1. PM says supply is the 'best antidote' for rising house prices
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that "supply and demand" was driving the increase to property and rental prices around the country, not "loose credit markets" in an interview with the AFR. "The best antidote for rising house prices is supply. That has always been the case," Morrison said.
2. Treasury secretary warns government will need to rein in spending
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy said that the federal government will need to address the $40 billion gap between spending of around 26% of GDP and the tax-to-GDP ratio of 23.9% in a speech to the Australian Business Economists yesterday. "Our success in managing the crisis to date is enabling us to look forward to the next set of challenges at a time when others around the world remain focused on the immediate threat," Kennedy said.
3. US House Speaker calls for boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the US and world leaders should join in a "diplomatic boycott" of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to China's human rights abuses. "We cannot proceed as if nothing is wrong about the Olympics going to China," Pelosi said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
4. Colonial Pipeline hackers extorted US$90 million from 47 victims
DarkSide, the hacking group behind the recent cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline that lead to fuel shortages in the southeast United States, received over US$90 million ($115 million) in ransom payments via bitcoin over nine months according to a report by blockchain analytics company Elliptic. 47 of the 99 organisations reportedly targeted by the group made an average payment of US$1.9 million ($2.4 million) each.
5. Major US tech stocks drop more than 1%
The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell on Tuesday as big tech stocks including Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet all closed over 1% lower. The Dow fell 267.13 points or 0.78% to 34,060.66, the S&P 500 dropped 35.46 points or 0.85% to 4,127.83 and the Nasdaq moved 75.41 points or 0.56% lower to 13,303.64.