ASX down, recession ‘likely’ and 4 other things to start your day

The ASX is expected to open lower this morning as world leaders warn of a recession. (Source: Getty)

ASX: The local share market is expected to open lower this morning with no lead from Wall Street as US markets were closed for a public holiday in the US.

Recession: Two thirds of private and public sector chief economists surveyed by the World Economic Forum expect a global recession in 2023.

Of those surveyed, 18 per cent considered a world recession "extremely likely" - more than twice as many as in the previous survey conducted in September 2022. Only one third of respondents to the survey viewed it as unlikely this year.

Wages: Workers in low-paid occupations are getting much bigger bumps in their pay packets compared to their higher-skilled counterparts.

Treasury analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data found wages for the lowest-skilled occupations grew 2.3 per cent in the three months to September but just 1.2 per cent for the most skilled workers.

Star power: Actor Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba have called for business and political leaders to provide more support to the world's poorest countries in the form of investment rather than aid.

At the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, the Elbas were both honoured for their work on environmental conservation, food security and climate change.

Safety first: Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is facing a ‘please-explain’ from police and a potential fine for riding an electric scooter while not wearing a helmet and with a passenger aboard.

The world number 21 was photographed on Elizabeth Street in central Melbourne on Sunday riding a Lime e-scooter with a female passenger clinging to him - neither of them wearing helmets.

Jaw-dropping evolution: A wacky story about a travelling carnival in the 1920s and a man who illegally released a host of snakes to a previously snake-free island is responsible for an impressive discovery.

Tiger snakes are apparently capable of high-speed evolution. Over the past 93 years, the descendants of those same snakes developed a larger lower jaw than their mainland counterparts thanks to the absence of small prey.

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