I’ve split up the post a bit, trying something a little different as it was simply just getting too long imo, especially considering most of ya just turn up for the food pics haha . It will also make it easier to get the thread open for the very early birds.

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In Australia over the coming week, ‘top shelf’ data is conspicuous in its absence. Consumer confidence readings will attract most interest. The Reserve Bank’s semi-annual Financial Stability Review is released on Friday.
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There appears to be no rationale reason why the positive sentiment around the Australian stock market evaporated at the end of this week. Investors just got a bout of the yips. There was no particularly negative economic news, no big corporate disappointments - just a sense that the massive bull run at the start of 2019 needs to take a breath and allow investors to take a look at the horizon.
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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has pledged billions to support cancer patients and promised to match the Coalition's personal tax cuts for low- and middle-income earnersif elected next month. Mr Shorten used his Budget reply speech to promise to deliver what he called the greatest investment in Medicare in a generation.
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Average full-time workers to be $1000 a year worse off under Labor
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It seems as if the Australian power grid is coping effectively with the large influx of renewable energy sources from the outside, but the industry has been forced to play down the idea that there is any need to worry about the current level of grid intervention.
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A $650 million solar thermal power plant planned for Port Augusta will not go ahead after the company behind it failed to secure commercial finance for the project.
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Automotive Holdings Group’s biggest shareholder has finally moved against its rival car retailer by launching a $650 million offer for the WA group and its national network of dealerships. The unsolicited all-scrip bid by Brisbane-based AP Eagers, which already owns nearly 29 per cent of AHG, is being promoted as a merger and is priced at a thin implied premium of less than 10 per cent.
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LiveTiles Ltd (ASX:LVT) is back trading over 50 cents today after it revealed it has been selected as the first Intelligent Workplace software provider by the Federal Government’s DTA Panel. The DTA Panel was established to fast-track the Federal Government’s procurement process for digital products and services.
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Australia's 'world-first' social media laws could require action within an hour. Social media and content platforms could have less than an hour to identify and start removing “abhorrent” video, audio or still images from their sites under “world-first” laws passed in Australia.
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Gareth Costa: Record-low bond yields are compounding interest problems
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Donald Trump's pick for World Bank president, David Malpass, has officially been approved for the role. Mr Malpass, a Trump loyalist, was a senior economic adviser to the US president during his 2016 election campaign.
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After a brutal bear market that's stretched 16 long months, Bitcoin enthusiasts are ready to declare that the dreaded "crypto winter" is finally at an end. The price of a Bitcoin spiked over 20 per cent on Tuesday, from around $5800 to over $7000, causing a surge of renewed optimism in digital currencies that have been declared dead time and time again.
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President Donald Trump says the US has found agreement on some of the toughest points in trade talks with China. He said a deal could come in the next four weeks, but added some sticking points remained.
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Google on Thursday confirmed that it has disbanded a recently assembled artificial intelligence ethics advisory panel in the face of controversy over its membership. The end of the Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC) came just days after a group of Google employees launched a public campaign against having the president of conservative think-tank Heritage Foundation among its members.
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Snapchat is joining the online-games bandwagon with a new service that lets people play together on its mobile platform. The company says it wants to make it easier for friends to play together.
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May's Brexit talks with Labour stall, delay request fails to convince EU
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Britain has maintained its dismal productivity record, with the rise in worker efficiency in 2018 only a quarter of the level seen before the financial crisis a decade ago. Amid fears Brexit uncertainty is set to further damage productivity growth, holding back improvements in living standards, the Office for National Statistics said labour productivity grew by only 0.5% last year compared to 2017.
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Fewer than half the UK's biggest employers have succeeded in narrowing their gender pay gap, analysis by the BBC has found. Across 45% of firms the discrepancy in pay increased in favour of men, while at a further 7% there was no change.
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Tax breaks for owners of private jets registered for VAT in the Isle of Man increased to £100m last year, despite warnings from the European commission that the practice is a breach of EU laws. The latest figure brings the amount of tax avoided on private jets to £940m since 2011.
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Chinese firms break new 5G ground in Europe. Orange touts Europe’s first call on fifth-generation wireless network
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Germany's carmakers have been accused by the European Union of collusion in holding back technology to reduce harmful emissions from vehicles. The European Commission said Friday that Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler broke antitrust rules by acting together to delay the introduction of two emissions cleaning systems between 2006 and 2014.
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Samsung is feeling the chill from cooling global demand for smartphones. The South Korean technology giant said Friday that it expects operating profit for the first quarter to plunge by 60% compared to the same period year ago.
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South Korea launched the world's first nationwide 5G mobile networks two days early, its top mobile carriers said Thursday, giving a handful of users access in a late-night scramble to provide the super-fast wireless technology. Three top telecom providers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- began their 5G services at 11 pm local time Wednesday, despite previously announcing the launch date would be April 5.
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