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All changes compared to 7am Wednesday, except Dow and Bitcoin.

Susan Coyle first woman to lead an ADF 'war-fighting domain'

Major General Susan Coyle's (Above right) life on the road began long before she commanded Australia's forces in the Middle East, or led a task force in Afghanistan, or even before she joined the army as a 17-year-old.

Susan Coyle was born on a remote posting: in Kyogle in northern NSW.

"It was a transient childhood," says Major General Coyle, who from July will be a three-star general and the first woman to lead what the military calls a "War-fighting domain".

"My father worked for the Water Resources Commission, within the NSW government. We would move from dam site to dam site and once the wall was built to capture the water, our house would get packed up onto two trucks, and we'd go to the next dam site.

In July, Major General Coyle will be promoted to lieutenant general – the army's second-highest rank – and will begin her new role as chief of joint capabilities.

In that role she'll be in charge of the ADF's cyber and space commands, as well as information warfare.

It's a vital role, says retired major general Gus McLachlan.

"Commander, joint capabilities is really the fourth of our service chiefs. We have traditional domain chiefs for navy, army and air force, and we've had them for hundreds of years. The fourth chief is now the domains that cover the new areas of human conflict," he said.

"So space, cyberspace, information warfare – that's the manipulation of the truth. We now have a dedicated commander for those elements."

First official portrait of King Frederik & Queen Mary of Denmark released

The first official gala portrait of King Frederik X of Denmark and his Australian-born wife Queen Mary has been released.

The portrait, which shows the couple wearing the Order of the Elephant on chains, will be displayed in state institutions, including at Danish embassies and consulates around the world.  

Taken at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, it is the first photo of Mary wearing the crown jewels as queen since ascending the throne in January.

In the portrait, Mary wears an emerald set with a tiara, necklace earrings and a large broach. 

The set was designed by jeweller CM Weisshaupt and was a gift from Christian VIII to Queen Caroline Amalie. 

Mary also wears a diamond miniature portrait of the king in a bow of Order of Dannebrog ribbon, in keeping with the tradition of female members of the royal family wearing a portrait of the sovereign.

Crowds turn out as nation seeks healing

The Australian Financial Review - Page 8 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Gus McCubbing - Portmac.News Summary

1000's turned out for Anzac Day services across Australia, with RSL NSW president Mick Bainbridge saying it was a chance for Sydney to heal after the Bondi Junction attack & assault of a church leader in Wakeley.

There was a heavy focus on peacekeepers at the Melbourne ceremony, with RSL

Victoria president Robert Webster saying that "Their enemies weren't always clear, and their allies weren't always reliable".

PM Albanese played two-up at the Townsville RSL with fellow federal parliamentarians Bob Katter and Jacqui Lambie after flying back from Papua New Guinea, where he attended the dawn service at the Isurava memorial with PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

RBA to increase cash rate to 5.1% says forecaster

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 4 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Michael Read - Portmac.News Summary

The consensus of economists is that the Reserve Bank of Australia will upgrade its near-term inflation forecast in May, following the release of the latest CPI data.

A stronger-than-expected headline inflation rate of 1% for the March quarter - and 3.6% in the year to March - has also prompted economists to forecast that the RBA will delay its first official interest rate cut.

However, while most economists expect the RBA's next move will be a rate cut, Judo Bank's chief economic adviser Warren Hogan has forecast that it will increase the cash rate three times in 2024, from 4.35% at present to 5.1%.

He had previously anticipated that the first rate cut would occur in early 2025.

Inflation means tax cuts could 'pose a risk'

The Australian - Page 6 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Sarah Ison, Lydia Lynch - Portmac.News Summary

AMP's chief economist Shane Oliver says the higher-than-expected inflation data for the March quarter means the revised stage-three income tax cuts present a greater economic risk than when they were first announced.

He contends that the tax cuts to be announced in the 14 May budget would have been less of a risk to the economy if inflation had been falling.

Veteran economist Chris Richardson notes that it has been known for a long time that the tax cuts will be inflationary.

Consumer prices rose by 1% in the March quarter; this compares with economists' expectations of 0.8% growth & the 0.6% increase in the December quarter.

Australians flattened by biggest tax increase in world

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Shane Wright - Portmac.News Summary

Data from the OECD shows that the amount of income tax paid by the average wage-earner in Australia rose by 7.6% in 2023.

New Zealand ranked second among developed nations with an average tax increase of 4.5%.

The OECD says the decision to phase out the low and middle-income tax offset contributed to the sharp rise in Australians' personal income tax bills in 2023-24.

The temporary measure was part of the former Coalition government's stage-three tax cuts package.

Let's learn from Gallipoli

The Australian - Page 20 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - Portmac.News Summary

The strategists behind the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 made a fundamental mistake in failing to determine the strength of their opponents.

Today's strategists have access to far more information, yet they still make the same mistakes.

Australia's nuclear submarine policy looks to be a duplication of the purchase strategies behind the F35 Joint Strike Fighter, where again we did not study the future aircraft plans of other countries.

Australia must not make the same mistakes with nuclear submarines.

However, the nation's defence strategists may not have taken into account the anti-submarine weapons that are being developed, which will make Australia's nuclear-powered submarines highly vulnerable when they are eventually delivered.

Ahead of the May budget PM Albanese urged to clean up the HECS-HELP system

abc.net.au - Page Online : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Jason Om - Portmac.News Summary

The chair of the Universities Accord Panel Mary O'Kane has called on the federal government to adopt all of its 47 recommendations as quickly as possible, particularly in regard to student debt.

O'Kane says the HECS-HELP system needs a good clean out, with the 2.9 million people with HECS-HELP debt set to be hit by an increase of 4.7% when their debts are indexed on 1 June.

The panel called for a change in the way that indexation is calculated, with other proposed changes including a reassessmentt of the starting salary at which graduates are required to repay the debt; it is currently $51,550.

From sheep farm to fintech start-up success

The Australian - Page 21 : 25 April 2024 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - Portmac.News Summary

Mark Casey is the Melbourne businessman behind Credit Clear, which was founded to market Australian software that enables the collection of debt payments through mobile phones.

Credit Clear was hoping to break into the US market, but it transpired its software was not compatible with US banking systems.

Casey used revenue from a large residential and retail development near Geelong in Victoria that was previously a sheep farm to help develop a new software system for the US that will be promoted under a new company called Remitter, with the US consumer debt market exceeding $US17 trillion

Retailers to show appreciation to first responders on May 16

Australian Retailers Association - Page Online : 26 April 2024 - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian Retailers Association is gearing up to celebrate First Responders Day on 16 May, with retailers offering special offers for the nation's frontline heroes.

The event, now in its fifth year, is the Australian retail community's way of saying thanks to those who sacrifice so much to keep people safe; they include medical and health workers, police officers, firefighters, defence and border force personnel, SES volunteers, lifesavers and quarantine workers.

ARA CEO Paul Zahra says it is vital to continue to thank first responders, who alongside their everyday work have also steered the nation through a global pandemic, unprecedented natural disasters and in most recent times a tragedy at a major shopping centre.

He adds that First Responders Day is now a permanent fixture on Australia's retail calendar and a modest way of showing our respect and appreciation to those who sacrifice so much for our way of life.

First Responders Day is sponsored by American Express.

Venice intro's day-tripper charge as city tackles tourism influx

abc.net.au - Page Online : 26 April 2024 - Portmac.News Summary

Venice has become the first city to introduce a payment charge for tourists, with day-trippers having to pay EUR5 ($8.21) to access the Italian city from 8.30am to 4.30pm on 29 days in 2024.

25th April, which is a national holiday in Italy will be the first day on which the new charge will apply.

Commenting on the new charge, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that we are "Not closing the city, we are just trying to make it more liveable."

Around 20 million people visited Venice in 2023, with roughly half of them staying overnight in hotels or holiday lets, while Venice's resident population is put at around only 48,000.

Saying it with flowers tops $1 billion cash splash For Mum-Day

Market Research Update - Page Online : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Roy Morgan - Portmac.News Summary

Research from the Australian Retailers Association in collaboration with Roy Morgan shows that Australians are set to spend $995 million on Mother's Day this year; this is up $70 million (or 7.5%) from 2023.

Despite the increased spend, some 400,000 fewer people are set to buy Mother's Day gifts this year, highlighting the impact of the cost-of-living crunch.

The higher overall spend is due to a higher spend per person of $102 (up from $92 in 2023), reflecting inflationary driven price increases and indicating that those who are less affected by cost-of-living pressures are spending more.

Flowers, alcohol, or an experience top the gifts for mothers and others.

Continuing the trend in recent years, 19% of people who purchase a present will be gifting somebody other than their birth mother.

This includes their partner, friend, mother-in-law, grandmother, sister or daughter. 

Why Foxtel faces its streaming apocalypse

The Australian Financial Review - Page 15 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones - Portmac.News Summary

Foxtel boasted annual earnings of nearly $1bn a decade ago, when nearly one in every three households had a pay-TV subscription.

However, Foxtel has been hard hit by competition from subscription video-on-demand services.

Analysts expect Foxtel's earnings to fall to about $390m in the 2026 financial year, while its own streaming platforms will lose key HBO content if Warner Bros Discovery proceeds with plans to launch its own SVOD service in Australia.

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany says the company is now essentially two separate businesses, focused on streaming and its legacy pay-TV operations.

Foxtel's 3.1 million SVOD users account for 66% of its customer base, but just 23% of group revenue; in contrast, its 1.5 million pay-TV customers contribute 63% of revenue.

Heartbreak High is a global hit. So why aren't there more Aussie shows like it?

The Age - Page Online : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Calum Jaspan - Portmac.News Summary

Streaming company Netflix has confirmed that the Australian-produced Heartbreak High has appeared on its global top 10 list of the most-watched programs for the second week in a row.

It is the second Australian production to enjoy success on Netflix so far in 2024, with Boy Swallows Universe spending three weeks near the top of the charts earlier in the year.

The federal government is considering new rules that would require local and global streaming services to produce a certain amount of content from an Australian perspective, although pay-TV and streaming services currently spend more on local drama productions than free-to-air networks, where cheaper reality programs dominate.

Facebook shifts $1.1b offshore as local profits rise 36%

The Australian Financial Review - Page 14 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones - Portmac.News Summary

Facebook Australia's latest accounts reveal that it paid its overseas affiliates $1.14 billion for 'purchases of services' in the 12 months to 31 December, up from $1.03 billion in 2022.

The rise in Facebook's 'purchases of services' came as its post-tax profit rose 36% to $47.1 million, while the number of people working for Facebook in Australia declined by 16%.

Despite an broader decline in advertising, Facebook reported $1.34 billion from Australian advertisers in the subject year, up 6.8% from $1.26 billion the year before.

BHP's bold Anglo American bid

The Australian - Page 13 & 16 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Nick Evans - Portmac.News Summary

BHP says that acquiring Anglo American would increase its exposure to 'future facing commodities', given that the latter has significant copper assets.

Anglo American has advised that its board is considering the Stg31bn ($60bn) offer, which it has described as "unsolicited, nonbinding and highly conditional".

BHP's offer comprises 0.7097 of its shares for every Anglo American share.

The bid values the target at Stg25.08 per share, although BHP is effectively proposing to pay Stg16.82 per share because the offer is conditional on Anglo American selling its stakes in Anglo Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore to its current shareholders.

Anglo American has given BHP a deadline of 22 May to make a firm offer or walk.

Woodside to pay $18b for fossil fuel assets

The Australian Financial Review - Page 17 : 26 April 2024 - Original article by Elouise Fowler - Portmac.News Summary

Woodside Energy is expected to spend at least $18bn over the next five years on developing fossil fuel assets, despite 58.4% of shareholders voting down its climate plan at its recent AGM.

Around $5.6 billion will be spent on developing the Trion oil project in the Gulf of Mexico, while $5.4bn is expected to spend on the Scarborough gas field and the onshore Pluto LNG plant.

Chairman Richard Goyder says directors will consider the "Mood of investors" following the large vote against its climate plan.

He was re-elected for a final three-year term as chairman, with more than 80% of proxy votes being cast in his favour.

ASX Shares flat on inflation rebound

The Australian - Page 20 : 25 April 2024 - Original article by Jack Quail - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket edged lower on Wednesday, after the latest quarterly inflation data dampened expectations of an interest rate cut in 2024.

The S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.5% to close at 7,683 points ahead of the ANZAC Day break.

BHP was down 0.6% at $45.23, Perpetual fell 3.5% to $23.83 and Kogan ended the session 27.5% lower at $5.10.

However, Fortescue rose 0.7% to $24.76 and Woodside Energy was up 0.5% at $28.57.