1. Last Eastern Ukraine stronghold falls to Russian forces
Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the eastern city of Lysychansk, the last urban holdout under Kyiv’s control in the embattled Luhansk region as Vladimir Putin’s troops come closer to their goal of capturing the province. (Bloomberg)

“In the face of Russian occupation troops’ multiple advantage in artillery, aviation, active basefire systems, ammunition and personnel, continuing the city’s defense would lead to fatal consequences,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Facebook late Sunday. 

2. Home lending set to slump by 30-40%, says UBS
Leading global investment bank UBS has forecast Australian home lending to drop by 30-40% in coming months just as the RBA is tipped to raise the cash rate to 1.35% at its board meeting this afternoon. On top of that, chief economist George Tharenou is forecasting a 10%+ slump in house prices and a more than 20% fall in sales.

“This would be broadly consistent with the lagged impact of prior RBA tightening cycles,” he said. “It’s plausible the weakness is loans is greater, given the speed and magnitude of RBA hikes is set to be bigger this time.”

“The value of new home loans will likely drop as the property market cools, with the weekend’s clearance rates at just 55 per cent across the combined capitals, according to CoreLogic,” said RateCity director Sally Tindall.

3. Natural disaster declared for 23 NSW council areas
23 local government areas in NSW will receive government assistance for flood victims of the latest deluge across the Greater Sydney region. The declaration on Monday night triggers payments and loans for small businesses, primary producers and others, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles says.

4. World’s top-rated restaurant reports losses for 2021
Noma, the top-tier restaurant in Copenhagen that has been voted the world’s best on five separate occasions, reported losses for 2021 (the first time in four years).

“The restaurant booked a net loss of 1.69 million kroner ($240,000) after recording a tiny profit in 2020, according to a filing with the Danish Business Authority. Noma received 10.9 million kroner in government compensation as Denmark imposed virus lockdowns for parts of the year,” Bloomberg reports. 

5. ASX set for muted open
ASX futures were up 1 point to 6538 near 7am AEST, with the AUD +0.8% to 68.65 US cents.

US markets closed for the July 4th holiday.

In Europe: Stoxx 50 +0.1% FTSE +0.9% CAC +0.4% DAX -0.3%.

Brent crude +1.7% to $US113.50 a barrel. Iron ore -5.6% to $US109.90 a tonne.

10-year yield: US 2.88% Australia 3.55%.