Crypto News: Sky high Qantas fares to stay

Good morning everyone, it's Ben here and welcome to Wednesday. This is what's making headlines today.

Today's must-reads:
• Qantas foreshadows lucrative post-Covid era
• Building approvals slump amid housing crisis
• PwC's auditor role under examination

International flying will be at least twice as lucrative in the post-Covid era, Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said Tuesday, as the the airline held its first investor day in four years. The prediction suggests there is no end in sight to rising airfares, which are supercharging airline revenues.

Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

Approvals to build new homes fell to their lowest levels in 11 years in Australia over the past month, a dire sign for a housing market which is already under serious strain. Total dwelling approvals slid 8.1% in April while permits for apartments plunged 16.5%, Australian Bureau of Statistics data show.

PwC's role as an internal auditor in the Australian Treasury is under scrutiny, following revelations a senior partner leaked secret tax policy information to colleagues. Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy said a contract to act as the department's internal auditor was due to expire at the end of the year.

Low interest rates will return again and again, writes Bloomberg Opinion's Daniel Moss. The current period of relatively high borrowing costs may be the outlier, rather than the easy money that characterized financial life in the pre-pandemic era. Meanwhile, Australia's own central bank governor Philip Lowe is set to speak before a senate committee today.

Australian equity futures are pointing to a weaker market open, after stocks in the US were little changed following a rally fuelled by artificial-intelligence hype. Treasury yields fell on hopes the US Congress will pass a debt deal to head off a default.

The AI rally pushed Nvidia's market valuation (fleetingly) past the $1 trillion mark, making it the first chipmaker to pass the milestone.

Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp. in Taiwan on Monday. Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg

Russia's Defense Ministry is claiming eight drones aimed at Moscow were intercepted on yesterday morning.

Musk's in Beijing. Tech billionaire Elon Musk met with China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang yesterday in Beijing, as part of a trip intended to emphasize the importance of the Chinese economy to US businesses.

• Monthly CPI data for April will be released at 11:30am
• Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe to speak before Senate committee

China's Hainan province is pledging to end the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030 and boost take up of EVs and hybrid vehicles to 45% of the island's fleet. It is the first local government in China to set such a goal and officials are hoping other provinces will follow its example.