1. Boris Johnson quits UK parliament
After a mass exodus of more than 50 Conservative ministers made governing near impossible, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would stand down to reinstall order within the party.

In a brief statement on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, Mr Johnson said he had tried to persuade his ministerial colleagues that he had a mandate and was “actually only a few points behind in the polls” despite the difficult economic circumstances and “relentless sledging”.

“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments,” he said. “As we’ve seen at Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful, and when the herd moves, it moves.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid “will be among the contenders to replace him, as will the two-day chancellor Nadhim Zahawi. All three are former bankers or businessmen, who will look to project economic stability onto a potentially stagflationary British economy,” the AFR reports.

2. Health Minister urges Aussies to get their boosters as Omicron third wave sustains
Australian Health Minister Mark Butler has urged all Australians who have not yet received their boosters to do so as soon as possible, with a significant rise in hospitalisations from the latest omicron variant, reaching about 3,800 on Thursday afternoon.

“I think it’s really important that all governments, health experts and experts continue to reinforce the message that two doses of vaccine is simply not enough. And for older Australians who are at higher risk of severe disease, even three doses now is not regarded as sufficient to get fully protected,” Butler said.

“A fourth dose will give you added protection against severe disease and the risk of going to hospital. We can’t say that message enough.”

3. Zip shares fall 7% as bad debts surface
Shares in the once darling Aussie buy now, pay later company Zip fell 7% on Thursday as a number of bad debts have emerged to see the stock down 87% for the year.

UBS analyst Tom Beadle is particularly bearish on the company that plans to merge with Sezzle in Q3 of 2022.

“Looking at arrears as a leading indicator of bad and doubtful debt expenses and write-offs, Mr Beadle highlighted concerns that the buy now, pay later sector had recorded significant increases since [FY20], against the trend seen at the big-four banks where arrears for consumer segments have improved,” the AFR reports.

On Thursday, UBS cut Zip’s price target to 45¢ from 90¢ and reiterated a “sell” recommendation.

4. Cyberbullying set to incur one-year jail sentence in Japan
Following the suicide of Hana Kimura in 2020, a 22-year-old Japanese professional wrestler and reality TV figure who received widespread attacks online, primarily on Twitter.

“New penalties for public abuse as part of a revised law came into effect Thursday, allowing fines of up to 300,000 yen ($US2,200) from the previous 10,000 yen and jail sentences of up to 12 months compared with 29 days previously,” Bloomberg reports.

“It’s important to try to stamp out the kind of vicious insults that have sometimes even driven people to die,” Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa told reporters on Tuesday. “The revision to the law doesn’t unjustly limit freedom of expression.”

Japan’s Federation of Bar Associations opposed the change to the law, saying it could threaten justified criticism and freedom of expression. 

The Justice Ministry said in a Q&A on its website that the law would not be used to punish public criticism of politicians. It also said that the stricter measures would not affect its definition of abuse: “showing contempt for someone, without basis in fact, in a way that could come to the notice of unspecified or large numbers of people.”

5. ASX to rise on extended Wall St rally
ASX futures were up 51 points or 0.78% to 6605 near 6.45am AEST, with the AUD +0.9% to 68.40 US cents.

On Wall St: Dow +1.1% S&P 500 +1.5% Nasdaq +2.3%.

In Europe: Stoxx 50 +2% FTSE +1.1% CAC +1.6% DAX +2%.

Brent crude +4.7% to $US105.37 a barrel.

10-year yield: US 3.00% Australia 3.46%.