Your morning briefing
Welcome to your morning round up of what’s making news and the must-reads for today.
Good morning, here are the five stories you need to face the day, and it will only take you two minutes.
Protectionism’s clear and present danger
Australia is at risk of a 2 per cent hit to economic activity, a loss of more than a quarter of a million jobs and a fall in real wages should the rest of the world continue to shift towards greater trade protectionism, according to a key economic modelling report commissioned by the federal government. Australian families have benefited by an increase of $8500 a year in household incomes due to 30 years of trade liberalisation. Commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and released ahead of this week’s APEC world leaders meeting in Vietnam, the report underpins the case against emerging protectionist sentiment. Paul Kelly, meantime, writes that saving Pacific trade is still a priority for the PM.
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Tax secrets of the super rich
A huge leak of 13.4 million documents show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Trump administration’s point man on trade and manufacturing policy, has a stake in a company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The documents, dubbed the Paradise Papers, were obtained by the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The names of more than 120 politicians in nearly 50 countries appear in the 1.4 terabyte data leak, along with figures from the worlds of sports and business. Among public figures linked to the documents was the Queen’s private estate which has millions of pounds invested in the tax havens, the BBC reported.
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20 dead in Texas church shooting
More than 20 people may have been shot dead by a man who opened fire after walking into a Baptist church in the small Texan town of Sutherland Springs. A Wilson County official has told CNN he was told more than 20 were killed and 20 wounded in the church attack, but the toll has not been officially confirmed, the AP reported. Texan Governor Greg Abbott has tweeted his shock: “Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act. Our thanks to law enforcement for their response.”
All black great set to ‘launder’ money
New Zealand rugby union great Dan Carter has emerged with a cornerstone shareholding in Laundromap, an on-demand dry cleaning pick-up and delivery service that is aiming to “uber-ise” the $2 billion dry cleaning and laundromat industry. Carter’s investment business, 910 Limited, a venture with former Canterbury Crusaders rugby player Ben Hurst, has taken a 10 per cent stake in Laundromap as part of a $3 million capital raising by the company to fund its Australian and New Zealand expansion plans.
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Dettori dares to dream
A month away from his 47th birthday, Frankie Dettori is experiencing a racing renaissance. Nothing like the halcyon days at Godolphin where he rode more than 200 winners in a calendar year but his nearly 70 winners around Europe this year have bagged millions more prize money than in any other season. He is a man in form but does he dare to dream that, after almost 25 years, he can end all the disappointment when he jumps aboard last year’s Cup winner Almandin tomorrow afternoon?
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Key analysis
Police seek help to crack missing mum mystery
In its first public response since the launch of a new investigative podcast, NSW Police says a strike force investigation into the suspected murder of Bronwyn Winfield is open and ongoing.
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