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Economic Events

  • 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 70-Day Bills
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  • 11am: (AU) June Consumer Inflation Expectation, prior 5.0%
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  • 11:30am: (AU) May RBA FX Transactions Other, prior -A$878m
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  • 11:30am: (AU) May RBA FX Transactions Market, prior A$872m

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points — the biggest increase since 1994 — and Chair Jerome Powell signaled another big move next month, intensifying a fight to contain rampant inflation.

Other News

For decades, Canada and Denmark have been embroiled in a so-called “whiskey war” over a tiny, barren outcrop in the Arctic.

The largely good-natured spat was fought not with weapons, but with flags and whiskey bottles, with both nations claiming the uninhabited Hans Island as part of their territory.

But the decades-long feud has finally come to a close, with the two sides agreeing to split the island – which is less than a square mile in size – and effectively create the first land border between Canada and Europe.

The dispute over the 0.5 square mile Hans Island, which sits between Canada’s Ellesmere Island and the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, dates back to 1973, when the two sides agreed on a boundary between the Nares Strait.

The strait lies, halfway between Greenland and Canada, but the two countries were unable to agree which would have sovereignty over Hans Island, which is equidistant between the two.

Since then, Danes and Canadians have travelled to the tiny outcrop to lay claim to it, leading to diplomatic protests, online campaigns and even a Canadian call to boycott Danish pastries.

During the trips, each side would remove the other country’s flag and plant their own, even leaving behind a bottle of Canadian whiskey or Danish schnapps for their counterparts to find, along with comical notes, leading to the feud being dubbed the “whiskey war”.

Dividing up the island and resolving the 49-year-old jovial battle was held up as a model for peacefully resolving territorial disputes – contrasted with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – during a formal signing ceremony in Ottawa with the Canadian and Danish foreign ministers.

“Many have called it the whiskey war. I think it was the friendliest of all wars,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said of the territorial dispute – which had drawn in no less than 26 foreign ministers over the decades – at a news conference with her Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod.

“The Arctic is a beacon for international cooperation, where the rule of law prevails.

“As global security is being threatened, it’s more important than ever for democracies like Canada and Denmark to work together, alongside Indigenous peoples, to resolve our differences in accordance with international law.”

Mr Kofod said that its resolution came at a time when “the rules-based international order is under pressure” and democratic values “are under attack”.

Alluding to the war in Ukraine, he said: “We have demonstrated how long-standing disputes can be resolved peacefully by playing by the rules”, adding that he hoped Canada and Denmark’s experience would “inspire other countries to follow the same path”.

“This sends a strong signal: diplomacy and the rule of law actually works, and that great result can be achieved by following the rules.”

Denmark had feared that losing the ownership battle would undermine relations with Greenland.

Canada, meanwhile, worried that a loss would weaken its negotiating position in a more consequential dispute with the United States over the Beaufort Sea, in far northwestern Canada, believed to be rich in hydrocarbons.

(Telegraph)