Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance morning wrap for Monday
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know about what’s been happening in Australia and around the world to start your week:
Markets
Australian shares are expected to open higher after a positive lead from overseas at the end of last week.
The SPI200 futures contract was up 53 points, or 0.88 per cent, at 6,066.0 at 0700 AEDT, suggesting an early bounce for the benchmark S&P/ASX200 on Monday.
On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.74 per cent, the S&P 500 was up 1.09 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.61 per cent.
The Aussie dollar is buying 71.35 US cents from 70.92 US cents on Friday.
We saw how bank shares skyrocketed right after the banking Royal Commission’s final report, sparking questions from critics and commentators about whether the recommendations were stringent enough. Well, it turns out the banks have been smashing it all month (and we’re only halfway through). Here’s how they’ve been performing.
In Australia
Labor remains in an election-winning position, but the Coalition has narrowed the gap.
According to the latest Ipsos poll, the Opposition is leading the Liberal-National coalition 51 per cent to 49 per cent on a two-party preferred, down from 54 per cent to 46 per cent in December.
Labor’s primary vote has fallen from 37 to 33 per cent over two months, while the coalition’s rose 36 to 38 per cent in the poll of 1200 voters.
Some of our biggest companies are ignoring climate change despite calls from shareholders and investors. Most of our top 100 companies don’t see it as a material business risk, as reported by the ABC.
In good news for Aussies, power companies will have to comply to new rules that will prevent it from whacking people with “sneaky late payment fees”, according to the SMH.
Around the world
Businesses are bracing for a no-deal Brexit. We saw how the Dutch government encourage entrepreneurs in their country to do a ‘Brexit Impact Scan’ with the help of a furry blue muppet monster, but with less than 40 days to go, UK businesses are now testing their emergency Brexit preparations.
Bad luck for British regional airline Flybmi which has gone into administration, blaming Brexit for its downfall. This happened so suddenly that its customers have been left stranded at airports, according to The New Daily.
Ongoing US-China trade talks appear to be on track. In fact, in US President Donald Trump’s own words, “it’s going extremely well”.
Over the weekend
Major media players Facebook, Google, Instagram and YouTube have been called out for failing to commit to stronger user protection laws. Social media giants should be “ashamed” of doing the bare minimum to protect people online, and are facing sweeping new laws to do the job for them.
A new report recommends major changes to Australian online laws to stamp out cyberbullying, revenge porn, and harassment of people of all ages.
On the hunt for a new job? Or are you on the other side of the fence and hunting for a new recruit? Whether you’re the interviewer or interviewee, here are the clues to look for in a job interview (and what you can do about it).
ICYMI: The banking watchdog, ASIC, will soon be given the green light to whack the big banks with a bigger stick. A key piece of legislation passed through Senate last Thursday that strengthens the regulator’s existing penalties and gives them new ones.
And what’s the deal with the baby formula black market? Our reporter Lucy Dean takes us back to where it all began: China, 2008.
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