Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7330 USD (down $0.0009 USD)

Iron Ore Aug Spot Price (SGX): $212.35 USD (down $0.65 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $67.32 USD (up $0.72 USD)

Gold Price: $1,810.18 USD (down $2.99 USD)

Bit-coin: $29,707.22 USD (down 3.54% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 34,511.99 (up 549.95 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Three NSW regional councils go into lockdown

The Daily Telegraph - Page 7 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Anna Caldwell - PortMac.News Summary

New South Wales has recorded 78 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, including 29 people who were active in the community while they were infectious.

Meanwhile, three local government areas in regional NSW will be subject to stage one lockdown restrictions for at least seven days in order to contain the spread of the Delta variant.

A pet food delivery driver from south-west Sydney is believed to have been highly infectious when he recently visited a number of exposure sites in the shires of Orange, Blayney and Cabonne.

Residents will only be permitted to leave their home for four essential reasons, although schools will remain open.

(See full story on PortMac.News today)

South Australia seven-day lockdown

The Advertiser - Page Online : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Andrew Hough, Kara Jung, Katelin Nelligan, Gabriel Polychronis, Antimo Iannella - PortMac.News Summary

SA Premier Steven Marshall says South Australia is facing a "Real and present threat" from the Delta variant of COVID-19.

His government has imposed South Australia's third lockdown since the pandemic began, after the cluster in the Adelaide suburb of Modbury rose to five people.

Health authorities have identified more than 50 exposure sites that are linked to the oubreak. Residents of Adelaide, Gawler and the Adelaide Hills will be entitled to federal income support of up to $600 a week after Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly designated them as 'Hotspots'.

The federal government is under growing pressure to reinstate the JobKeeper scheme, with more than 13 million Australians now subject to lockdowns.

'Dramatic turn' Economic fail in September quarter

The New Daily - Page Online : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Matthew Elmas - PortMac.News Summary

Indeed APAC economist Callam Pickering has warned that the Australian economy could potentially go into recession again due to the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in three states.

KPMG has forecast that gross domestic product will fall by 0.5% in the September quarter in response to the lockdowns.

However, the ANZ Bank does not expect the lockdowns to have much impact on the unemployment rate, forecasting that labour supply constraints will prompt employers to retain staff.

Beijing bristles at cyber claims

The Australian - Page 2 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Ben Packham, Will Glasgow - PortMac.News Summary

The Chinese government has responded to claims by 38 nations, including Australia and the US, that it has engaged in cyber espionage and intellectual property theft.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has criticised the "Unreasonable allegations" and said they were politically motivated.

Amongst other things, the countries have accused China of being responsible for the recent hack of the Microsoft Exchange server.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has conceded that Australia may face retaliation for naming China as the alleged perpetrator of the cyber attacks.

(See full story on PortMac.News today)

'Resistance in the ranks' Net zero by 2050 a tough sell

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Katharine Murphy - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government's stance on carbon neutrality will be on the agenda at the Liberal-National Party of Queensland's annual convention.

Delegates will be presented with a number of policy resolutions regarding any move to adopt a net zero emissions target of 2050.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has yet to commit to a formal target, although he has expressed a preference for a target of 2050 at the latest.

Another resolution that has been circulating ahead of the convention opposes any push to increase female representation in parliament via gender quotas; the resolution contends that selection of candidates should be based on merit.

Big companies underperform in slavery reporting

The Australian Financial Review - Page 10 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors has released a report which suggests that compliance with the Modern Slavery Act is lacking among some of the nation's biggest listed companies.

ACSI assessed the level of compliance among 151 of the companies in the S&P/ASX 200 Index, and found that about 33% do not appear to be complying with all of the legislation's disclosure requirements.

ACSI CEO Louise Davidson says the Modern Slavery Act's disclosure requirements should not be regarded as a 'Tick-the-box' exercise.

'Spend before you die' Treasury urges

The Australian Financial Review - Page 11 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Michael Read - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government's recent retirement income review forecast that one in every three dollars paid out of superannuation will be an inheritance rather than retirement income by 2060.

The Treasury has examined this issue in a new discussion paper, and proposed that retirees should be encouraged to draw down their super balances to provide income in retirement rather than passing the money on to their beneficiaries.

RBA may rethink tapering as lockdowns bite

The Australian - Page 19 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by David Rogers - PortMac.News Summary

The Reserve Bank of Australia recently signalled that it will begin scaling back its bond-buying program in September, amid the nation's stronger-than-expected economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, economists at a number of banks anticipate that the potential economic impact of the latest wave of lockdowns will prompt the central bank to delay plans to slash its bond-buying program by $1bn a week.

Gareth Aird from the Commonwealth Bank says the RBA could potentially start to reduce its bond purchases in November.

Forecasters warn more pain ahead for Aussie

The Australian Financial Review - Page 27 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by William McInnes - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian dollar reached a low of $US0.7320 in local trading on 20 July, its lowest level since 24 November.

Joseph Capurso of the Commonwealth Bank says there is a high risk that the currency will fall below the $US0.70 level in coming weeks.

The dollar is tipped to come under further pressure due to factors such as the impact of the Delta variation of COVID-19 on global economic growth and the fact that about half of Australia's population is now subject to lockdowns.

ANZ kickstarts capital returns to investors

The Australian - Page Online : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Cliona O'Dowd - PortMac.News Summary

Morgan Stanley now expects the ANZ Bank to follow up its $1.5bn on-market share buyback with another one worth $2bn in the first half of 2023.

The investment bank had previously forecast that ANZ will launch a $2.5bn buyback program in the second half of 2022, and repurchase an additional $1bn worth of its shares in fiscal 2023.

Meanwhile, Citigroup expects the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's full-year financial results in August to be accompanied by a $5bn off-market buyback, and Goldman Sachs has forecast that CBA will announce a $3.5bn special dividend in August,

BHP flags long China coal ban

The Australian - Page 13 & 16 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Nick Evans - PortMac.News Summary

BHP has advised that it produced a record 284.1 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia during 2020-21.

The resources group shipped 283.9 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara, compared with 283.3 million tonnes for the previous financial year.

BHP expects to produce 278 to 288 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara in 2021-22, while the group has warned that China's ban on Australian coal imports is likely to remain in place for some time.

ASX Delta nerves see exchange sink again

The Australian - Page 19 : 21 July 2021 - Original article by Rebecca Le May - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 20 July, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.46% to close at 7,252.2 points.

Rio Tinto was down 2.67% at $124.42, Santos retreated 4.98% to end the session at $6.49 and National Australia Bank finished 0.7% lower at $25.47.

However, Oil Search rose 6.27% to $3.90 after rejecting a takeover offer from Santos, while JB Hi-Fi was up 3.73% at $49.51.