1. It’s official — house prices up 30% over next 3 years

Yep, and it’s official, as it comes from the Reserve Bank of Australia with confidential analysis by the central bank that says the Bank itself will be to blame! Behind the predicted rise are the historically low interest rates, which are effectively set by the Reserve Bank. So why are they doing it? Well, it’s a part of the rescue plan to beat the Coronavirus crash of the stock market and the related recession that has led to nearly a million Aussies out of work.

2. Aussie $ at 77 US cents

Anyone planning an overseas holiday by the end of the year should expect to find it cheaper because expert analysts think the rise of the Oz dollar isn’t over yet. In March, the dollar was 57US cents and has risen 35% but there are economists who think it could be 80 US cents plus by year’s end. Why? The world is throwing a lot of money at a global recovery and when it does, it pushes up the prices of the mining exports we sell.

3. Pizza price war ahead!

Pizza Hut used to be the dominant pizza player in Australia until the 1990s but since then it has been all Domino’s. But now Allegro Funds, which owns Pizza Hut, wants to lift its game and list the company on the local stock market. Expect to see a lot more Pizza Hut kiosks in coming months across the country and we’re bound to see pizza price deals that will be great for our wallets but bad for out waist lines. The share price for Domino’s is up 50% over the past year and 70% since March, showing pizzas pay off big time.

4. Joe the Pigeon escapes death sentence

A pigeon named after President-elect Joe Biden that was believed to have travelled 13,000km from the US to Australia is actually a local pigeon. The leg tag that was originally used to identify the bird turned out to be fake, and authorities said the bird would not need to be killed as it does not pose a quarantine risk as originally thought.

5. Markets drop for the week

Both the Australian and US stock market indexes ended the week lower. The S&P/ASX 200 had a smaller loss compared to the US, closing the week down 0.63% to 6,715.40. For the week, the Dow Jones dropped 0.91% to 30,814, the S&P 500 fell 1.48% to 3,768.25 and the Nasdaq lost 1.54% to fall back just below the 13,000 level on 12,998.50.