Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7842 USD (up $0.0009 USD)

Iron Ore Jun Spot Price (SGX): $221.95 USD (up $0.10 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $65.40 USD (up $0.52USD)

Gold Price: $1,837.16 (up $1.51 USD

Bit-coin: $56,779.89 USD (up 2.08 % in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 34,269.16 (down 473.66 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Israeli raid flattens Gaza tower

Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Israel's economic hub Tel Aviv on Tuesday in retaliation for an Israeli strike that destroyed a 12-storey building in Gaza, as the foes traded their heaviest fire for several years.

Hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza escalated on Tuesday as each side attacked the other with aerial bombardments that recalled their last major conflict in 2014.

A 13-storey residential block in Gaza has collapsed after one of several dozen Israeli airstrikes, albeit after an Israeli warning, as Israelis reported explosions and sirens more than 70 km up the coast from Gaza. Thirty-one people were reported dead: 28 in Gaza and three in Israel.

Late into the night, Gazans reported their homes shaking and the sky lighting up with near-constant Israeli strikes.

The fighting between Israel and Gaza's armed factions was triggered by clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday.

Budget 2021: Jobs, spending & deficits

The Australian Financial Review - Page B1 & B2 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Phillip Coorey - PortMac.News Summary

In ScoMo & Joshie's 'Play now, pay later' Mega budget the federal government has revealed that it now expects a Budget deficit of $161bn for 2020-21, compared with expectations of $197.7bn when it released the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in December - How good is that !

'Back In Black' just a memory:

The deficit is forecast to fall to $57bn by 2024-25, although the Budget is not slated to return to surplus for at least a decade.

Meanwhile, Treasury has upgraded its economic growth forecast to 4.2% in 2021-22, up from expectations of 3.5 per cent in December, while the official unemployment rate is forecast to fall to five per cent in 2021-22 and just 4.75% in 2022-23.

The Budget includes increased spending on the JobTrainer program and the federal government's apprenticeship scheme.

What budget it means for regional Australians

abc.net au - Page Online : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Kath Sullivan, Jess Davis - PortMac.News Summary

The 11 May Budget is being seen as a largely positive one for rural and regional Australia.

Measures include $630 million to be spent on rural aged care over five years. The federal government has also allocated $200 million for a National Soil Strategy, along with $370 million to strengthen Australia's biosecurity.

There is also an $85 million commitment to the Regional Connectivity Program, while more than 5,000 farmers who have received the Farm Household Allowance will have their business debts waived.

No pay rises for years

The Australian Financial Review - Page B8 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Matthew Cranston - PortMac.News Summary

Wages growth was just 1.4% in 2020, and the Budget papers show that the Treasury does not expect an increase in real wages for at least four years.

Wages are forecast to increase by 1.25% in 2020-21, while wages growth in 2021-22 has been upgraded from 1.25% to 1.5% since the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.

Treasury has stated that its outlook for wages growth reflects factors such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect of continued spare capacity in the labour market in the near-term.

Childcare costs half of $3.4b package for women

The Australian Financial Review - Page B4 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Sally Patten - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government has allocated $3.4 billion in its 11 May budget to boost women's health, safety and economic security, as it seeks to win back estranged women voters.

Around half of that money will be taken up by childcare subsidies, while hopes that that the government might mandate superannuation guarantee payments on its paid parental leave program were not met.

The government contends that cutting the cost of childcare has the potential to create up to 300,000 hours of work per week, potentially boosting GDP by up to $1.5 billion.

80,000 new home care packages

The Australian Financial Review - Page B5 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Andrew Tillett - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government will inject an additional $17.7 billion into aged care over the next five years, as it used the 11 May budget as its opportunity to respond to the aged care royal commission.

Aged care operators will get an extra $10 a day per resident to boost the standard of care, while an extra 80,000 home care packages are to be created.

Commenting on what he said were necessary important reforms to aged care, Health Minister Greg Hunt noted that around 1.3 million Australians currently access aged care services, and that there are expected to be seven million Australians over the age of 65 by the middle of the century.

Income tax cut a possible election sweetener

The Australian Financial Review - Page B13 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Tom McIlroy - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government has confirmed that the low and middle income tax offset will be extended until the end of the 2021-22 financial year.

The tax rebate will cost the Budget about $7.8bn over the forward estimates period, although Treasury estimates that extending it by a year will boost GDP by about $4.5bn in 2022-23 and create around 20,000 jobs.

Some 10.2 million taxpayers will benefit from the extension of the tax offset, while Treasurer Josh Frydenberg say it will help support the economy's recovery from the pandemic.

Business tax breaks extended to 2023

The Australian Financial Review - Page B7 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Tom McIlroy - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government has used the 11 May Budget to announce the extension of business tax breaks into 2023.

More than 99% of businesses will be able to deduct the full cost of eligible capital assets until 30 June 2023, while loss carry-back rules will also be extended into 2022-23.

Treasury estimates that the extended measures will create up to 60,000 jobs by 2022-23, while the extensions are worth a combined $20.7 billion by 2024-25.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the extension of the tax breaks would allow farmers to buy new harvesters and manufacturers to expand their production lines.

Rescue flights to pick up 17,000 stranded Aussies

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Anthony Galloway - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government has allocated sufficient funds in the 11 May budget to pay for around 120 additional repatriation flights over the next 12 months.

The flights will allow for around 17,760 Australians stranded overseas to return home, which is about half of the people who have registered as wishing to do so.

The budget also allocates millions of dollars to make mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, while it also allocates $37.4 million over two years to assist India through its second COVID-19 wave.

Plan mostly politics with little economics

The Australian - Page 14 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Judith Sloan - PortMac.News Summary

The 11 May Budget is arguably nearly all politics, with hardly any economics.

It represents a continuation of "Fiscal pump priming", with the expected deficit for the coming financial year equivalent to 5% of GDP.

Such stimulus would normally be associated with unemployment of between eight and 10%, but latest figures suggest that it is around 5.6%.

There is a lot of emphasis in the Budget on what is known as the output gap, and Treasury contends that this gap is still substantial.

It would be better to fill the gap with more private sector activity, but Treasury seems to think filling it via more public spending is better.

Lockdown fears as returned traveller brings virus to Melbourne

Herald Sun - Page 5 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Grant McArthur, Suzan Delibasic, Mitch Clarke - PortMac.News Summary

Victorian health authorities have identified a number of exposure sites in Melbourne that were visited by a man in the days before he tested positive for COVID-19.

The man in his 30s had returned from India via the Maldives and Singapore, prior to a ban on travel from India.

He spent 14 days in an Adelaide quarantine hotel before leaving for Melbourne on 4 May; a returned traveller in an adjacent hotel room tested positive on the same day.

The man tested positive on 10 May, and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says he was probably infectious from 6 May.

People who have visited any exposure sites must self-isolate and be tested for the coronavirus.

Victoria had recorded 73 consecutive days without a locally-transmitted case of COVID-19.

Multimillion-dollar government 'Rort' laid bare before ICAC

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Tom Rabe - PortMac.News Summary

The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating public servants Craig Steyn and Alexandre Dubois.

The two are accused of awarding over $41 million in dubious contracts to family, friends and acquaintances over a decade, for which they received kickbacks worth close to $7 million, including school fees and international flights.

Sandra Alexander, who is Steyn's first cousin, told ICAC on 11 May that she and her husband had paid thousands in kickbacks to Steyn in return for almost 10 years of government contracts.

She agreed with Counsel Assisting the inquiry Jason Downing, SC, that she was aware that what she and her husband had done represented a "Kickback to a public official".

Beijing 'likely' to restrict students

The Australian - Page 38 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Tim Dodd - PortMac.News Summary

China is tipped to take further action to restrict its students from undertaking study in Australia, according to a paper from the Australian National University's National Security College.

The paper suggests such action could include ending the official recognition of Australian qualifications in China and fostering negative views of Australia, while the paper contends that education is the only Australian export market to China worth over $10 billion that China cannot target without doing "Significant" hurt to itself.

NSW mouse plague now an 'Economic and public health crisis'

abc.net au - Page Online : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Hugh Hogan, Lucy Thackray - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales farmers contend the state's worsening mouse plague is now an 'economic and public health crisis', while the Country Women's Association says the plague is affecting the mental health of both farmers and townspeople.

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle says farmers are calling on the government to provide a $25,000 rebate to farmers impacted by the plague to cover 50% of the cost of mouse baits.

Some farmers have reported 100% losses of summer crops, while farmers are spending up to $150,000 on baiting.

'Real' cuts likely for ABC and SBS

The Australian - Page 3 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by James Madden - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government's Budget papers shows that funding for public broadcasting will fall by 0.8% year-on-year in 2021-22.

Expenditure on services such as the ABC and SBS is forecast to fall by 6% over the four years to 2024-25.

Much of this funding reduction is due to the abolition of the enhanced local and regional news program, which has cost $43.7m annually since it was launched in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, the three-year indexation freeze of the ABC's operational budget will begin to be eased from 2022-23.

Shares retreat amid tech sell-off

The Australian - Page 35 : 12 May 2021 - Original article by Gerard Cockburn - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket backtracked on 11 May, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 1.1% to close at 7,079. points.

Fortescue Metals Group was down 2.8% to $24.09 despite the price of iron ore reaching a new high, while the ANZ Bank eased 1.1% to finish at $27.07 and Afterpay slumped 8.7% to end the session at $89.

However, Boral was up 3.4% at $6.72 and Omni Bridgeway rose 4.3% to $3.90.