elected to leave interest rates unchanged for the third straight meeting.

The level of mortgage stress in March is the lowest so far this year; this month's decline has been driven by rising household incomes, which has reduced the financial pressure on some mortgage holders.

The proportion of mortgage holders now 'At Risk' is well below the record high of 35.6% reached during the Global Financial Crisis because of the larger size of the Australian mortgage market today.

However, the number of Australians 'At Risk' of mortgage stress has increased by 724,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases.

Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered 'Extremely At Risk' of mortgage stress, is now numbered at 918,000 (18.7% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.4%.

No takers: Westpac scraps RAMS sale

The Australian - Page 15 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Paulina Duran - Portmac.News Summary

Morgan Stanley has failed to find a buyer for Westpac's RAMS Home Loans business.

Several prospective buyers are believed to have participated in the sale process, but were unable to agree on an acceptable price or terms.

Westpac has advised that it will retain RAMS while it considers further strategic options for the mortgage broker franchise business.

It acquired RAMS for $140m in 2007, but there has been a significant decline in the number of mortgage brokers at RAMS since it ceased offering low documentation loans to self-employed borrowers in 2023.

Westpac has also advised that its net profit after tax for the first half of 2024 will be marrred by a $164m charge due to 'notable items'.

'Stunning' equity rallies bring super result

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Hannah Wootton - Portmac.News Summary

Data from Chant West shows that the median growth superannuation fund posted a return of 8.8% for the first nine months of 2023-24.

This is just shy of the total return of 9.2% for the full 2022-23 financial year.

Chant West's Mano Mohankumar says the performance of Australian and international equities were the key driver for the strong return; he notes that growth funds have gained 11% since November, after losing 1.9% in the first four months of the financial year. Balanced funds delivered a return of seven per cent for the nine months to 31 March.

Star concedes: We can't run Sydney casino unsupervised

The Australian Financial Review - Page 12 & 17 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Zoe Samios - Portmac.News Summary

The Star Entertainment Group's chairman David Foster appeared before a NSW inquiry into its gaming licence on Tuesday.

Foster conceded that the listed company is is not currently in a fit state to hold a Sydney casino licence, and that it will need to continue to be supervised by a government-appointed manager for some time.

Nick Weeks was appointed to the role of special manager at the company's Sydney casino in late October 2022, in the wake of the Bell inquiry.

However, his role had been slated to end in September.

Meanwhile, rival gaming group Crown Resorts has been found suitable to hold a casino licence in Sydney.

Top Binge exec quits Foxtel as HBO deal ends

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones - Portmac.News Summary

Media industry veteran Amanda Laing will step down as chief commercial and content officer at pay-TV group Foxtel in September.

Laing joined Foxtel six years ago and currently heads the company's Binge streaming video service.

Her impending departure comes amid speculation that Warner Bros Discovery will not renew its HBO content deal with Foxtel.

The US media group has flagged plans to launch its own streaming service in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region in 2025.

Copper heads to $US10,000 as 'squeeze' intensifies

The Australian Financial Review - Page 27 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Alex Gluyas - Portmac.News Summary

The copper price closed at $US9,853 per tonne on Monday, after peaking at $US9,988 during intra-day trading.

Demand for copper is rising due to factors such as the global decarbonisation push, while supply has been affected by the sanctions on Russia and the temporary closure of First Quantum Minerals' Cobre Panama mine in late 2023.

Morgan Stanley has forecast that the copper price will average $US12,000 per tonne by 2026, while Citigroup says it could potentially rise above $US15,000 per tonne in the next several years.

ASX Bourse booms

The Australian Financial Review - Page 26 : 24 April 2024 - Original article by Cecile Lefort - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a modest gain on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.5% to close at 7,683.5 points.

BHP rose 0.2% to $45.50, Westpac advanced 0.9% to $25.97 and EML Payments was up 4.4% at $1.07.

However, Northern Star Resources shed 3.5% to end the session at $14.74 and Brambles fell 6.3% to $14.64.