Australia Briefing: Dodging the Tough Election Questions

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning Australia, it's Ainsley here and this is what you need to know to kick off your day.

Fiscal Dodge: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and his opponent Jim Chalmers avoided laying out a path to fiscal repair in their pre-election debate, suggesting central bank interest-rate hikes alone will have to rein in inflation. The pair were repeatedly asked about spending cuts and tax rises at yesterday's event, questions both successfully danced around.

NAB Beats: National Australia Bank's first-half profit topped estimates as the country's largest business lender saw strong demand for loans to companies as well as those for homes amid the economic recovery.

‘Courageous' RBNZ: That's according to its Governor Adrian Orr, at least. He said New Zealand's central bank was “courageous” to start tightening monetary policy before many of its peers, and being too out of step with others carries its own risks.

BHP's Chilean Challenge: Just days before a vote that could change the ground rules for Chile's giant copper mines, Melbourne-headquartered BHP is hopeful for the future of an industry that accounts for more than half the country's exports. At stake are future investments in the world's largest copper reserves that are crucial for supplying the clean energy transition.

Food Crunch: Australian wheat may be even more sought after soon, as India restricted shipments of the crucial grain. Wheat gained the most in more than three weeks, which is likely to put more pressure on supplies at a time when the world is increasingly nervous about an unfolding food catastrophe.

What Happened Overnight

Powell's Gambit: The Fed hiked rates by 50 basis points as expected and signaled a lot more tightening to come. But Jerome Powell dashed expectations for an increase of 75 basis points, saying it's not something being "actively" considered, adding that more half-point moves are on the table.

Stocks Roared: U.S. shares rallied the most since May 2020 and Treasury yields fell on Powell's comments. The S&P 500 soared 3%, the Nasdaq spiked 3.4% and the Dow jumped 2.8%. The dollar fell across the board, with the Aussie and kiwi leading the G-10 basket.

Oil Jumped Too: Oil rallied as supply concerns took center stage with the EU threatening to ban Russian supplies this year and U.S. regional fuel inventories dropping to record lows.

Ukraine Latest: The EU banned property transactions with Russian nationals. The U.K. cut Russia off from using management consultants, accountants and PR firms. EU diplomats discussed a sixth package of Russia sanctions, with Hungary objecting to the oil phase-out timing.

What to Watch

Australia trade data are on tap

One More Thing…

Life Balance: Everyone's talking about four-day workweeks. Even execs considered the schedule the most-wanted recruitment and retention strategy by far in a Gartner poll. And yet, only 6% of them said they're doing it or even planning to because of productivity concerns. Instead, companies are more likely to increase paid time off or give workers more daily flexibility. Well, it's a start...

And with that, have a great day.