1. Albo promises to simplify awards
Two days before voting and Labor’s Anthony Albanese has promised small businesses that it will simplify the complicated and costly wage system. Different industries have different awards that determine pay, holidays, workplace conditions and worker entitlements. The documents that explain these are complicated and while big businesses have industrial relations officers to deal with them, smaller operators find them complex and costly and business owners can make mistakes that will see them financially penalised as many restaurant owners have found. That said, Mr Albanese refused to remove the Better Off Overall Test that all award changes have to pass, which business leaders would like to replace with a no-disadvantage test to make changes easier.

2. War and pandemic causes global inflation pressure
Yesterday we saw our wages growth was 2.4%, which was a lot less than our inflation rate of 5.1% but think of the Britts with a new 9% inflation rate. Our wages growth of 2.4% is a worry for Australians coping with inflation of 5.1%, meaning what wages can buy is falling. But in the UK, three-quarters of the 9% inflation was due to higher energy prices. Energy costs are up a huge $1,240 in a year for the average household because of the Ukraine war, the implication of pandemic lockdowns and climate change policies. And petrol? It’s at $3 a litre! And inflation worries hit stock markets overnight, so expect our market to be down today (see below).

3. Aussies make wine inside China
Two years ago China imposed a 200% tariff on Australian wine, so one wine maker is now making wine inside China to beat the tariff. Treasury Wine Estates, the local winemaker of Grange, Penfolds, Wolf Blas and many others will now make wine in China, using grapes grown in China. The first bottles go on sale soon and will be in the $30-$50 range and the company thinks the wine will one day be sold worldwide. Out of adversity can come opportunity, and I will drink to that!

4. Bitcoin (BTC) mining returns to China despite ban
Bitcoin mining, the process of minting new BTC through complex equations on heavy-duty computers, was ground to halt in China in July last year after a wave of new regulations clamped down on the practice. However, it has been reported that several underground mining operations have emerged in the country, with new research from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance revealing a quick rebound of Chinese Bitcoin mining. (CNBC)

5. ASX to plunge on inflation fears stemming from Wall St
ASX futures were down 126 points or -1.8% to 7047 at 7.20am AEST, with the AUD -1.0% to 69.59 US cents.

On Wall St: Dow -3.7% S&P 500 -4.3% Nasdaq -4.7%. (Biggest daily drop for US stocks in almost two years.)

In Europe: Stoxx 50 -1.4% FTSE -1.1% CAC -1.3% DAX -1.2%.

2-year yield: US -0.05% (2.65%) Australia +0.02% (2.57%). 10-year yield: US -0.10% (2.89%) Australia +0.05% (3.45%).