Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

Australian Dollar: $0.7380 USD (up $0.0030 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $122.00 USD (down $6.80 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $80.56 USD (unchanged)

Gold Price: $1,792.76 USD (up $32.14 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.4925 USD (up 0.1730 USD)

Bit-coin: $57,313.94 (up 4.54% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 34,377.81 (down 0.53 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

$5,000 return? Sky high prices hit Australians’ holiday hopes

Industry experts say it could ‘Take a full year’ for international air travel to return to pre-Covid pandemic pricing

Australians hoping to fly overseas in the coming months are facing exorbitant costs due to high demand and a scarce supply of seats on services flying into the country, as experts warn high prices will last another year.

The complicated logistical planning required for airlines to ramp up from skeleton operations has meant those seeking to take advantage of the reopened border will face financial hurdles, while aircraft are recalled from desert parking lots and furloughed staff and ground handling contracts are brought back online.

The average outbound leg from Sydney to London – the next most searched route over the same travel period – is priced at $1,012 for economy, with the return part of the trip costing $2,109.

While those prices are averages, some searches for individual services are significantly higher. A search for a three-week return trip from Sydney to New York from early to late December brings up options that consistently cost $5,000 for an economy ticket on Qantas.

Services to the United States, Nepal, Fiji, Lebanon, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Pakistan are rounding out the top 10 most sought after routes.

KAYAK said there was a surge in searches for international flights after comments from the New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet, backed by prime minister Scott Morrison, that travel could be fast-tracked to early November.

Tom Youl, a senior industry analyst at IBISWorld, said “It could take a full year” before airlines return to pre-Covid capacities and ticket prices, predicting significantly higher prices up until December, a slight easing from February, before a gradual reduction in ticket prices over next year.

U.S Fed could begin tapering bond purchases by mid-November

Most Federal Reserve officials agreed last month they could begin slowing their aggressive bond-buying program as soon as mid-November, the first step that policymakers will take to dialing back pandemic-era support for the U.S. economy.

Minutes from the U.S. central bank's Sept. 21-22 meeting show that policymakers are prepared to start gradually dialing back the $120 billion in monthly bond buys, a policy known as "Quantitative easing" that's designed to keep credit cheap, as soon as next month. 

"Participants generally assessed that, provided that the economic recovery remained broadly on track, a gradual tapering process that concluded around the middle of next year would likely be appropriate," the minutes, released Wednesday, said.

"Participants noted that if a decision to begin tapering purchases occurred at the next meeting, the process of tapering could commence with the monthly purchase calendars beginning in either mid-November or mid-December."

Blue Sky plus Green Hydrogen & $3 Billion equals NSW Energy Superpower?

The stuff political dreams are made of ! NSW government has unveiled a $3 Billion green hydrogen blueprint, backed by Andrew Forrest & up to $3 billion in tax payer funded incentives.

"Visionary" Premier Dominic Perrottet says a hydrogen strategy unveiled by the NSW government that aims to help the state hit net zero emissions by 2050 is "World-leading”.

The strategy provides up to $3 billion in incentives for green hydrogen production, including tax exemptions, and incudes plans for a "Hydrogen refuelling highway" between Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mr Perrottet unveiled the blueprint at a media event with mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest in Sydney yesterday.

The Premier said the plan would create tens of thousands of jobs and secure NSW as an "Energy superpower".

(See full story on PortMac.News today)

Party games: 'There is a skeleton in every closet'

The Australian - Page 6 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Remy Varga, Rachel Baxendale - PortMac.News Summary

Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has heard evidence from a former state electorate officer, Adam Sullivan.

He told the inquiry into Labor's branch-stacking scandal that the party's membership renewals were carefully screened because some of the forms were being signed by persons other than the actual member.

He said this was aimed at avoiding a situation whereby people who had died inadvertently renewed their membership.

Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has declined to respond to allegations that he had been involved in branch stacking when he was a Labor staff and party official.

Mike Baird to be witness at state corruption case

The Australian Financial Review - Page 8 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Finbar O'Mallon - PortMac.News Summary

The Independent Commission Against Corruption will commence a public inquiry into New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian on 18 October.

The list of witnesses includes the state's ex-premier Mike Baird and his former strategist Nigel Blunden, as well as recently-appointed NSW Liberal Party deputy leader Stuart Ayres.

Berejiklian is not expected to appear before ICAC until the second week of the hearing; she is being investigated over a potential breach of public trust with regard to her relationship with disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

NSW reaches 75% fully vaccinated milestone

abc.net.au - Page Online : 14 October 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales reported 406 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Thursday.

Six additional deaths have lifted the state's toll from the current outbreak to 454.

Meanwhile, the state government's COVID & Economic Recovery Committee - previously known as the crisis cabinet - will discuss a further easing of coronavirus restrictions, and Premier Dominic Perrottet has indicated that the state's next 'Freedom Day' could occur within days.

Some 75.2% of NSW residents aged 16+ are now fully-vaccinated; the state's recovery roadmap will allow for restrictions to be eased further when 80% of the eligible population is double-dosed.

Canberra records 51 new COVID cases

The Canberra Times - Page Online : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Peter Brewer - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Capital Territory has 474 active COVID-19 cases; 32 of the 51 new cases reported on Wednesday have been linked to known clusters, and just 13 were self-isolating for the entire period in which they were infectious.

Some 98.5% of ACT residents aged 12+ have now received at least one vaccine dose, and 73.5% are fully vaccinated.

With the ACT's lockdown set to end on Friday, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has signalled that the border bubble with New South Wales will further expand; however, he stresses that Canberra residents who cross the border must comply with NSW health orders.

WHO announces new expert group to investigate origins of COVID-19

Brisbane Times - Page Online : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Adam Taylor - PortMac.News Summary

Professor Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University has questioned whether the World Health Organization's new advisory body will succeed in determining the origins of COVID-19.

He warns that members of the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) will have "Little to no chance" of getting access to information from China or undertaking an on-the-ground investigation in that country.

The WHO has nominated 26 scientists from 24 nations to become members of SAGO; the majority were not members of a WHO team which travelled to Wuhan earlier in 2021 to investigate the origins of the virus.

Melbourne biotech to make mRNA vaccine

The Age - Page Online : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Emma Koehn - PortMac.News Summary

Listed biotechnology firm IDT Australia has secured a contract manufacturing deal to produce doses of a locally-developed mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine for Monash University.

The doses will be used in the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences' clinical trial of the vaccine candidate.

IDT CEO David Sparling notes that the federal government's vaccine rollout has been hindered by the nation's reliance on overseas supplies.

He argues that the ability to make vaccines in Australia is essential for both the current pandemic and future health crises.

AstraZeneca vaccine will no longer be made in Australia

9News - Page Online : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Freya Noble - PortMac.News Summary

University of Queensland Associate Professor Paul Griffin has indicated that CSL is set to end local production of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.

The move has been attributed to rising demand for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and Griffin says there is no point in continuing to make a vaccine that will not be used.

More than 12.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered nationwide to date.

CSL is expected to cease production when the federal government's current order for doses is fulfilled.

Delta hit $5bn bigger than expected

The Australian - Page 5 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Patrick Commins - PortMac.News Summary

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has warned that Australia's real GDP growth may have contracted by more than 3% in the September quarter.

This compares with previous expectations of more than 2%. However, Frydenberg is confident that the economy will rebound from the impact of lockdowns that were imposed in response to the Delta variant of COVID-19.

He has also expressed support for a review of the Reserve Bank's operations; the OECD recently recommended such a review.

Get ready for Australia's retail renaissance

The Australian - Page 21 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - PortMac.News Summary

Sydney's retail sector has enjoyed a sales boom after the city emerged from lockdown on 11 October, a trend that may well be repeated when Melbourne's latest lockdown ends.

A number of factors have contributed to the growing confidence of Australian consumers, including surging house prices and historically low interest rates.

Meanwhile, Australians were among the biggest spenders per capita on business and international travel Prior to the pandemic.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that while many Australians will opt for trips to low-cost overseas destinations when the nation's borders, much of the future spending will be on consumer goods and intrastate travel rather than on big-ticket overseas destinations such as the US and Europe.

However, price rises and inflation loom as a big test for consumer spending.

Foxtel flags more streaming services

Brisbane Times - Page Online : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Zoe Samios - PortMac.News Summary

Foxtel's news-based streaming service Flash will cost $8 per month when it debuts in Australia's increasingly crowded subscription video-on-demand market on 14 October.

Foxtel executive Julian Ogrin is CEO of Flash and streaming stables Kayo Sports and Binge.

He expects Flash to be popular with customers in the corporate and government sectors, given that it allows multiple screens to be displayed at the same time.

Ogrin adds that Foxtel will consider launching additional streaming products in the future.

Rio pilot cuts coal out of steelworks

The Australian - Page 16 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Nick Evans - PortMac.News Summary

Technology developed by Rio Tinto could help reduce iron ore producers' Scope 3 emissions by replacing coking coal with biomass fuel in the steelmaking process.

The resources group has commenced a trial of the technology, in which Rio Tinto's iron ore fines are combined with agricultural waste to produce steel.

Simon Trott, the head of Rio Tinto's iron ore division, says the results of the trial to date have been encouraging.

Palmer's Singapore option after High Court failure

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Michael Pelly - PortMac.News Summary

The Western Australian government has had a major legal win in a long-running dispute with Clive Palmer over the Balmoral South Iron Ore Project.

The High Court has upheld the validity of legislation introduced in 2020 which aimed to remove Palmer's right to compensation over the stalled project.

However, Palmer could potentially pursue investor-state treaty arbitration via Australia's free-trade deal with Singapore, given that his private company Mineralogy is domiciled in the city-state.

Energy crisis 'supercycle' unlikely

The Australian Financial Review - Page 17 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith - PortMac.News Summary

The price of Brent crude oil is trading at around $US83 per barrel, but Citigroup forecasts that it will fall to around $US54 by the December 2023 quarter.

Citi has warned that the global energy crisis could get much worse in the near-term, but global head of commodities Ed Morse rejects suggestions that the crude oil price could remain at around $US80 per barrel.

Instead, he believes that a price range of $US55-$US65 a barrel is more likely in the longer term, and he expects the current price spike to be a "Temporary phenomenon".

ASX Third fall in a row

The Australian Financial Review - Page 28 : 14 October 2021 - Original article by William McInnes - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 13 October, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.1% to close at 7,272.5 points.

Fortescue Metals Group was down 5.3% at $14, Iluka Resources retreated 2.1% to $8.99 and the Commonwealth Bank fell 1.6% to $103.22.

However, Kogan.com rose 5.9% to $10.50 and The Star Entertainment Group was up 6.5% to $3.42.