Good morning and TGIF.

1. The coronavirus outbreak linked to the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport swelled to 13 cases yesterday. There will be a press conference later this morning. News.com.au is reporting the possibility of a snap lockdown like the ones seen in Perth and Adelaide, but no decision has been made.

2. Queensland will reinstate its border pass system for anyone entering from Victoria, as authorities rush to contain the outbreak. The border passes will come into effect from 1 a.m. on Saturday. South Australia has also closed its borders to Greater Melbourne in response to the outbreak.

3. NSW hospitality venues will be allowed twice as many customers from midnight tonight. Venues can welcome one person per two square metres and staff will no longer be required to wear masks. NSW marked its 25th straight day of zero community transmission yesterday.

4. Australians have been swapping the city for the regions in the last 10 months, but the trend may not be set to last. Urban planner and UNSW professor Shane Geha believes the pandemic hasn’t changed the population fundamentals of the country, and estimates the regions may only retain 5% of those who have made the move. However, the biggest issue that remains with Australia’s largest cities is congestion, with public transport needing a reboot to make cities work.

5. Telstra announced its first-half results yesterday, with revenue down by 10.4% and profit down by 2.2%. Having postponed 1,400 job cuts during the pandemic at an estimated cost of $100 million, the telco will now spend $180 million to restructure the company and eliminate a further 2,200 workers. It attributed a $170 million cost to the COVID-19 pandemic, up to $150 million in international roaming losses, and as much as $370 million to NBN payments.

6. Australia risks undoing its work preventing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis by ending eviction moratoriums and rent deferrals, advocates warn. The Australian Council of Social Service states some 75,000 renters negotiated deferrals, and will soon have to pay debts in arrears. Those households will be at risk, “especially if they are carrying deferred rent liabilities from the emergency,” the report states.

7. Uber this week reported $US3.17 billion in Q4 revenue, missing expectations of $US3.58 billion. The company reported losses per share of $US0.54, beating analyst expectations of $US0.55. Still, Uber faces a tough road ahead as car ownership rates surge in the US, millennials and Gen Z move away from cities, and more companies embrace work-from-home policies.

8. Bumble surged as much as 85% on Thursday as the dating app’s stock made its public-market debut. The company raised $US2.2 billion in a Wednesday IPO, offering 50 million shares for $US43 each. Bumble’s user count soared to 42 million in the September quarter, up 22% from the year-ago period.

9. The UK financial regulator has warned TikTok users about taking stock tips from the app. “There are risks with taking unregulated investment advice and we engage with social media platforms to have pages which breach our regulations taken down,” an FCA spokesperson told Cristina Criddle, a BBC tech reporter. Social media has been flooded with investment advice in the last few weeks, as Reddit’s Wall Street Bets subreddit banded together and fuelled sky-high returns on GameStop, AMC and other investments.

10. Twitter is exploring allowing users to receive payments from their followers, CEO Jack Dorsey said. This would give an economic incentive to people who are contributing to Twitter, he said. The company is also reportedly considering charging a subscription fee for possible future features.

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