1. Australia’s fuel storage dips below 60 days
Despite the international standard for a nation’s fuel storage to sit no lower than 90 days, Australia’s storage levels have dropped to 58 days, with defence minister, Richard Marles considering increasing our onshore fuel storage to mitigate the issue.

“The latest statistics, from June, show Australia is last on the list of countries that have signed up to the International Energy Agency agreement on emergency reserves,” The Guardian reports.

“According to parliamentary research, Australia has been non-compliant for about a decade. Fifty-eight days’ worth is the average for the past decade. There [is] a range of measures in place to ensure the country is compliant by 2026.”

2. Analysts believe recent bounce back to be bear market rally
The retractions in both the ASX200 and S&P500 this week are showcasing that while they are up 8.2% and 12.9% respectively since the June lows, a reversal could already be underway according to several analysts. Many of whom believe that markets got carried away with optimism about inflation peaking, with Russel Chesler, head of investments and capital markets at VanEck saying: “The recent rally is more likely a temporary pause in the bear market, rather than a return to a bull market.

“We believe share prices may have further to fall in the near term, as profits decline, interest rates keep rising, and the global economy decelerates.”

This was furthered by Oxford Economics’ director of global equity strategy, Daniel Grosvenor: “We think EPS forecasts are still too high and equities will see a period of consolidation as the downgrade cycle continues.”

“We think EPS forecasts are still too high and equities will see a period of consolidation as the downgrade cycle continues,” he said.

3. China partially attributes of birth and marriage decline to Covid-19
According to China’s National Health Commission, its significant decline in births and marriages can be chalked up to the pandemic as it has exacerbated rising costs in education and child-rearing.

The commission stated that an overwhelming number of women are deciding to delay their plans of marriage or having children. “Demographers have also said that China’s uncompromising ‘zero-Covid’ policy of promptly stamping out any outbreaks with strict controls on people’s lives may have caused profound, lasting damage on their desire to have children,” CNBC reports.

“New births in China are set to fall to record lows this year, demographers say, with forecasts calling for a drop below 10 million compared to last year’s 10.6 million babies — a level 11.5% lower than in 2020.”

4. Australian unions to challenge Apple over staff wages
A report on Tuesday in the AFR notes that “Apple has been accused of seeking to ram through a new agreement with below-inflation wage rises, no evening penalty rates and clauses that could see workers work up to 60 hours a week without overtime”.

The two unions leading the foray are The Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), representing sales staff, and the Australian Services Union, on behalf of service staff, intending to take the company to the workplace tribunal over “unethical and unlawful” bargaining practices.

“The unions say that Apple failed to notify them when negotiations started early this month, refused to give them enough time to organise workers’ claims and initially threw out their organisers when they sought to meet with staff on site.”

5. ASX to open marginally higher
ASX futures rose 15 points or flat to 6880 near 7.20am AEST, with the AUD up 0.7% to 69.24 US cents.

On Wall St: Dow -0.5% S&P 500 -0.2%, Nasdaq flat.

Spot gold +0.6% to $US1,746.78 /oz at 2pm New York time.

2-year yield: US 3.30% Australia 3.01%.

10-year yield: US 3.04% Australia 3.57%.