Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7554 USD (up $0.0025 USD)

Iron Ore Jan Spot Price (SGX): $157.23 USD (up $2.23 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $46.57 USD (down $0.38 USD)

Gold Price (11 Dec): $1,839.91 (up $4.93 USD)

Gold Price (14 Dec): $1,839.43 (down $0.48 USD)

Dow Jones: 30,046.37 (up 47.11 points)

All changes compared to 7am Friday, except gold.

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Holden's finest vehicles, old and new, on display for the first time

Some of the most radically designed, oldest and finest vehicles from Holden's historic collection are now on display at the National Motor Museum.

The National Motor museum, located in the small town of Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills, features more than 350 vehicles of all shapes and sizes, including buses, motorbikes and cars.

The first Holden car to roll off the production line at Adelaide's Elizabeth manufacturing plant in 1948 and the last, in 2017, are among the hundreds of vehicles featured at the museum.

The closure of the plant three years ago marked the end of large-scale car-making in Australia and the demise of a major employer in Adelaide's north.

General Motors announced in February the Holden brand would be officially discontinued by the end of this year.

The Holden Heroes exhibition is showing 18 cars from the brand, including 12 concept vehicles.

General Motors Australia and New Zealand managing director Marc Ebolo said the cars were among the best the company had ever produced.

"The exhibition is a trip down memory lane for some of the finest production and concept cars Holden has made, all proudly in Australia." 

Motoring enthusiasts visited the museum for the exhibition's opening over the weekend.

Didy McLaurin, granddaughter of Sir Edward Holden, was among them.

She said her grandfather would be thrilled by the exhibition.

"I think they would be very sad about the demise [of car manufacturing in Australia] but also very thrilled that it's being presented as it has been today," she said

Museum director Paul Rees said the exhibition was as much about the people who made and enjoyed the cars as it was the vehicles themselves.

"It's not just about the engine capacity, it's not just about how fast it goes and what colour they are," he said.

"It's really about the people behind the vehicles."

The collection will remain on display for the next 12 months.

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Chinese Communist Party insiders infiltrate Western consulates

The Australian - Page 1 & 7 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Sharri Markson - PortMac.News Summary

Members of the Chinese Communist Party are working in at least 10 foreign consulates in Shanghai, including those of Australia, the US and the UK.

This follows the examination of a leaked copy of CCP membership records, which has also found that CCP members are working in companies such as Boeing and AstraZeneca, as well as Western universities.

Australia hires local staff for its Shanghai consulate through the Shanghai Foreign Agency Service Department, which is a Chinese government agency, and the leaked database indicates that it has at least 12 active CCP branches

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CCP ghosts in the global machine

The Australian - Page 7 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Sharri Markson, Jared Lynch - PortMac.News Summary

The leaked database containing the details of almost two million members of the Chinese Communist Party reveals that well-known companies such as the ANZ Bank and HSBC employ party members, and that there are CCP branches embedded within their Chinese operations.

Shanghai-based Australian scholar Chen Hong appears on the leaked list; Chen had his Australian visa cancelled in September after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation deemed him to be a possible security risk.

It is understood that ASIO has secured a copy of the leaked database.

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Iron ore 'fear tax' helps to boost budget

The Australian Financial Review - Page 8 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Ronald Mizen - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will reflect the surge in the price of iron ore since it handed down the Budget just two months ago.

Its forecasts were based on an iron ore price of just $US55 per tonne free-on-board; the steel input is currently fetching around $US152 per tonne free-on-board, and the spot price has reached a seven-year high.

Meanwhile, Deloitte Access Economics now expects 2020-21 GDP to be $33bn higher than had been forecast in the Budget, while the firm says the underlying cash deficit could be up to $3bn better than had been expected in October.

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Canavan calls for retaliatory levy on iron ore to China

The Australian - Page 6 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Ben Packham - PortMac.News Summary

Former resources minister Matt Canavan contends that the federal government should respond to China's import bans and punitive tariffs by imposing a levy on iron ore exports.

Australia ships nearly 900 million tonnes of iron ore to China each year, and Canavan argues that a levy of just one per cent would raise more than $800m annually; this could be used to compensate companies that have been hit by China's trade sanctions.

Canavan notes that iron ore has not been affected by the trade war, as China cannot quickly and easily source an alternative supply.

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China-Australia relations: Beijing steel group demands answers from BHP over soaring iron ore prices

South China Morning Post - Page Online : 12 December 2020 - Original article by Frank Tang - PortMac.News Summary

The China Iron & Steel Association is said to have had a "candid exchange of views" on the issue of soaring iron ore prices in a video conference with BHP on 10 December.

Crude steel production in China is expected to reach a record 1.05 billion tonnes in 2020, but the profitability of Chinese steel plants is being impacted by the rise in iron ore prices. Chinese steel makers import almost 90% of the iron ore they use, with Australia supplying over 60% of imported iron ore to China in the first 11 months of 2020.

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NSW to consider testing international travellers before they board for Sydney

The Age - Page Online : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Amelia McGuire - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales has reported no new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases for 11 consecutive days, but the number of cases among returned travellers has risen to 34.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has indicated that the state government is looking at the viability of requiring airlines to test passengers and flight crews for the coronavirus before they board a plane to Australia.

Meanwhile, six returned travellers in hotel quarantine in Victoria have tested positive for COVID-19, and an additional 24 have symptoms of the virus.

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Trucks ready to roll across the US with millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine

The Age - Page Online : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Matthew Perrone, Mike Stobbe, Mark Scolforo PortMac.News Summary

Health care workers and nursing home residents will be given priority as the US begins to distribute Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, just days after the Food & Drug Administration authorised its emergency use.

The first batch of about three million doses are set to leave a Pfizer manufacturing plant in Michigan, and will shortly be sent to 145 distribution centres.

The FDA has advised against giving the vaccine to people with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any of its ingredients. The US death toll from the coronavirus is approaching 300,000.

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Five genes common to victims of worst Covid

The Australian - Page 5 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Jacquelin Magnay - PortMac.News Summary

Research conducted by Scottish scientists and published in scientific journal 'Nature' has revealed that people with the most severe form of COVID-19 have five specific genes.

Chief investigator Dr Kenneth Baillie from the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute says the research will help to identify which drugs should be used to treat patients.

Baillie notes that with COVID-19, as is the case with sepsis and influenza, lung damage is caused by a person's immune system, rather than the virus.

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Smelter offered millions to stay put

The Australian - Page 2 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Nick Evans - PortMac.News Summary

Alcoa's aluminium smelter at Portland in Victoria will receive $76.8m from the Australian Energy Market Operator for load-shedding during periods of peak demand for electricity.

The payments from AEMO's Reliability & Emergency Reserve Trade scheme will be guaranteed by the federal government.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor stresses that the payments do not constitute a subsidy; instead, they will compensate Alcoa for its role in stabilising the electricity grid.

The deal will in itself not ensure the future of the smelter, which remains under pressure due to high energy costs.

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Refinery rescue deal to safeguard fuel stocks

The Australian - Page 5 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Ben Packham - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government is set to announce a rescue package for the Lytton, Geelong and Altona oil refineries to ensure that they remain operational until mid-2021.

The refineries will receive a payment of at least $0.01 per litre for their petrol, diesel and jet fuel production over the six months from 1 January. Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the government is finalising a long-term market mechanism for the production payment, which is slated to take effect from 1 July.

The future of Australia's three remaining refineries has come under scrutiny following BP's recent decision to close its Kwinana plant.

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Liberal plan to change federal voting laws may have crossbench support

The Guardian - Page Online : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Amy Remeikis - PortMac.News Summary

The standing committee into electoral matters recommended a switch to optional preferential voting in its report on the most recent federal election.

Crossbench senators Stirling Griff and Pauline Hanson have indicated they would support the measure, although Labor and the Greens do not.

Voters have had to number every box on federal election ballots since 1918, while Committee chair James McGrath, who is a Queensland Coalition senator, is in favour if the measure.

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Job ads targeting migrants overwhelmingly offering below the minimum wage

abc.net au - Page Online : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Isobel Roe - PortMac.News Summary

Unions New South Wales looked at 3,000 job advertisements in foreign languages and aimed at migrant workers and found that 88 per cent were offering below award rates.

The rate of job ads offering illegal pay rates has risen over 14 per cent since the start of the pandemic, while Unions NSW's latest survey found that the construction and cleaning sectors were the worst offenders in terms of paying below the minimum wage.

Migrant workers are reluctant to pursue complaints over poor wage rates for fear it could put their visa status at risk.

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Brexit talks pushed beyond deadline in bid to avoid no-deal scenario

abc.net au - Page Online : 14 December 2020 - PortMac.News Summary

Great Britain quit the European Union at the start of 2020 after the Brexit referendum but remains an informal member until 31 December.

Talks to avoid a no-deal exit when it officially leaves on 1 January were due to end on 13 December, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leye and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have agreed that talks will continue in an attempt to reach a trade deal agreement.

Fishing rights is one of the issues that the EU and the UK are at odds over, along with tariffs and access to the EU's single market.

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Banks face trust crisis as customers go online

The Australian - Page 15 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Accenture has released a report which shows that the proportion of Australians who trust banks to look after their financial wellbeing has fallen from 43% to 29% since 2018.

Alex Trott of Accenture says the rapid shift to digital banking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may undermine the progress that banks have made in restoring consumers' trust in the wake of the Hayne royal commission.

The report notes that fewer consumers have changed lenders in 2020, despite growing distrust of the banking sector.

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How 'PNG's Macquarie' landed Westpac

The Australian - Page 13 & 16 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Kina Securities announced in the week ending 11 December that it was to purchase Westpac's Papua New Guinea and Fiji operations in a transaction worth up to $420 million.

Kina Securities CEO Greg Pawson says the company has ambitions to become the Macquarie Bank of PNG, while he says the company might look at relocating its contact centres from PNG to Fiji, as they are expensive to set up in PNG and it is hard to source staff there, whereas Fiji has a good 'talent pool' in the information and communication technology sector.

The Westpac transaction comes just over 12 months since Kina finalised the purchase of ANZ's retail, commercial and SME businesses in PNG.

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Angel investors to offer start-ups extra traction

The Australian Financial Review - Page 21 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Yolanda Redrup - PortMac.News Summary

 

Tractor Ventures will provide funding for founders of new business who are either not interested in venture capital or are not suited to VC firms.

Tractor Ventures has been started by angel investor Matt Allen, and it has already raised $4 million from investors such as Kylie Frazer from Eleanor Ventures and Rachel Neumann from Working Theory Angels.

It will provide revenue-based financing to founders of start-ups; Allen states that "secure founders build better businesses".

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Biden can repair China ties: CEOs

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 6 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by James Thomson, Tony Boyd - PortMac.News Summary

The latest Chanticleer CEO Poll reveals that Australia's business leaders are relieved about the election of Joe Biden as US President.

Pendal Group CEO Emilio Gonzalez and Orica CEO Alberto Calderon are hoping Biden's election will see a less combative relationship between the US and China, which they believe will be good for Australia.

The survey also revealed concern about the strained relationship between Australia and China, but uncertainty as to how the rift might be resolved.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says patience will be required on both sides, while Coca-Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins stated that "resetting the relationship" will require a focus on areas of common interest.

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'Historic moment': new code lauded

The Australian - Page 19 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Lilly Vitorovich - PortMac.News Summary

The US-based News Media Alliance's CEO David Chavern has welcomed the Australian government's landmark media bargaining code.

He says the proposed revenue-sharing code is "thoughtful and balanced", and notes that it is already influencing policy debate in countries such as the US and the UK. Lynne Anderson, the deputy CEO of the UK's News Media Association, hopes the British government will implement a similar code for digital companies.

She says the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the vital role of independent journalism in society.

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Sunrise keeps on shining, as the X-factor eludes Today

The Australian - Page 19 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by James Madden - PortMac.News Summary

The Seven Network has again won the breakfast ratings battle in 2020. 'Sunrise' has boasted an average weekday audience of 278,000 viewers, compared with just 216,000 for the rival 'Today' on the Nine Network.

The latter's ratings have improved since Karl Stefanovic returned as co-host at the start of the year, although audience numbers remain lower than when he previously hosted the show in 2018.

Meanwhile, David Koch and Samantha Armytage have co-hosted 'Sunrise' since 2013. Media analyst Peter Cox says their longevity suggest that they have the highly-coveted 'X factor'.

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Whiff of hypocrisy in senator's criticisms over The New Daily

The Australian - Page 19 : 14 December 2020 -Original article by Cath Bowtell - PortMac.News Summary

'The New Daily' aims to promote financial literacy and engagement with superannuation, particularly among young people.

Fund members who are more financial literate are more likely to take an active interest in their retirement and whether the fund they are in is performing well.

'The New Daily' is backed by the industry superannuation sector, and was recently accused of bias by Senator Andrew Bragg, who appears to want to shut it down.

However, he does not seem to have a problem with 'bluenotes', which is a news and analysis outlet published by the ANZ Bank. Possibly this is because it was until recently helping to pay his wages.

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Disney shares hit record on forecast of streaming surge

Bloomberg - Page Online : 12 December 2020 - Original article by Christopher Palmeri - PortMac.News Summary

Shares in Walt Disney Company rose as much as 11% to a record high of $US171 on 11 December after it predicted that its streaming services could have up to 350 million subscribers worldwide by 2024.

Disney intends to spend as much as $US16 billion a year on programming by then, with future programming plans including 10 Star Wars TV series and 10 series from the Marvel division.

The monthly rate for its main streaming service Disney+ will rise in the US by $US1 to $US8, as well as increasing by 29% in Europe to EUR9, although subscribers there are getting additional content aimed at adults.

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IGO selling out of gold for streets paved with battery metals

The Australian Financial Review - Page 15 & 20 : 14 December 2020 - Original article by Brad Thompson - PortMac.News Summary

Shares in IGO Limited rose by over 24% on 11 December after it came out of a trading halt following details of a $US1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) deal with debt-laden Chinese company Tianqi.

The deal will see the two become partners in Tianqi's 51% stake in the Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia; they will also become partners in Tianqi's lithium hydroxide plant in WA.

IGO MD Peter Bradford says battery-grade hydroxide is tipped to be the fastest growing segment of the lithium market.