Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

Australian Dollar: $0.6917 USD (down $0.0023 USD)

Iron Ore Sep Spot Price (SGX): $101.90 USD (up $0.35 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $90.46 USD (up $3.17 USD)

Gold Price: $1,758.81 USD (down $3.02 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $3.6465 (up $0.0570 USD)

Bit-coin: $23,418.68 (up 0.1% in the last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 33,999.04 (up 18.72 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Video : Ukrainian emergency services held a nuclear disaster drill in the country's Zaporizhzhya region on August 17 after repeated shelling at the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhya site in early March. 

Ukraine forces say fighting ‘deadlocked’

Ukrainian forces say they have beaten back a Russian attack in the southern region of Kherson, while shelling by Kremlin forces in Kharkiv in Ukraine’s north killed seven people as the near six-month war grinds on with no let up in fighting.

Russian bombardments in a residential area of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, on Wednesday evening killed seven people and injured 16, the Ukrainian Emergencies Service said.

“This is a devious and cynical strike on civilians with no justification,” President Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.

In the south, Ukrainian forces routed an attempted advance by Russian forces near the town of Bilohirka, northeast of Kherson, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said.

Drone pilots mark targets for new offensive:

"This is a war of artillery, high-tech weapons and minds. The soldier still plays an important role but success is mostly dependent on rockets, artillery and air strikes," says Maj Gen Dmytro Marchenko, who successfully organised the defence of the southern city of Mykolaiv from Russian attack last spring.

It is not like World War Two, when one big army attacked another, he argues.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the Russians are sending an extra 30 battalion tactical groups - some 22,000 troops - to the south to respond to Kyiv's much-vaunted counter-offensive.

The arrival of American Himars and M270 multiple rocket launchers has given the Ukrainians the ability to destroy targets they couldn't reach before.

U.N. chief worried by situation at front line nuclear plant:

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he was gravely concerned by the situation at Europe's largest nuclear power station after it came under shelling at the front lines in Ukraine.

Russia said it could shut down the facility, a move Kyiv said would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.

Guterres said military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant.

Zelensky meets with President of Turkey in Lviv:

In Lviv, President Zelensky held a meeting with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who arrived in our country on a visit.

Zelensky noted the importance of this visit: “This is a strong message of support from such a powerful country as Turkey.”

President Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the Republic of Turkey for its constant support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Censure motion plan against Morrison over secret ministries

The Age - Page Online : 19 August 2022 - Original article by David Crowe, James Massola - PortMac.News Summary

Former prime minister Scott Morrison could become the first federal MP to be formally censured by parliament since Queensland senator Fraser Anning in 2019.

The move to have Morrison censured comes after the revelation that he secretly appointed himself to five ministries during the pandemic.

As a first step towards moving a censure motion against Morrison, Greens leader Adam Bandt has asked speaker Milton Dick to refer Morrison's actions to the House privileges committee.

Bandt says Morrison's decision to keep the appointments secret could amount to contempt of parliament.

Billion-dollar boom for Aussie industry

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Simon Benson - PortMac.News Summary

Australia's critical minerals industry is likely to be a key beneficiary of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, which has been passed by Congress.

Amongst other things, the legislation requires 40% of the value of the minerals used in electric car batteries to be sourced from countries that have a free-trade agreement with the US; this is slated to rise to 80% by 2027.

Trade Minister Don Farrell says the passage of the legislation has put Australia in the "Box seat", given the nation's large reserves of critical minerals and its reputation as a reliable supplier of minerals.

China is currently the biggest exporter of critical minerals, but it does not have a free-trade agreement with the US.

Low productivity gains blamed for sluggish wages

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Ronald Mizen - PortMac.News Summary

Productivity Commission boss Michael Brennan has told a pre-jobs summit conference that low productivity is the reason why Australia has low wages growth, and not because workers are not getting their fair share of business productivity gains.

His comments are at odds with claims made by the ACTU, while annual productivity growth has fallen from an average of 1.5% over the past 30 years to 1.2% over the past 15 years and just 0.7% over the past five years.

Brennan contends one easy way to boost future productivity gains would be to invest more in early childhood education, when children were effectively learning how to learn.

Labor leaning towards skills-for-migration pact

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Phillip Coorey - PortMac.News Summary

Treasury has released an issues paper in the leadup to the federal government's jobs and skills summit, as the government appears to closer to securing a pact between business and unions on skills and migration.

The paper acknowledges the economic benefits that can be had from increasing the immigration intake, but argues that immigration cannot be the sole solution to Australia's labour and skills shortages.

The federal government is considering a proposal by the Australian Workers' Union that would see employers fund the training of a domestic worker for every migrant they employ, while Employment Minister Tony Burke says he is keen to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited.

'Unethical' for GPs to charge to prescribe Covid antivirals

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Melissa Davey, Emily Wind - PortMac.News Summary

Council on the Ageing CEO Ian Yates has claimed it is unethical and immoral that any GP would consider charging a pensioner for prescribing Covid antivirals, and that no pensioner should have to 'Beg' to get bulk-billed for what is a potentially life-saving treatment.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price has described Yates' comments as "Unhelpful"; she claims he has fallen into the trap of blaming GPs for years of underfunding by the commonwealth.

Russia cries foul over 'Spy bunker' bid

The Australian - Page 4 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Ben Packham - PortMac.News Summary

Russia's embassy in Australia is seeking legal advice on whether it can challenge a notice from the National Capital Authority to evict it from the site of its proposed new embassy in Canberra.

Security experts claim that Russia would have used the new embassy as its espionage headquarters in Australia, but one Russian embassy official claims that its activities in Canberra are of a purely diplomatic nature.

Australian National University intelligence studies professor John Blaxland suggests that Russia will retaliate against the NCA's decision by expelling some of Australia's diplomatic staff in Moscow.

Beijing blames PM for beef ban fears

The Australian - Page 4 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Will Glasgow - PortMac.News Summary

Chinese official media has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of overreacting to rumours in China's trade press.

The rumours suggested that China would ban the importation of Australian beef over fears of foot-and-mouth disease, even though the disease is not present in Australia.

China has already banned a large number of Australian agricultural commodities, including lobster, wine and barley, and Albanese said there was no justification for any more Chinese trade sanctions on Australia; Australia's beef trade to China is worth $2 billion a year.

Timor-Leste warns it will work with China if Oz insists on pumping gas to Darwin

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Christopher Knaus - PortMac.News Summary

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta says it is his country's "National strategic goal" that gas from the Greater Sunrise fields be pumped to its southern shores.

The Greater Sunrise gas and oil fields are reckoned to be worth $71 billion, and their development is viewed as vital to the future of Timor-Leste.

However, Woodside Energy, the Australian company seeking to develop them, wants to pipe gas from the fields to Darwin for processing.

Ramos-Horta says it will consider approaching China to develop the Greater Sunrise fields if Woodside and the Australian government do not back the idea of piping the gas to Timor-Leste.

Solomon Islands signs $100 million Huawei deal

The Age - Page Online : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Eryk Bagshaw - PortMac.News Summary

The Solomon Islands has signed a $100 million deal with Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei to construct 161 mobile towers, with Huawei being the firm that Australia, the US and Canada have banned from building their 5G networks because of national security concerns.

The deal will be funded via a loan by the state-owned Exim Bank of China, with the deal following the signing of a security deal between the Solomon Islands and China in April.

When asked to comment on the Huawei deal, the Department of Foreign Affairs stated that international investments were a matter for the Solomon Islands government.

Penalties for dirty car emissions

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 8 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Jacob Greber - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government looks set to introduce penalties on the sale of new traditional internal combustion engines.

Labor had taken the proposal to the 2019 election, but it was 'Weaponised' by the Coalition, and it abandoned the idea in 2021.

It hopes the idea will encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, as well as preventing Australia from becoming a 'Dumping' ground for the sale of redundant stock that can no longer be sold in other markets.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will flag the adoption of the policy at a function organised by the EV lobby on 19 August, where he will note that passenger cars make up almost 10% of Australia's CO2 emissions

Business and unions call for nuclear power rethink

The Australian - Page 8 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Jess Malcolm - PortMac.News Summary

The Senate is conducting an inquiry into Labor's plans to enshrine its 43% emissions reduction target into law.

In its submission to the inquiry, the Australian Workers' Union claims that it is open to the ban on nuclear power being lifted, and that it is supportive of the idea of small-modular nuclear reactors if they are seen to be economically viable.

The Business Council of Australia contends that the government should not rule out the use of nuclear power, while the Australian Industry Group believes that nuclear power could play a role in Australia's future energy mix.

Labor wipes slate on cyber

The Australian - Page 1 & 4 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Geoff Chambers - PortMac.News Summary

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neill has asked her department to come up with a new cyber security strategy as a matter of priority, with Labor to replace the $1.7 billion 10-year cyber security strategy released by then prime minister Scott Morrison in 2020.

O'Neill says the new strategy will be a "Whole-of-nation effort", while it will incorporate a range of policies that Labor brought to the federal election, including tougher penalties for cyber criminals.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre has estimated that cyber crime costs the economy over $33 billion a year, while it received over 67,500 cybercrime reports in the 2021-22 financial year.

Bank Australia to halt loans for fossil fuel cars in 2025

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Adam Morton - PortMac.News Summary

Bank Australia will announce at a national electric vehicle summit on 19 August that it will cease to offer loans for new cars with internal combustible engines from 2025, with the hope that it will encourage more of its 185,000 customers to purchase electric vehicles.

However, it will still offer loans for second-hand fossil fuel cars, recognising that not all customers will be able to afford a new EV at that time.

Climate change minister Chris Bowen will tell the summit that the federal government has invited the states and territories to work together on developing a national strategy for EVs.

Battery-farmed eggs to be phased out by 2036

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Calla Wahlquist - PortMac.News Summary

RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell has welcomed the move to officially ban the use of conventional layer hen cages in the egg industry, describing it as a significant win for animal welfare.

He adds that the move to phase out battery-farmed eggs by 2036 will also eventually be a win for the millions of layer hens confined to battery cages.

The new guidelines will still allow egg producers to cage their laying hens, but each hen will be required to have access to a minimum amount of usable space.

Mussell hopes that state and territory governments will enforce the guidelines well before the deadline.

Treasury uncorks Penfolds' promise

The Australian - Page 19 & 22 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Eli Greenblat - PortMac.News Summary

Treasury Wine Estates has reported a 5.3% rise in net profit to $263.2 million for 2021-22.

The increase in profit came despite its revenue falling by 3.6% to $2.5 billion.

CEO Tim Ford says Treasury Wine Estates is looking at its premium Penfolds brand to help boost growth in markets such as Hong Kong, Thailand and the US to offset the loss of sales to China, which imposed punitive tariffs on Australian wine imports in 2020.

He says Treasury Wine Estates' long-term objectives continue to be an earnings margins target of more than 25 per cent and sustainable growth.

Seven, Catalano join forces on real estate venture

The Australian Financial Review - Page 17 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Max Mason, Mark Di Stefano - PortMac.News Summary

Seven West Media is to invest in View Media Group, which is Antony Catalano's digital property and advertising venture.

Catalano says that Seven's involvement will accelerate VMG's acquisition and growth plans, while Seven MD and CEO James Warburton says that VMG is an exciting investment for it.

Catalano has been keen to get Seven involved in his real estate venture since early 2018, when he departed from Domain.

'Show us the money' call on arts funds in limbo

The Australian - Page 6 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Matthew Westwood - PortMac.News Summary

The former Coalition government's Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand fund was set up to assist arts and entertainment organisations to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initial funding of $200m for the RISE scheme was supplemented with an additional allocation of $20m in March.

However, applications have yet to open, prompting the Coalition to urged Arts Minister Tony Burke to allocate the funding.

The government intends to release its national cultural policy by the end of 2022.

ASX falls 0.2 % on busy day of earnings

The Australian Financial Review - Page 28 : 19 August 2022 - Original article by Richard Henderson - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 18 August, with the S&P/ASX 200 easing 14.9 points to close at 7,112.8 points.

Blackmores shed 10.1% to end the session at $73.19 and Transurban Group was down 3.4% at $14.16.

However, Sezzle was up 17% at $0.85 and Treasury Wine Estates rose 4% to $13.14.