ASX to rise as court awards $1 billion divorce settlement

Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein has been awarded one of the largest divorce settlements ever handed down by a UK court. (Source: Getty)

Good morning.

ASX: The local market is expected to get a boost this morning after a strong session on Wall Street overnight.

This comes after investors enjoyed their best day on the ASX in almost two weeks as the Reserve Bank gave no hint of imminent rate rises and buyers returned for CSL shares.

Wall St: US markets rose overnight, boosted by Nike and Micron following strong earnings, while beaten-down technology stocks bounced back from the previous day's sharp sell-off.

The rapidly spreading Omicron variant rattled stock markets around the world due to worries about the strain's impact on the global economic recovery.

BTC: Bitcoin has edged its way back to be worth around US$48,000 after hovering around the US$46,000 mark for a number of days.

Investors have been watching the price carefully to monitor if the cryptocurrency has entered a bear market.

Property update: It wasn't that long ago when some were predicting the Australian property market would crash on the back of closed borders and extreme lockdowns.

But instead, the market has prospered. Michael Yardney and Dr Andrew Wilson discuss the highs and lows of the 2021 property market in the video below.

Billion dollar divorce: The ruler of Dubai has been ordered to pay around $1 billion to his former wife and their two children in what is thought to be the largest award of its kind ordered by an English court.

The ruling comes after Princess Haya fled the United Arab Emirates for England in early 2019 with her two children, claiming she was "terrified" of her husband.

‘No lockdowns’: The Prime Minister will use the "informal" national cabinet meeting today to urge states to hold the line on restrictions, having dismissed a return to lockdowns.

"We're not going back to lockdowns. We're not going back to shutting down peoples' lives," Scott Morrison said.

Christmas concerns: As thousands of Australians fly interstate for Christmas, a new survey has found many travellers remain concerned about borders being slammed shut.

More than six in 10 travellers said they were discouraged from booking flights amid border-restriction uncertainty, a survey commissioned by the Australian Airports Association found.

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