1. Albanese says Morrison may have assumed more portfolios in secret
Anthony Albanese has said that former prime minister Scott Morrison may well have secretly sworn into more portfolios beyond health, finance and resources.

“The prime minister says he has received a preliminary briefing by the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, after announcing he would seek legal advice about the Constitutionality of Morrison’s secret call,” the AFR reports.

Speaking about whether governor-general David Hurley was to blame, Albanese said: “The governor general’s job is to take the advice of the government of the day, he did that. He’s issued a statement and I don’t intend to pass judgment there.

“The blame for this land fairly and squarely with the former government, not just the prime minister. Clearly, other ministers knew that this was going on.

“This morning, I expect to receive more detail about how this occurred because this is totally contrary to our Westminster system.”

Asked whether Morrison could have assumed more than the three portfolios, Albanese said: “there may well be more”.

2. Putin to expand relations with North Korea
Russian president, Vladimir Putin has vowed to extend bilateral relations with North Korea to “expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts”, said Putin.

In a response letter, North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un wrote to Putin citing that the “Russian-North Korean friendship had been forged in the second world war with victory over Japan. Their “strategic and tactical cooperation, support and solidarity” had since reached a new level in their common efforts to frustrate threats and provocations from hostile military forces, Kim said in the letter, as reported by Reuters”. (The Guardian)

3. Nine Entertainment denies Peter Costello was secret lobbyist for Crown casino
Nine Entertainment has denied that its chairman Peter Costello operated as a secret lobbyist for billionaire James Packer at Crown casino, rather labelling him as an “adviser”.

According to the emails published by The Australian on Monday, Mr Packer claimed he’d hired Costello to be a casino lobbyist in 2011, helping him get “close to” the Victorian gaming minister. (AFR)

4. BHP takes significant stance on EVs with Oz Minerals bid
BHP Group is poised to make an $8.3 billion bid for South Australian resource company Oz Minerals (OZL) with a view to the increased adoption of electric vehicles in coming years, forecasting that 60% of global vehicle sales in 2030 would be EVs, reaching 90% a decade later.

“BHP chief Mike Henry is expected to explain more about his plan to consolidate the South Australian copper fields – which was rejected by the OZ board last week – when he hands down BHP’s full-year financial results [today],” the AFR reports.

“Analyst consensus suggests BHP will unveil a $US20.4 billion underlying profit; if that forecast is correct it will beat last year’s result but fall short of the Australian corporate record profit set by BHP in August 2011.”

5. ASX to rise, nears 7000
ASX futures were up 23 points or 0.33% to 6997 near 6.40am AEST, with the AUD -1.4% to 70.22 US cents.

On Wall St: Dow +0.5% S&P 500 +0.4% Nasdaq +0.6%.

In Europe: Stoxx 50 +0.3% FTSE +0.1% CAC +0.3% DAX +0.2%.

10-year yield: US 2.79% Australia 3.36%.