Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.4% to 7,213.00
- Dow Average little changed at 34,488.51
- Aussie down 0.2% to 0.7112 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield fell 1.0bps to 1.4358%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 6bps to 0.93%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 4bps to 1.73%
- Gold spot up 0.4% to $1,781.90
- Brent futures down 0.4% to $68.95/bbl
Economic Events
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$3 Billion 98-Day Bills
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$2 Billion 70-Day Bills
- 11:30am: (AU) Oct. Investor Loan Value MoM, est. 6.0%, prior 1.4%
- 11:30am: (AU) Oct. Owner-Occupier Loan Value MoM, est. 3.0%, prior -2.7%
- 11:30am: (AU) Oct. Home Loans Value MoM, est. 1.5%, prior -1.4%
- 11:30am: (AU) Oct. Exports MoM, est. -1%, prior -6%
- 11:30am: (AU) Oct. Imports MoM, est. 2%, prior -2%
- 11:30am: (AU) Oct. International Trade Balance, est. A$11.2b, prior A$12.2b
Australia is set to release October trade data. Qantas plans to make every seat on some of its Airbus SE A380 superjumbos purchasable with air miles to help customers burn through a mountain of loyalty points built up during the pandemic.
Other News
A grandmother in Ontario, Canada, was stunned after discovering a cactus toy that rapped, swore and spoke about cocaine … all in Polish.
Ania Tanner, the grandmother in question, bought what she thought was an educational toy for her 15-month-old granddaughter and was left in shock by the words.
The cactus, which sings melodies in English, Spanish, and Polish, was sold on Walmart’s website as an educational toy for around $26.
Tanner, who happens to be Polish, claims that the cactus used profanity and sang about cocaine, drug abuse, suicide, depression.
“It just so happens that I am Polish and when I started to listen to the songs and I heard the words. I was in shock. I thought, what is this some kind of joke?” Tanner told CTV News Toronto.
The song is by Cypis, a Polish rapper who was apparently unaware that the Chinese manufacturer of the toy utilised his music.
“It’s about taking five grams of cocaine and being alone … It’s a very depressing song,” Tanner added.
This cactus toy was also available for purchase in Europe on Amazon.
In July 2021, other families had realised the issue with the lyrics and felt that it was inappropriate for a children’s toy.
The Polish musical noted that he plans to take legal action against the Chinese company for using his song without consent.
Tanner said she believes Walmart should not be selling the toy for children and is now seeking a refund.
Walmart has since removed the toy from the website.
“These items are sold by a third-party seller on our marketplace website. We are removing the items while we look into this complaint further,” the company told CTV News.
That put Tanner at ease, who said, “I just don’t want anybody before Christmas to think this is a great toy and go online and have the same thing happen, that happened to me.”
