1. Local stocks expected to fall today

Local stocks are expected to pay follow the leader and head down after Wall Street dropped despite a great report from Netflix. The streaming giant is up over 12% in one day’s trading as the world tuned into its programs more than expected, but the overall US stock market dropped on fears of rising interest rates. Our market is tipped fall 73 points at the open.

2. Will our rates go up or down?

Our concerns over interest rate rises could rise or fall today with the latest jobs report for September released this morning. And while the range of new jobs expected to have been created ranges from 10,000 to 20,000, economists are guessing that the number will be less than the 35,500 that showed up in August. Right now, if you’re worrying about hefty interest rate rises, you need to know that bad news for jobs is good news for less rate rises because the Reserve Bank wants a slower economy to kill inflation.

3. Widespread strike action expected

The Business Council of Australia is worried that the Federal Government’s multi-employer wage bargaining legislation will lead to widespread strike action. Multi-employer bargaining means workers in particular occupations will be able to bargain with their employers as a group, rather than employer by employer. The Government says it will increase wages but business groups worry that strike action will be used, which will hurt productivity and profits. They’re also concerned that the Government has kept secret their overall legislation but will release it next week with the Budget revealed on Tuesday.

4. Crypto fails again

Cryptocurrency has attracted more bad publicity at a court hearing into another failed business. Blockchain Global was a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed with a court hearing about what the SMH described as “unusual trading activities.” Blockchain Global collapsed in October last year owing creditors as much as $50 million, including hundreds of Australian account holders who lost large sums after the group blocked withdrawals. The company’s chief technology officer, Jin Chen, said the company kept limited records of each customer’s trades and their holdings.” Experts are using this to call for greater regulation of the sector.

5. Another headwind for Magellan

Magellan now has to face another headwind. The Australian tells us that “Morningstar has joined Lonsec and Zenith in placing multiple funds run by Magellan Financial on ratings watch, after the company said co-founder Chris Mackay would no longer run the global equities strategy and several investment staff also exited.” On Monday, Magellan chief executive David George said he would take on the role of chief investment officer with Gerald Stack, portfolio manager of the Magellan Infrastructure Fund, to become deputy CIO. The company’s stock fell 3.22% yesterday as the overall market was up over 0.3%.