1. Bank of England to the rescue!
The Bank of England has promised to rescue the British financial system and our stock market is set to rise on the news. Last week, the new UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, outlined a £45 billion (or $74.5 billion) package of tax cuts in an effort to spur economic growth. This forced bond interest rates up and the British currency was down 4% since Friday, and the pound had fallen 20% against the dollar in the past year. To rescue the situation, the Bank of England will buy £5 billion of bonds for 13 days and this has calmed financial markets.

2. Optus hacking not as bad as thought
Partial good news on the Optus hack drama with reports the risk of identity theft might be less than expected. The AFR says the ACT government thinks the risk of identity theft from the Optus data breach may be much lower than feared because the cyber attacker only gained partial driver’s licence records in most cases. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Albanese said Optus will pay for new passports for those affected by the hacking.

3. Rate rise torture could continue
Good news for shop owners, with retail sales up but it’s not great for interest rate rise worriers. Despite 2.25% worth of cash rate rises from the Reserve Bank since May, shoppers have continued to shop, with retail trade up 0.6% in August. Economists say it takes time for rising interest rates to actually scare people into less spending, which might mean the RBA will ramp up its rate rise torture until we tighten our belts and stop shopping.

4. Fuel price picture to become clear in a fortnight: ACCC chair
ACCC chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb has said the extent to which fuel prices rise will depend on competition. She tells ABC RN Breakfast it will take about one to two weeks in capital cities to understand how much fuel prices will rise. (AFR)

“We don’t expect for it necessarily to be passed on in full. We expect there to be competition. Currently, the prices are at the top of the cycle. We think that retailers can absorb that increase when they’re at the top of the cycle,” she said.

5. ASX futures assume large upward swing
ASX futures were up 102 points or 1.58% to 6562 near 6.40am AEST, with the AUD +1.3% to 65.21 US cents.

On Wall St: Dow +1.9% S&P +2% Nasdaq +2.1%.

In Europe: Stoxx 50 +0.2% FTSE +0.3% CAC +0.2% DAX +0.4%.

Spot gold +1.9% to $US1660.11 /oz at 3.21pm New York time.

10-year yield: US 3.73% Australia 4.09% UK 4%.