Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

Australian Dollar: $0.6940 USD (down $0.0017 USD)

Iron Ore Aug Spot Price (SGX): $111.90 USD (up $5.90 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $95.54 USD (down $0.87 USD)

Gold Price: $1,717.31 USD (down $2.44 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $3.3905 (up $0.0255 USD)

Bit-coin: $20,996.88 (down 5.00% in the last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 31,761.54 at 4.20pm NY time (down 228.50 points on yesterday's close)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Russia is deploying more forces to bolster southern flank

Russian military is deploying additional forces to its southern flank, bolstering its positions in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to Ukrainian officials and videos posted on social media that were geolocated by CNN. 

Analysts suggest the move is presumably to try and counter an eventual Ukrainian counteroffensive. 

The Office of the Ukrainian President in Crimea said “Every day, about 50 wagons with echelons of Russian military equipment move towards Dzhankoi, queues of military equipment are also noticed at the administrative border with occupied Crimea, near the settlements of Armiansk and Krasnoperekopsk.”

Europe agrees emergency gas curbs, Kyiv says Russia supply curbs are 'Price terror'

European Union countries bracing for further cuts in Russian gas supply on Tuesday approved a weakened emergency plan to curb demand, after striking compromise deals to limit reductions for some countries.

Europe faces a tighter gas squeeze from Wednesday, when Russia's Gazprom has said it would cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to a fifth of capacity

With a dozen EU countries already facing lower Russian supplies, Brussels is urging member states to save gas and store it for winter, fearing Russia will completely cut off flows in retaliation for sanctions over the Ukraine war.

Zelenskiy Replaces Commander In Eastern Ukraine:

President Zelenskiy replaces top military commander in eastern Ukraine:

Zelenskiy issued decrees on July 25 dismissing Major General Hryhoriy Halahan and appointing Viktor Horenko to replace him as commander of the special operations forces of the Ukrainian Army.

Halahan, 44, had led the unit in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions since August 2020. He is being transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), where he will serve as deputy head of the counterterrorism center.

IMF sounds new global growth alert

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 2 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Ronald Mizen - PortMac.News Summary

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the International Monetary Fund's latest economic growth downgrade confirms that the global economy is facing substantial challenges.

The IMF now anticipates global economic growth of just 3.2 per cent in 2022, which is 0.4% lower than its most recent forecast in April.

Growth in 2023 is now forecast to be 2.9%, or 0.7% lower than forecast in April.

Chalmers will use an economic statement to parliament on Thursday to downgrade Australia's economic growth forecast and upwardly revise the nation's inflation forecast.

Labor won't let Greens call the shots

The Australian Financial Review - Page 1 & 4 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Phillip Coorey - PortMac.News Summary

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged the Coalition to back his government's climate bill, arguing that the 21 May election win has given it a mandate on the issue.

He has also emphasised that Labor can enact its emissions reduction target via regulation if the bill is rejected by parliament.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen also says that legislating the target is not necessary, but adds that it is preferable in order to provide policy certainty and stability.

Labor has agreed to some comprises with regard to its climate bill, but it has ruled out any move to impose a moratorium on new coal and gas developments in return for the Greens' support.

Albanese contends that banning coal exports would not reduce carbon emissions as buyers would source lower-quality coal from other countries.

New officers pledge safer parliament house for all

The Australian - Page 5 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Rosie Lewis - PortMac.News Summary

The 47th federal parliament was officially opened on Tuesday. Governor-General David Hurley outlined the new government's policy agenda, noting the many challenges that are facing Australia and the world.

Meanwhile, newly-elected House of Representatives speaker Milton Dick says ensuring that parliament house is a safe place to work will be a priority.

Dick and Senate president Sue Lines have emphasised the need to implement all 28 recommendations of a review into the workplace culture of parliament house.

Newbies set pace on truth, trust, diversity and disasters

The Australian - Page 5 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Sarah Ison, Jess Malcolm - PortMac.News Summary

Teal independent Zoe Daniel is among the new federal MPs who made their inaugural speeches in the lower house on the first day of the 47th parliament.

Daniel used her speech to raise concern about the rise of "Authoritarianism and populism", and the threat to Australia's democracy posed by the "fragmentation of truth and trust".

Labor MP Sally Sitou expressed concern about the impact of racism in the community, while Labor's Zaneta Mascaren called for action to address sexism in the workplace in the wake of the landmark Jenkins review.

Union resists FedEx move to bring in gig workforce

The Australian Financial Review - Page 6 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by David Marin-Guzman - PortMac.News Summary

The Transport Workers Union has criticised FedEx's proposal to establish a workforce of independent contractors, who would be paid a flat rate of $120 plus $2.50 per delivery.

They would also have to deliver 93 parcels within a 10-hour period. The TWU contends that these drivers would be paid about $15 less than the average FedEx owner-driver, while they would not receive sick leave, superannuation or annual leave.

FedEx's workforce includes both employees and owner-drivers; the latter have traditionally been paid the same as employees via an unwritten arrangement.

'Dirty little secret': Women worst affected by 'Gig economy' in higher education

The Age - Page Online : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Ben Schneiders - PortMac.News Summary

The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating 11 universities nationwide for allegedly underpaying their staff.

Meanwhile, analysis of employment data from eight universities in Victoria highlights the growing issue of insecure jobs in the higher education sector.

These universities employ nearly 50,000 people in total, and more than half of them are casual or fixed-term jobs.

Women in turn account for nearly 33% of university workers who have casual or fixed-term jobs, despite the fact that they comprise 58% of all employees at the universities.

Billions in play as Coalition skill schemes audited

The Australian - Page 4 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Geoff Chambers - PortMac.News Summary

The federal government will review the skills and training programs of its Coalition predecessor, including grants and subsidies that were introduced ahead of the Budget in March and the 21 May election.

Skills Minister Brendan O'Connor says a range of programs will be reviewed in the wake of the Coalition's "Waste and rorts".

O'Connor will put a bill before parliament on Wednesday that would abolish the National Skills Commission and replace it with the independent Jobs & Skills Australia.

Westpac joins the 10-minute mortgage race

The Australian Financial Review - Page 12 & 18 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by James Eyers - PortMac.News Summary

A technology upgrade will give Westpac a significant edge over its major rivals in the home loans sector.

Westpac will be able to assess and approve some mortgage applications within 10 minutes by the December quarter, following a move to digitise its mortgage approval processes.

The ANZ Bank had committed to introducing 10-minute home loan approvals in late 2021, although it has yet to do so; this is also expected to be available by the end of the year, but it is likely to be offered only via the ANZ Plus platform.

Sydney Swans most supported AFL club

Market Research Update - Page Online : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Roy Morgan - PortMac.News Summary

The Sydney Swans have again topped the annual Roy Morgan AFL supporter ladder with 1,120,000 supporters in 2022, an increase of 91,000 supporters (+8.8%) on a year ago.

The annual Roy Morgan AFL club supporters survey shows that Collingwood is in second spot overall with 735,000 supporters, just ahead of the West Coast Eagles with 707,000 supporters.

Despite their high rankings both of these clubs lost support over the last year. Ten of the AFL's 18 clubs experienced an increase in support over the last year, with the largest increases for the 2021 Grand Finalists.

Premier Melbourne increased their support by 42,000 (+15.5%) to 313,000 and runner-up the Western Bulldogs had the largest increase in support, up 78,000 (+30%) to 338,000.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with the AFL competition during the last two years of 2020-21, there are more people than ever before - 8,903,000 - expressing support for an AFL club, an increase of 271,000 (+3.1%) on a year ago.

In addition, there are 7,743,000 Australians who watched an AFL match on TV, up 176,000 (+2.3%) on a year ago. [Click to view full article here]

Connected TV threatens free TV's 'Rivers of gold'

The Australian - Page 19 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Robert Gottliebsen - PortMac.News Summary

Digital media decimated the print media industry's classified advertising revenue two decades ago, and the rise of connected TV or Broadcast Video-on-Demand may have a similar impact on traditional broadcasters.

Australia's free-to-air networks will boast combined revenue of about $3.5bn in 2022, but a PwC report forecasts that this will fall to around $2.9bn by 2026.

The 2022 federal election campaign highlights the threat that connected TV presents for traditional broadcasters. The election was a major source of revenue for FTA networks.

Teal candidate Monique Ryan was able to target voters in the electorate of Kooyong using BVOD at significantly lower cost than using traditional TV networks.

China faces tough task in managing iron ore prices

The Australian - Page 16 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Nick Evans - PortMac.News Summary

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng attended the official launch of the new national iron ore company, China Mineral Resources Group. It will become a centralised iron ore buyer for the nation' major steel mills and manage China's overseas iron ore projects.

However, the move to establish the CMRG poses no immediate threat to Australia's iron ore export industry.

Most of the factors that contributed to the surge in the iron ore price in recent years were beyond China's control.

Meanwhile, many smaller Chinese steel mills require different grades of iron ore to larger and more modern mills; Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto have recognised this by establishing port blending operations in China.

ASX edges higher as Iress shares dumped

The Australian Financial Review - Page 22 : 27 July 2022 - Original article by Cecile Lefort - PortMac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket posted a small gain on 26 July, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.3% to close at 6,807.3 points.

Fortescue Metals Group added 2.5% to end the session at $18.70, Woodside Energy was up 2.8% at $31.57 and Zip Co rallied 19.9% to finish at $1.025.

However, National Australia Bank eased 0.5% to close at $29.72 and Woolworths was down 1.3% at $36.98.