ASX to rise as Frydenberg considers ditching tax cut

The ASX is expected to rise this morning as the Treasurer is reportedly considering focusing on fighting inflation instead of cutting taxes. (Source: Getty)

ASX: The local market is expected to open in the green today after a positive lead from Wall Street overnight.

This comes after a two-week low in oil prices sent ASX shares lower yesterday while the Reserve Bank showed little interest in hiking rates amid uncertainty in Europe.

Wall Street: US stocks advanced on Tuesday alongside a sharp pullback in oil prices, which in recent weeks have surged on fears the war in Ukraine will cut global economic growth.

BTC: Bitcoin is still struggling to break through the US$40,000 mark, holding itself around US$39,000 overnight.

Interest rates: The Reserve Bank gave an update on the state of Australia’s economy yesterday, noting that while inflation was still lower than in many other countries, underlying inflation in Australia was expected to increase further over coming quarters.

However, it said there were uncertainties about how persistent the pick-up in inflation would be given the war in Ukraine and recent developments in global energy markets.

Tax cuts: Plans to bring forward tax cuts for middle- and high-income earners in this year's Federal Budget could reportedly be shelved.

The proposed changes would have flattened the tax rate for those earning between $45,000 and $200,000 to 30 per cent.

Citing an unnamed senior government source, The Australian said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg planned instead to focus on cost-of-living pressures, such as rising petrol prices.

Social impact: Social media companies should be forced to report to the Federal Government on how they use algorithms and how they address harm online, a parliamentary committee has recommended.

Russian business: McDonald's, Salesforce, Starbucks, and hundreds of other companies that have paused business in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine may lose their Russian-based assets forever.

Too good to be true: Instagram users are easy targets for get-rich-quick investment scams, according to a new report.

Victims have said requests for help from Instagram went largely unaddressed and efforts to regain control of their accounts failed, even after repeated pleas to the social media platform.

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