Crypto News: Student visa hike

Good morning, it's Harry here in Sydney with your Tuesday morning survey of local and global events.

Today's must-reads:
• Government doubles student visa fees
• Traders are piling into the kiwi dollar
• Son of imprisoned publisher calls out Hong Kong's courts

Australia raised student visa application fees by 125% to boost the "integrity" of its fourth-largest export and help slow overall migration. The increase to A$1,600 per application, from A$710 starting July 1, will help "create a migration system which is fairer, smaller and better able to deliver for Australia," Home Affairs Minister Clare O' Neil said in a statement.

Bets by global investors on a New Zealand dollar rally reached their highest in more than two years on expectations the nation's central bank will be among the last to cut interest rates. Hedge funds' net long position in the kiwi rose to 12,563 contracts in the week ending June 25, the highest since December 2021, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.

Sebastian Lai, son of former media mogul Jimmy Lai, has called on all foreign judges to leave Hong Kong's legal system, adding pressure on them to join an exodus that threatens to erode a key distinction that set the city apart from mainland China as he attempts to corral Western support for his imprisoned father.

The US Supreme Court ruled Donald Trump has some immunity from criminal charges for trying to reverse the 2020 election results, handing the ex-president a significant legal and political victory and all but ensuring that his obstruction trial won't happen before the election in November.

The world's biggest bond market took a hit overnight as traders weighed the potential economic implications of the November US election after last week's presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Stocks edged mildly higher amid a rally in tech megacaps.

Tesla is projected to report a second consecutive quarterly sales drop Tuesday, leaving it few excuses other than the apparent — that its lineup is struggling to keep up with rivals' fresher offerings. Its shares are down about 15% this year, even after a fifth day of gains.

In its ruling on the powers and parameters of the US presidency, the Supreme Court jeopardizes democracy and the future of the rule of law, Timothy L. O'Brien writes for Bloomberg Opinion. Donald Trump may never be tried for his role in the events surrounding the siege at the US Capitol.

• 11:30 a.m.: RBA June Meeting Minutes

Support for far-right politician Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party increased in 98.6% of France's municipalities since 2017 in the first round of a snap election called earlier in June, according to Bloomberg analysis of data from France's Interior Ministry.