1. Gig economy workers remain contractors in Australia
A high court decision has effectively ruled that workers in the gig economy such as Uber drivers are contractors and not virtual employees. And it means if they’re not employees, bosses could engage them as contractors meaning they won’t have minimum award pay and conditions, workers’ compensation, super, redundancy and other statutory requirements. The AFR says “the decision is expected to entrench existing independent contracting in industries like transport, construction and the gig economy” and encourages other industries to do the same. This could become an election issue.

2. Which bank reported better than expected?
The nation’s biggest bank, CBA reported better than expected and its boss predicts a good year for the economy, but he sees falling house prices ahead. The result helped the stock market go up over 80 points yesterday and the bank’s CEO Matt Comyn tips a strong economy in 2022. However, after house prices surged over 20% last, he expects growth of only 4-7% this year and a 10% fall next. Why? Well, he expects interest rates to start rising in August and that will be bad for borrowers but good for banks.

3. Twiggy harnesses wind and sun
Billionaire iron ore miner Andrew Twiggy Forrest, founder of Fortescue Metals, is set to build a $10bn wind and solar operation in WA. Twiggy is progressively turning into a Greenie backing hydrogen-powered energy and now his 5.4-gigawatt wind and solar project will provide the electricity to run his huge mining operation in WA’s Pilbara. It will be the biggest alternative energy concern in Australia and is a sign of things to come.

4. Evergrande CEO cut bond holdings early in crisis
China Evergrande Group’s chief executive officer sold bonds with a face value of US$128 million in the early months of the developer’s debt crisis, paring his exposure before the company’s historic default. Xia Haijun sold the notes at prices ranging from about 36 cents on the dollar to 52 cents in late July and early August, according to a Hong Kong exchange filing on Wednesday. Some of the notes he sold now trade at about 10 cents, Bloomberg-compiled prices show.

5. ASX trending upwards
Australian shares are set to rise as Wall Street lifted for the second day in a row as a bond sell-off eased and investors’ fears of an aggressive Fed tightening were soothed. ASX futures were up 16 points or 0.2% to 7168 at 5.27am AEDT., while the AUD was up 0.5% to 71.79 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +0.9% S&P 500 +1.2% Nasdaq +1.4%. 2-year yield: US +0.01% (1.34%), Australia -0.01% (1.04%). 10-year yield: US -0.05% (1.91%), Australia -0.02% (2.10%).