Hello folks. Only a few more TGIFs in 2020.

1. Looks like the Australian attempt at making a COVID-19 vaccine is dead in the water. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald says a billion-dollar deal for the Morrison government to buy more than 50 million doses of the University of Queensland/CSL vaccine candidate has been terminated after “several trial participants returned false positive HIV test results.” Not ideal.

2. Crypto.com has announced its purchase of an Australian company with an Australian Financial Service License has been approved. The company, which already has Australian users, said the acquisition will allow them to roll out their suite of services already available in international markets. The company’s cryptocurrency debit card is a product aimed at “new-to-crypto” users, allowing them to make purchases and withdraw from ATMs with the card.

3. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has revealed that 22% of companies didn’t pay tax at all in Australia last financial year. Mining companies, buoyed by bumper profits, more than compensated for falling profits – and thus taxation – across all other sectors. “The majority do the right thing and pay the right amount of tax, but we take firm action against companies that try to avoid their tax obligations,” ATO deputy commissioner Rebecca Saint said.

4. Queensland’s borders will reopen to New Zealand tomorrow, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced. “They [New Zealand] have reached the 28 days of zero community transmission, and Dr Young advised me yesterday that she was more than happy to allow New Zealanders to come into Queensland,” Ms Palaszczuk told Nine’s “Today”.

5. The Victorian government is encouraging residents to travel to regional areas with a new travel incentive. Travel vouchers will be made available, with $200 redeemable when residents spend at least $400 on accommodation and travel experiences in regional Victoria. The vouchers will be released today.

6. Airbnb soared 115% at the open in its trading debut on Thursday, giving the company a market valuation of more than $US100 billion. Airbnb raised $US3.5 billion in funds when it priced its IPO at $US68 per share, giving it an initial market valuation of $US47 billion. That massive overperformance surprised founder and CEO Brian Chesky live on Bloomberg. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that number,” Chesky said, later adding, “I’m very humbled by it.”

7. Alright, now for the downer. Airbnb and DoorDash’s massive debut rallies suggest the IPO market is getting ahead of itself, top strategists said Thursday. DoorDash closed 86% higher in its Wednesday debut. The first-day climbs reveal “euphoria and greed” last seen in the market during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, said Paul Schatz, president and chief investment officer of Heritage Capital.

8. SpaceX launched a prototype of its Starship spaceship thousands of feet into the air above its Boca Chica, Texas, facilities on Tuesday. The 16-storey vehicle exploded upon landing. The flight helps advance the development of Starship toward a two-stage vehicle that may one day send people to the moon and Mars. Still, it did explode violently. Something to consider.

9. Documents from the US Federal Trade Commission antitrust suit say that Facebook tried to buy an unnamed competitor – which was not Twitter or Snapchat – multiple times and failed. Wonder who. “Facebook has, for many years, continued to engage in a course of anticompetitive conduct with the aim of suppressing, neutralising, and deterring serious competitive threats to Facebook,” the FTC’s suit alleged.

10. According to The COVID Tracking Project, on Wednesday the US recorded its highest COVID-19 daily death toll to date. The staggering 3,054 deaths reported surpass the death toll across New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC, on September 11, which resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people.

BONUS ITEM

This is me getting you in the holiday mood:

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