Crypto News: RBA meets amid controversy over reforms

Hi all, it's Jackie here in Sydney. Here's our news radar this morning…

Today's must-reads:
• Stuttering RBA overhaul in focus
• Rightmove weighs REA's latest bid
• Rio Tinto urges more mines

The RBA will likely maintain interest rates today at 4.35% and keep its hawkish stance as housing costs prop up inflation. Treasurer Jim Chalmers' plans to overhaul the central bank suffered a major setback after the left-wing Greens party demanded the government order a rate cut.

Rightmove said it will consider a £6.1 billion ($8.1 billion) sweetened bid from REA, the third proposal in less than three weeks from the property portal. The improved offer values Rightmove at 770 pence a share, or 2.8% higher than the previous bid.

The Rightmove Plc logo displayed on a smartphone arranged in London on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

Rio Tinto Chairman Dominic Barton says the world needs more mines to cope with rising demand for key metals like copper, as M&A won't plug a looming supply gap. Watch his interview with Bloomberg Television here.

Australian pension funds are tightening scrutiny of their private assets as regulators raise more questions about disclosure and valuations, according to asset manager Stafford Capital Partners.

New Zealand's government is imposing new work-from-home guidance on public servants to get them back to the office each day and arrest a trend that has curbed spending in the largest cities.

Australian stocks are on course for a steady open after US shares eked out a gain on Fed commentary. A handful of Fed officials on Monday left the door open to another large interest-rate cut.

Israel said air strikes hit 1,300 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, where health officials said 356 people were killed Monday. Escalation between the two sides is stoking international concern about the eruption of a full-on war.

Donald Trump accused China of failing to honor a deal to buy $50 billion in US agricultural exports and vowed to raise the matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping if the Republican returns to the White House.

Japan's commercial rice stockpiles — already depleted after hot weather baked the 2023 crop — shrunk to the lowest on record in June as an influx of tourists lifted consumption.

A notice announcing the pending arrival of rice at a supermarket in Osaka. Photographer: Takumi Harada/Yomiuri Shimbun

• RBA rate decision, 2:30 p.m. in Sydney

From Siberia to Brazil, wildfires are moving underground and burning up massive carbon deposits. The resulting emissions threaten to worsen global warming.

Alberta firefighters responding to boreal wildfires still burning from the 2023 wildfire season in Fox Lake, Alberta, Canada, in February 2024. Photographer: Government of Alberta

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