Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators 

Australian Dollar: $0.7760 USD (up $0.0001 USD)

Iron Ore Feb Spot Price (SGX): $168.50 USD (up $0.36 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $52.24 USD (up $1.32 USD)

Gold Price (8 Jan): $1,847.32 (down $70.03 USD)

Gold Price (11 Jan): $1,849.15 (up $1.83 USD)

Dow Jones: 31,097.97 at 3.08 pm NY time (up 56.84 points on Friday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

'Descended into madness': second Republican senator calls for Trump to quit

The Guardian - Page Online : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Martin Pengelly, Richard Luscombe - PortMac.News Summary

Pat Toomey is the latest Republican senator to have called for President Donald Trump to step down in the wake of the recent storming of the Capitol Building.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are set to present a single article of impeachment to the House of Representatives, which will alleged that Trump incited an insurrection and gravely endangered the security of the US and its institutions.

Twitter has permanently suspended Trump's account in response to the violence at the Capitol, which resulted in five deaths.

Trump has advised that he will not attend the inauguration of Joe Biden, although media reports have stated that Vice-President Mike Pence will do so.

Tax bonus eases pain of lockdown

The Australian - Page 1 & 5 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Sid Maher, Patrick Commins - PortMac.News Summary

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the federal government delivered some $7bn worth of tax cuts to Australian workers in the second half of 2020.

This includes about $1.1bn under the stage-two tax cuts and $5.9bn via the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset.

Treasury estimates that the tax cuts will boost GDP by around $3.5bn in 2020-21.

The tax relief is likely to have contributed to a surge in retail spending during the half-year, despite the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

Citigroup expects consumer spending to have risen by seven per cent in November, with data to be released on 11 January.

Gladys slams Andrews over 'Hasty border shutdown'

The Australian - Page 1 & 5 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Stephen Rice - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged other states to consult with her government before closing their borders in the future.

Victoria's border with NSW remains closed, and Premier Daniel Andrews has yet to set a firm date for lifting the restrictions.

This is despite the fact that NSW recorded just three new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on 10 January, while just 10 new cases among returned travellers in hotel quarantine were recorded nationwide.

There are now 199 active cases in NSW, 45 in Victoria, 21 in the Northern Territory, 20 in Queensland, 15 in South Australia and 15 in Western Australia.

Qld govt refuses to reveal whether harsh restrictions will be lifted

The Courier-Mail - Page 4 & 5 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Hayden Johnson - PortMac.News Summary

The three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane is slated to end at 6pm on 11 January, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has not yet committed to lifting the restrictions.

The snap lockdown was imposed after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the highly contagious UK strain of COVID-19; two returned travellers in quarantine at the hotel have also been diagnosed with the mutated variant of the coronavirus.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the latest COVID-19 numbers will determine the government's next move. Queensland has recorded two consecutive days with no new cases.

Coronavirus restrictions tipped to stay in Australia until mid-2022

The New Daily - Page Online : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Josh Butler - PortMac.News Summary

Infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon has warned that Australians should expect to be subject to COVID-19 restrictions until at least the end of 2021.

He adds that restrictions could potentially be in place for up to two years if governments adopt an elimination strategy.

He also says that further restrictions may be necessary during the coming winter months, as the coronavirus spread more and survives for longer in colder weather.

There is also uncertainty about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines that the federal government has committed to buying.

Alarm as China circles Pacific telco

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by John Kehoe - PortMac.News Summary

There is growing concern in Australia and the US that China could be poised to acquire Digicel's telecommunications assets in the Pacific region.

It is believed that federal government ministers and national security officials have discussed the issue, including options such as providing financial support for private equity firms to bid for the assets.

Sources have suggested that Digicel's Pacific assets could fetch around $US2 billion ($2.6 billion).

Super hike fight hots up

Herald Sun - Page 15 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Sophie Elsworth - PortMac.News Summary

Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong has urged the federal government to cancel the increase in the superannuation guarantee that is slated for 1 July.

He contends that workers will not see an increase in their take-home wages, while employers' costs will increase with no rise in sales, which will in turn force them to cut jobs.

However, Industry Super Australia CEO Bernie Dean says the small incremental increases in the super guarantee are needed now more than ever.

Resources, energy tipped to drive gains

The Australian - Page 15 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Futures pricing suggests that the Australian sharemarket will post a modest gain when trading resumes on 11 January, after the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 6,757.9 points on 8 January.

The local bourse is expected to benefit from a positive lead from Wall Street and a spike in the price of Brent crude oil.

Shane Oliver of AMP expects energy and bank stocks to rally on 11 January; however, a fall in the gold price may weigh on local gold producers.

New year tech floats pipeline bulging after late 2020 surge

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 & 14 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Yolanda Redrup - PortMac.News Summary

Beforepay, Marketplacer and Vinomofo are among the companies that are believed to be looking to pursue an IPO in 2021.

Technology stocks are expected to be among the leading IPO candidates again, following the sharemarket debuts of companies such as Nuix and Hipages in late 2020.

ASX Limited's Max Cunningham says the success of Nuix's IPO demonstrates the strong interest in high-growth technology companies.

However,Paul Bassat of Square Peg Capital says companies should delay an IPO if they have doubts about being ready to go public.

Assets spin-off 'Best route' for AMP

The Weekend Australian - Page 24 : 9 January 2021 - Original article by Joyce Moullakis - PortMac.News Summary

Nigel Pittaway of Citigroup believes that wealth manager AMP should opt to demerge its capital and banking divisions if a proposed deal for Ares Management to buy the whole company does not proceed.

Ares initially submitted a non-binding offer for AMP in October. Pittaway adds that Macquarie Group's recent deal to acquire Waddell & Reed Financial means it is now likely to be less interested in buying the AMP Capital division.

No going back: AusPost delivers as online shopping takes off

The Australian Financial Review - Page 15 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Yolanda Redrup - PortMac.News Summary

Australia Post has advised that it delivered a record 52 million parcels during December, which is 20% higher year-on-year.

Acting CEO Rodney Boys says the postal service recorded strong growth in parcel deliveries throughout 2020, noting that the structural shift to online shopping is likely to be sustained.

Boys adds that Australia Post hired an additional 5,000 people and ramped up its fleet of delivery vans to meet the December rush, and many of the extra resources will be retained. He says it will also bring forward some of its future investment plans.

St Barbara in the PNG 'Tent' as $206m Simberi decision looms

The Australian Financial Review - Page 15 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Peter Ker - PortMac.News Summary

The mine life of St Barbara's Simberi gold project in Papua New Guinea would be extended by about 11 years if a proposed $206m expansion proceeds.

The gold miner's board is slated to make a decision on the expansion in March, and CEO Craig Jetson is optimistic that the PNG government will approve the expansion.

It would require changes to the mining permit for the Simberi project, at a time when the PNG government has been increasingly hostile toward foreign mining companies.

Zinc-air scores a win in the battery wars with new recharge breakthrough

Stockhead - Page Online : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Sam Jacobs - PortMac.News Summary

Zinc-air batteries are lighter and are made of more sustainable materials than other batteries that are used in electric cars and devices such as hearing aids.

These batteries were previously regarded as single-use ones, as they were not rechargeable; however, German scientists are said to have overcome this problem, according to a report in a scientific journal.

This breakthrough may lead to more widespread use of zinc-air batteries in a sector that has been dominated by lithium-ion batteries to date.

Cheap gas unrealistic: Origin

The Australian - Page 17 : 11 January 2021 - Original article by Perry Williams - PortMac.News Summary

Origin Energy director Mick McCormack has called for bipartisan political support for Australia to set a net zero carbon emissions target of 2050.

He argues that a growing number of local companies are adopting such a target, while there is lack of any such action by the government. McCormack also contends that a proposed gas price target of $4-$6 on the east coast is unrealistic.

Gas producers have stated that a price of about $8 per gigajoule is more realistic, while energy users claim that contract prices are now around $8-$10 per gigajoule.