1. Will share prices plummet today?

In light of the Sydney two-week lockdown, the big stock market question is: will share prices plummet today? The stock market predictor (known as the SPI) tips that stocks will rise today following a positive lead from Wall Street. The All Ords is up a huge 66% since last year’s market crash, showing individual stocks, such as Webjet or Qantas, will be hurt by the lockdown. But others, such as Kogan, Temple & Webster and other online companies, will do well.

2. Banks ride to the rescue

And with Sydney under lockdown pressure, surprisingly to some, the banks are riding to the rescue. The AFR says “Major banks say they will consider deferring loan repayments and waiving fees…” for customers who can prove hardship because of Sydney’s lockdown. CBD business owners and maybe their staff could be prime candidates for help. Banks said they are open to tailoring assistance packages to suit affected customers rather than offering broad-brush repayment deferrals.

3. Victoria tipped to boom in 2022

Lockdowns aren’t always bad for economies, with Victoria tipped to boom next year. The latest Westpac economic forecasts  for the states say that Victoria will grow by a big 6.3% next year, nearly double that of NSW! It’s nearly biblical, where the last shall be first but it’s the good news the state had to have.

4. Record-breaking hailstone turned into margaritas

A hailstone with a diameter of 6.4 inches (16.3cm) that fell in Hondo, Texas during a storm on April 28 has broken the record for the biggest piece of hail recorded by the National Weather Service in the state. However, mySA reported that a bigger hailstone measuring up to 6.57 inches in diameter (16.7cm) had been posted to social media, but was blended into margaritas before researchers were able to confirm the size.

5. Dow up more than 3% last week

On a weekly basis, the Dow Jones surged 3.44% to 34,433.84, the S&P 500 gained 2.74% to 4,280.70 and the Nasdaq lifted 2.35% to 14,360.39. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.83% to 7,308.00.