1. New Russian offensive encircles Ukrainian troops
Russia has launched what Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hailed as a second phase of the war in Ukraine, and early indications are it could go better for Russia than the first, as its troops took a pocket of territory including the city of Kreminna on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian regional governor. As a result they threaten to encircle an area at the top of the eastern front that, according to one military analyst, holds as much as 40% of Ukrainian troops in the region. “If the Russians can encircle those troops they will try to bleed them dry of ammo and manpower just like in Mariupol,” said Osint Aggregator, the platform of a military analyst who collects so-called open source data on the conflict, in a Twitter thread. “The Russians have re-opened a southern axis in an attempt to start that encirclement.”

2. Netflix shares plummet 25% after company reports losing subscribers for first time in 10 years
Shares of Netflix cratered more than 25% on Tuesday after the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter.

Netflix blamed increased competition, password sharing as well as inflation and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine for the stagnant subscriber growth.

“Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” the company wrote in a letter to shareholders Tuesday. “Streaming is winning over linear, as we predicted, and Netflix titles are very popular globally,. However, our relatively high household penetration — when including the large number of households sharing accounts — combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds.”

3. IMF joins World Bank in cutting global growth outlook
The International Monetary Fund slashed its world growth forecast by the most since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and projected even faster inflation, after Russia invaded Ukraine and China renewed virus lockdowns.

Global expansion will slow to 3.6% in 2022, down from a forecast of 4.4% in January before the war, the IMF said in an update to its World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday. That compares with 6.1% growth in 2021. The institution also lowered its projection for 2023 to 3.6% from a prior 3.8%.

4. PM announces new set of fines for CMFEU if re-elected
A new report from the AFR reveals the Morrison government will double the fines that can be levied against militant construction unions and individuals, drawing a sharp contrast with Labor’s promise to abolish the construction industry watchdog if elected at the May 21 poll.

A day after promising the mining sector he would try again to legislate six-year, greenfield workplace agreements should the Coalition be re-elected, Scott Morrison also plans to double the maximum fines courts can impose under Building and Construction Industry Act.

The new, maximum fines would be $444,000 for a union and $88,800 for individuals convicted of serious, deliberate and repeated breaches of the law in the construction industry.

5. ASX poised to rise
ASX futures were up 48 points or 0.6% to 7582 near 6.20am AEST, with the AUD +0.4% to 73.77 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +1.5% S&P 500 +1.6% Nasdaq +2.2%. 2-year yield: US +0.16% (2.60%) Australia +0.10% (2.10%). 10-year yield: US +0.10% (2.94%) Australia +0.09% (3.06%).