Election date speculation mounts

Good morning. It's Angus here in Sydney. Here's what you need to know to start your working day.Today's must-reads:• Rushed tax cuts fuel el

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Good morning. It's Angus here in Sydney. Here's what you need to know to start your working day. Today's must-reads: • Rushed tax cuts fuel election speculation • Inflation unexpectedly cools • AustralianSuper sells down WiseTech

What's happening now

Australia's center-left government rushed its new round of tax cuts through the parliament in the early hours of Thursday, prompting speculation that an election could be called within days. The tax cuts will cost about A$17 billion ($10.7 billion). They were passed by both the lower and upper houses in the face of opposition from the center-right Liberal-National Coalition, which described them as a "cruel hoax." A measure of Australian inflation unexpectedly cooled in February, bolstering the case for the Reserve Bank to reduce interest rates further in the months ahead. The Consumer Price Index indicator edged down to 2.4%, below economists' estimate of 2.5%, data showed on Wednesday. The headline figure has now been inside the RBA's 2-3% band for seven straight months. Australia's largest pension fund has sold down its stake in scandal-plagued WiseTech Global., saying the company's governance fell short of expectations.  AustralianSuper, which manages more than A$365 billion, sold about A$580 million worth of WiseTech stock in the past few weeks. The divestment comes after WiseTech's founder and largest shareholder Richard White last month triumphed in a boardroom dispute.  ANZ Group plans to release a long-awaited independent review of the bank's markets unit following missteps by some traders. Consultancy Oliver Wyman has delivered its findings to the bank's board, a spokesperson for the lender said Thursday. "We will discuss the findings with APRA and we are committed to releasing the report as soon as practical," the spokesperson said. APRA is short for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

What happened overnight

Here's what my colleague, market strategist Mike "Willo" Wilson says happened while we were sleeping… The dollar rose, yen fell and stocks posted tech led falls before President Donald Trump said he'd implement a 25% tariff on auto imports. A Federal Reserve official warned that the impact of broader tariffs on inflation may not be temporary. Asian stock futures imply that local stock indexes may trade lower in an otherwise quiet local calendar. The Aussie and kiwi edged lower by New York close and may have seen their highs for the week while this tariff drama plays out. Trump said he'll impose a 25% tariff on auto imports, expanding a trade war designed to bring more manufacturing jobs to the US and setting the stage for an even broader push on levies next week. "What we're going to be doing is a 25% tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States," Trump said at the White House Wednesday, casting the measure as "very modest." Average Wall Street bonuses surged last year, with the total pool for payouts jumping to a record $47.5 billion as industry profits soared. The average annual bonus rose by almost a third to $244,700, the first significant increase since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to estimates by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The total pool is the largest since at least 1987, when records began. Senator Elizabeth Warren warned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell could be fired by President Trump as part of a purge she said could disrupt US markets. The Massachusetts Democrat said the expansive authority Trump has claimed to oust officials at independent agencies means "nobody is safe, not even the chairman of the Federal Reserve." Nissan Motor Co.'s incoming chief executive officer said he's open to pursuing a partnership with Honda Motor Co., the Japanese peer his carmaker tried to combine with before talks broke down last month. The auto industry's push into intelligent cars "is going to require a lot of work and a lot of investment that probably will need some partner," Ivan Espinosa, who assumes his new role on April 1, said Wednesday. "I'm open to Honda or other partners."

What to watch

• Opposition Leader Peter Dutton delivers his budget reply speech at 7:30 p.m.

One more thing...

It's not just America and Europe that fear the competitive threat from Chinese clean technology, writes Bloomberg Opinion's David Fickling. China itself is scared, he says. Wind and solar developers in the country installed more than 60% of the world's renewables last year, upsetting a market where coal has traditionally dominated.

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