Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7705 USD (down $0.0075 USD)

Iron Ore Feb Spot Price (SGX): $169.22 USD (up $0.07 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $52.36 USD (down $1.26 USD)

Gold Price (15 Jan): $1,827.11 (down $18.40 USD)

Gold Price (18 Jan): $1,827.63 (up $0.52 USD)

Dow Jones: 30,814.26 (down 177.26 points on Thursday's close)

All changes compared to 7am Friday, except gold.

Alexei Navalny detained after landing in Moscow

Prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was taken into police custody after arriving in Moscow. Navalny, who survived an attempt on his life in August, said he was "not afraid of anything."

Fierce Kremlin critic and political campaigner Alexei Navalny was detained after he returned to Russia on Sunday, defying warnings by Russian authorities. 

After landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, Navalny said all charges against him were trumped up and that he was "not afraid of anything and asking you not to be afraid of anything," according to a video published by Russia's Dozhd TV.

Navalny also said that he never had second thoughts about returning to Russia.

"This is my home," he said.

He then headed to passport control where he was detained by police. His aide Ilya Yashin shared a video of the confrontation, during which Navalny is heard asking for his lawyer to be given access to him.

The police denied the request, according to Yashin.

Several Navalny aides later said they did not know where police took the Kremlin critic. They called on people to press the issue online.

"The first priority is for us to understand where Alexei is," his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter.

25 more Australian Open players in quarantine after plane passenger tests positive

Tennis players who flew into Melbourne on a third charter plane will be forced into two weeks' quarantine and will be unable to train after a passenger on a flight from Qatar tested positive for COVID-19.

French player Alexandre Muller tweeted a screenshot of an email he had received on Sunday night, saying that a person on QR7485 from Doha on Saturday morning had returned a positive result.

In a statement on Twitter, the Australian Open confirmed the case, saying 25 players were among the 58 people on the flight.

It takes the number of athletes in hard quarantine to 72.

A spokesperson for COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria confirmed on Sunday evening that a non-playing Australian Open participant would be transferred to a health hotel following a positive test result for coronavirus.

"There are no other known positive tests from this flight, but routine testing will continue for passengers," the spokesperson said.

It comes after more than 120 people were required to undertake 14 days' quarantine after four people tested positive on flights from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Australians support masks and border closures and are willing to be vaccinated for COVID-19

Market Research Update - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Roy Morgan - PortMac.News Summary

Roy Morgan survey into Australian attitudes towards COVID-19 conducted on Thursday and Friday shows 72% of Australians say mask wearing should be compulsory, 68% don't want State borders to be completely open and 77% would be willing to be vaccinated if a new Coronavirus vaccine became publicly available - unchanged from mid-November.

Support for compulsory mask wearing is highest in NSW (80%) and Victoria (77%) but at only 53% in South Australia.

A large majority of 85% of people in WA don't want State borders to be completely open today - a higher rate than any other State and in line with the tough border policies of Premier Mark McGowan who faces an election in early March.

Norway warns of vaccination risks for sick patients over 80

Bloomberg - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Lars Erik Taraldsen, Naomi Kresge - PortMac.News Summary

Norwegian authorities have warned that COVID-19 vaccines could be too risky for the very old and terminally ill. This follows the deaths of 23 people in Norway a short time after having received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, of which 13 were autopsied.

The autopsies indicate that common side effects could have contributed to severe reactions in frail, elderly people.

Norway has given at least one vaccine dose to about 33,000 people, with the Pfizer vaccine being used most broadly.

The first Europe-wide safety report on the Pfizer vaccine is likely to be published at the end of January. Meanwhile, Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration is working with the European Medicines Agency to determine whether the deaths in Norway were caused by the vaccine.

The federal government says the TGA is still expected to approve the vaccine for local use by late January.

Players give Open a serve: Stars angry as third flight locked down

Herald Sun - Page 7 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Alanah Frost, Sharon McGowan, Marc McGowan - PortMac.News Summary

The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the upcoming Australian Open has increased to four, after a case was detected on a third in-bound charter flight.

All passengers on the three flights have been placed in hard quarantine for two weeks; this includes 72 tennis players, who will not be permitted to leave their hotel rooms to undertake training until shortly before the Australian Open begins.

Some players have criticised the lockdown rules and alleged that they were changed 'overnight', but Tennis Australia contends that the rules were made clear from the outset.

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has rejected suggestions that the Australian Open will be cancelled.

Extra flights won't count against arrivals cap: Birmingham

The New Daily - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Colin Brinsden - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government is to charter 20 flights between 31 January and 31 March in an effort to get more people currently stranded overseas back to Australia.

The government's decision to organise the chartered flights came after the national cabinet agreed to reduce the cap on returning overseas travellers as a result of quarantine constraints in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, which coincided with the decision by Emirates to withdrew services to the east coast.

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham says the 20 flights will not count against the arrivals cap, while the number of people on them will depend on the quarantine arrangements at the time.

Industry's Covid jab line-up

The Weekend Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 16 January 2021 - Original article by Richard Ferguson, Jess Malcolm - PortMac.News Summary

A proposal outlined by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry would see workers in manufacturing, education and tourism have priority to get a COVID-19 vaccine after vulnerable people and healthcare ­workers.

The ACCI's proposal would see vaccines not mandatory, but workers who refuse to have one could be required to work from home or have to wear personal protective equipment such as masks if in the office.

Its rationale in prioritising manufacturing, education and tourism workers is so that they can travel overseas and rebuild business connections, particularly given the ongoing tensions with China.

Three-quarters of Australians say Scott Morrison should rebuke Craig Kelly for Covid misinformation

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Daniel Hurst - PortMac.News Summary

An Australia Institute survey has found that 76% of Australians believe Prime Minister Scott Morrison should publicly rebuke Liberal MP Craig Kelly for spreading misinformation during the pandemic.

The same survey also found that 56% of respondents felt that Morrison should condemn Donald Trump over his role in inciting the Capitol riots.

Ebony Bennett from the Australia Institute says that actions like that of Kelly will make it harder for governments to persuade people to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dump Albo call as heartland vote tanks

The Australian - Page 1 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Greg Brown - PortMac.News Summary

The Construction. Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union's national political organiser Elizabeth Doidge says Labor leader Anthony Albanese must be ousted ahead of the next election.

This follows the release of polling on behalf of key building industry unions which suggests that Labor is set to lose the Hunter Valley electorates of Shortland and Paterson at the next election. Doidge says the polling, which was undertaken in November, shows that Labor cannot win the election with Albanese as its leader.

She says Tanya Plibersek would make a "fantastic leader".

Trade deal with Britain misses Morrison target

The Australian Financial Review - Page 9 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Hans van Leeuwen - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian and British governments had hoped a free trade agreement between the two countries would be concluded by the end of 2020, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison among those confident of that target being achieved.

Australian British Chamber of Commerce CEO David McCredie says FTA negotiations are being impacted by talks happening at an 11-hour time difference, while Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce CEO Catherine Woo notes that the "UK still has a lot on its negotiating plate".

FTA negotiations between Australia and the UK are likely to now last well into 2021.

Money laundering fears in NSW as poker machine profits surge

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Fergus Hunter - PortMac.News Summary

Poker machine profits in New South Wales for November and December were at $582.7 million and $629.6 million, up 1.8% and 6.5% respectively over the same months in 2019.

The increase in profits has prompted concerns that criminals are using poker machines for money laundering purposes, with NSW machines being particularly appealing to criminals because of their high load-up limit, which is significantly larger than other Australian states.

NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello is seeking to introduce a gambling card, both to help problem gamblers and to clamp down on money laundering.

His plan would see poker machines become cashless, with required to register and pre-load money to the card.

Shares tipped to dip as investors focus on US

The Australian - Page 13 & 18 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Futures pricing suggests that the Australian sharemarket will shed about 0.24% when trading resumes on 18 January, in response to a negative lead from Wall Street.

However, Craig James of CommSec says shares in Australia's three major iron ore producers could be boosted by the latest rise in the price of the steel input.

The inauguration of US president-elect Joe Biden is likely to be a key focus for investors in coming days.

Bumpy ride for stocks as '10pc correction' looms

The Australian - Page 13 & 18 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Hamish Tadgell of boutique fund manager SG Hiscock & Company is upbeat about the outlook for equities in 2021, and expects investors to continue to embrace cyclical stocks.

However, Tadgell warns of the potential for the Australian sharemarket to experience a pullback of 10% or more at some point during the year. Meanwhile, the firm expects banks, energy stocks and companies with exposure to the build-to-rent sector to perform well in 2021.

Hrdlicka wields axe on Virgin executives

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 & 16 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Lucas Baird - PortMac.News Summary

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has reshuffled the airline's leadership team as it emerges from administration under new owner Bain Capital.

Chief financial officer Keith Neate is one of three executives who will leave the company, while Hrdlicka has appointed six new people to Virgin Australia's executive leadership group.

Meanwhile, with business groups criticising what they claim is an inconsistent approach to border restrictions and closures across Australia, Hrdlicka has claimed that Australia currently feels like a "collection of foreign countries".

ABC 'Left foreign worker in cold'

The Weekend Australian - Page 9 : 16 January 2021 - Original article by Tessa Akerman - PortMac.News Summary

The ABC has rejected claims that it has failed to provide sufficient severance pay to local staff of its Africa bureau following its recent closure.

Amongst other things, it has been alleged that an African producer who was employed by the public broadcaster for 12 years was given a "pittance" as severance pay.

The allegations were made by former foreign correspondent Ginny Stein via social media.

Murdoch son raps media for 'Toxic politics'

The Australian Financial Review - Page 24 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Alex Barker - PortMac.News Summary

James Murdoch has launched his strongest attack on the US media since leaving the family media company started by his father Rupert.

When asked if Fox News had played a role in the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, James Murdoch claimed that media organisations had amplified election disinformation, resulting in a significant part of the US public believing in a "falsehood".

He did not make specific reference to Fox News, his father, or his brother Lachlan, who is the CEO of Fox Corporation.

Phil Spector, music producer and convicted killer, dies after contracting COVID-19

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Dan Whitcomb - PortMac.News Summary

Legendary music producer Phil Spector has died at the age of 81 after contracting COVID-19.

He died in hospital after being transferred from prison where he was serving a 19 years-to-life sentence for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003.

Spector produced 20 top-40 hits between 1961 and 1965, being famous for his 'Wall of Sound' style of production, and working with acts such as the

Price boom powers big iron's profits

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 & 16 : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Sarah Turner, Jenny Wiggins - PortMac.News Summary

The spot price of iron ore peaked at $US172.36 a tonne during the week ended 15 January.

Milford Asset Management's William Curtayne says earnings forecasts for Australia's major iron ore producers will need to be significantly upgraded if the price of the steel input remains at around $US165/tonne.

Jason Teh of Vertium Asset Management also anticipates strong growth in dividend payouts at BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, as well as the potential for special dividends and share buybacks.

The surging price of iron ore will also boost federal government revenue.

China to step up protection of rare earth resources

China Daily - Page Online : 18 January 2021 - Original article by Liu Zhihua, Liu Yukun - PortMac.News Summary

China produces around 80% of the world's rare earth supplies.

Rare earths are used in the production of a wide range of applications, including mobile phones, missiles and wind turbines, and are commonly viewed as important strategic resources.

But China's rare-earth industry faces problems such as smuggling, illegal mining and environmental damage issues.

In order to combat these problems and to provide increased protection of its rare earth resources, the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology has issued a new guideline on its website, for which public opinion is being sought until 15 February.