1. 4 rate rises this year? No!
Good news for home loan borrowers with the RBA boss Dr Phil Lowe accepting interest rates could rise this year but he rejected the idea of four rises in 2022. Dr Lowe spoke at the National Press Club yesterday and conceded interest rates could rise this year, painting a picture of a strongly growing economy with inflation eventually falling as supply chain problems dissipate. But happily, he strongly disagreed with those economists who tip four interest rate rises this year.

2. RC recommends Packer sells Crown shares
The major shareholder of Crown Resorts, James Packer, is fighting a Royal Commission recommendation that he sells his shares in the casino business. Last year the Victorian Royal Commission said Mr Packer should reduce his shareholding of Crown to 5% if the company was to retain its gambling licence. But now his lawyers are arguing before the WA royal commission that this demand is inappropriate as Mr Packer’s company will have no influence over the business that soon should be owned by the US company, Blackstone. If he sells his stake, he will pocket around $3.3 billion!

3. Where’s the panic gone?
Stock market worries seem to be behind us, with Wall Street up overnight for the fourth day in a row and our market is expected to rise again today. Our market is also up four days in a row and the futures market tips another positive opening today. But what happened to all the negativity that had stock players panicking last week? Well, first the RBA Governor is pouring cold water on lots of interest rate rises this year, and in the US tech companies that were out of favour are back in favour after big names like Google’s Alphabet reported better than expected earnings.

4. Global coffee prices to get a little steeper
In what is forming as a global consensus, coffee-lovers are about to be stung a little harder for their favourite cuppa. “Some of the world’s biggest roasters and sellers of coffee are upping menu prices, having flagged that customers would be paying more as bean prices began to surge last year. Workers demanding higher wages and other costs have also added to the rising charge for a daily cup, which is in turn contributing to inflation pressures felt through much of the global economy,” Bloomberg reports.

5. ASX to edge higher following run-up on Wall St
ASX futures were up 5 points or 0.1% to 6987 near 7.15am AEDT, reversing earlier modest losses. The AUD climbed 0.3% higher to 0.71 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +0.6%, S&P 500 +0.9%, Nasdaq +0.6%. 2-year yield: US 1.16%, Australia 0.84%. 10-year yield: US 1.76%, Australia 1.91%.