Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7769 USD (up $0.0100 USD)

Iron Ore Feb Spot Price (SGX): $163.76 USD (up $2.36 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $49.85 USD (up $2.35 USD)

Gold Price: $1,949.88 (up $7.39 USD)

Dow Jones: 30,406.73 at 3.35 pm NY time (up 182.84 on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

In NSW thousands in isolation as cluster threatens regions

The Australian - Page 5 : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Kieran Gair - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales recorded four new locally acquired COVID-19 cases on 5 January, while an additional case will be added to the total for 6 January.

The additional case is a young man who travelled some thousands of kilometres in rural NSW while unknowingly infectious, visiting towns such as Orange and Broken Hill.

Shoppers who attended the Berala Woolworths between 20 December and 31 December have been urged to get tested and self-isolate until they get the result, while people from 'hotspot' suburbs linked to the Berala cluster will be fined $1,000 if they try to attend the Test at the SCG.

PM powerless on border closures, defends 'Slow' rollout

The Australian Financial Review - Page 5 : 6 January 2021 - Original article by John Kehoe - PortMac.News Summary

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he hopes lower numbers of COVID-19 cases in Sydney in recent days could see border restrictions between Victoria and New South Wales "eased as soon as possible".

However, he has conceded he does not have the power to stop premiers and chief ministers closing their borders for health reasons.

Morrison rejected criticisms that the federal government was taking too long to rollout a COVID-19 vaccine, saying that the Therapeutic Goods Administration needs to rigorously examine vaccine testing data, while vaccine batches in Australia will also need further testing.

Julian Assange's lawyers fear offer to return to Australia would result in extradition

Herald Sun - Page Online : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Samantha Maiden - PortMac.News Summary

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could return to Australia if a US appeal against a UK judge's decision not to extradite him to the US fails.

However, lawyers for Assange claim the US could simply seek to have him extradited from Australia if he chose to return to the country of his birth, and they have called on Australia to ask the US to drop its case against him entirely.

Were Assange to be extradited to the US at some point, he would be facing charges that carry a maximum penalty of up to 175 years in prison.

PM rejects election drive as Labor clears deck for early poll

The Australian - Page 4 : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Richard Ferguson - PortMac.News Summary

A recent newspaper article has claimed that most Coalition MPs are expecting a federal election to be held between August and November.

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on 5 January that his view on the government going full term had not changed, with Morrison noting the election is not due until 2022.

He said he had enough to do in 2021 in dealing with the pandemic and helping the economy to recover to think about an election.

Having recently shelved former leader Bill Shorten's controversial franking credit policies, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has arguably put Labor on an "early election footing"

University students vote with their feet

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Richard Ferguson - PortMac.News Summary

Interstate applications for places at Victorian universities in 2021 are down 13%t on 2020, while interstate applications for spots at New South Wales universities are up by 14.9%.

Demographics Group MD Bernard Salt notes that applications would have been made at the height of Victoria's lockdowns in October and November, meaning that students and their parents would have been questioning how safe Victoria was, along with their ability to get work in hospitality jobs under tough COVID-19 restrictions.

Job ad surge points to hiring bonanza

The Australian Financial Review - Page 7 : 6 January 2021 - Original article by John Kehoe - PortMac.News Summary

More than 159,000 vacant job positions were advertised in December, according to the latest ANZ Australian job advertisement series, released on 5 January.

The number of employment ads was 4.1% above the pre-COVID-19 levels in February, and was the highest result in 18 months.

ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch says job ads are a leading indicator of employment figures so it is likely there will be employment increases in December and into 2021, while CommSec chief economist Craig James said the economic recovery is continuing.

We can't all afford to wait and see on vaccine

Herald Sun - Page Online : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Rita Panahi -PortMac.News Summary

Public health officials continue to attack people's civil liberties and their ability to earn a living by imposing draconian lockdowns and absurd border closures.

However, these same taxpayer-funded officials with secure jobs are not prepared to let Australians have access to COVID-19 vaccines that are already considered safe and being widely distributed in other parts of the world.

Other nations are keen to protect their most vulnerable and open up their economies, but Australia's health officials are happy to adopt a 'wait and see' strategy.

ASX recovers from intraday fall

The Australian - Page Online : 6 January 2021 - Original article by David Rogers - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket fell slightly on 5 January, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing down 2.35 points at 6681.9 after being down as much as 0.7% in intraday trade.

Stocks to decline in the Financials sector included QBE and National Australia Bank, down 2.6% and 1.1% respectively, while stocks to post gains included BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals, up 2.9%, 2.1% and 1.6% respectively.

Nick Scali upgrades profit as retailers end 2020 on a high

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 & 16 : 6 January 2021 - Original article by James Fernyhough - PortMac.News Summary

Shares in furniture retailer Nick Scali rose to record highs during trading on 5 January after it advised that it expected its profit for the six months to 31 December would be $40.5 million, double the result for the previous corresponding period.

The company also stated that its sales for the past three months were up by 58%.

Meanwhile, Sydney retailers other than those in the Sydney CBD have indicated that they saw strong foot traffic for the Boxing Day sales; National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb noted the Sydney CBD had been a "ghost town".

Qantas plans US, UK flights for July, subject to borders, vaccines

The New Daily - Page Online : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Karen Sweeney - PortMac.News Summary

Qantas has begun selling tickets for overseas flights for as early as July, despite increased COVID-19 rates overseas.

A Qantas spokesman noted that the resumption of international flights was dependent on vaccine rollouts and border reopenings, while Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has observed that it will be the government that decides when international travel can resume; he noted the government is working on travel arrangements with countries that have low infection rates.

Victoria restrictions could delay Grand Prix

The Australian - Page Online : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Tessa Akerman - PortMac.News Summary

Police minister Lisa Neville says the Victorian government is having ongoing discussions about the timing and staging of the Melbourne Grand Prix with Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Formula 1.

The race is normally held in late March, but may be rescheduled because of the state's COVID-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, a new quarantine hotel for international tennis players coming to the Australian Open has had to be secured, after some of the penthouse owners at the Westin Melbourne, which had been due to host the players, threatened Supreme Court action over COVID-19 concerns.

Crown forges ahead with new projects as profits and sales rise

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 6 January 2021 - Original article by Larry Schlesinger - PortMac.News Summary

Developer Crown Group has lodged its financial accounts for the 12 months to 30 June, reporting a pre-tax profit of $35.6 million, up six per cent, although revenue was down 24% to $355 million.

The company announced on 5 January that it was planning to begin construction of Artis, a 153-unit project in Melbourne, in mid-2021, while it also advised that it had engaged Plus Architecture and Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to redesign a $500 million residential development in the Brisbane suburb of West End.