Crypto News: The weapons industry gets a A$21 billion boost

Good morning, it's Harry here in Sydney with your Wednesday morning wrap...

Today's must-reads:
• Australia to develop its own long-range strike arsenal
• Covid response lost Australians billions and months under lockdown
• Office downturn hints at value for AMP

Australia will invest A$21 billion ($14 billion) to ramp up domestic missile and munitions manufacturing over a decade, in the latest step by the center-left Labor government to develop a long-range strike capability in the face of a regional arms race. Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy will announce the new program on Wednesday.

The government's tardiness in rolling out vaccines during Covid-19 lengthened lockdowns and cost the Australian economy billions, an official inquiry into the nation's response to the pandemic has found.

About 73% of Australians prefer Kamala Harris to win over Donald Trump, a new Lowy Institute poll shows. Executive Director Michael Fullilove says Harris seems more "pro-trade" than Trump. He discusses both candidates' policies on Bloomberg Television's Australia Ahead.

Office buildings are starting to look like good value, according to AMP Ltd. Chief Investment Officer Anna Shelley. She's looking to the domestic office market for opportunities amid expectations that prices in the embattled sector don't have much further to fall after shedding more than a quarter of their value.

Top WiseTech Global shareholder Aware Super is pushing for yet more transparency at the troubled company after founder Richard White stepped down as chief executive officer amid allegations about his behavior with women.

Meantime, shares of Solomon Lew's Premier Investments soared after the company agreed to sell its apparel brands to Myer in a deal that cements the billionaire's dominance across Australian retail.

A rally in some of the largest tech companies pushed stocks higher, led by Alphabet Inc. climbing after third-quarter sales topped estimates. While the S&P 500 saw mild gains, the Nasdaq Composite hit an all-time high.

Shares in Donald Trump's social media company are up 330% in five weeks, adding more than $8 billion in value, as some expect the company will benefit sharply if the ex-president wins the election.

Bitcoin has surged by more than 8% over the past two trading sessions to put the original cryptocurrency on the verge of topping a record high of almost $74,000 reached in March.

India's Home Affairs Minister allegedly authorized a wave extortion and homicides in Canada, a senior government official there said. David Morrison, Canada's deputy foreign minister, told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that he had confirmed the identity of the minister Amit Shah in a newspaper report earlier this month that laid out how "a senior official in India" had "authorized the intelligence-gathering missions and attacks on Sikh separatists" in Canada.

• 11:30 a.m.: Australia 3Q CPI

Political bettors are hunting for ways to profit off the mixed signals being sent by polls and prediction markets about the Nov. 5 presidential election. While traditional voter surveys show a toss-up race, prediction markets have swung hard toward Donald Trump in recent days, pushing his odds of winning to 60% or above and giving rise to what look like price anomalies across different websites.