1. Facebook changes name to Meta

At the virtually held Connect conference, CEO and founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media empire will be changing its name to ‘Meta’. “The metaverse is the next frontier,” Zuckerberg said. “From now on, we’re going to be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.” According to Bloomberg, “The new name won’t affect how the company uses or shares data, and the corporate structure isn’t changing. Apps including the flagship social network, Instagram and WhatsApp will also keep their monikers. The company said its stock will start trading under a new ticker, MVRS, on [December] 1”.

2. Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to face ICAC following new findings

In Thursday’s ICAC hearing, former Wagga Wagga MP and ex-partner of Gladys Berejiklian, Daryl Maquire was played a recording from an intercepted phone call between himself and Ms Berejiklian, where the former said she would “throw money” at Maguire’s electoral seat. “The commission heard evidence that Berejiklian fed the MP information about projects he had lobbied for in his electorate, and continued speaking to Maguire following his resignation after an appearance at a separate ICAC inquiry in 2018,” The Guardian reports. The former NSW Premier will give evidence to ICAC today in light of these new findings.

3. Bond market leaves RBA’s hands tied

The Reserve Bank of Australia may have to bring forward interest rate rises a lot sooner than expected as the three-year bond rate jumped to five times the 0.1% target necessary to bolster its pledge that rates won’t rise before 2024. “Investors dumped short-dated bonds, sending the yield on the April 2024 bond, a proxy for the central bank’s forward guidance, soaring to 0.56 per cent, from 0.25 per cent, way beyond its 0.1 per cent target,” the AFR reports. Director of economics for NAB, Tapas Strickland said that “to a central bank which is guiding rates unchanged until 2024 and targeting the April 2024 bond at 10 basis points, it must be like watching a horror movie.”

4. India fights border dispute with China using US weapons

As India and China remain in a deadlock over disputed territory in the Himalayas, India has deployed newly acquired weaponry from the US, including Chinook helicopters, cruise missiles and rifles. Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Reach Foundation in New Delhi, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan said India’s border fortification shows frustration with the lack of progress on talks with China and there’s not much hope that things will be resolved anytime soon.

5. ASX to ride coattails of strong tech push in New York

A strong tech rally in the US overnight has left Australian shares in good stead for a positive opening this morning. Apple shares rose 2.5%, with Facebook and Amazon climbing 1.5% and 1.6% respectively. Tesla had an impressive run at 3.8%. ASX futures rose 18 points or 0.2% to 7422 at 7am AEDT. The AUD is up 0.4% to 75.43 US cents.