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Olyroos crush Argentina | Pfizer OK'd For kids | West Indies vs Australia postponed | Splendour XR | Arts anger | Foreign students $6bn loss | Power prices rocket | $A & Oil Up, Iron Down.

Source : PortMac.News | Independent :

Source : PortMac.News | Independent | News Story:

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23-07-21 | Pfizer OK'd For kids | Olyroos Win | $A Up
Olyroos crush Argentina | Pfizer OK'd For kids | West Indies vs Australia postponed | Splendour XR | Arts anger | Foreign students $6bn loss | Power prices rocket | $A & Oil Up, Iron Down.

News Story Summary:

Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7377 USD (up $0.0017 USD)

Iron Ore Aug Spot Price (SGX): $197.00 USD (down $8.75 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $71.72 USD (up $1.50 USD)

Gold Price: $1,806.80 USD (up $3.32 USD)

Bit-coin: $32,255.05 USD (up 1.56% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 34,823.35 (up 25.35 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.


Olympics opening ceremony director sacked for Holocaust joke

The show director of the Olympics opening ceremony has been dismissed, one day before the event is due to be held.

Footage of Kentaro Kobayashi from the 1990s recently emerged in which he appears to make jokes about the Holocaust.

Japan's Olympic chief Seiko Hashimoto said the video ridiculed "painful facts of history".

The dismissal is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the Games.

This latest scandal has seen former comedian Mr Kobayashi strongly criticised for a sketch he performed 23 years ago, in which he and another comedian pretend to be children's entertainers.

In the sketch Mr Kobayashi turns to his colleague, referring to some paper dolls, saying they are "the ones from that time you said 'let's play the Holocaust'", according to AFP news agency.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga described the comments as "Outrageous and unacceptable".


AstraZeneca blitz: PM says get vax'd now

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Olivia Caisley - PortMac.News Summary

Prime Scott Morrison says he is sorry that the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination rollout has missed a series of targets.

However, he says it is "Totally focused" on turning this around. Morrison has also revealed plans to ramp up the number of pharmacies that are able to provide COVID-19 vaccinations, while he has urged younger Australians to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Morrison contends that the emergence of the Delta variant in Australia means that the AstraZeneca vaccine should no longer be restricted to people over the age of 60, and notes that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved its use among people aged 18+.

Meanwhile, the TGA has just approved Pfizer's application for its vaccine to be given to children aged 12-16.


Two more deaths from AstraZeneca side effects

The Australian - Page 4 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Matthew Denholm - PortMac.News Summary

The Therapeutic Good Administration has advised that 87 cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome have been recorded nationwide since the COVID-19 vaccination rollout began.

Five Australians have now died from the rare blood clotting disorder that has been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, with a 48-year-old Victorian woman and a 44-year-old Tasmanian man passing away in the last week.

The death of a sixth person who had received their first dose of the AstraZeneca jab has been attributed to an even rarer condition known as immune thrombocytopenia, which involves a low platelet count.


Sydney lockdown could become 'Permanent', economist warns

The Australian - Page 4 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Patrick Commins - PortMac.News Summary

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird has warned that Greater Sydney could potentially face ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns until most of the population has been vaccinated.

He adds that case numbers in Sydney over the next week will help determine how quickly restrictions can be eased.

Aird has also stressed that government support for businesses and workers will be crucial to the outlook for the domestic economy when the current lockdowns in Sydney, Victoria and South Australia are eventually lifted.

The Treasury has estimated that the lockdowns are costing $300m a day in lost economic output.


$4.6bn in JobKeeper went to businesses that increased turnover during pandemic

abc.net au - Page Online : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Dan Conifer - PortMac.News Summary

The Parliamentary Budget Office has reported that 157,650 employers saw their turnover increase between April and June 2020, when compared to the same period in 2019.

These employers received a combined $4.6 billion in JobKeeper payments during this period, and Labor MP Andrew Leigh says the figures show how much of taxpayers' money was wasted on the wage subsidy scheme; he contends that these companies should return their JobKeeper payments.


Businesses 'Hoarding' staff

The Australian Financial Review - Page 7 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Ronald Mizen - PortMac.News Summary

Australian Bureau of Statistics payroll jobs data for June has shown a 1% fall, with four of Australia's eight capital cities all having a lockdown in the last two weeks of that month.

However, ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch says companies appear to be reducing employees' hours rather than laying them off; she adds that ANZ remains confident about the longer-term outlook for employment.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government needs to reinstate the $90 billion JobKeeper program, which expired at the end of March.


Foreign student lockout 'A $6bn loss'

The Australian - Page 4 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Richard Ferguson - PortMac.News Summary

There are currently 472,000 holders of Australian student visas, down from over 595,000 at the same time in 2020.

The decline in foreign students over the last 12 months is estimated to have cost the economy over $6 billion, while Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson says Australia's closed borders make it hard for universities to maintain efforts to recruit foreign students.

Education Minister Alan Tudge notes that only New South Wales and South Australia have submitted detailed plans for the return of foreign students, and that both states are currently concentrating on getting out of lockdown.


WHO's plan to probe Wuhan lab leak theory 'Impossible' for China

abc.net au - Page Online : 23 July 2021 - PortMac.News Summary

Senior Chinese health official Zeng Yixin has dismissed plans by the World Health Organization to conduct a second phase of its study into the origins of COVID-19.

It would include examining the theory that the coronavirus was leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, but Zeng says the lab has no virus that can directly infect humans.

He has also refuted suggestions that infected staff and graduate students at the lab may have started the spread of the virus in Wuhan; most experts do not believe that COVID-19 began as the result of a leak from a lab.


Demand surge tests online supermarket deliveries

The Australian Financial Review - Page Online : 23 July 2021 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - PortMac.News Summary

Supermarkets in New South Wales are struggling to keep up with demand for online grocery orders as Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown continues.

Customers are reporting that orders are taking up to five days to arrive, while some orders are only being partially fulfilled.

Woolworths has been using 13CABS for some of its deliveries since the pandemic began in April 2020 and it is continuing to do so, while a Coles spokesman says it is also seeing increased demand for online groceries.


Amazon & other online platforms to face ACCC competition probe

The New Daily - Page Online : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Matthew Elmas - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will investigate competition and consumer concerns with online marketplaces such as catch.com.au and Amazon.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said there are signs that similar platforms overseas are harming competition and pushing up prices, and he wants to make sure the same thing does not happen in Australia.

The ACCC will hand down the results of its investigation into online retail markets in March; the investigation follows previous probes into digital platforms like Google and Facebook.


Let landlords share the pain, say retailers

The Australian Financial Review - Page 20 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Sue Mitchell - PortMac.News Summary

Melbourne retailer Kelley Langeliers says there was an acknowledgement in 2020 that the financial pain of lockdowns should be shared between retailers and landlords.

However, she says there is no such acknowledgement at the present time, which currently sees lockdowns in three states.

Retailers are calling for mandated rate relief, while the Australian Retailers Association is also calling for JobKeeper to be re-instated.


Power prices rocket on Callide outage

The Australian Financial Review - Page 22 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian Energy Market Operator has reported that mainland wholesale electricity prices rose from $37 a megawatt-hour in the March quarter to $95/MWh in the June quarter, with the surge attributed to the explosion at the Callide coal generator in Queensland.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the jump in prices shows why the federal government is concentrating on ensuring adequate supply of dispatchable power in the market, while AEMO stated that wind and solar generation increased by 457MW from the June 2020 quarter to 7,368MW.


Stand-down spectre looms again for struggling airlines

The Australian Financial Review - Page 18 & 25 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Lucas Baird - PortMac.News Summary

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has told staff that the airline is operating at less than 40 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity because of the lockdowns in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

He said Qantas is not looking at having to require stand-downs in its domestic operations at this stage, but he would not rule it out if multiple states keep their borders shut for extended periods.

Virgin Australia has indicated that it has not ruled out the need for stand-downs, while Regional Express deputy chairman John Sharp said it is not considering stand-downs at the moment.


Apple's payment app faces scrutiny

The Australian Financial Review - Page 25 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by James Eyers - PortMac.News Summary

The use of digital wallets rose by 90% during the pandemic, and the Commonwealth Bank tips them to be the most popular contactless way to pay in-store by the end of 2021.

The parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services is conducting upcoming hearings to investigate the growing use of digital wallets, and banks and regulators have raised concerns about the curbs Apple has placed on third-parties accessing the payment functions of its iPhone, given that it and Google have payment applications that compete with banks.


Phantom pain as Opera Australia counts the cost

The Australian - Page 3 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Matthew Westwood - PortMac.News Summary

Opera Australia has postponed a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom of the Opera' due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

About $20m worth of tickets for an upcoming run in Sydney and Melbourne have been sold, and the musical would have helped offset the $7.1m deficit that Opera Australia recorded in 2020.

Meanwhile, Live Performance Australia will lobby the federal government for additional industry assistance, with CEO Evelyn Richardson warning that the sector is likely to face ongoing disruptions for at least another 6-9 months.


In new world of 'Live' music events, Splendour XR marks the spot

The Australian - Page 14 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Andrew McMillen - PortMac.News Summary

The annual Splendour in the Grass music festival near Byron Bay has been reimagined as a virtual event in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Splendour XR will be held on 24-25 July, and it will feature pre-recorded performances by local and international artists such as Gretta Ray, Tash Sultana, The Killers and Denzel Curry. Ticketholders can view the performances via a computer, mobile device or virtual reality headset.


Arts anger after 'Disgraceful' rehearsal bubble rejection

The Age - Page Online : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Nick Miller - PortMac.News Summary

Victoria's performing acts sector has accused the state government of double standards in the different way it treats the sector when compared to the film and television industry and footballers.

The sector is irate that it has been not been given 'bubble' permits to allow for rehearsal of shows once the lockdown ends, or to conduct streaming while footballers are still able to train and film and television crews are still allowed to operate.

Soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham notes that opera singers are like elite athletes who need to train; the Australian Ballet has been able to keep rehearsing on this basis.


NSW urged to drop building ban

The Australian Financial Review - Page 34 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Nick Lenaghan - PortMac.News Summary

Victoria-based home builder Metricon has 150 homes under construction in Greater Sydney and 250 in South Australia.

However, work on those homes has come to a halt, with New South Wales having shut down the construction sector for two weeks as part of Greater Sydney's ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, while construction is banned under South Australia's seven-day lockdown.

Metricon CEO Mario Biasin says NSW and South Australia should follow the approach adopted by Victoria, which has allowed construction work to continue during lockdowns.


ASX Stocks near record on US lead

The Australian - Page 22 : 23 July 2021 - Original article by Rebecca Le May - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket rallied on 22 July, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 1.06% to close at 7,386.4 points.

The benchmark index is now just 20 points below the record high of 7,406 on 16 June.

BHP was up 3.13% at $51.45, Woodside Petroleum gained 3.2% to end the session at $22.58 and the Commonwealth Bank was 1.48% higher at $99.88.


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