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Joe Wins Georgia - Official | Iron ore rallies | Trump courts Michigan GOP leaders in bid to overturn election he lost | BioNTech CEO says coronavirus vaccine could be rolled out next month.

Source : PortMac.News | Independent :

Source : PortMac.News | Independent | News Story:

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news Summary 20-11-20 | Joe Wins Georgia | $A, Iron Down
Joe Wins Georgia - Official | Iron ore rallies | Trump courts Michigan GOP leaders in bid to overturn election he lost | BioNTech CEO says coronavirus vaccine could be rolled out next month.

News Story Summary:

Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

Australian Dollar: $0.7284 USD (down $0.0036 USD)

Iron Ore Dec Spot Price (SGX): $124.30 USD (up $1.36 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $41.83 USD (down $0.13 USD)

Gold Price: $1,864.30 (down $8.65 USD)

Dow Jones: 29,466.49 (down 226.72 points)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.


Trump courts Michigan GOP leaders in bid to overturn election he lost

Joe Biden has won Georgia ahead of Donald Trump after recount, flipping the state for Democrats at the US election

Joe Biden has won Georgia and its 16 electoral votes, an extraordinary victory for Democrats who pushed to expand their electoral map through the Sun Belt.

The win by Mr Biden pads his electoral college margin of victory over President Donald Trump.

Mr Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on November 7 after flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin to the Democrats’ column yet Trump continues with 'Election Fraud' claims.

President Donald Trump has invited Republican state lawmakers from Michigan to the White House on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the President and his legal team are mounting an effort to overturn the results of the election he lost to President-elect Joe Biden.

Trump also called two Republican canvass board members from Wayne County, to Tuesday to offer his support, the person said, after they went back and forth on voting to certify the election results from the state's largest county, which includes Detroit.

The board members filed affidavits Wednesday seeking to "rescind" their votes to certify the election result.

Trump extended the invitation on Thursday morning to the Michigan lawmakers by calling the state senate's Republican majority leader, the person familiar said.

Certification is usually a formality, but Trump is trying to block or delay the process in key states as part of a long-shot effort to overturn his election defeat through the Electoral College.

Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other allies have suggested that GOP state legislatures in battleground states Biden won should try to use a delay in certification to appoint their own slate of electors and ignore the states' popular votes for Biden.

Asked about Trump's outreach to Michigan officials, Biden said Thursday it was "going to be another incident where he will go down in history as being one of the most irresponsible presidents in America history."

"It's just outrageous what he's doing," he said.

"This is very dangerous for our democracy, as it is an attempt to thwart the will of the voters through political pressure from the President," election law expert Rick Hasen wrote.

"Even though it is extremely unlikely to work, it is profoundly antidemocratic and a violation of the rule of law. It's inexcusable."


Campbell apologises for Afghanistan war crimes

The Australian Financial Review - Page 4 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Andrew Tillett - PortMac.News Summary

The Brereton report into war crimes by Australian Defence Force personnel in Afghanistan has recommended that 19 serving and former soldiers be referred for prosecution.

Paul Brereton, the Assistant Inspector-General of the ADF, found that there is evidence that 25 special forces soldiers were involved in the murder of 39 prisoners and civilians between 2009 and 2013.

He also concluded that the elite solders had attempted to cover up their crimes by planting weapons on the victims.

Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell has responded to the report by abolishing the SAS squadron at the centre of the allegations; he has also announced a review of all honours and awards received by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.


'Poor habits, apathetic medicos to blame'

The Australian - Page 9 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Natasha Robinson - PortMac.News Summary

That inade­quate guidelines on the use of personal protective equipment played a part in the spread of COVID-19 among thousands of Victorian healthcare workers has been rejected by Professor Lyn Gilbert.

Gilbert, who is the chairman of the Infection Control Expert Group, has blamed the high rate of COVID-19 cases in healthcare workers on inadequate infection control practices within public hospitals and on doctors' apathy, while she has rejected suggestions that airborne spread of COVID-19 represents the predominant mode of its transmission.


Vaccine doubts 'high', study finds

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Jill Margo - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian National University's Centre for Social Research & Methods has found that just 59 per cent of people would definitely agree to be vaccinated if a COVID-19 vaccine became available in Australia.

Six per cent stated that they would definitely not agree to be vaccinated. The study's co-author Associate Professor Ben Edwards says the rates of hesitance/resistance to a COVID-19 vaccine in Australia are comparable to Europe and higher than in the US.

He noted modelling which indicates that if a vaccine is shown to be 80 per cent effective, 75 per cent of the population will need to be vaccinated.


Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shows promise in elderly, trial results by Christmas

abc.net au - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - PortMac.News Summary

Data published in 'Lancet' on 19 November indicates that Oxford University and AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate has produced a strong immune response in the elderly.

Phase-three trials are ongoing to confirm the findings, and whether the proposed vaccine guards against infection from SARS-CoV-2 in a broad range of people; the results of these trials are expected to be known by Christmas.

Australian company CSL has already commenced production of 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine, despite it still undergoing tests.


ABS October unemployment estimate counts 134,000 Australians working 'Zero hours' in October

Market Research Update - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Gary Morgan, Michele Levine, Julian McCrann - PortMac.News Summary

The ABS unemployment estimate for October 2020 claims 960,900 Australians were unemployed (7.0% of the workforce), up 0.1% points on September 2020.

However, the ABS claim the participation rate has dropped from 66% in March to 65.8% in October.

f the ABS participation rate was steady at 66% there would be an extra 60,000 people in the workforce now and a total of 1.03 million unemployed.

In addition, within the ABS employment release for hours worked it notes that 133,800 Australians the ABS count as employed worked zero hours in October for economic reasons.

If these non-workers are added the adjusted ABS unemployment estimate is 1.16 million - an unemployment rate of 8.4%.

Combined with the ABS under-employment estimate of 1.43 million that would be 2.59 million Australians unemployed or under-employed in October - 18.8% of the Australian workforce.

This 'adjusted' ABS estimate is significantly closer to Roy Morgan's unemployment & under-employment estimate of 22.2% for October released two weeks ago.


HILDA report shows home ownership sliding, incomes falling and inequality rising

The New Daily - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Rod Myer - PortMac.News Summary

The Melbourne Institute's latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) report shows that the nation's average household assets increased by 64 per cent to $1.37 million between 2002 and 2018.

However, average household debt rose by 104 per cent to $213,496 over this period.

The HILDA survey also found that the proportion of Australians with a mortgage rose from 33.8 per cent to 36.3 per cent, although home ownership has declined from 68.1 per cent in 2002 to 63.9 per cent.


Super guarantee hike to 'cut lifetime income'

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 10 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Ronald Mizen, Aleks Vickovich - PortMac.News Summary

The full report of the review commissioned by the federal government into retirement income will be released on 20 November, but its key findings have been made known.

They indicate that Australia's retirement system is "effective, sound and sustainable", but that it is too complicated.

The system is seen as having three 'pillars' - compulsory superannuation, voluntary savings and a means-tested age pension - but the review has questioned the dominant role of superannuation contributions.

The report suggests that lifting the compulsory superannuation rate could disadvantage low-income earners and reduce workers' lifetime income by two per cent. It has also emphasised the importance of private home ownership in retirement.


Australia must pursue further trade liberalisation after recession, report say

The Guardian - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Katharine Murphy, Daniel Hurst - PortMac.News Summary

The Productivity Commission has urged Australia to continue to pursue trade liberalisation and competitive markets in order to help it recover from the recession.

Commission chairman Michael Brennan notes that Australia needs to learn the lessons of previous recessions.

The Commission also contends that having a productive economy in the 21st century requires a very productive services sector, but growing productivity in the services sector requires a different strategy to increasing productivity in sectors such as manufacturing and mining.


Cybersecurity measures for 2021 census not yet fully implemented, auditor general finds

The Guardian - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Katherine Murphy - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian National Audit Office has made seven recommendations regarding the Australian Bureau of Statistics' preparedness for the 2021 census.

The ANAO undertook the audit in order to see if the ABS had learned from the 2016 census debacle, which saw websites crash during peak time on census night and the ABS close its online form for two days, while there were also concerns about the privacy of personal information.

The ANAO's audit indicated the ABS has not implemented all necessary cybersecurity measures for the 2021 census, while the ABS has indicated it supports the ANAO's seven recommendations.


PM flags IR changes that won't thrill bosses

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 5 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Phillip Coorey - PortMac.News Summary

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government's proposed industrial relations reforms will be put before parliament before Christmas.

He has indicated that the reforms will be "pragmatic, realistic and balanced", rather than ideological.

Amongst other things, Morrison has flagged changed to the 'better off overall test' in the Fair Work Act, stating that it will be retained but become less rigid.

This test was identified as a key issue among participants in the government's IR working groups earlier in 2020.


Coles shuts major Sydney warehouse as hundreds of Smeaton Grange workers strike

abc.net au - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Mridula Amin - PortMac.News Summary

Coles will close its Smeaton Grange distribution centre in Sydney for three months after its workers went on strike over pay and conditions.

The workers are seeking improved redundancy conditions as the centre moves towards becoming automated in 2023.

Coles COO Matthew Swindells claims the terms that the company had proposed in a new enterprise agreement were very generous, and that the United Workers Union had accepted similar offers at centres at Goulburn and Parkinson in Queensland.

He said the UWU had been warned Coles would shut Smeaton Grange for three months if threats of strikes continued.


 Banks rally reverses bourse's early losses

The Australian - Page 25 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Samantha Bailey - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a modest gain on 19 November, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.25 per cent to 6,547.2 points.

Rio Tinto was up 0.8 per cent at $98.92, Westpac added 2.3 per cent to end the session at $19.90 and BlueScope rose 5.3 per cent to $17.72. However, Oil Search was down 2.3 per cent at $3.73 and Crown Resorts shed 1.9 per cent to finish at $9.46.


Flexi surges on banks deal with Mastercard

The Australian Financial Review - Page 23 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by James Eyers - PortMac.News Summary

Shares in Flexigroup rose strongly during trading on 19 November after it released details of a profit upgrade and information regarding a deal with Mastercard.

The deal will see Mastercard invest in the development of Flexigroup's bundll product and promote the 'buy now, pay later' product to its global banking network under a five-year agreement.

Shareholders at the company's AGM also approved a resolution to change its name to humm.


Insurance industry considers second test case in fight against Covid shutdown payouts

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Ben Butler - PortMac.News Summary

The Insurance Council of Australia is considering a High Court challenge to the result of a test case regarding business interruption insurance.

The test case represented an attempt by the insurance sector to knock out all claims lodged under business interruption policies by businesses that were forced to close because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well as considering an appeal against the first test case, the ICA is contemplating a second test case, as it continues to try to avoid having to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars over business closures resulting from the pandemic.


Fees make $37b super funds duds: ISA

The Australian Financial Review - Page 10 : 20 November 2020 -Original article by Ronald Mizen - PortMac.News Summary

Eight superannuation products would be added to the federal government's list of underperforming superannuation funds if administration fees and other charges were taken into account, according to Industry Super Australia.

The funds in question have a combined $37 billion in funds under management, while they hold accounts covering over one million Australians.

ISA contends that the government should be ranking funds on overall net return to members, not just net return on investments.


Beijing's beef ban is at 'China's expense'

The Australian - Page 19 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Jared Lynch - PortMac.News Summary

Australian Agricultural Company's share of total meat sales to China fell from 15% to eight per cent in the six months to 30 September.

A ban was imposed in May on of one of the two abattoirs AACo uses to export beef to China, and it still remains in place. AACo CEO Hugh Killen says it has been able to divert its High value loin cuts" to other markets, with Killen saying this diversion is at "China's expense".

AACo generated an operating profit of $23.5 million for the six months to 30 September, while a statutory loss of $14.1 million for the previous corresponding period improved to a statutory loss of just $1.7 million.


Rooftop solar incentive will help new-age electricity: Flow Power

The Australian Financial Review - Page 14 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Elouise Fowler - PortMac.News Summary

Electricity retailer Flow Power hopes that businesses will use the instant asset write-off measure announced in the federal budget to invest in rooftop solar panels.

MD Matthew van der Linden says connecting solar panels to buildings, factories and farm sheds has been proven to reduce electricity costs, while he says manufacturers and businesses can cut their power bills even further by using Flow Power's kWatch device.

The device is attached to a customer's electricity meter and feeds data to their customer porthole, allowing them to observe their electricity use in real time and manage demand accordingly.


2020 Christmas retail sales set to grow 2.8% to $54.3 billion

Market Research Update - Page Online : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Roy Morgan - PortMac.News Summary

Roy Morgan's annual Christmas retail sales forecasts conducted in conjunction with the Australian Retailers Association indicate that Australians will spend over $54.3 billion across retail stores during the Christmas trading period.

Forecast retail spending this Christmas of over $54.3 billion is an increase of 2.8% from the $52.9 billion of retail expenditure during the 2019 Christmas trading period and is a better than expected forecast than many would have thought possible during the year as Australia dealt with the unprecedented pandemic.

Because of the huge impact on spending patterns caused by COVID-19, and the associated lockdowns around Australia, spending across the six categories measured has diverged significantly during 2020.

Unsurprisingly, the largest percentage increasing in spending is predicted for the Food category, with pre-Christmas spending forecast to grow by 10% from a year ago to over $23.8 billion. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the continuing restrictions, Hospitality spending is forecast to be 18.7% down on a year ago at just under $6.1 billion.


BGH lifts takeover offer for Village

The Australian - Page 21 : 20 November 2020 -Original article by Ben Wilmot - PortMac.News Summary

BGH Capital is set to increase its takeover offer for Village Roadshow from $2.22 per share to $3, valuing its revised bid at $586m.

Spheria Asset Management's portfolio manager Matthew Booker has previously indicated that an offer of around $3 per share should satisfy shareholders; Spheria has a 7.8 per cent stake in Village.

However, 14.34 per cent shareholder Mittleman Brothers is of the view that the revised offer still undervalues the cinemas and theme parks group.


Unapologetic Seek averts second strike

The Australian Financial Review - Page 22 : 20 November 2020 - Original article by Vesna Poljak - PortMac.News Summary

Shares in Seek reached an intra-day record high of $26.45 on 19 November after the online jobs portal released details of a profit upgrade at its AGM.

Seek that stated its reported net profit for 2020-21 is forecast to be $50 million, up from $20 million, while it hopes to resume paying dividends once economic conditions improve.

Seek had incurred a 'first strike' at its previous AGM, but was able to avoid a second strike, despite incurring a 17 per cent vote against its remuneration report.


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