1. Pay rise of $18.80 for two million workers

Two million workers will receive a pay rise of $18.80 but will this be good or bad for the economic recovery? The Fair Work Commission raised the minimum wage by $18.80 to $772.60. This was over double employers wanted to pay and $8 less than unions wanted. The Reserve Bank, which wants higher wages, will be happy but many CBD business owners will think it’s another kick in the guts following lockdowns and the work from home trend that has taken turnovers down by 40% in city businesses.

2. Federal Reserve raises inflation expectations

U.S. stocks dropped overnight after the Federal Reserve raised its inflation expectations, which isn’t good news for interest rate rises. And what happens in the US often impacts here. Right now, our Reserve Bank says rates won’t rise until 2024 but overnight, the US central bank boss, Jerome Powell, implied rates could rise in 2023. It’s still a long way off but the stock market doesn’t like surprises that can hurt share prices.

3. Regulators circle the cryptocurrency world

Bitcoin’s price has recovered to around $38,000 US dollars after recent sell offs but regulators are circling the cryptocurrency world. A global central bank meeting found customers’ demands have made banks’ exposure to cryptocurrencies rise and warned that the growth of crypto assets could undermine the security of banks and the financial system. This comes as US authorities recovered 63.7 of the 75 bitcoins paid to the hackers involved in the Colonial Pipeline blackmail cyber-attack.

4. Bids for $5 David Bowie painting reach over $22,000

An unnamed Canadian who picked up a $5 painting at a donation centre later discovered the artwork was created by David Bowie. Bids for the piece, which is titled 'DHead XLVI' and is part of a series of 47 artworks created by Bowie between 1995 and 1997, have reached over $22,000 with one week to go.

5. US stocks drop overnight

The Dow Jones fell 265.66 points or 0.77% to 34,033.67, the S&P 500 dropped 22.89 points or 0.54% 4,223.70 and the Nasdaq dipped 33.17 points or 0.24% to 14,039.68 on Wednesday. After the ASX 200 reached a new record high yesterday, futures indicate the index could set another record again today.