Yahoo Finance Mystery start for ASX as paid leave scheme edges closer
Good morning.
Here’s Yahoo Finance’s Monday morning wrap.
ASX: The ASX is poised to open flat on Monday as it weighs mixed signs on global markets. Futures are pointing to a softer start after a fairly weak July. The ASX200 last week fell 1.6 per cent, meaning the bourse more or less finished the month flat.
Wall Street: Wall Street indexes had a mixed performance on Friday, with the Nasdaq up more than 1 per cent while the S&P and the Dow posted smaller lifts. Tech stocks including Apple and Amazon helped push the Nasdaq higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.67 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 26,428.32, the S&P 500 gained 24.9 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 3,271.12 and the Nasdaq Composite added 157.46 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 10,745.28.
Paid pandemic leave: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has hinted at introducing a paid pandemic leave scheme as he described Victoria as being “at war”.
Superannuation: Australians are rapidly emptying their superannuation account, but if you have the ability to, this is the $66,000 reason why you should think about doing the opposite.
Social housing: The Labor party has thrown its weight behind calls for more social housing construction, noting that more than 116,000 Australians are homeless.
"This would be a win-win," Labor leader Anthony Albanese said.
"It would provide work for thousands of tradies and put a roof over the head of Australians who desperately need it."
Investment: Private business investment isn’t looking pretty, with a new report warning private investment projects will hall another 15 per cent in 2020.
"COVID-19 has led to a collapse in both demand and business confidence, and many businesses are responding by consolidating their operations and making savings where they can," Deloitte partner Stephen Smith said.
Coveted skill: Would you rather die than speak in front of a crowd? It sounds extreme, but if that’s the case you’re not alone. But if you can get over your terror, it will pay off.
The coin master: Some of us hate lugging around wallets full of shrapnel, but not US man Jim Holton. The man, known as ‘the coin master’ to his friends and family has exchanged more than US$5,000 (AU$7,003) in a bid to address the national American coin shortage. He’d been saving spare change after grabbing coffees of running errands and was hoping to use it for a holiday.
"I thought it would maybe be $1,000 or $1,500 tops," Holton said.
"I won't be saving coins for a while because of the shortage, but maybe I'll find another creative way to set aside the money," Holton said.
"If we all do something small in our own communities and help each other, that's what makes the world better."
This week: And on the agenda this week: CoreLogic will release its July housing figures this morning. The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet on Tuesday to discuss monetary policy, although it’s incredibly unlikely there will be a change to the official interest rate.
Have a great day.
With AAP.
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