Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7769 USD (up $0.0019 USD)

Iron Ore Mar Spot Price (SGX): $169.60 USD (up $1.35 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $60.40 USD (down $0.79 USD)

Gold Price: $1,774.90 (up $0.12 USD

Bitcoin: $51,834.63 USD (up 0.65 % in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 31,543.77 at 3.11pm NY time (down 69.25 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Beijing pushing US virus conspiracy theory

When World Health Organization investigators wrapped up their work examining the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan this month, Chinese officials were clear where they felt the WHO should look next.

"(We hope) that following China's example, the US side will act in a positive, science-based and cooperative manner on the origin-tracing issue (and) invite WHO experts in for an origin-tracing study," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week.

Going even further, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at China's Center for Disease Control, said the US should now be "the focus" of global efforts to trace the virus.

That Chinese officials should point to the US when discussing the origins of a virus first detected in central China may at first appear confusing to many.

But for months now, China has been advancing alternative theories for how the coronavirus first emerged, ones that would obviate any blame officials in Wuhan may bear for not reacting quickly enough to the initial outbreak in that city in late 2019.

At the same time, however, Zeng, the Chinese CDC official, was advancing just such a hypothesis, not about the Wuhan lab, but Fort Detrick, a US Army biomedical research laboratory in Maryland. There is no evidence to support this theory.

"The US has biological laboratories all over the world," he told a Shanghai-based website, in an interview which linked Fort Detrick, and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) based there, to research carried out by the notorious Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

NASA's Perseverance Lands On Mars

NASA's newest rover touched down safely on Mars about 7:55am (AEDT) today (Friday 19-02-21).

In the most complex mission NASA has sent to the Red Planet, Perseverance is specifically tasked with answering the question of whether life ever existed on a planet other than Earth.

{See lead story on PortMac.News today for details)

No likes for 'Anti-social' network

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by James Madden, David Swan, Richard Ferguson, Paul Garvey - PortMac.News Summary

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government will not be intimidated by Facebook's "act of bullying", after the social media giant blocked access to Australian news content in response to the media bargaining code.

The ban had unintended consequences, with access to critical information from government departments and agencies, emergency services, hospitals and community organisations also blocked.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Facebook's actions were heavy-handed and will damage its reputation in Australia, while Health Minister Greg Hunt warns that blocking news content could jeopardise the government's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Many of the blocked Facebook pages were reinstated after several hours.

Border closures 'Creating ghost flights'

The Australian - Page 2 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Robyn Ironside - PortMac.News Summary

CarAdvice founder Alborz Fallah says that the premiers of states that have imposed snap lockdowns do not seem to care about the economic impact of their actions.

He says confidence in air travel has completely collapsed due to snap border closures, noting that he was one of just six passengers on a recent Qantas flight from Brisbane to Sydney.

Fallah adds that the cabin crew had told him that the flight only went ahead with so few passengers because the plane was needed for scheduled maintenance in Sydney.

South African Covid variant may cut Pfizer vaccine protection by two-third

The Guardian - Page Online : 18 February 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

A laboratory study has found that the South African variant of COVID-19 may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by two-thirds.

The study was undertaken by the two companies and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), and will be discussed by South African scientists at a meeting on 18 February.

UTMB professor and study co-author Pei-Yong Shi says the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine should still help protect against severe disease and death, even if the South African variant reduces its effectiveness.

'No more easy wins': Jobs data in

The New Daily - Page Online : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Matthew Elmas - PortMac.News Summary

The latest employment figures have prompted economists to suggest that the economic recovery is beginning to slow down, with BIS Oxford chief economist Sarah Hunter suggesting there are no more "easy wins" in the recovery.

She says Australia has moved to a new stage in the recovery, where weaknesses in sectors such as tourism and events will become more noticeable until international borders re-open.

EY chief economist Jo Masters notes that youth employment tends to recover more slowly after a recession, which has been exacerbated this time around as industries that tend to hire young staff were most impacted by COVID-19.

Labor senators back anti-nuke rethink

The Australian - Page 6 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Greg Brown - PortMac.News Summary

Two-thirds of Coalition backbenchers support lifting the ban on nuclear energy, while Nationals senators have drafted legislation that would allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in nuclear generators.

Labor senators Raff Ciccone and Alex Gallacher say the party should consider its long-held opposition to nuclear energy at its national conference in March, although Labor leader Anthony Albanese says he does not support nuclear energy.

Australian Workers Union secretary Daniel Walton has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to work on getting the ban lifted, although Morrison has indicated he will not seek to legalise nuclear energy without bipartisan support from Labor.

Australia risks being left behind in petrol-fuelled 'Parallel world'

The Guardian - Page Online : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Martin Farrer - PortMac.News Summary

Motoring organisation NMRA is planning to spend $10 million on a network of fast-charging stations in New South Wales and the ACT as it prepares for the increased use of electric cars.

While countries such as the UK, Germany and Italy are offering tax subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, Australia is being accused of a lack of incentives in terms of encouraging motorists to buy them, with the luxury car tax pushing up the cost of many electric cars.

The Electric Vehicle Council has compared the federal government's lack of incentives and action on electric vehicles with the Biden administration in the US, which has committed to replace all 660,000 government vehicles with electric vehicles.

Chinese influence tops agenda in Quad security talks

The Australian - Page 6 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Ben Packham - PortMac.News Summary

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue foreign ministers have agreed to look at how Australia, India, Japan and the US can work to support South-East Asia as China grows more assertive in the Indo-Pacific region.

Their virtual meeting was the first since Joe Biden became US President, and could pave the way for a Quad leaders' meeting.

Biden has stated that working closely with allies will be key to his China strategy, while the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade has stated that the Quad is a "key pillar" of Australia's international agenda.

ASX flat but Penfolds owner dazzles

The Australian - Page 20 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Rebecca Le May - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a slight gain on 18 February, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.7 points to close at 6,885.9 points.

Fortescue Metals Group added 1.93% to end the session at $24.88 and Westpac was up 3.53% at $24.37. Treasury Wine Estates rallied 17.46% to finish at $11.91 and CSL rose 2.79% to $289. However, the Commonwealth Bank was down 0.78% at $83.62.

RBA's dollar assumptions challenged

The Australian Financial Review - Page 31 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Sarah Turner - PortMac.News Summary

Reserve Bank assistant governor Chris Kent suggested recently that the Australian dollar would be much as 5% higher if its unconventional policy measures were not in place.

Westpac's chief economist Bill Evans says he does not think that there is any clear evidence in regards to the impact of quantitative easing on the Australian dollar, while Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, suggests that the RBA's assessment is "potentially a long bow".

Bitcoin's record run poses new questions

The Australian Financial Review - Page 31 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Tom Richardson - PortMac.News Summary

Bitcoin has more than quadrupled in value in under a year, and was valued at around $US967 billion ($1.2 trillion) as of 18 February.

Global zero interest rate policies have seen Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies attain bubble-like valuations, while well-known companies such as BlackRock, BNY Mellon and Visa are getting involved in the sector.

Regulators have not been able to keep up with Bitcoin's growth, which has created new systemic risk for the financial system.

Lender bought back $89m in stressed mortgages

The Australian - Page 17 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

The ANZ Bank has advised that it repurchased $89m worth of stressed home loans from its securitisation trusts at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bank has stated that it ceased doing so when the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority released new guidelines in July which stated that banks are not permitted to buy back stressed mortgages that are subject to repayment deferrals.

The Commonwealth Bank also bought back about $80m worth of stressed home loans before APRA stepped in.

Conventions return to give Star a lift as Covid restrictions ease

The Australian - Page 17 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Glenda Korporaal - PortMac.News Summary

Star Entertainment has released its results for the six months to December, reporting a statutory net profit of $51 million, down 33%.

Revenue was down 30% to $741 million, while Star did not declare a dividend for the period. CEO Matt Bekier noted its operations on the Gold Coast were recovering well from the impact of the pandemic, with the first conventions being held since the shutdowns.

he noted it did more food and beverage business in January than it had during the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Bekier said Star would engage with the New South Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority on the recommendations of the report into Crown Resorts.

Ban proves tech giant is undoubtedly a publisher

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Ticky Fullerton - PortMac.News Summary

Facebook's removal of individuals and providers of critical information from its platform shows that it is curating the content that users see, which clearly demonstrates that it is a publisher.

Whereas Google merely threatened to withdraw its search engine from Australia - and subsequently backed down .

Facebook has acted, and it is uncertain as to whether the federal government will be prepared to make any concessions regarding its media bargaining code.

Facebook news ban sees anti-vax info remain

abc.net.au - Page Online : 19 February 2021 - Original article by James Purtill - PortMac.News Summary

Facebook has stated that it used a very broad definition of 'news' to enforce its ban on Australian news content.

However, analysis by the Queensland University of Technology shows that some publishers of "low or dubious credibility" have not been affected by the ban, and their content is still accessible.

This includes a number of Facebook pages that are known for spreading misinformation on issues such as COVID-19 vaccination; the Facebook pages of several federal MPs who have spread false health information have also been unaffected.

Professor Julie Leask from the University of Sydney says misinformation tends to spread if there is a "vacuum of factual information".

Wharf in play again after two-year rest and revamp

The Australian - Page 7 : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Rosemary Neill - PortMac.News Summary

The Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf Theatre is reopening after a two-year, $60 million renovation that includes two rebuilt theatres.

Wharf 1 will open with playwright Kate Mulvany's adaption of Ruth Park's novel 'Playing Beatie Bow', with Catherine Van-Davies as lead character Abigail.

STC artistic director Kip Will­iams notes that the pandemic has posed extreme challenges for it, with the STC incurring a revenue hit of almost $18 million in 2020.

The STC has a current audience cap of 75 per cent under New South Wales restrictions, but it needs to fill 85 per cent of seats to break even.