Good morning all. We’re past halfway. Feels good, doesn’t it?

1. As always, the numbers. Victoria detected 113 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, and a further 23 deaths were recorded. It’s the lowest daily infection number since July 5, which is obviously promising news despite the stubbornly high daily death figures. The overall Australian death toll is now 572.

2. Afterpay’s results are out. The buy now pay later platform nearly doubled its revenue to $519 million, and has almost 10 million users worldwide. It still isn’t making a profit, though, notching up a $22.9 million loss. That’s stronger than last year’s loss of $44 million.

3. While we’re on Afterpay, let’s talk value. The skyrocketing share price broke $92 on Tuesday, putting the company’s valuation at a whopping $25.9 billion. That puts it above other local heavyweights like Coles, Woodside Petroleum, and Qantas. Whether or not it can justify its sky-high valuation beyond the current buy now pay later hysteria is another matter altogether. The price is a slightly down from there at the time of writing, sitting at $90.72.

4. Air New Zealand has swung to a $NZ454 million net loss, after reporting a $NZ276 million profit a year earlier. No surprises, obviously, considering the state of the aviation industry right now. The loss includes a $NZ338 million write-down to the value of the airline’s long-haul Boeing 777 fleet. One bright spot: the airline’s domestic capacity had recovered to 70% of pre-COVID levels in June and August.

5. The coronavirus pandemic has affected employment across New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania more than other states and territories, according to new figures from Roy Morgan. 67% of working Australians have had “a change to their employment” due to the pandemic, including having their hours cut down, having to work from home, or being stood down.

6. New data from online classifieds platform Gumtree shows that Australia’s second hand economy is now valued at $46 billion, the highest figure recorded in the past decade. More than half of Australians say they expect that second hand sales will boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of them saying they’re more likely to take part themselves. The most popular reason for selling used goods was to save money for necessary bills, followed by needing money for general expenditure and reducing debt.

7. Apple’s new iPhone operating system is making it harder for Facebook to track people, and Facebook says it will decimate part of its business. Cue the world’s smallest violin. In short: Apple plans to make it harder for apps to track users’ data without their consent in iOS 14. Facebook said this could severely hurt its Audience Network ad network, reducing revenue by up to 50%. Boo hoo.

8. The Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, and Oklahoma City Thunder are refusing to play their NBA playoff games in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The unarmed Black man was shot by in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. “We’re tired of the killings and the injustice,” Bucks guard George Hill told The Undefeated after the game’s designated start time on Wednesday.

9. The 6-foot rule for social distancing is based on science that’s 80 years old. Researchers now say it’s an antiquated way to think about how viruses move through the air. Instead, we should be considering many facets of an interaction: where it takes place, how long it lasts, and whether it’s going to be loud. A new tool out from researchers at Oxford and MIT provides a traffic-light system for assessing risks during the pandemic so we don’t always have to be on high alert.

10. 4 coronavirus reinfection cases have been reported in the Netherlands, bringing the total to 6 worldwide. These reinfection cases demonstrate how immunity to the novel coronavirus is somewhat transient, especially with mild infections. Even though coronavirus immunity isn’t perfect, there’s evidence here that even a mild initial infection can help our bodies combat the next one. In the same way, even if COVID-19 vaccines aren’t 100% effective, they could still help stamp out the pandemic by providing enough people with enough immunity at the same time.

BONUS ITEM

This 1973 Ford is up for auction in Australia – one of only 11 that were made in the wild violet colour. At the time of writing, the current bid for the car was $132,500. Take a closer look.

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