ASX to rise as Tasmania named Australia's best state
Good morning.
ASX: The local market is set to start off the week with a boost after a choppy week last week.
Wall St: US markets saw a mixed session on Friday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closing lower after disappointing quarterly reports, but the Dow managed to finish the session with a record closing high for the first time since August.
The US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell discussed tapering stimulus measures introduced to help support the economy during COVID-19.
Powell said the US central bank was "on track" to begin reducing its purchases of assets.
BTC: Bitcoin pulled back after hitting a new all time high last week. Meanwhile, Shiba Inu (SHIB), the self-proclaimed dogecoin killer, tapped lifetime highs.
Prices for the meme token have risen by nearly 50 per cent in the past 24 hours, extending the month-to-date gain to almost 500 per cent.
State of the States: Tasmania remains Australia's best performing state, a position it has held for nearly two years and one it doesn't look like giving up in a hurry.
In the CommSec quarterly State of States report, chief economist Craig James said there is little to separate other states and territories.
The rate debate: The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is adamant the nation is not facing the same sort of inflation pressures being seen in other parts of the world which has prompted some central banks to start lifting interest rates.
However, Australian financial markets are not convinced the RBA's view will hold and are pricing in the risk of rising rates as early as next year, much earlier than the central bank is predicting.
‘Kidvesting’: If parents thought homeschooling, refereeing squabbles and feeding everyone snacks 15 times a day was enough to get their kids through lockdown, they may have thought wrong.
A staggering 270,000 children under 12 across Australia are now estimated to have active share portfolios in their names, according to recent research by Finder.
Eat up: An intimate eatery in Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula has been named Australia's restaurant of the year, cementing the city's status as the nation's culinary capital despite several lockdowns.
Have a great day.
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