TISK: Week 47, 2021

By: Jonathon Davidson
Please consider donating to this website by clicking here! 

Buy-Now-Pay-Later Hype is Officially Over: ASX Stocks like Afterpay Lose Millions 
The Guardian 

Shares in Australian-listed buy-now-pay-later companies have plunged by an average of about 80% compared to peak prices within the past year, driven down by swelling losses and lower-than-expected consumer interest in the product. 

While some stocks bounced on Thursday, it came after days of heavy selling that has seen share prices tumble as much as 11.8% in a single trading session.

The chief executive of McLean Roche Consulting, payments analyst Grant Halverson, said 12 BNPL companies were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange – more than anywhere else in the world.

ASX Struggled This Week as 4th Wave Covid, New Variant Stir up Panic
The Edge Markets 

Australian shares fell on Monday to their lowest in over a week, as energy stocks dropped after a resurgence of COVID-19 cases across Europe stoked demand fears and hit risk appetite. 

The energy index fell 2.1%, tracking a sharp fall in oil prices as rising novel coronavirus cases in Europe threatened to slow the economic recovery. 

Sector heavyweights Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos Ltd were down between 2.1% and 3.3%. 

Travel stocks slid on worries of more lockdowns in Europe and spiking cases in the United States.

UK to Require that New Homes Built with EV Charging Points
The Edge Markets

Charging points for electric vehicles will be required to be installed in new buildings in Britain from next year under new legislation to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his office said in a statement on Sunday. 

It said the regulations would lead to up to 145,000 extra charge points being installed in England each year in the run-up to 2030, when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will end in Britain. 

The requirement will apply to new homes and to non-residential buildings such as offices and supermarkets. It will also apply to buildings undergoing large-scale renovations which leave them with more than 10 parking spaces.

What do Oz, China and US Have in Common?: Home Prices are Increasingly Unaffordable 
Reuters 

U.S. home sales unexpectedly rose in October, reaching their highest level in nine months, though higher prices amid tight supply continued to sideline first-time buyers from the market. 

The report from the National Association of Realtors on Monday also showed an increase in the share of investors buying homes last month, likely reflecting growing demand for rental accommodation as the economy reverts to normal, thanks to vaccinations against COVID-19.

White House says Biden will Run Again in 2024
The Edge Markets 

U.S. President Joe Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday. 

Biden, 79, has suffered a dip in his job approval ratings in recent months, leading some Democrats to wonder whether he might not seek another four-year term. 

“He is. That’s his intention,” Psaki said as Biden flew aboard Air Force One for a Thanksgiving event with U.S. troops in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

Democrats were rattled by Republican victories in Virginia’s state elections earlier this month and a narrow Democratic victory in New Jersey.

Progress Win: Apple Confirms its Workers have Legal Right to Discuss Wages, Conditions 
The Edge Markets 

Apple delivered a message to employees on Friday that was striking given its reputation for secrecy: a reminder that workers may discuss wages, hours and working conditions. 

The notice came as some employees have been pushing Apple to do more to ensure there are no unfair gaps in pay across the company.

China’s Ban on Crypto Mining Sees NY Company Become World’s 2nd Biggest Provider
The Edge Markets 

New York-based crypto-mining service provider Foundry USA takes the lead to become the world’s second-largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool after taking up a 15.42% share of the network. 

Cryptocurrency news portal Cointelegraph on Saturday said data from BTC.com showed that digital currency group-owned Foundry USA stands behind pool leader AntPool by a hash rate of just 4,000 PH/s, which contributed to a 17.76% network share at the time of writing.

Oz Finance Minister Contradicts Reserve Bank of Australia, Says Crypto’s Probs Legit 
Guardian Australia 

Cryptocurrency is not a fad, financial services minister Jane Hume has said, arguing that government and industry should not fear the rise of decentralised finance. Hume, speaking at an Australian Financial Review summit on Monday, said cryptocurrency was “not going away any time soon”, regardless of people’s views on it. “So as an industry, and as a government, we need to acknowledge this is not a fad. We should tread cautiously, but not fearfully,” she said, comparing cryptocurrency to previous technology disruptions.

Labour Hire Companies say Australia’s Workers Shortage Here to Stay ‘til at least Early 2023Q1 CY2023 
AFR 

Recruiters say reopening Australia’s borders to visa holders will do little to alleviate skills shortages which will continue for at least another year. 

While recruiters broadly welcomed the restart of the skilled migration program, which will allow more than 57,400 economic visa holders into the country, they warned Australia runs the risk of becoming a net talent exporter without a broader visa overhaul to attract international professionals. 

Andrew Brushfield, a director of recruitment firm Robert Half, said employers struggling to find skilled workers in sectors such as technology and finance will not feel the benefit of renewed international migration for at least 12 months.

Global AI Software Market Value to hit USD$62B in 2022 
The Edge Markets 

Global artificial intelligence (AI) software revenue is forecast to rise 21.3% year-on-year in 2022 to US$62.5 billion.

The AI software market encompasses applications with AI embedded in them, such as computer vision software, as well as software that is used to build AI systems. 

Technology research and consulting firm Gartner Inc on Monday forecast that the top five use case categories of AI software spending in 2022 will be knowledge management, virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles, digital workplace and crowdsourced data.

TISK: Week 46, 2021

By: Jonathon Davidson
Please consider donating to this website by clicking here! 

Australian Cattle Prices at Record Highs
ABC News

Restockers forked out big money this week for lighter animals, especially at the Queensland saleyards of Roma and Dalby, pushing the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) to a new record high of 1,102 cents per kilogram carcass weight (cwt). 

Cattle producer Nicole James from Jericho in Queensland said the bumper prices had everyone talking. 

“About two years ago [someone could] sell four decks of cows and calves and they made $40,000 for the truckload,” she said. 

“But now you sell a deck of steers and they make $60,000 — it’s bloody insane.”

A Record High Number of Banknotes are Circulating Australia Right Now, But Up to $20B are Stuffed in Drawers, RBA Says
ABC News 

Before the pandemic, there were about $80 billion in notes circulating in Australia. Within a year, that figure increased to $100 billion — a 25 per cent increase in a very short period. As Ms Hope put it, that’s “an awful lot of money”. 

Cash hoarding was noticed earlier in the pandemic but the latest figures from the RBA show that hoarding is continuing. Most of the cash withdrawn from ATMs during the pandemic was in $50 and $100 notes.

Reserve Bank of Australia warns Australians about Crypto, Again
Bloomberg

The significant gains in the cryptocurrency market could be erased by changing trends as well as regulatory and monetary developments, according to an official at the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Factors that could combine to pressure digital assets include lower influence of fads, greater concern about the industry’s energy usage and association with financial crimes, said Tony Richards, the RBA’s head of payments policy.

World Coffee Prices are Rising as Futures Market Price for Coffee Beans at Decade High
Fortune

Arabica coffee futures on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) spiked to $236.95 this morning, the highest price since Nov. 1, 2011. Since early August, prices have jumped more than 35%. Year to date, they have more than doubled.

The extreme volatility comes as supply fears surrounding top producers in Brazil and Columbia continue to escalate. Crops were severely damaged this year, due to fire, drought, and frost. And Brazil, which accounts for 40% of the world’s output of coffee, doesn’t have sufficient inventory to fill those gaps. Add in shipping constraints and the concern is even higher. (Some shipments are taking more than three times as long to reach their destination.)

Fourth-wave Covid Spreading Across Western Europe is Pushing Down the Oil Price as Investors Brace for Lockdowns
The Edge Markets

Oil prices fell about 3% to below US$80 a barrel on Friday as surging Covid-19 cases in Europe threatened to slow the economic recovery while investors also weighed a potential release of crude reserves by major economies to cool prices.

US House of Representatives Passes Biden’s Build Back Better Act – But It’s Not Law Yet
Time Magazine 

With the Build Back Better bill now on its way for another round of negotiations in the Senate, it’s still likely that the bill will be altered or whittled down further before it reaches President Joe Biden’s desk. 

The Senate’s deliberations will once again revolve around Manchin and Sinema, who have already signalled they don’t support every item in the House’s bill. The Senate Parliamentarian will also issue her final determinations on which parts of the bill are eligible to be permitted to pass through reconciliation, which only requires a simple majority vote in the Senate rather than the two-thirds majority that non-budgetary bills require, but must meet strict requirements.

US Introduces Law that New Cars Must Have Drunk-Detection Technology Onboard
ABC News 

The federal law, which will require new cars to spot intoxicated drivers in coming years, could save thousands of lives annually with the potential to expand overseas, advocates say. 

But the legislation, signed into law this week by President Joe Biden, has also left sceptics to question whether vehicles could refuse to operate due to a false positive or effectively become witnesses against their owners in criminal cases. 

Ultimately it is up to American regulators to decide what could become international precedent-setting rules.

TISK: Week 45, 2021

By: Jonathon Davidson

Please consider donating to this website by clicking here! 

ASOS is Seeking to Turn Around its Terrible Year on the UK Share Market
Reuters 

British online fashion retailer ASOS (ASOS.L) laid out plans on Wednesday to double its profitability in the long term as it seeks to restore investor confidence after abruptly parting ways with its chief executive. 

Shares in the fast-fashion specialist tumbled on Oct. 11 when it said profit could slump next year by more than 40% due to supply chain pressures and consumers returning to pre-pandemic shopping behaviours. 

Nick Beighton, who had been chief executive for six years, left immediately that day in a shock that rattled shareholders.

Oz Unemployment Rate Jumps up to 5.2%
The Guardian

Australia’s jobless rate jumped to 5.2% in October as more people began to look for work even as the economy shed 46,300 jobs during a period when half the economy was still in Covid-triggered lockdowns. 

The increase in unemployment according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics was worse than the markets had expected. The Australian dollar eased to a one-month low of 73.17 US cents in the wake of the report’s release as investors pared back expectations of an early move by the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates.

Some Law Firms in Australia are Offering Entry Bonuses as Economy Struggles with Worker Shortage
Reuters 

As closed borders intensify a skills shortage, demand for Australian mergers and acquisitions lawyers is so high that firms are offering sign-on bonuses for the first time in 15 years and have nearly doubled recruiting fees.

Consumer Price Inflation in US at 30-Year-High
Investor Daily

The US consumer price index added 6.2 per cent in the 12 months through October, marking the largest year-on-year increase since November 1990 and the sixth month that inflation has exceeded 5 per cent. 

Month-on-month, in another record, CPI added 0.9 per cent. 

Consumer prices were boosted by higher energy, shelter and food prices, indicating that inflation may not purely be a result of the economy reopening.

As China Struggles with Unaffordable Housing, Hangzhou to Reserve Land for Affordable Builds
Reuters

China’s eastern city of Hangzhou, known for its high cost of living, has pledged to allocate at least 10% of new residential land for affordable rental housing each year, joining Guangzhou and Shenzhen to meet rising demand as their populations grow.

Louis Vuitton is Considering its first Duty Free Store in China’s Hainan Island
Reuters

Louis Vuitton is considering opening its first duty free store in China on the emerging luxury island hub of Hainan, according to two sources, in a move that would mark a new approach for the world’s largest luxury label.

Toshiba Splitting into Three Companies; One of them Microchip-Focused
The Edge Markets  

The plan – borne of a strategic review undertaken after a highly damaging corporate governance scandal – is aimed at improving shareholder value and encouraging activist shareholders to exit, they said. 

The review calls for its nuclear power and infrastructure-related divisions to be housed under one company while its power chips and hard disk drive divisions would form the backbone of another.

USA’s #1 Carmaker GM to Unveil Ten Different EV Models in S.Korea by 2025
The Edge Markets 

General Motors Co will launch 10 electric vehicles (EVs) for the South Korean market by 2025, but has no plans yet to manufacture EVs in the country, Steven Kiefer, the head of GM’s international operations said on Friday. 

The automaker, which warned last year that persistent industrial action was preventing further investment in South Korea, builds EVs in the United States and China. It also has plans to build the vehicles in Mexico and Canada.

US sues Uber over allegations of overcharging disabled riders
Reuters 

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday sued ride-sharing service Uber Technologies Inc over allegations of overcharging people with disabilities, and asked a federal court to order the company to comply with a federal law protecting the disabled from discrimination.

Days after Larger Settlement, Boeing to pay Ethiopian Families of 737 MAX Crash Victims
Reuters 

Boeing Co agreed on Wednesday to acknowledge liability for compensatory damages in lawsuits filed by families of the 157 people killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash, according to a filing in U.S. District Court in Chicago. 

Intense Summer Forecasts see Canada 2021-22 Wheat Crop Smallest in 14 Years
World Grain   

Canada’s wheat output in marketing year 2021-22 is expected to shrink significantly due to one of the hottest and driest summers on record, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

USA and China Unveil Jointly-Developed Carbon Plan
Reuters 

The United States and China, the world’s two largest emitters of carbon dioxide, unveiled a deal to ramp up cooperation tackling climate change, including by reducing methane emissions, protecting forests and phasing out coal.

UK Won’t Adopt a Binding Date to Phase-out Fossil Fuel Production Despite Hosting COP26
JWN Energy

The U.K. won’t join an alliance of countries fixing a date to phase out fossil fuel production, in a move that calls into question the COP26 host nation’s climate leadership. 

The Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance is being spearheaded by the governments of Denmark and Costa Rica and is expected to announce new member countries on Wednesday at the climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Limiting oil and gas production is one of the key priorities for capping global warming at 1.5-degrees Celsius. Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency said no new oil and gas fields should come online if a climate crisis is to be averted.

TISK: Week 44, 2021

By: Jonathon Davidson

Please consider donating to this website by clicking here!

Fair Work Australia rules all Fruit Pickers on Farms Entitled to $25 An Hour
ABC News 

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that workers picking fruit on a piece rate must be guaranteed a minimum wage under the Horticulture Award. 

The Australian Workers Union (AWU) lodged its claim with the commission in December and argued that every worker should be guaranteed a minimum casual rate, currently $25.41 per hour. 

In its finding delivered late yesterday, the Fair Work Commission’s full bench “expressed the view that the existing pieceworker provisions in the Horticulture Award are not fit for purpose”.

ASX Let In a Crypto ETF and on Day One it Broke Trading Records
Investor Daily

A week after ASIC gave crypto-asset linked exchange-traded funds (ETF) the go-ahead, the BetaShares Crypto Innovators (CRYP) ETF has smashed trading records. 

CRYP debuted on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) at approximately 10:30am this morning at a price of $11.23 per unit. 

Within the first 15 minutes on the market, the ETF experienced a surge in demand from investors. 

Trading volumes in that initial period are estimated to be around $8 million, which puts it on par with the record-setting first day trading volume of Hyperion’s Global Growth Companies Fund.

Republican Party Designs its Own “Green New Deal” Ahead of Climate Bill Vote
EE News 

As world leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland, to offer plans to hit net-zero greenhouse emissions at United Nations climate talks, several GOP senators gathered yesterday to announce their own broad vision for energy policy focused on boosting natural gas production and exports to achieve marginal global carbon reductions from fuel switching and lowered life cycle emissions. 

“We have an opportunity with our allies and with our technologies, I think, to set a different goal than simply let’s get America to zero, let’s unilaterally disarm the American economy by just getting to zero and then let China do what they do,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told reporters. 

The plan, led by Cramer and Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), would aim to reduce global emissions 40 percent by 2050 compared to current levels. It would involve expanding natural gas, nuclear power and carbon capture, building out critical minerals supply chains and reforming the National Environmental Policy Act — all ideas Republicans have supported for years.

Suez Canal Authority is Raising 2022 Tolls by 6% for Container Ships, but not LNG Tankers
Bloomberg 

Suez Canal Authority will increase transit tolls by 6% for nearly all ships passing through the critical waterway from February, despite posting a banner year with record revenue during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The authority, in a statement published on its website Thursday, cited an International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization estimate that global trade traffic will rise 6.7% in 2022, resulting in “good profits” for shipping companies. Liquefied natural gas carriers and cruise ships will be exempted and pay the same tolls as this year, it said.

Airbnb Revenue Starts to Climb Again as World Borders Re-Open to the Vaccinated 
The Edge Markets 

Airbnb Inc’s quarterly revenue topped Wall Street expectations and the short-term home rental company said on Thursday a rebound in global travel amid rising vaccination rates in the last three months of the year would drive growth in 2022. 

International travel search volumes have been rising as countries, including the United States, start to ease pandemic-related restrictions for fully vaccinated visitors. 

Easing lockdowns have helped Airbnb recover from a steep drop in business early last year as leisure-seeking domestic travelers booked homes away from major cities. It now expects cross-border travel to further boost its revenue.

Remember that Pesky Microchip Shortage? Now Nintendo are Suffering, Too
The Edge Markets 

Japan’s Nintendo Co Ltd said on Friday that a global chip shortage which forced the firm to scale back expectations for sales of its hit Switch device is also hitting hardware development.

“The semiconductor situation is having some effect on hardware development,” Nintendo executive Ko Shiota, who heads the development team, told an analyst briefing. 

“We are looking at substituting components and tweaking designs to try and reduce the impact,” he added.

Tesla’s Huge Deal with Hertz Rental Confused as Musk Says Nothing Actually Signed, But Hertz Says Deal Still Underway
BBC

Elon Musk says no contract has been signed with Hertz after the rental car company announced a deal that led to Tesla’s market value surpassing $1 trillion. 

Last week, shares in Tesla jumped 12.6% after Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2022. 

However, Mr Musk tweeted: “I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet.” Yet Hertz told the BBC: “Deliveries of the Teslas already have started.” [Author’s note: this knocked significant wind out the sails of Tesla’s share price.] 

A spokeswoman said: “As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure across the company’s global operations.”

Biden Passes $1T Infrastructure Bill Targeting US Road Upgrade & Affordable Care
The New Daily

After a daylong stand-off, Democrats have set aside divisions between progressives and centrists to pass a $US1 trillion package of highway, broadband and other infrastructure improvement, sending it on to President Joe Biden to sign into law. 

The 228-to-206 vote is a substantial triumph for Biden’s Democrats, who have bickered for months over the ambitious spending bills that make up the bulk of his domestic agenda. 

Biden’s administration will now oversee the biggest upgrade of America’s roads, railways and other transportation infrastructure in a generation, which he has promised will create jobs and boost US competitiveness.

US Federal Appeals Court Freezes Biden’s Ban on Unvaccinated Workers at Mid-Large Companies 
Reuters 

A U.S. federal appeals court issued a stay Saturday freezing the Biden administration’s efforts to require workers at U.S. companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly, citing “grave statutory and constitutional” issues with the rule. 

One Little Case in US Court System May Mean All Poor Defendants’ Bank Statements become Public
Reuters 

A federal judicial panel on Thursday agreed to consider whether to alter a rule to allow financial information that defendants submit to qualify for court-appointed counsel to be made public after a judge ordered its release in Michael Avenatti’s case.

…

He had initially hired lawyers but later asked the court to appoint the Federal Defenders of New York to represent him. Avenatti was then required to provide periodic financial information to prove he was eligible for court-appointed lawyers under the Criminal Justice Act. The forms are usually not public. 

But at the request of a media outlet, Furman in July concluded Avenatti’s filings were judicial documents and that common law and First Amendment rights to public access to them required them to be unsealed. 

…

In an Aug. 12 email to the committee, Furman said that in reaching that decision, he questioned language that appeared in a note to Rule 49.1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which governs privacy protections in court filings. 

…

Lisa Hay, a federal public defender in Oregon and committee member, said the current rule properly protected the privacy rights of [poor] defendants. 

“Somebody who has enough money to retain counsel gets to maintain those privacy rights,” she said. “Indigent defendants should not have those rights violated.”

Boeing to Pay $USD237M Settlement over 737 Max Model Safety Concern Saga
Reuters

Boeing Co current and former company directors have reached a $237.5 million proposed settlement with shareholders to settle a lawsuit over the board’s safety oversight of the 737 MAX aircraft, documents released on Friday show. 

Following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in the space of five months in 2018-19 that killed 346 people, Boeing’s best selling plane was grounded for 20 months and returned to service after the company made significant software and training improvements. 

The proposed agreement, which is being filed in Delaware Chancery Court late on Friday and was confirmed by Boeing, will require the election of an additional board director with aviation/aerospace, engineering, or product safety oversight expertise within one year.

Greenpeace US Pays USD$58,450 to Compensate Police and Firies Called to 2019 Texas Port Blockade Protest
The Reuters 

Environmental activists who shut the largest U.S. energy export port for a day to protest climate change agreed to pay police, fire and court costs to settle state criminal charges, officials said on Friday. 

…

Greenpeace members halted shipping in September 2019 by dangling on ropes from a bridge over the Houston Ship Channel, an effort to pressure political leaders during a presidential debate in the city.

…

The agreement calls for charges to be dismissed against the 25 in six months if there are no further violations. Members of the group also agreed to pay $250 in court costs to settle the state highway obstruction charges. 

…

Greenpeace paid $58,450 in restitution to local police and fire departments that retrieved the protesters and their banners from the bridge.