Tuesday, 8 April - Catch me I'm falling

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 8 April. In your Squiz Today…

• Another tough day at the office for investors

• French politician Marine Le Pen has launched an appeal over her embezzlement conviction

• And the movie release mining box office gold…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Matildas’ striker Mary Fowler after the Tillies scored their second friendly win over South Korea last night in front of a record 28,000-strong crowd in Newcastle, NSW. The 2-0 victory puts them in a good position ahead of their clash with Argentina next month. Go Aussies…

The Aussie stock market goes south

The Squiz

It was another stressful day for Aussie investors yesterday as the ASX had its biggest one-day loss since May 2020. The ASX 200 - which tracks the 200 biggest companies on the market - dropped by 4.2% over the day. That wasn’t the only unwanted record set, especially if you’ve got overseas holiday plans… The Aussie dollar has also dropped below 60 US cents for the first time in 5 years. It’s part of the continuing global reaction to US President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs - his taxes on imports - which are aimed at getting a better deal for the US economy.

So why the big drop today?

Lots of reasons, but economists are particularly pointing to the fact that China has brought in its own tariffs to counter Trump’s - and he’s now threatening to up the ante with an additional 50% on Chinese goods which would bring their rate to 104%. The instability is contributing to predictions of a long-term global trade war and a recession in the US, making investors skittish to say the least. But Trump is holding firm and calling for Americans to be “courageous and patient”. The White House says that over 50 countries have already reached out to negotiate with the US to get the tariffs lifted. Back home, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said we could see a small drop in our Gross Domestic Product (aka the value of everything a nation produces) as the US and China - 2 of our largest trading partners - go toe-to-toe.

So what’s next? 

The Reserve Bank of Australia might have a role to play in limiting the damage to our economy, and investors reckon it’s likely to cut interest rates in its next meeting on 20 May. But some economists want the Reserve Bank to bump that timeline up and hold an emergency meeting so it can make that decision now. To give you an idea of how unusual that would be, the last 2 times the Reserve Bank called special meetings were during the early days of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. And if all of this market mayhem has you worried about your super - experts say while balances might be down in the short term, it’s important not to panic, and to keep playing the long game.

Exploring the costs of childcare

The cost of childcare is sky-high for most parents and carers who use it. It’s an issue that The Parenthood - an advocacy organisation working to make Australia the best place in the world to be a parent - is pushing to improve… To that end, The Parenthood has partnered with Future Women on a new podcast series called At What Cost? Episode one gets into the cost of childcare and how it impacts mothers, in particular. You can find out more and listen to that episode here. 

Squiz the Rest

Le Pen launches la défense

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, has spoken up after being convicted of embezzlement last week… If it flew under your radar, she was found guilty of embezzling €2.9 million of European Parliament funds to pay staffers for her party. Most notably, the conviction means Le Pen will be banned from public office for 5 years - which rules out running in the French presidential race in 2027… At an RN rally on Sunday, she said the ruling was politically motivated, but Gabriel Attal - the former PM/leader of the centrist Renaissance party - says that’s “attacking our judges, attacking our institutions”. Le Pen’s launched an appeal, and the court says it should reach a decision by 2026.

A painful anniversary is approaching

Nearly a year after 6 people were murdered in a stabbing attack at the Bondi Junction Westfield in Sydney’s East, preparations are underway for a coronial inquest. Ashlee Good, Jade Young, Yixuan Cheng, Pikria Darchia, Dawn Singleton, and Faraz Tahrir were killed by Joel Cauchi on 13 April before he was shot dead by police inspector Amy Scott. The inquest, scheduled for 28 April, will examine Cauchi’s history of mental health issues, the emergency response, and the media coverage. Most of the victims’ families support the inquiry, but businessman John Singleton, whose daughter Dawn was killed, said it would only cause more upset. At a preliminary hearing yesterday, counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC said the inquest wasn't about finding blame, but learning lessons to save lives.

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Catching a falling Star

Star Entertainment has locked in a lifeline, with US-based casino operator Bally’s Corporation set to take control after Star's board signed off on a $300 million takeover. Reports say the rescue package will be made in instalments, with the first payment (around $100 million) to be made tomorrow. The deal will save the group - which operates 3 casinos across NSW and Queensland - from collapse… You might remember it’s been struggling under huge debts for months, with its shares suspended from trading on the ASX last month after it failed to disclose half-year financial results. Its board said at the time that it needed to secure a funding package before it lodged its accounts, so this deal might come in handy…

Vale Kerry Greenwood

The Aussie author of the Phryne Fisher murder mystery series of books has died at 70yo. Greenwood grew up in Melbourne, and she wrote 22 books in the series, which was set in the late 1920s and follows an aristocrat who works as a private detective. Over the journey, the series sold 1.4 million copies, it was turned into a TV show called Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and even got a film adaptation. Essie Davis, who played Fisher in the show and film, said Greenwood had “gifted us one of the most powerful and positive and inspiring heroines”. The good news for fans of the character is that Greenwood’s 23rd Phryne Fisher book is still on the way - Murder in the Cathedral will be published late this year. 

More than a miner success

That rumbling sound you might have heard on the weekend was thousands of Aussie kids dragging their parents to see A Minecraft Movie, which has been a huge hit here and overseas (as in, it made nearly $500 million) - despite some lukewarm reviews from critics. The movie stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black and Jennifer Coolidge, and is an adaptation of Minecraft, one of the most successful video games of all time. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a game where players ‘mine’ resources so they can build, well, pretty much anything they want. In its opening weekend, the movie version broke The Super Mario Bros Movie’s record for the most money made by a video game adaptation. And both movies also star Jack Black - maybe he’s the secret ingredient… 

Apropos of Nothing - Interesting interests edition

If you’ve ever dreamed that your Sunday arvo cleaning can be making you money - maybe dream no more…  There’s a corner of the internet where parents film their daily bench-top wipe-downs and cookie jar restocks, and earn big bucks while doing it. If only someone had told us…

And on the topic of turning your day-to-day into dough, you might even be able to add your brekky into the mix… That’s what Austin Wells, catcher for baseball team the New York Yankees, has done with his new Instagram account dedicated exclusively to ranking breakfast burritos. OK, now we’re hungry… 

Watch your fingers with this one - crowds in Colombia have turned out in droves to see a display of carnivorous plants at the botanical gardens in Bogota. It was the place to be to check out plants like the insect-killing ‘sun pitchers’ - as long as you weren’t a fly…

Squiz the Day

8.00am (AEST) - Thousands of doctors in NSW are expected to begin a 3-day strike over pay and conditions - Sydney, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie, NSW

7.30pm (AEST) - Leaders’ debate between PM Anthony Albanese and Coalition leader Peter Dutton hosted by Sky News and the Daily Telegraph - Sydney, and watch it live on Sky News

PM Anthony Albanese will announce a further $1 billion for mental health funding, to go towards youth care centres, upgrades to Medicare centres, and additional training places aimed at helping to fill a shortage of psychologists and psychiatrists  

Praise be… The sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale will be released in Australia on SBS on Demand

 🌸 Hana Matsuri, the Flower Festival celebrating Buddha’s Birthday - Japan

International Be Kind to Lawyers Day

It’s Zoo Lovers Day… Are you an elephant or a giraffe person?

Birthdays for doppelgängers actors Robin Wright (1966) and Patricia Arquette (1968)

Anniversary of:

• the discovery of the Venus de Milo on the Aegean island of Milos (1820)

• The US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banning Will Smith from attending the Oscars for 10 years after he slapped host Chris Rock on stage during the ceremony (2022)

• the deaths of painter/sculptor Pablo Picasso (1973) and former British PM Margaret Thatcher (2013)