Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Xi urges 'great care' in managing relationship

Hi folks, it's Rich here in Melbourne. Here's all the news you need to start your day...Today's must-reads:• Xi Jinping urges care in mainta

Hi folks, it's Rich here in Melbourne. Here's all the news you need to start your day...

Today's must-reads:
• Xi Jinping urges care in maintaining Australia-China ties
• The Treasurer is set to unveil new super rules
• Australian women earn an average of 21.8% less than men

What's happening now

Xi Jinping said "great care" must be taken in managing the Australia-China relationship. The two leaders held talks on the sidelines of the G-20. Xi said China was ready to import more high quality products from Australia, while also noting the "twists and turns" in the relationship over the past decade.

Super funds are being told to prepare for the retirement of an estimated 2.5 million Australians in the next decade.  Treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to unveil a raft of changes that include better retirement products and online resources. Separately, the industry regulator has put funds on notice regarding their handling of death benefit claims and Hesta, one of the largest funds, was ordered to repay more than 100,000 members over inadequate repricing of unlisted assets.

Thousands of protesters in New Zealand that included Māori warriors marched on the country's parliament to challenge a draft law they say would erode the rights of indigenous people.

Top female executives in Australia make A$158,632 less than their male counterparts, new data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has found. Across the country, women earn 21.8% less than men.

Gas giant Santos plans to build a carbon storage business that would bury 14 million tons of emissions annually by 2040 — equivalent to around half the pollution produced when customers burn its fuel.

Tensions are rising at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Australia is seeking to host COP31 in 2026. BloombergNEF and the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk and Response discuss the latest from the climate talks, and why Australia needs to take the lead on climate action in the Pacific region. Watch Bloomberg TV's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on this week's Australia Ahead segment here.

What happened overnight

US stocks rose in volatile trading marked by geopolitical headlines. Shares in Nvidia rose ahead of earnings results due Wednesday in the US. The S&P 500 added 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%.

Donald Trump has selected Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, to lead the US Commerce Department. The appointment places Lutnick in a central role to execute the president-elect's tariff hike proposals. Trump also nominated celebrity doctor and television personality Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

US sanctions are stalling Huawei Technologies' efforts to create more powerful chips for artificial intelligence and smartphones.

Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine is escalating after months of bloody attrition. As the conflict entered its 1,000th day, Ukraine took advantage of its newly granted long-range missile capabilities to strike a military base on Russian territory. Moscow, which has warned against such action, stepped up its threat of a nuclear response to conventional attacks.

Jimmy Lai, the biggest target in Hong Kong's crackdown on dissent, will take the stand to defend himself against national security charges that could silence the 76-year-old for the rest of his life. Foreign governments will be watching as the former titan of Hong Kong's newspaper industry on Wednesday delivers his first public comments in nearly four years.

What to watch

  • 10:30 a.m.: Westpac Leading Index

One more thing...

 A record-breaking crypto rally born in the US is leaving its mark on Asia, including a jump in the value of Bitcoin held by Bhutan to more than $1 billion and a surge in digital-asset trading volumes in South Korea. Asia is being impacted by the burst of optimism since Trump's election victory, as a clutch of jurisdictions in the region are at the forefront of crypto adoption, whether for investment, hedging local currency weakness or cheaper and faster remittances.

A One Satoshi over-the-counter cryptocurrency store in Hong Kong. Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

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