Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance’s morning wrap for Friday
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know today.
ASX: The ASX is set to open flat as trade optimism on Wall Street dwindles. The ASX/200 is unlikely to see major movements in early trade, with the SPI200 futures contract up 9 points at 7am AEDT today.
Dollar: The Aussie dollar is lower, buying 71.82 US cents, down from 71.84 US cents on Thursday.
Renminbi: Bank of England governor Mark Carney said the Chinese renminbi could one day rival the USD as the world’s currency. However, Carney doesn’t consider cryptocurrencies a promising form of money, “let alone as a global currency”.
Trump: The controversial leader is set to visit America’s southern border, while he seeks US $5.7 billion in funding for the proposed Mexico-US border wall. In his first address from the Oval Office on Wednesday, he declared the border a “humanitarian crisis” and demanded funding for the wall.
The funding impasse will see the US government shutdown enter its 20th day today. Trump has also cancelled his visit to the World Economic Forum later this month, citing the ongoing dispute.
Meanwhile, Trump’s handling of the economy has been described as “irresponsible, to the point of dangerous” by a major US investor.
Property: Labor’s proposed negative gearing changes have been declared “sound” by KPMG Economics, but their implementation needs to be carefully managed.
And Sydney is no longer the most expensive city to rent in in Australia. Here’s the city that took the title.
Health insurers: Australian health insurers are cutting benefits, meaning some members will pay higher premiums for less coverage. Here’s why.
Investing: It’s a brand new year – and a good time to rethink your investing strategy. A new report from IBISWOrld flags the industries tapped to “fly” in 2019, and those set to “fall”.
Plus-sized retail: charging plus-size customers more. Pyjama guru Peter Alexander has come under fire for
Avocados: And Australians are eating less avocados, with fruit and vegetable grower company, Costa Holding Group seeing its share price lose more than a third. The company said subdued demand for avocados, berries and tomatoes in December was the cause.
