1. Victoria enters snap five-day lockdown

Victoria has entered its first day of a snap lockdown announced by Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday which is set to last until at least 11:59pm next Tuesday. Regional areas of the state may exit lockdown earlier depending on depending on cases of community transmission.

2. Chinese investment in Australia drops to lowest level since 2007

The amount of money invested into Australia by Chinese investors has fallen to its lowest level in 14 years according to a report by KPMG and the University of Sydney highlighted by The Australian. Investments have fallen each year since 2016, down from US$11.5 billion to $US1.9 billion in 2020.

3. 27 SMSFs worth more than $100 million

There were 27 self-managed super funds with savings over $100 million during the 2019 financial year according to figures from the ATO published by the AFR today, including one fund with $544 million. The top 100 SMSFs had assets totalling $9.64 billion in 2019, up from $8.71 billion in 2018.

4. Man finds 158 bowling balls under his house during renovation

David Olson from Michigan is currently taking suggestions for what to do with the 158 Brunswick bowling balls he found under the back porch of his house during a renovation. Olson told CBC he thinks the previous owner had a connection to the manufacturer and used the mostly defective balls as fill during construction.

5. S&P 500 and Nasdaq fall as Dow Jones heads slightly higher

The Dow Jones rose by 53.79 points or 0.15% on Thursday in the US, while the two other major indexes headed in the opposite direction. The S&P 500 fell 14.27 points or 0.33% to 4,360.03 and the Nasdaq dropped 101.82 points or 0.70% to 14,543.13.