Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures up 1.4% to 7,284.00
- Dow Average up 1.4% to 34,003.32
- Aussie up 1.4% to 0.7295 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield rose 2.1bps to 2.1652%
- Australia 3-year bond yield fell 5bps to 1.81%
- Australia 10-year bond yield fell 2bps to 2.50%
- Gold spot up 0.5% to $1,928.30
- Brent futures down 2.1% to $97.86/bbl
Economic Events
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 112-Day Bills
- 11am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1.5 Billion 70-Day Bills
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. Full Time Employment Change, prior -17,000
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. Part Time Employment Change, prior 30,000
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. Employment Change, est. 37,000, prior 12,900
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. Participation Rate, est. 66.2%, prior 66.2%
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. Unemployment Rate, est. 4.1%, prior 4.2%
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. RBA FX Transactions Other, prior -A$1.92b
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. RBA FX Transactions Government, prior -A$949m
- 11:30am: (AU) Feb. RBA FX Transactions Market, prior A$904m
Other News
A Wisconsin dentist was found guilty of healthcare fraud and other charges after he intentionally damaged his patients’ teeth to boost profits, raking in millions from his scheme.
Scott Charmoli, 61, was convicted of five counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of making false claims about his clients’ treatment last Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
With his sentencing scheduled for June, Charmoli faces up to 10 years for each healthcare fraud charge and a maximum of five years for each of the two other charges.
Prosecutors say that Charmoli had routinely drilled or broken his clients’ teeth on purpose, charging them for additional treatment services to fix the damage he had just done. As a result, Charmoli’s profits ballooned, with the dentist going from making $1.4m and installing 434 crowns in 2014 to $2.5m in 2015, installing over 1,000 crowns, reported the Washington Post.
