Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7620 USD (down $0.0120 USD)

Iron Ore Apr Spot Price (SGX): $154.70 USD (up $3.00 USD

Oil Price (WTI): $57.52 USD (down $3.95 USD)

Gold Price: $1,727.59 (down $11.77 USD)

Bitcoin: $55,160.67 USD (down 1.83% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 32,423.15 at 3.12 pm NY time (down 308.05 on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Joe pushes House-passed gun reforms after Colorado mass shooting

President Joe Biden on Tuesday used the latest mass shooting to offer his most vocal push for gun control since taking office, saying the deaths of 10 people at a grocery store in Colorado should jolt Washington and the nation into action.

It was a message past presidents have also wielded to disappointing results.

But Biden, who has a lengthy and mixed record on the issue, signaled he was ready to press for legislation even as he balances other priorities in Congress.

In somber remarks from the White House State Dining Room, he said he would do everything in his power to keep Americans safe and pushed a pair of House-passed gun reforms, including a universal background checks measure and an assault weapons ban.

After acknowledging there were still outstanding details to be learned about Monday's massacre, including the shooter's motive and weapons, Biden insisted enough was known to make an ardent call for new gun control.

"I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save lives in the future," he said, listing a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as strengthening the background check system by closing loopholes, as areas he would like to see Congress act.

ScoMo apologises to News Corp

abc.net.au - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Matthew Doran - PortMac.News Summary

News Corp has responded to claims by Prime Minister Scott Morrison that the media group is investigating a female employee's allegation that she had been sexually harassed in a Parliament House toilet.

News Corp Australasia's executive chairman Michael Miller said there has been no such complaint; he added that there had been a 'Verbal exchange' between two News Corp employees who work at Parliament House, but it was about a workplace-related issue, it was not of a sexual nature and it did not take place in a toilet.

Morrison subsequently apologised for his comments, conceding that they were based on wrong information.

Australia's Covid vaccine rollout hit by 'Significant' teething errors

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Christopher Knaus - PortMac.News Summary

The federal Department of Health has conceded that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to GPs' clinics in phase 1B of the rollout has not gone smoothly.

Amongst other things, some clinics have received the vaccine but no syringes to administer the doses.

Many GP clinics have been inundated by people seeking to make a booking to get vaccinated, while some have reported being allocated fewer than 50 doses a week.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved the release of the first four batches of the locally-made AstraZeneca vaccine.

US agency questions AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine trial data

The Guardian - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Sarah Boseley - PortMac.News Summary

The independent Data & Safety Monitoring Board in the US has raised concerns about the validity of AstraZeneca's latest large-scale trial of its COVID-19 vaccine.

The company says the results of the US clinical trial show that the vaccine is 79% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and fully effective in stopping severe disease and death.

However, the DSMB is concerned that AstraZeneca may have included 'Outdated information' from the US trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data. 

Cheaper iron ore squeezes China-Australia trade bubble

Global Times - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

The rally in the iron ore price has been a key factor in the resilience of Australia's bilateral trade with China in recent months, despite the growing tensions between the two nations.

The iron ore price is likely to come under increasing pressure amid signs that China is set to impose new restrictions on the nation's steel industry in order to combat pollution.

A slump in the iron ore price would expose Australia's over-reliance on the mining industry, and may provide the impetus for the federal government to pursue much-needed structural changes to the nation's economy.

Germany dismisses Australia's 'Protectionism' claims

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Daniel Hurst - PortMac.News Summary

Australia's Trade Minister, Dan Tehan, recently expressed concern that the European Union's proposal to introduce a carbon border tax may constitute protectionism.

Such fears have been rejected by Dr Jurgen Zattler, a senior German government official, who believes that a 'carbon border adjustment mechanism' would not breach the World Trade Organisation's rules.

He adds that the proposed carbon border tax is a tool to combat global warming and climate change, rather than to protect domestic industry.

Fast-food giants shun bargaining

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 24 March 2021 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - PortMac.News Summary

Domino's Pizza Enterprises has ruled out returning its employees to the enterprise bargaining system after the Senate rejected key elements of the federal government's industrial relations omnibus bill.

Rival fast-food group McDonald's has also indicated that its workforce will remain on the industry award; it abandoned the enterprise agreement system in 2020.

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the enterprise bargaining system faces a "Slow and inevitable death" due to the rejection of the government's reforms.

Future Fund ignores activists to keep Adani

The Australian - Page 22 : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Future Fund CEO Raphael Arndt has defended the sovereign wealth fund's $3.2m investment in Adani Ports.

He has told a Senate committee that Adani Ports - which has links with the controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland - does not meet the Future Fund's exclusions policy.

Arndt also said the Future Fund will continue to have exposure to companies in the fossil fuels sector, arguing that excluding them from its portfolio would not be consistent with its mandate to maximise returns over the long-term.

Workers shun office in postvirus world

The Australian - Page 22 : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Helen Trinca - PortMac.News Summary

Professional services firm PwC has canvassed the views of 32,500 workers in 19 countries on issues such as telecommuting in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey has found that 16 per cent of Australians want to keep working from home permanently, while just 10% want to resume office-based work.

Nearly 75% favour a combination of office and remote working. Meanwhile, 42% of Australian respondents said they would be open to having their performance monitored by technology such as sensors and wearable devices.

Online booze sales soar in 2020, but will this market last?

Market Research Update - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Roy Morgan - PortMac.News Summary

New data from Roy Morgan shows that nearly 6 million Australians bought packaged alcohol in an average seven days during 2020, whether in store, online, over the phone or some other way.

Over one-in-ten of these Australian packaged alcohol buyers (11.3%) bought alcohol online, more than tripling the figure of 3.5% for 2019 - an increase of almost 8% points.

This represented a huge increase in the online alcohol market but despite a nation-wide lockdown, and a four-month second lockdown in Victoria, some 88.6% of Australian packaged alcohol buyers bought alcohol at a store (down nearly 6% points from 2019).

In addition, a further 2.5% (up 1.6% points) of Australian packaged alcohol buyers bought alcohol by phone and 1.3% (up 1% point) bought alcohol some other way.

Analysing the results on a quarterly level shows that online buying of packaged alcohol peaked at 15.4% of packaged alcohol buyers in the September quarter, before gently declining to 12.0% in the December quarter.

ABC MD says Christian Porter reporting was 'Highest quality'

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Amanda Meade - PortMac.News Summary

ABC MD David Anderson has defended the public broadcaster's coverage of the historical rape allegations against federal Attorney-General Christian Porter.

He has told a Senate estimates hearing that the news reports by investigative journalist Louise Mulligan were of the highest quality and in the public interest.

Anderson also believes that Porter's defamation action against the ABC and Mulligan will prove that the public broadcaster acted 'properly and fairly' at all times.

Live music industry pleads for tour travel scheme lifeline

abc.net.au - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Alexia Attwood - PortMac.News Summary

Australia's live music industry was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are fears that many businesses in the sector will be forced to close within three months if the JobKeeper scheme is not replaced with new support measures.

Client Liaison's Monte Morgan says the Melbourne-based band has not played a show for more than a year; he adds that there now seems to be less appetite to attend live shows, and border closures have not helped.

The live music industry has proposed the introduction of an essential worker permit system, which would enable bands to keeping touring even if there are new border closures.

Insiders rat on Peabody over mine fire

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Peter Ker - PortMac.News Summary

The safety practices at Peabody Energy's North Goonyella coking coal mine in Queensland have come under scrutiny in a US class action over a fire at the mine in 2018.

The Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund has filed a 168-page statement of claim which includes evidence from nine confidential witnesses.

Amongst other things, they have alleged that mine workers often failed to comply with safety rules and reporting requirements, while some workers were given roles for which they had not been adequately trained.

Airtasker sizzles on its ASX debut

The Australian - Page 15 & 22 : 24 March 2021 - Original article by David Swan - PortMac.News Summary

Gig economy jobs marketplace Airtasker closed at $1.05 on 23 March, which is 61.5% higher than the stock's issue price.

Airtasker reached an intra-day high of $1.16 following a belated sharemarket debut, which was pushed back one day due to the ASX's technical glitch.

Airtasker chairman James Spenceley says the successful IPO demonstrates that the strong support for Australian technology companies among local investors.

Bourse gives up gains to end flat

The Australian - Page 22 : 24 March 2021 - Original article by Rebecca Le May - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a modest fall on 23 March, with the S&P/ASX 200 easing 0.1% to close at 6,745.4 points.

Rio Tinto was down 0.047% at $107.76, the ANZ Bank shed 1.3% to end the session at $28 and Crown Resorts fell 1% to $11.85. However, BHP was up 1.01% at $44.95 and Sigma Healthcare added 4.48% to finish at $0.70.