1. President Biden drives home US position on defending Taiwan

During a CBS 60 Minutes interview, US President Joe Biden declared yet again – but perhaps more explicitly – that US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

“The interview is the latest time that Biden has appeared to go beyond long-standing stated US policy on Taiwan, but his statement was clearer than previous ones about committing US troops to the defend the island,” The Guardian reports.

“The US has long stuck to a policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’, not making clear whether it would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan.”

A White House spokesperson said after the 60 Minutes interview: “The president has said this before, including in Tokyo earlier this year. He also made clear then that our Taiwan policy hasn’t changed. That remains true.”

2. Fed needs to raise rates to 5% to combat US inflation: ANZ

ANZ has raised its peak Fed funds rate forecast to a high of 5% as leading economists at the big four bank expect the US central bank’s tightening cycle to extend deep into the first half of 2023.

Head of G3 economists Brian Martin, and senior international economist Tom Kenny, cited persistent core inflation, and particularly core services inflation, which they describe as “sticky” and will take more time to moderate.

They add that significantly higher rates for longer are needed to achieve the softer labour market required to get inflation back to the 2 per cent Fed target. (AFR)

“The nuts and bolts of the inflation data make for uncomfortable reading. Whilst there is evidence that headline inflation may be rolling over, this is not so for core measures,” they said.

3. North Sydney office market to face “bloodbath” 

Charter Hall chief executive David Harrison has told the AFR that the North Sydney office precinct is the worst property in Australia right now, and is set to face a “bloodbath”.

“I’ve never seen mooted supply as a percentage of a market of 1 million square metres, like what is going on in North Sydney,” Harrison said. His bearish forecast followed similar comments from Dexus CEO Darren Steinberg, who said there was an oversupply of office space in North Sydney and also in Parramatta in western Sydney.

4. Double demerits will apply in NSW on Thursday

Double demerits will be enforced this week across NSW for the National Day of Mourning for the Queen which precedes the school holiday break, prompting an extended double demerits period. Double demerits will apply from 12am on Wednesday, September 21, until 11.59pm on Sunday, September 25.           

5. ASX futures up today!

ASX futures up 52 points or 0.77 per cent to 6773 near 6.40am AEST, with the AUD +0.1% to 67.25 US cents

On Wall St: Dow +0.6% S&P 500 +0.7% Nasdaq +0.8%

Spot gold -0.3% to $US1670.52/oz at 2.01pm New York time

Iron ore -0.8% to $US97.70 a tonne

10-year yield: US 3.49% Australia 3.67% Germany 1.80%