1. No Wall Street for Thanksgiving

US stocks can’t give us a lead today because the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq along with other American-based exchanges were closed for Thanksgiving, which then gives way to Black Friday and this signifies the start of the US holiday shopping season. Wednesday was a positive day, helping our market finish up 10 points, with the Fed minutes from the last interest rate meeting a real help. From those minutes CNBC concluded this: “The Federal Reserve showed that the central bank is looking to hand out smaller rate hikes in the coming months as inflation cools off.”

Here's what was actually written: ““A substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate,” the minutes stated. “The uncertain lags and magnitudes associated with the effects of monetary policy actions on economic activity and inflation were among the reasons cited regarding why such an assessment was important.”

2. China infected

Mainland China reported more than 31,000 Covid infections for Wednesday, including cases without symptoms. That surpassed the 29,317 high seen in mid-April during the Shanghai lockdown, according to CNBC calculations of Wind Information data. However, daily Covid infections with symptoms remain well below the high seen in April. Nearly 90% or more of total Covid cases reported in recent days have been asymptomatic, the data showed. Here’s CNBC on the hit to growth: “China’s stringent Covid controls have weighed on sentiment and business activity. National GDP barely grew during the second quarter due to the Shanghai lockdowns. As of the end of the third quarter, growth for the year was up by just 3% from a year ago — well below the official target of around 5.5% announced in March.” Despite this, authorities have emphasized their zero-Covid policy, while there are concerns whether the public health system could handle a surge in infections.”

3. Banks bounce Albo’s planned fines

The AFR says the banks did not like being threatened with million dollar fines for bad behavior. “Banks have forced the Albanese government to put off the vote on a bill to lift accountability in financial services, with Labor now rethinking a last-minute deal with the Greens that would have added million-dollar fines for law-breaking financial service executives.” Using potential economic damage arguments, “the banks, led by former Queensland Labor premier Anna Bligh, warned the move to put individual fines back into the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) would have unintended consequences for lenders.” That is, more fines, less loans to avoid potential fines if the lending deal went sour.

4. Pocock plays hard against Labor

David Pocock was famous for his toughness starring for the Wallabies but he always had a soft spot for the climate and his early retirement has helped him become an independent senator for the ACT and he’s showing real grit demanding changes to the Government’s IR Bill. And the AFR’s Phil Coorey writes that he’s still a tough guy: “Key crossbench Senator David Pocock is demanding extra safeguards for small business, and the removal of a provision enabling a single union to veto multi-employer agreements, as conditions of his support for the government’s industrial relations reform agenda. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, who’s trying to get the ACT senator across the line before Parliament rises for the year at the end of next week, is scheduled to meet Senator Pocock again on Friday.”

5. Labor going pro-mining

The Australian reports that Treasurer Jim Chalmers wants to back miners to help him balance the Budget. “Jim Chalmers has outlined his ­vision for a foreign investment boom in critical mineral industries to seize the “opportunity of the century” and prevent Beijing from controlling the ­global tech supply chains of the future,” The Oz leads with today. Speaking at The Australian-PwC critical minerals summit in Sydney on Friday, the Treasurer will warn that Australia must be “clear-eyed about the fact that more and more critical minerals will become a locus of geo-­economic competition”. China currently dominates the mining of rare earths, tech supply chains from start to finish and the processing of lithium, despite Australia being the world’s largest producer of the mineral.