1. Will we see a share market rally today?
Experts doubt that the rally in share prices we saw last week can be sustained, with Russian troops making more gains in Ukraine. The ASX futures says we should see our stock market open up 166 points higher, but this was before Russian forces not only were attacking Kyiv but before they had entered a second city Kharkiv. It looks like a matter of time before the country falls, which could then take global stock markets with it. That said, the history of geopolitically-caused share market slumps says they don’t hurt stocks for too long.

2. Aussie economy expected to shine
On Wednesday we see just how strong our economy was in the last three months of 2021 as Omicron took root. And believe it or not, economists expect a good number. December did bring the Omicron problem but for the rest of the quarter (i.e. October and November) there was a lot of economic rebound as Victoria, NSW and the ACT broke out of lockdowns. And the 3% expected growth will be because consumers went on a shopping spree to celebrate freedom, while government support spending also was important.

3. Twiggy & the world’s biggest battery
Billionaire Andrew Twiggy Forrest will create a $3bn renewable energy hub based on renewables to fast-track the exit of coal mining. Last week, billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes was trying to buy AGL to kill coal. Now rival billionaire Andrew Forrest, who founded Fortescue Metals, will move away from fossil fuel and create the world’s biggest battery with his Queensland clean energy project at Clark Creek, which reports say could power 660,000 homes or 40% of the state’s households.

4. US must be ready with cash on hand after imposing SWIFT ban on Russia
According to Bloombrerg, The decision to exclude various Russian lenders from the SWIFT messaging system could result in missed payments and giant overdrafts within the international banking system and spur monetary authorities to reactivate daily operations to supply the market with dollars. That’s the view of prominent Credit Suisse Group AG strategist Zoltan Pozsar, who published a note Sunday examining the consequences for money markets of the decision to take some lenders off SWIFT, a system that facilitates international payments between institutions. Drawing comparisons with the 2008 Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. failure and the pandemic-related market seizures of March 2020, Pozsar warns that “central banks should stand ready to make markets on Monday again”.

5. Global markets rise despite geopolitical uncertainty
The AUD is +0.9% to 7226 US cents while all major overseas markets saw a late push. On Wall St: Dow +2.5% S&P 500 +2.2% Nasdaq +1.6% Stoxx 50 +3.7% FTSE +3.9% DAX +3.7% CAC +3.5%. 2-year yield: US +0.07% (1.57%) Australia +0.06% (1.19%). 10-year yield: US +0.04% (1.96%) Australia +0.08% (2.23%).