Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

Australian Dollar: $0.7135 USD (down $0.0053 USD)

Iron Ore Dec Spot Price (SGX): $95.45 USD (down $5.05 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $68.15 USD (down $9.88 USD)

Gold Price (26 Nov): $1,792.60 USD (up $3.52 USD)

Gold Price 29 Nov): $1,785.50 USD (down $7.10 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.2870 (down $0.1505 USD)

Bit-coin: $54,812.07 (down 0.43% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 34,899.34 (down 905.04)

All changes compared to 7am Friday, except gold, Bitcoin

China study warns of 'Colossal' COVID outbreak if it reopens

China could face more than 630,000 COVID-19 infections a day if it dropped its zero-tolerance policies by lifting travel curbs, according to a study by Peking University mathematicians.

In the report published in China CDC Weekly by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the mathematicians said China could not afford to lift travel restrictions without more efficient vaccinations or specific treatments.

Using data for August from the United States, Britain, Spain, France and Israel, the mathematicians assessed the potential results if China adopted the same pandemic control tactics as those countries.

China's daily new cases would reach at least 637,155 if it adopted the United States' pandemic strategy, the report said.

And daily cases would hit 275,793 if China took the same approach as Britain and 454,198 if it imitated France, it said.

"The estimates revealed the real possibility of a colossal outbreak which would almost certainly induce an unaffordable burden on the medical system," the report said.

China has maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards COVID-19, saying the importance of containing local cases when they are found outweighs the disruptions caused by efforts to trace, isolate and treat the infected.

Hotel quarantine back on the cards

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Lucy Carroll, Tom Rabe, Rob Harris - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard has conceded that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is probably already circulating in the state.

NSW health authorities have confirmed Australia's first two cases of the strain.

The positive cases arrived in Sydney on a flight from Doha on Saturday evening; both are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated.

They are among 14 people on the flight who had travelled from southern Africa, and all 260 passengers and air crew on the flight are now in quarantine.

The state government has not ruled out reintroducing mandatory quarantine for all international travellers, although home isolation is expected to be the preferred option.

NSW reported 185 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, but there were no new deaths.

A growing number of countries in Europe have also reported cases of the Omicron variant, including three in the UK and 13 in the Netherlands.

Call for earlier Covid booster shots in response to new variant

Herald Sun - Page 8 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Miles Proust, Jade Gailberger - PortMac.News Summary

There are fears that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 may be circulating in Victoria.

A potential case of Omicron arrived in NSW on 23 November, four days before the first known cases in Australia; that person then travelled to Victoria and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

The Victorian government has announced that all international arrivals will have to quarantine for 72 hours, while it is said to be looking at extending this to 14 days.

However, chief health officer Brett Sutton says the Omicron variant will be "Impossible to keep out" and is likely to become the dominant strain in Australia.

Meanwhile, epidemiologists suggest that COVID-19 booster shots could be brought forward by one month in response to the new strain.

Victoria recorded 1,061 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, and four additional deaths from the current outbreak.

Aussie vaccine researchers jump on Omicron bandwagon

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Emma Koehn - PortMac.News Summary

The makers of the COVID-19 vaccines used in Australia are studying the new Omicron variant to see how effective the existing vaccines are against it.

Pfizer has stated that it would be able to customise a vaccine-specific variant to tackle it within 100 days if needed.

Professor Colin Pouton from Monash University says his team will seek to include Omicron in its research, with Pouton leading the bid to develop Australia's first mRNA vaccine.

Monash's Professor John Carroll says the emergence of Omicron shows the importance of having local vaccine research and manufacturing options in Australia.

Government plans social media 'Troll' crackdown

The New Daily - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Josh Butler - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government has announced changes to defamation laws as they pertain to social media, with the changes foreshadowed in the aftermath of internet rumours spread about Barnaby Joyce's daughter.

The changes would see social media companies be required to hand over phone or email contact information if requested by a defamation litigant.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says if social media firms do not provide that information than they will be liable for any defamation payouts; he says that they are the publishers "At the end of the day". 

Dutton's grim warning on Taiwan spot on, says PM

The Australian Financial Review - Page 2 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Andrew Tillett, Michael Smith - PortMac.News Summary

Defence Minister Peter Dutton told the National Press Club on 26 November that appeasement of China is not an option.

He claimed that if China was allowed to get away with invading Taiwan that it would then seek to take the Senkaku Islands, which are administered by Japan.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he and Dutton had discussed his speech prior to Dutton giving it, and that Dutton was "Spot on when it comes to the uncertain environment in which we live".

Morrison says Australia cannot afford to show weakness when it comes to national security, while China's Foreign Ministry has accused "Certain Australian politicians" of trying to incite confrontation with China.

Stronger clout for online crime fight

The Australian - Page 5 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Max Maddison - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Federal Police will lead a new cybercrime task force to be known as the Joint Policing Cybercrime Co-ordination Centre (JPC3).

The JPC3 is due to be launched in March and will be located in the Sydney central business district, with Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews stating it will 'Super charge' Australia's efforts to seize criminals' money and assets, put them in prison, and protect the nation's digital identity.

Modelling by PwC has put the direct cost to business of cyber incidents at around $10.1 billion, while there has been a 60 per cent increase in the number of ransomware attacks in Australia.

Aged care providers to get immunity from prosecution

Brisbane Times - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Dana Daniel - PortMac.News Summary

Aged Care Matters director Sarah Russell has urged the Senate to vote against a measure in the federal government's aged care bill that would see aged care providers get immunity from criminal or civil prosecution for using physical and chemical restraints.

Russell says the proposal would deprive aged care residents of the civil and criminal protections to which all other Australians are entitled, while elder abuse lawyer Rodney Lewis has described the measure as "Astounding discrimination".

Coalition-held seats awarded billions in federal grant money

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Katharine Murphy - PortMac.News Summary

Analysis conducted by the Australia Institute indicates that $3.9 billion has been allocated under seven federal grants programs since the federal Coalition came to power in 2013, with the programs being ones where ministers had discretion over where money was allocated.

Some $2.8 billion, or seventy-one per cent of the money, has gone to government-held seats, while only $903 million has gone to Labor seats and just $232 million went to electorates held by independents or minor parties.

Give Infrastructure Australia an urgent reboot, experts say

The Australian Financial Review - Page 21 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Jenny Wiggins - PortMac.News Summary

Labor intends to commission an independent review of Infrastructure Australia's operations if it wins the next federal election.

Labor has also criticised the government's new appoinments to IA's board.

Infrastructure experts contend that IA needs a major overhaul rather than a new board, and that it needs greater powers if it is to become more effective.

Martin Locke, an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney, contends that IA is seen as just an adviser and no one listens to it.

WorkSafe drowning in liabilities and loss

The Australian - Page 1 & 7 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by John Ferguson - PortMac.News Summary

Victorian Auditor-General Andrew Greaves has 'red-flagged' $24.5 billion worth of outstanding claims liabilities by WorkSafe, which is the state's workers compensation scheme.

He noted in his annual review of Victoria's finances that the Victorian government had to provide WorkSafe with an $550 million bailout in 2020-21 to help sustain its short-term financial position.

WorkSafe's problems include a rise in the number and complexity of mental health-related claims and an increase in the duration that injured workers remain in the scheme.

CFMEU slams inaction on industrial manslaughter laws

The West Australian - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Caitlyn Rintoul - PortMac.News Summary

Western Australia will become the nation's fourth jurisdiction to introduce industrial manslaughter laws, with the Work Health and Safety Act expected to take effect in January.

However, the CFMEU's state secretary Mick Buchan is concerned that the prospect of industrial manslaughter charges may not be sufficient deterrent for companies to make their workplaces safe.

He adds that the new statute should have been enacted sooner or made retrospective, given that it was assented in late 2020.

Black Friday sales now bigger than Boxing Day

The Australian - Page 15 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Eli Greenblat - PortMac.News Summary

Zip Pay's Debbie Wine says the 'buy now, pay later' provider expects the four-day Black Friday and Cyber Monday event to surpass the traditional Boxing Day sales.

Preliminary data from Zip Pay shows that there was a 52% rise in spending by its 2.9 million users on the first day of the Black Friday sales, compared with the previous four weeks.

The National Retailers Association has forecast that the four-day event will generate sales of $5.4bn in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 8%.

Games glow sees Seven win ratings gold

The Australian - Page 19 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by James Madden - PortMac.News Summary

The Seven Network has regained the title of Australia's highest-rating commercial free-to-air network, with an overall audience share of 38.6% for the 2021 ratings year.

The Nine Network had an audience share of 37.8%, having won the previous two ratings years.

Seven's ratings performance was underpinned by the Tokyo Olympic Games, which it used to launch several high-profile shows in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Nine's chief sales officer Michael Stephenson notes that the network won the key 16-39 and 25-54 age demographics.

Signs of thaw in coal sales to China

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 2 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Michael Smith, Peter Ker - PortMac.News Summary

Official data reveals that China imported two million tonnes of Australian thermal coal in October, along with 778,000 tonnes of coking coal.

The latter is used to make steel, while thermal coal is used in electricity generation.

It is the first time since December that Australian coal has been recorded in China's official import data, although the amount cited is only a small fraction of the Australian coal that remains stranded at Chinese ports.

However, it is seen as a hopeful sign that China is willing to ease its year-long ban on importing coal from Australia.

Markets cope with listings surge

The Australian Financial Review - Page 3 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Martin Kelly - PortMac.News Summary

Preliminary data from CoreLogic shows that the clearance rate in Sydney's residential auction market was 71.4% in the last full week of November.

Some 1,577 homes went under the hammer, which is the highest number of auctions in Sydney in seven years.

The clearance rate in Melbourne fell to 68.5%, with 1,891 auctions scheduled for the week.

A record 4,261 properties were auction nationwide during the last week, with a preliminary clearance rate of 71.4%.

Govt urged to set up social housing future fund

The New Daily - Page Online : 29 November 2021 - Original article by Euan Black - PortMac.News Summary

The Grattan Institute has urged the federal government to establish a 'Future fund' for social housing, with the new fund to be financed by the issue of $20 billion in bonds.

The Institute contends that an initial investment of $20 billion would provide enough money to construct 3,000 social housing units a year, or 6,000 if the states matched the federal government's investment.

In launching its fund proposal, Brendan Coates from the Grattan Institute says Australia has a housing crisis, and that "Poorer people are feeling the pinch most". [Click to view full article here]

ASX Investors brace for Omicron fallout

The Australian - Page 13 & 14 : 29 November 2021 - Original article by David Rogers - PortMac.News Summary

Futures pricing suggests that the Australian sharemarket will retreat when trading resumes on Monday.

A negative lead from Wall Street and the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are likely to weigh on local investors; travel stocks in particular are expected to fall, while the resources sector may also be sold off after Brent crude oil and Singapore iron ore futures retreated.

Wealthi co-founder Peter Esho says any short-term correction will create a buying opportunity.