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UK to begin world-first Covid vaccine rollout starting next week with Pfizer & BioTech vaccine | Social media platform WeChat censors Scott Morrison's post | $A, iron ore & gold rise

Source : PortMac.News | Independent :

Source : PortMac.News | Independent | News Story:

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News 03-12-20 | ScoMo Blocked By WeChat | UK Vaccine rollout
UK to begin world-first Covid vaccine rollout starting next week with Pfizer & BioTech vaccine | Social media platform WeChat censors Scott Morrison's post | $A, iron ore & gold rise

News Story Summary:

Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7400 USD (up $0.0040 USD)

Iron Ore Jan Spot Price (SGX): $131.26 USD (up $3.76 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $45.20 USD (up $0.62 USD)

Gold Price: $1,828.34 (up $13.53 USD)

Dow Jones: 29,875.49 at 3.10pm NY time (up 29.26 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.


WeChat censors Scott Morrison's post directed at Chinese community

A message by Prime Minister Scott Morrison that was directed at the Chinese community and critical of an inflammatory post by a Beijing bureaucrat has been censored by a Chinese tech giant.

The statement on social media platform WeChat was published on Tuesday night. However, it has now been blocked because it "violates" the company's regulations.

Mr Morrison had taken to WeChat to again voice the Australian Government's disgust at Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiang's tweet on Monday, which showed a fake image of an Australian soldier created by a Chinese artist.

The Prime Minister said in the WeChat post Australia was dealing with allegations of war crimes detailed in the landmark Brereton Inquiry in an "honest and transparent way", which was how any "free, democratic and enlightened nation" would act.

Mr Morrison followed the swipe at Beijing with a promise the diplomatic spat would not diminish the respect and appreciation Australia had for the Chinese people.

On Wednesday, the WeChat post was no longer accessible.

A message from the social media platform was displayed in its place. It said the post was "involving the use of words, pictures, videos" that would "incite, mislead, and violate objective facts, fabricating social hot topics, distorting historical events, and confusing the public".

Last year Mr Morrison was grilled by reporters about whether his WeChat account could be censored by the Chinese Government.

He replied: "No, we haven't experienced any such censorship."

One Government official said it was too early to gauge whether Mr Morrison's post had been pulled down by Tencent on the orders of the Chinese Government or not.

But considering nobody in China can go to the toilet without the communist party's permission, it's a given that the Chinese government ordered Tencent to delete the post and insert a lie in its place.


GDP to bounce back further

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 4 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Matthew Cranston - PortMac.News Summary

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the recession is technically over, after Australia recorded GDP growth of 3.3 per cent in the September quarter.

This compares with economists' expectations of 2.5 per cent growth.

However, Frydenberg has emphasised that the economy is still recovering from the coronavirus-induced recession.

The national accounts data also shows that the economy contracted by 3.8 per cent in the year to September, with many economists having anticipated a 4.4 per cent decline.

Frydenberg anticipates strong growth in the December quarter, given that the latest GDP figures pre-date federal and state government budgets and the re-opening of the Victorian economy.


'Recession' definition is plain silly

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Adam Creighton - PortMac.News Summary

Australia would have avoided a 'technical' recession if GDP growth had been slightly higher than the negative 0.3 per cent recorded in the March quarter.

The bushfires crisis rather than the coronavirus pandemic was the key cause of the recession.

Meanwhile, the widely accepted definition of a recession - two consecutive quarters of a decline in GDP - is an arcane and artificial statistic.

A better rule of thumb for a recession would be the period between the trough to the peak of the unemployment rate. Many economists believe that unemployment has not yet peaked.


UK and US lock in behind Australia in China row

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Daniel Hurst - PortMac.News Summary

The US and the UK have expressed support for Australia amid the growing diplomatic row with China over a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

A spokesperson for the UK's Foreign Office says the nation takes the issue of disinformation "extremely seriously".

Arthur Culvahouse, the US ambassador to Australia, says the federal government has acted responsibly in investigating and disclosing allegations that Australian soldiers had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

He adds that the Chinese government has not shown the same degree of transparency and accountability regarding reports about the treatment of Uighurs.


Andrews 'appalled' by China tweet, calls for 'refocus'

Herald Sun - Page Online : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Tamsin Rose, Kieran Rooney, Tom Minear - PortMac.News Summary

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has urged Australia and China to take action to repair the strained relations between the two nations.

He has described China's actions in posting a doctored image of an Australian soldier as "appalling" but stresses the importance of Australia's relationship with China to the domestic economy.

Andrews says relations between the two nations can be strong again, but contends that this relationship must be "fair and respectful".

He has also criticised the federal government's Foreign Relations Bill, which would allow it to veto state government deals such as Victoria's participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative.


'Shonks' fear in insolvency law shake-up

The Australian Financial Review - Page 11 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by John Kehoe - PortMac.News Summary

Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association CEO John Winter has expressed concern about the federal government's proposed changes to insolvency laws.

The reforms will allow small businesses with debts of less than $1m to pursue a restructuring rather than going into receivership or voluntary administration.

Winter opposes plans to allow accountants to undertake the restructuring work, arguing that they lack the training and insurance to do this.


AFP set for dark web attacks on crime

The Australian - Page 2 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government's proposed changes to the Surveillance Devices Act and the Crimes Act will give law enforcement agencies greater powers to combat criminal activity via the 'dark web'.

Amongst other things, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission would be able to obtain warrants to take over the online accounts of suspects.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton contends that outdated laws are significantly increasing the length of criminal investigations.


ACTU's 'qualified yes' for greenfields plan

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - PortMac.News Summary

ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the peak union body is open to supporting the federal government's proposal to introduce 'life-of-project' enterprise agreements for major projects.

However, McManus stresses that support for greenfields agreements would be conditional on the inclusion of safeguards to ensure that workers are protected.

Meanwhile, McManus has expressed reservations about proposed changes to the 'better-off-overall test' in the Fair Work Act, saying the ACTU will oppose any reforms that leave employees worse off.

The government's industrial relations omnibus bill will be put before parliament before it rises for the year.


Little respect from Beijing

The Australian - Page 21 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - PortMac.News Summary

Australia's current dispute with China is more deep-seated than simply a trade spat involving exports such as wine, timber and coal.

The row over the conduct of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan is part of a long-running dispute over human rights.

Any future reconciliation with China will have to start with a promise that Australia will stop criticising China's human rights record.

Australia must hold its ground regarding the current dispute, but the massive levels of public debt that is being amassed by the federal and state governments means that the nation requires a sound trading relationship with China in the long-term.


Vape liquid dangers revealed in new study

The Australian - Page 3 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Natasha Robinson - PortMac.News Summary

Research by Curtin University has found that 21% of the liquid mixtures in electronic cigarettes contains nicotine, while 62% contain at least one chemical at a concentration above the acute inhalation toxicity limits.

The sale of e-cigarettes that contain nicotine is currently illegal in Australia. The lead researcher, Associate Professor Ben Mullins, says people who use e-cigarettes regularly may be at risk of respiratory illness or even death.

The study was jointly funded by the Lung Foundation Australia and the Minderoo Foundation.


Palmer facing court on ad blitz donations

The Australian - Page 1 & 2 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Michael McKenna, Charlie Peel - PortMac.News Summary

 

The Electoral Commission of Queensland believes that businessman and former federal MP Clive Palmer may have breached the state's electoral laws.

His United Australia Party spent more on advertising in the lead-up to the state election on 31 October than the two major political parties.

Companies linked to Palmer have donated millions of dollars to the UAP in 2020; this would be in breach of the Electoral Act if Palmer or one of these companies is deemed to be a property developer.

The ECQ has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether this is the case.

Palmer maintains that he is not a property developer.


US futures dampen GDP optimism

The Australian - Page 20 : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a small gain on 2 December, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.03 per cent to close at 6,590.2 points.

Rio Tinto was up 1.98%t at $104.99, Woodside Petroleum rose 1% to $22.42 and the ANZ Bank finished 0.66% higher at $23.03.

However, Fortescue Metals Group shed 0.55 per cent to close at $18.23 and Appen was down 4.08% at $31.02.


Seven says Cricket Australia went behind its back to Foxtel in rights brawl

The New Daily - Page Online : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Rod Myer - PortMac.News Summary

The rift between the Seven Network and Cricket Australia has deepened, and media experts say it could potentially pave the way for the Nine Network to reclaim the broadcasting rights.

Seven's head of sports, Lewis Martin, has filed an affidavit in which he has suggested that CA may have changed its match schedule to favour pay-TV company Foxtel and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Changes announced by CA in August resulted in the cricket season beginning with One-Day International and Twenty20 matches for which Foxtel holds exclusive broadcasting rights, rather than the Big Bash League, which will be broadcast by Seven.


BHP seals deal with Shell to fuel LNG-powered ship fleet

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Nick Toscano - PortMac.News Summary

BHP's chief commercial officer Vandita Pant says the resources giant's shift to LNG-powered bulk carriers will help to reduce its carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 30% on a per-voyage basis.

BHP advised earlier in 2020 that it will charter five bulk carriers that use LNG rather than bunker fuel.

BHP has awarded the LNG supply contract to Shell following a tender process. The fleet of Newcastlemax bulk carriers will ship 10 million tonnes of iron ore from Australia to China each year, beginning in 2022.


Could China replace Australian iron ore with metal from Africa?

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Ben Butler - PortMac.News Summary

Iron ore accounts for about 40 per cent of Australia's $153bn worth of exports to China each year.

Iron ore has not yet been targeted by China amid the growing trade tensions between the two nations, but Julien Hall of S&P Global Platts warns that any such move would 'Send shockwaves through the market'.

Meanwhile, China is seeking to bypassits dependency on Australian iron ore via the Simandou project in Guinea.

The massive deposit contains a higher grade of iron ore than the Pilbara, although many observers believe that production will not commence at Simandou for at least five years.

The Simandou mine is located in the Simandou mountain range of southern Guinea's Nzérékoré Region.

Simandou represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in Guinea and in the world, having estimated reserves of 2.4 billion tonnes of ore grading 65% iron metal.

Rio Tinto and its biggest shareholder, Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chinalco), signed a preliminary agreement in 2010 to develop Rio Tinto's Simandou iron ore project.

The Aluminium Corporation of China, better known as Chinalco, is prevented from owning more than 14.99% of Rio’s London stock under a foreign investment ruling struck in 2008 by Australia’s then treasurer Wayne Swan.

That ruling was not a problem when Chinalco’s stake stood at 12%, but Rio’s regular share buyback programs have consolidated its share register to the point that Chinalco’s stake now accounts for 14.51% of shares on issue, according to Bloomberg data.


China enforces new export controls, red letter day for rare earths

Asia Times Financial - Page Online : 3 December 2020 - Original article by Chris Gill - PortMac.News Summary

China's newly-enacted Export Control Law has significant implications for the rare earths industry.

China already dominates the rare earths market, accounting for about 95% of global supply, and the new export controls could increase this stranglehold while putting further upward pressure on the price of rare earths.

Meanwhile, countries such as the US and Australia are ramping up their investment in the rare earths industry in a bid to end China's dominance of the sector.


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