Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7783 USD (up $0.0026 USD)

Iron Ore Mar Spot Price (SGX): $161.40 USD (up $0.40 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $60.12 USD (up $0.65 USD)

Gold Price: $1,818.74 (down $6.03 USD

Bitcoin: $48,763.43 USD (down 0.06 % in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 31,458.40 (unchanged - public holiday)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Aung San Suu Kyi to face court

Myanmar's military has warned anti-coup protesters across the country that they could face up to 20 years in prison if they obstruct the armed forces.

Long sentences and fines will also apply to those found to incite "hatred or contempt" towards the coup leaders, the military said.

The legal changes were announced as armoured vehicles appeared on the streets of several cities.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in protests in recent days.

The demonstrators are demanding the release from detention of their elected leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

On Monday, Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer said she would be detained for a further two days. She will then be tried via video link at a court in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday, Khin Maung Zaw added.

Ms Suu Kyi was rounded up with other members of the government on 1 February, but her detention was due to end on 15 February, according to Reuters news agency.

The charges against her include possession of unlawful communication devices - walkie-talkies used by her security staff.

Her party was elected in a resounding victory last November, but the military has alleged voter fraud without providing proof.

Internet access in Myanmar is being blocked for a second consecutive night, an internet service provider said.

Hotel quarantine workers to get first VIC vaccine

The Age - Page Online : 16 February 2021 Original article by Rachel Clun, Liam Mannix - PortMac.News Summary

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says the arrival of the first shipment of 142,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Europe is an important milestone in Australia's vaccination program.

Meanwhile, Victoria's Department of Health has advised that it expects to initially receive between 11,000 and 12,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine each week, although this is likely to increase as more shipments arrive.

About 170,000 people in Victoria will be included in the first stage of the national vaccination rollout, which will begin on 22 February.

Billionaires offer to run quarantine

The Australian - Page 1 & 5 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by John Ferguson, Charlie Peel - PortMac.News Summary

Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox has proposed constructing a COVID-19 quarantine facility at the Linfox-owned Avalon Airport, which is about 55km from Melbourne.

Fox is in talks with the federal and Victorian governments about the facility, which would be able to house up to 1,000 returned travellers at a time.

Queensland businessman John Wagner has proposed a similar purpose-built quarantine facility next to the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, which is owned by his family.

This facility would also be able to accommodate up to 1,000 people at a time. Wagner's proposal has the support of the Queensland government.

Victoria records one new local COVID-19 case, one in quarantine

Herald Sun - Page 6 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Shannon Deery - PortMac.News Summary

Victoria has reported one new locally-acquired COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours.

The number of cases linked to the Holiday Inn quarantine hotel has risen to 17 after a woman was deemed to have the coronavirus after returning both negative and weak positive results.

Her three-year-old child also contracted the virus at a family function in Coburg.

The psychiatric units of three Melbourne hospitals where the woman works have been placed in lockdown.

One new case in hotel quarantine has also been reported in Victoria, while Premier Daniel Andrews says it is soon to say whether restrictions will ease at 11.59m on 17 February, when the state's five-day hard lockdown is slated to end.

$1bn bid to go it alone with vaccine hub

The Australian - Page 4 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Jess Malcolm - PortMac.News Summary

A consortium of biopharmaceutical, biosecurity, engineering and infrastructure groups has proposed the construction of a $1bn facility to manufacture prescription drugs and vaccines in Australia.

Infrastructure company John Laing is the project leader for the proposal, which is aimed at reducing the nation's reliance on imported drugs.

Sean Nunan from John Laing says the facility would manufacture essential medicines, with the capacity to quickly produce vaccines in response to future pandemics.

The proposal is being reviewed by several federal government departments.

WHO approves Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 16 February 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

The World Health Organization has approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.

Its announcement comes two days after a WHO panel made interim recommendations on the vaccine's use, stating that two doses with an interval of around 8 to 12 weeks should be given to all adults, while stating that the vaccine can be used in countries that have the South African variation of COVID-19.

The panel concluded that the efficacy of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is cheaper than some of its rivals, outweighed its risks.

Lockdown lunacy is frying our minds

The Australian - Page 11 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Adam Creighton - PortMac.News Summary

There are suggestions that the western world, in particular Australia and New Zealand, is suffering from mass psychosis in regard to COVID-19.

The pandemic has been around for a year, yet the west is still obsessed with it and responding to it in a medieval fashion, despite new information about it and better treatment.

Three German and Spanish economists have suggested a number of reasons for this mass psychosis, including a biological tendency to overreact and a mass and social media that 'profit from panic'.

It is claimed that governments have sought to limit activities that reduce fear and anxiety, such as sport and socialising, thereby contributing to anxiety and psychological strain.

Winners, losers in pandemic job upheaval

The Australian - Page 4 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Patrick Commins - PortMac.News Summary

The number of people working as handypersons rose by a third in the nine months to November, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Other occupations to grow during the COVID-19 recession were gardeners and database and system administrators and IT security experts, while occupations that suffered large falls in employment included concreters and house cleaners.

Research undertaken by University of Melbourne economics professor Jeff Borland has revealed that occupations that can be easily worked from home have suffered much less during the pandemic than those occupations that require a high level of social contact and that have to be done in a place of work.

Thousands of unemployed Australians take up fruit picking

The New Daily - Page Online : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Cait Kelly - PortMac.News Summary

Data from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment indicates around 10,000 job seekers have found fruit picking jobs in the last six months.

An additional 3,500 who were fit and prepared to do the work applied for work but were rejected, which would be seem to be at odds with claims by farmers that they were desperate for workers.

The government has claimed in a campaign that unemployed Australians are "too lazy to pick fruit", but the fact that around 10,000 have found work as fruit pickers would suggest otherwise.

Surging BNPL stocks lead way as bourse rises 0.9%

The Australian - Page 20 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Rebecca Le May - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a solid gain on 15 February, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.91 % to close at 6,868.9 points.

Fortescue Metals Group was up 2.52% at $24.43, the ANZ Bank gained 1.61% to end the session at $25.22 and IOUpay rose 59% to $0.70. However, the Commonwealth Bank shed 0.65% to finish at $86.31.

Another super gain, but bumps ahead

The Australian - Page 15 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by David Ross - PortMac.News Summary

Data from SuperRatings shows that the median balanced superannuation fund achieved a return of 0.4% in January and 9.1% so far in the 2020-21 financial year.

The median growth fund also posted a return of 0.4% in January.

SuperRatings CEO Kirby Rappell says super funds have made a promising start to 2021, but cautions that fund members should expect a bumpy ride as the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Xavier O'Halloran of Super Consumers Australia emphasises that super is a long-term investment and fund members should not focus too much on short-term returns.

Mitchell digs in amid push for more Crown bloodletting

The Australian - Page 13 & 16 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Damon Kitney, Glenda Korporaal, Lachlan Moffet Gray - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales gaming regulator chairman Philip Crawford has restated that it is his preference that Harold Mitchell resign as a director of Crown Resorts.

Mitchell, who has been on the board of Crown for over 10 years, is believed to have indicated that he will refuse to bow to pressure from Crawford or newly appointed Crown executive chair Helen Coonan to resign, claiming that only shareholders have the legal power to oust a director.

It is believed that Perpetual, Crown's largest institutional shareholder, does not support Mitchell staying on the board.

Anton Tagliaferro of Investors Mutual, which owns two per cent of Crown, suggests that anyone 'tainted' by the recent damning Bergin report into Crown should "leave sooner or later".

Thornley's easy answer to the Google threat

The Australian Financial Review - Page 19 & 21 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by John Davidson - PortMac.News Summary

LookSmart founder Evan Thornley has suggested an interesting option should Google make good with its threat to exit Australia over the federal government's proposed media bargaining code.

Thornley suggests introducing legislation that would allow local companies to copy Google's search results into an Australian search engine without breaching copyright.

Thornley, who once tried to buy Google, finds it amusing that big media is complaining about a lack of competition in news coverage, noting that is something that has not bothered them in the past.

Google closing in on news content deals with ABC, Nine, Guardian

The Age - Page Online : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Zoe Samios, Lisa Visentin - PortMac.News Summary

Seven West Media has become the first major Australian media company to sign a revenue-sharing agreement with Google for the use of its news content.

Seven CEO James Warburton would not comment on the cost of the deal, but said the money received would be used to invest in journalism.

It is understood that Nine Entertainment Company, the ABC and 'Guardian Australia' are close to signing similar deals with Google, which come after some months of tough negotiations over the federal government's proposed media bargaining code.

Seven switches on to profit bounce

The Australian - Page 13 & 17 : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Lilly Vitorovich - PortMac.News Summary

Seven West Media has posted a statutory net profit of $116.4m for the first half of 2020-21, following a $49.4m net loss for the previous corresponding period.

Seven has indicated that the metropolitan free-to-air-TV advertising market recorded growth of 0.6% during the half-year, including a 17% increase in the three months to December.

Seven has received a total of $33.4m in JobKeeper payments. CEO James Warburton has defended the media group's decision to retain this money despite returning to profitability; he contends that it would have had to retrench up to 150 people without the government assistance.

More than half of Victoria's music workers considering leaving industry, says study

The Age - Page Online : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Martin Bolton - PortMac.News Summary

A study by RMIT University has found that over half of those involved in Victoria's music industry are thinking of leaving it, largely due to the impact of the pandemic.

Forty-four per cent of respondents stated that they had lost all of their music-related work during the pandemic, while 57% stated that they were worried about paying food and rent.

Study co-author Catherine Strong says the pandemic has exacerbated some existing problems within the music industry, including income security and discrimination, while the study found that "all parts of the music industry are reliant on one another to some degree".

John Barilaro wants NSW coalmine expansion

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 16 February 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission recently rejected plans by South32 to expand its Dendrobium coal mine at Kembla Heights.

South32 claims that the expansion will protect 400 local jobs and increase the mine's life until 2048.

However, the IPC claimed that the project's risk to greater Sydney's water catchment were too great.

NSW deputy premier John Barilaro says he is keen for the expansion to proceed, and that he will seek legal advice on whether the IPC's decision can be overturned.

Inflation Expectations unchanged at 3.6%

Market Research Update - Page Online : 16 February 2021 - Original article by Roy Morgan - PortMac.News Summary

In January, Australians expected inflation of 3.6% annually over the next two years, unchanged on December but up 0.4% points on the record lows in June and August.

However, Inflation Expectations are still 0.3% points below their level of a year ago (3.9%).

Inflation Expectations at the start of 2021 are heavily correlated to age.

Older Australians born before 1946 and known as 'Pre-Boomers' now have the highest Inflation Expectations at 3.8%, and with the biggest increase of 0.7% points since the mid-2020 record lows.

The Baby Boomers, born from 1946-1960 and now entering retirement in large numbers, have similarly high Inflation Expectations at 3.8%, but up a lesser 0.5% points since June 2020.

The bulk of the working age population aged 30-60 and comprised of Gen X (born 1961-1975) and Millennials (born 1976-1990) have Inflation Expectations clustered around the national average at 3.7% for Gen X and 3.6% for Millennials.

It is younger Australians aged under 30 in Gen Z who now have the lowest Inflation Expectations of any generation at only 3.3%, and up only 0.1% points since the low of June 2020.

On a State-based level, Inflation Expectations are now highest in Tasmania at 4.5% and have increased in each of the last two months.

Despite the increases Inflation Expectations in Tasmania are 0.9% points lower than a year ago in January 2020 - the largest year-over-year decline of any State. [Click to view full article here]