Crypto News: Xi’s Message to Albanese

Good morning, it's Amy here in Melbourne, bringing you our final Australia Briefing for the year (we'll be back on January 5). Here's the news you need to start your day...

Today's must-reads:
• China-Australia ties
• Superannuation funds ready for 2023
• Renewable grid upgrade

Bilateral ties. Hot on the heels of Foreign Minister Penny Wong's trip to Beijing to meet her counterpart Wang Yi, Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with Anthony Albanese, marking 50 years of diplomatic relations. Wong says she raised the cases of two Australians held in China, Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, during her visit.

Super funds. It's been a rough year for investors, with superannuation funds suffering their worst year of returns since the global financial crisis. Our piece looks at how they're positioned for 2023.

Power play. The federal and New South Wales governments will spend A$7.8 billion on new electricity transmission to support more renewable power. The funding will plug eight new renewable energy zones into the power grid across New South Wales.

New Zealand emissions. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says levies on greenhouse gases from the nation's farms will be set at the lowest possible level, so as not to overburden primary producers.

A cow stands in front of a wind turbine at the Te Uku wind farm, in Raglan, New Zealand, on Friday, July 5, 2013. Photographer: Brendon O'Hagan

Zelenskiy visit. US President Joe Biden welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the White House on Wednesday. Zelenskiy traveled by train and plane under high security. It's his first trip abroad since Russia's invasion in February.

BOJ bombshell. Our very own Garfield Reynolds explains why the Bank of Japan's small tweak to bond yields caused a huge reaction this week. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is facing mounting criticism over his latest shock policy decision.

Covid surge. Shanghai hospitals are struggling to cope with the numbers of infected patients as Covid infiltrates the city after the city's lockdown ended. Most schools have closed again. Health-care employees described an increasingly dire situation, with too many patients, pharmacies running out of supplies, and staff falling sick.

Bloomberg TV at 9:10 a.m. Evidentia Group Senior Investment Consultant and Portfolio Manager Nick Schoenmaker
Bloomberg TV at 9:30 a.m. Macquarie University Professor Bates Gill

How much time did you spend in the office this year? New data suggests for those using the hybrid model, Thursday is the new Monday. And here's a look inside Adobe's lab for the future of work. On that note, it's almost time for our Australia Briefing team to down tools for the year. We hope you are able to have a break too — see you in 2023.