1. Royal commission into Crown Melbourne
The Victorian government has announced a royal commission into Crown Melbourne's "suitability to hold its Victorian casino licence" following the findings from the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority's inquiry. "This is about making sure that those who hold a casino licence in Victoria uphold the highest standards of probity and integrity – and that they’re accountable for their actions," Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement.
2. Spark Infrastructure profit up 8.3%
Spark Infrastructure has reported a 8.3% increase to its underlying net profit for 2020 to $85.067 million and said it will pay a final distribution of 6.5 cents. "We are delighted that the underlying strength of our Investment Businesses has shone through and we have been able to maintain guidance against a backdrop of market uncertainty due to COVID-19 ensuring our distributions remain attractive and reliable to Securityholders," said Spark chair Dr Doug McTaggart.
3. Scott Morrison calls for JobSeeker increase of up to $50 a fortnight
Prime Minister is proposing a permanent increase to the JobSeeker unemployment benefit of up to $50 a fortnight once the $150 Coronavirus supplement ends next month according to a report by The Australian.
4. Tesla profits US$1 billion on bitcoin
Tesla's US$1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) investment into bitcoin last month has seen the company profit US$1 billion ($1.3 billion) according to Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives, who said that Tesla is "on a trajectory to make more from its Bitcoin investments than profits from selling its EV (electric vehicle) cars in all of 2020".
5. Nasdaq down 2.46% on Monday
The Nasdaq fell 341.42 points or 2.46% during Monday's session. Tesla fell 8.55% to US$714.50, while major tech companies Apple, Microsoft and Amazon all ended the day down over 2%. The S&P 500 fell 30.21 or 0.77% to 3,876.50, while the Dow Jones rose by 27.37 points or 0.09% to 31,521.69.