Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7867 USD (up $0.0098 USD)

Iron Ore Mar Spot Price (SGX): $168.50 USD (down $1.10 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $59.24 USD (down $1.16 USD)

Gold Price (19 Feb): $1,784.19 (up $9.29 USD)

Gold Price (22 Feb): $1,784.28 (up $0.09 USD)

Bitcoin: $$57,978.37 USD (up 1.59 % in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 31,494.32 (up 0.98 points on Thursday's close)

All changes compared to 7am Friday, except gold.

Djokovic Wins 9th Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has described his ninth Australian Open championship win as one of the 'Most challenging' of his career, revealing he was hurt by the criticism he received prior to the tournament when he suggested player quarantine conditions be relaxed.

Djokovic was speaking after clinching his third consecutive title at Melbourne Park when he defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the men's final on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night.

It was the Serb's 18th major singles crown, leaving him just two shy of the men's all-time record held by his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic found himself in the media spotlight last month when he wrote a letter to Australian Open organisers recommending the easing of quarantine restrictions for players.

He faced intense public criticism and was even labelled a "tool" by Nick Kyrgios on Twitter.

During the tournament, the world number one also had to contend with speculation about the severity of an abdominal injury he suffered in the early rounds.

Third woman alleges sex assault by government staffer

The Australian - Page 1 & 2 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Michael McKenna, Rosie Lewis - PortMac.News Summary

Brittany Higgins will make a formal statement to the Australian Federal Police regarding her allegation that she was raped in the office of Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in March 2019.

Reynolds and the office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison have become embroiled in controversy as to when they first learned about the allegations and what they did to assist Higgins.

Meanwhile, a third woman has alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the same former government adviser who has been accused of raping Higgins and another woman.

Jab could end lockdowns

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 4 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Ronald Mizen - PortMac.News Summary

No new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia in the last 24 hours, ahead of the official start of the federal government's Pfizer vaccine rollout on 22 February.

84-year-old aged care resident, Jane Malysiak, has become the first person in Australia to receive the vaccine, closely followed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Meanwhile, government sources are confident that the vaccine rollout will eliminate the need for states to impose hard border closures, but note that some regions may still need to be designated as hotspots if fresh outbreaks emerge.

Immunity may last longer than expected: study

The Australian Financial Review - Page 4 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Tom Burton - PortMac.News Summary

Research undertaken by the Doherty Institute, the Kirby Institute and Flinders University suggests that vaccines could potentially generate a stronger immunity response to COVID-19 than natural infection.

The researchers studied 64 patients who had a mild case of COVID-19 and found that their production of key cells that generate antibodies and immunity against reinfection increased over a four-month period.

Health Minister Greg Hunt says the longevity of immunity will be a key factor in the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

She won't be apples: we need Pacific labour

The Australian - Page 4 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Matthew Denholm - PortMac.News Summary

Apple & Pear Australia CEO Philip Turnbull has warned that a labour shortage means that some of the 2021 crop may not be harvested.

He notes that the number of fruit pickers being recruited by growers remains well below the estimated requirement of about 20,000.

Turnbull adds that many Australians are reluctant to relocate to regional areas for the seasonal work, despite government incentives for them to do so.

The industry wants changes to visa rules to allow more workers from the Pacific Islands to work on Australian farms.

Universities dealt dud hand in JobKeeper lottery: Garnaut

The Australian Financial Review - Page 13 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Julie Hare - PortMac.News Summary

Economist Ross Garnaut has claimed that the "dynamism of the university sector" was one of the few bright spots in the Australian economy prior to the pandemic.

However, he contends the federal government's unwillingness to support during the pandemic recession could hinder Australia's broader economic recovery.

Garnaut notes that casino operator Crown Resorts received $115 million in JobKeeper payments in the first four months of the scheme.

During the same period universities received nothing, and he says it would be hard to argue that universities are not superior to casinos in terms of their national contribution.

Defence firms losing business due to cyber attack concerns

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Andrew Tillett - PortMac.News Summary

The Defence Department and the Australian Industry Group have issued a guide for small and medium enterprises on how they can improve their cyber security standards.

With forty per cent of SMEs trying to secure defence contracts getting rejected because of slack cyber security standards, the guide recommends they adopt a 'multi-layered approach to security', including having annual security awareness training for all employees and implementing a risk register.

The federal government has budgeted $270 billion over the next 10 years for the acquisition of new military equipment and systems.

Qld fights to keep Ampol refinery open

The Australian Financial Review - Page 9 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Mark Ludlow - PortMac.News Summary

Queensland's Energy Minister Mick de Brenni says he plans to do everything he can to keep Ampol's Lytton refinery in Brisbane open.

He also hopes to see the hydrogen sector become an export industry while he says coal-fired power still has a role to play in Queensland's energy mix, despite its target of 50% renewables by 2030.

The federal government has become increasingly concerned about fuel security as a result of the pandemic and has offered financial assistance to refineries to remain open.

So far only Viva Energy's Geelong refinery has accepted its offer.

With ExxonMobil having recently announced it will close its Altona refinery, Geelong and Lytton are Australia's two remaining refineries, but Lytton recorded a loss of $145 million in 2020.

BoQ scoops up $1.3bn for buyout of ME Bank

The Australian - Page 13 & 16 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Richard Gluyas - PortMac.News Summary

The Bank of Queensland is expected to raise about $1.35bn from institutional and retail investors to finance the acquisition of ME Bank.

The transaction has already received approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission via its pre-assessment process.

BoQ shares were placed in a trading halt on 18 February pending an announcement on the ME Bank deal. ME Bank is owned by 26 industry superannuation funds, headed by AustralianSuper with a 19.5% stake.

Diabetes key found

Herald Sun - Page 3 : 22 February 2021 -Original article by Brigid O'Connell - PortMac.News Summary

Scientists at Monash University have made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes.

The researchers have found a way to regenerate insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas that are damaged in type 2 diabetes and destroyed in type 1 diabetes.

The technique has been used successfully in mice, and it will now be tested on donated human cells.

ABC Interview Roy Morgan regarding Facebook

abc.net.au - Page Online : 22 February 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine joins ABC host Richard Glover to discuss where Australians get their news in the wake of Facebook's decision to ban access to news services for Australian users.

Roy Morgan's latest figures show usage of social media is nearly ubiquitous among Australians, with 93% using social media of some sort and 84% of Australians using Facebook.

Now 38% of Australians use social media as one of their main sources of news, although this trails TV (59%) and Radio (42%) but ahead of news, newspaper websites and apps (30%) and printed newspapers (25%).

However, the majority of Australians aged under 35 report that social media is their main source of news such as accessing more traditional news sources through their Facebook page.

One of the key issues with news is trust - and it is here that social media lags with only 5% of people saying they trust social media for news - far lower than other highly used media channels. The interview begins at 1hr 36mins on the audio. 

Google's $100m deals a game changer

The Australian Financial Review - Page 30 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Miranda Ward - PortMac.News Summary

Digital giant Google is said to be close to finalising a deal with the ABC, after signing up Guardian Australia to its News Showcase product.

Guardian Australia MD Dan Stinton says the online newspaper looks forward to working with Google.

The terms of the deal with Guardian Australia have not been disclosed. Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media also recently struck revenue-sharing deals with Google, and media reports have suggested that they could be worth about $30m a year.

More than 50 Australian titles have now signed up to Google's Showcase product.

Disney eyes local content on Star debut

The Australian Financial Review - Page 30 : 22 February 2021 - Original article by Miranda Ward - PortMac.News Summary

Disney will add the Star channel to its Australian streaming platform from 23 February, adding shows such as 'Homeland' and 'Scandal' to its service.

Disney's local senior vice-president Kylie Watson-Wheeler says Disney+ is already performing well in Australia's on-demand market, and recent figures from Roy Morgan reveal that it has 2,870,000 viewers, despite only being launched in November 2019.

Watson-Wheeler says Disney is looking at adding Australian content to its streaming platform, noting that local content is important for local audiences.

Rio Tinto freight agreement connects Pilbara with Asia

Australian Mining - Page Online : 19 February 2021 - Original article by Salomae Haselgrove - PortMac.News Summary

Rio Tinto has established a commercial freight shipping service that will link Western Australia's Pilbara region with Singapore.

The service began with the 'MCP Graz' arriving in the port of Dampier from Singapore on 18 February, carrying vital supplies for Rio's iron ore operations in the Pilbara.

The new service will allow Rio to ship iron ore directly to Singapore, while it estimates it will save around three million litres of diesel fuel a year and reduce road train travel from Perth by over 3.8 million kilometres, while cutting journey times by six to 10 days by avoiding having to go through Fremantle.

Businesses in the Pilbara will be able to access the new service.