1. Treasurer Frydenberg drops hint to RBA
As most major banks and economists are urging the RBA to raise interest rates next Tuesday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg stands on the other side of the fence, reminding the central bank of its original plan to hold off on a rate rise until the release of wages data. Mr Frydenberg acknowledged that monetary policy was “the remit of the independent board” of the RBA.

“I can only point you to previous statements that they have made where they have said they want to see inflation sustainably within their (2 per cent to 3 per cent) band, and they also want to see significant wages growth before they start to move,” he said.

2. Aussie bonds attractive as market overreacts to rate rises, according to JBWere
Investment bank and subsidiary to National Australia Bank, JBWere Ltd believe that the Aussie bond market is presenting an attractive opportunity for the long-term investor, as markets have overcooked projections of interest rate hikes. The bank’s chief investment officer, Sally Auld, says: “It makes sense for the market to price in something that’s steeper than the average tightening cycle. But, when you look at that terminal rate at 3.5% in Australia, we think that’s probably too much.” 

3. New crypto bill in US could reduce SEC’s grip on exchanges
A new bill circulating the US House of Reps is gaining bipartisan support to bring digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “The legislation is the latest in a hodgepodge of crypto bills that lawmakers have introduced in the House and Senate in recent months. Notably, the new bipartisan proposal would define many tokens as “digital commodities,” a tag that’d place them out of the SEC’s reach. Crypto assets used to invest in or buy a piece of a business would remain under the securities regulator’s jurisdiction, according to a summary of the bill,” Bloomberg reports.

4. Apple warns supply constraints could amount to US$4-8bn drop in sales
Apple’s earnings report released on Thursday revealed the company’s revenue grew by 9% on an annual basis at the close of the March quarter, but has warned of potential headwinds due to sustained supply constraints. Apple did not provide a forecast for the current quarter and has authorised US$90 billion in share buybacks.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the iPhone business had a successful quarter with “switchers,” or people who previously had an Android phone but decided to buy an iPhone.  

“We had a record level of upgraders during the quarter and we grew switchers, strong double digits,” he said.

5. ASX set to follow Wall St bounce
ASX futures were up 50 points or 0.7% to 7384 near 7am AEST, with the AUD -0.3% to 71.03 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +1.9% S&P 500 +2.5% Nasdaq +3.1%. Bitcoin +2.3% to $US$40,015 at 6.45am AEST. 2-year yield: US +0.03% (2.62%) Australia +0.01% (2.36%). 10-year yield: US +0.01% (2.82%) Australia+0.03% (3.08%).