1. Europe progresses to arming Ukraine as Putin seemingly undeterred by sanctions
Ukraine’s allies in Europe are moving beyond their usual emphasis on diplomacy and sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with a new focus on urgently arming Kyiv as the best chance at changing Vladimir Putin’s decision-making. On Monday Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock -- from the traditionally-pacifist Green Party -- called for sending “more military equipment, above all heavy weapons.” She added: “There is no time to make excuses.”

“We now basically stand in front of this equation to decide what is more important: sanctions or weapons,” Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign minister,” told reporters on Monday. “My conclusion -- and if you had told me this two months ago, I would have said, are you crazy -- is that it’s now weapons.”

2. Australian flu season expected to hike this winter
Australia’s coming flu season is likely to be worse than in previous pandemic years, with experts warning against complacency around influenza vaccines.

“Covid is front and centre of people’s minds and influenza isn’t really,” he said. “The virus is going to be back this year, after a two-year layoff, and vaccination is still the best way to protect yourself.”

Barr was optimistic that this year’s flu season would not be as severe as 2019, which had 313,033 laboratory-confirmed cases and 953 deaths (in comparison, there were 21,266 cases in 2020).

3. Bitcoin drops below US$40,000 for first time in almost a month
Bitcoin last fell 7% to US$40,009.78, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier in the day, it fell to US$39,785.68, falling below the key US$40,000 support level for the first time since March 16. “Bitcoin and traditional markets have continued to respond negatively to expectations that the U.S. Fed will tighten its monetary policy to fight inflation, and Tuesday’s CPI release seems to be weighing heavily,” said Riyad Carey, a research analyst at Kaiko.

4. Sony and Lego place US$2bn bet on the ‘metaverse’
Sony and Kirkbi, the family-owned investment firm behind Lego, are investing US$2 billion in Fortnite maker Epic Games. The deal, which is subject to customary closing conditions, would value Epic at US$31.5 billion. It comes after Epic and Lego announced plans to co-develop a “family-friendly” metaverse for kids. “This investment will accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play, and we are pleased to be investing in Epic Games to support their continued growth journey, with a long-term focus toward the future metaverse,” said Soren Thorup Sorensen, CEO of Kirkbi.

5. ASX to slip following US tech sell off
ASX futures were down 22 points or 0.3% to 7440 near 7am AEST, with the AUD -0.6% to 74.16 US cents. On Wall St: Dow -1.2% S&P 500 -1.7% Nasdaq -2.2%. 2-year yield: US -0.01% (2.50%) Australia -- (2.11%). 10-year yield: US +0.08% (2.78%) Australia +0.04% (3.00%).