Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

PortMac.News Summary

Australian Dollar: $0.7360 USD (up $0.0011 USD)

Iron Ore Jan Spot Price (SGX): $127.50 USD (up $1.60 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $44.58 USD (down $0.91 USD)

Gold Price: $1,814.81 (up $34.21 USD)

Dow Jones: 29,846.23 at 3.10pm NY time (up 302.05 on yesterday's close

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

'My freedom is your victory': Kylie Moore-Gilbert thanks supporters

The British-Australian academic, who arrived in Australia on Friday, said the support she received gave her strength to endure 'what seemed like a never-ending, unrelenting nightmare'.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert has thanked her friends and supporters for their "incredible efforts" in campaigning for her release from an Iranian prison. 

The 33-year-old British-Australian touched down in Canberra on Friday afternoon following her release earlier in the week.

She had served two years and three months of a 10-year prison sentence after being arrested on allegations of spying, which she and the Australian government have strenuously denied. 

In a statement posted online on Tuesday afternoon, Dr Moore-Gilbert said she was blown away by the support she has received. 

"To my dear friends and supporters, I honestly do not know where to start or how I can ever thank you for all your incredible efforts to campaign for my release," she wrote in a statement posted on the 'Free Kylie Moore-Gilbert' account run by friends and colleagues. 

"I am totally blown away by everything you have done for me, I honestly have no words to express the depth of my gratitude and how touched I am.

"I can't tell you how heartening it was to hear that my friends and colleagues were speaking up and hadn't forgotten me." 

Meeting to seek Chinese apology

The Australian - Page 1 & 2 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers - PortMac.News Summary

Australia is still demanding a formal apology from China for using social media to distribute a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

Federal government sources have confirmed that Australian embassy officials have met with Chinese Foreign Ministry representatives in Beijing to discuss the issue.

However, the Chinese embassy in Canberra has accused federal MPs and the media of "misreading and overreacting" to the doctored image. Twitter has refused to ban the image and has instead flagged it as 'sensitive media'.

States on $500bn debt binge

The Australian - Page 1 & 6 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Adam Creighton - PortMac.News Summary

Centre for Independent Studies research fellow Robert Carling says that rising state government debt means that some states could have their credit ratings downgraded in coming years.

Analysis of state governments' Budget papers show that their combined debt will top $491bn by mid-2024, compared with just $200bn in June 2020.

Carling contends that while some of the increase in debt is inevitable, some states are taking on more debt than necessary.

Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics in turn says rising debt is better than the alternative of lower debt and an unemployment rate that is higher for longer.

Bright future ahead: OECD forecasts great things for Australia

The Australian - Page 1 & 5 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Patrick Commins - PortMac.News Summary

The OECD is upbeat about the outlook for the Australian economy, forecasting that it will grow by 3.2 per cent in 2021.

This compares with its previous forecast of 2.5 per cent.

The domestic economy is now expected to contract by just 3.8 per cent in 2020, rather than 4.1 per cent as forecast by the OECD in September.

The Paris-based organisation has also cautioned against withdrawing fiscal and monetary policy support prematurely.

Meanwhile, economists have forecast that the economy grew by between 2.8 per cent and four per cent in the September quarter, ahead of the release of national accounts data on 2 December.

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 3pts to 107.5

Market Research Update - Page Online : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Roy Morgan - PortMac.News Summary

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 3pts to 107.5 on November 28/29.

It is now 12.3pts above the 2020 weekly average of 95.2 and only 0.6pts lower than a year ago (108.1).

Now 24% (up 1ppt) of Australians say their families are 'better off' financially than this time last year, while 31% (down 1ppt) say their families are 'worse off' financially.

In addition, 38% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be 'better off' financially this time next year, and 15% (down 1ppt) expect to be 'worse off' financially.

Some 17% (up 3ppts) of Australians expect 'good times' for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 23% (down 4ppts) expect 'bad times' (the lowest figure for this indicator since April 2019).

Meanwhile, 41% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a 'good time to buy' major household items, while 25% (down 4ppts) say now is a 'bad time to buy'.

COVIDSafe app overhaul: What you need to know about the upgrades

The New Daily - Page Online : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Samantha Dick - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government's COVIDSafe app will be upgraded to incorporating a Bluetooth protocol called Herald, which is designed to improve performance and better identify potential close contacts.

Professor Katina Michael from the University of Wollongong has welcomed the upgrading of the app, but questions whether people will use it given that many are now opting to use QR codes for contact-tracing purposes when visiting hospitality venues.

Cancer link to flu

Herald Sun - Page 22 : 2 December 2020 - PortMac.News Summary

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have concluded that cancer survivors should be given priority for vaccination against the flu and COVID-19.

The researchers found that people with blood cancers are nine times more likely to be admitted to hospital with the flu or to die from it than people without cancer.

The increased risk persists for at least 10 years after the cancer diagnosis. Cancer survivors were also found to be more likely to have other diseases linked to severe cases of COVID-19, including heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and lung disease.

DPP faces unenviable choice on prosecution

The Australian - Page 20 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - PortMac.News Summary

The Victorian government's botched hotel quarantine program resulted in the deaths of about 800 people.

The state's Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd, will shortly have to decide whether there is a sufficient case to prosecute government ministers and senior public servants for breaching occupational health and safety laws.

Evidence submitted to the inquiry into the bungled scheme has shown that there was no detailed plan, policy or procedures document for a mandatory hotel quarantine program.

Lawyers say the lack of such a plan is a breach of the OHS Act, although the level of penalty depends on whether the need to have a plan for hotel quarantine was 'reasonable and practicable'.

Stocks enjoy solid start to month

The Australian - Page 19 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket rallied on 1 December, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 1.1 per cent to close at 6,588.5 points.

Rio Tinto was up 1.53 per cent at $102.95, Santos rose 0.8 per cent to $6.21 and the Commonwealth Bank advanced 1.49 per cent to $80.25. However, Treasury Wine Estates was down 2.2 per cent at $8.40 and Viva Energy shed 3.1 per cent to finish at $1.875.

CBA faces penalty over rates slug

The Australian Financial Review - Page 16 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has launched legal action against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia over allegations that it breached financial services laws.

ASIC contends that customers with business overdraft accounts were charged incorrect interest rates between December 2014 and March 2018.

CBA has advised that 2,269 customers who were overcharged during this period have been reimbursed $3.74m in total. ASIC is seeking pecuniary penalties and other orders.

APRA canes Westpac over lax compliance

The Australian - Page 16 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Joyce Moullakis - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has ordered Westpac to apply a 10 per cent weighting to its liquidity coverage ratio due to the bank's 'material breaches' of a liquidity standard over the last two years.

Westpac will also be required to undertake an independent review of its systems to address the issues raised by APRA.

Westpac has indicated that it has already commenced several risk programs to address the problems that were identified by APRA.

Seven aims to make cricket pay

The Australian - Page 24 & 22 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Ben Horne, Peter Lalor - PortMac.News Summary

The Seven Network alleges that it has suffered significant commercial damage due to Cricket Australia's changes to its match schedule for the 2020-21 summer.

Australia was originally slated to play three Tests against India before Christmas, but CA has delayed two of these matches until the new year, while the revised schedule saw the cricket season begin with a six-match One-Day International series that is exclusive to Fox Sports.

CA has cited the coronavirus pandemic as the key reason for changes to the schedule, but Seven contends that the Board of Control for Cricket in India exerted pressure to make the changes.

ABC asked: did you have ministers tailed?

The Australian - Page 2 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Sharri Markson - PortMac.News Summary

The ABC is under further scrutiny over a controversial episode of 'Four Corners' which alleged that two federal government ministers had affairs with staffers.

ABC MD David Anderson has been asked to be investigate whether the public broadcaster had undertaken covert surveillance of Christian Porter or Alan Tudge as part of the 'Four Corners' story.

The program's executive producer Sally Neighbour has denied the use of private investigators or surveillance.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has also written to ABC chair Ita Buttrose alleging that the public broadcaster has failed to meet its duty to ensure that its news and information is 'accurate and impartial'.

Mongolian partners revolt, force Rio into Oyu Tolgoi review

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Peter Ker - PortMac.News Summary

The blowout in the cost and completion date of the Oyu Tolgoi expansion project will be subject to an independent review.

Turquoise Hill Resources and the Mongolian government have joined forces to commission the review, which is believed to have been opposed by Rio Tinto.

The resources giant has no direct stake in the copper project; it has a 50.79 per cent stake in Turquoise Hill, which in turn has a 66 per cent stake in Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the Mongolian company which owns the mine.

The cost of the expansion project has blown out by nearly $US1.5bn.

Origin backs Forrest gas imports

The Australian - Page 13 & 16 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Perry Williams - PortMac.News Summary

The proposed LNG import terminal at Port Kembla in New South Wales has received a boost after sources indicated that Origin Energy is in advanced talks to become the biggest buyer of gas from the Andrew Forrest-backed project.

Origin Energy is said to have stepped up the negotiations after Squadron Energy bought out its Japanese partners in the project in October. Origin Energy is the operator and a part-owner of the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.

Clock ticking on refinery rescue deal

The Australian - Page 13 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Perry Williams - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Workers Union's national secretary Daniel Walton has warned that time is running out to secure the future of the nation's three remaining oil refineries.

Walton has held meetings with Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles and key Senate crossbenchers in recent days.

The AWU will also hold talks with Energy Minister Angus Taylor and representatives of refinery owners Ampol and Viva Energy in Canberra on 2 December.

House prices on track for record high by February

The Australian Financial Review - Page 31 : 2 December 2020 - Original article by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner - PortMac.News Summary

Data from CoreLogic shows that residential property prices rose by 0.8 per cent nationwide in November.

House prices increased by 0.4 per cent month-on-month in Sydney, while Melbourne's housing market recorded 0.7 per cent growth following a decline in October.

Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the housing market could be on track to recover from the coronavirus-induced downturn by January or February, assuming the current growth momentum is sustained.