每日三篇英语新闻随记143
2019年8月21日
Australia's first Amazon Original series is coming in 2020
Aussie actress Rebel Wilson is set to host and executive produce the first Australian Amazon Original Series. The six-part series will feature a cast of 10 Australian comedians who compete to make each other laugh first. The final comedian left standing will win a whopping A$100,000. The group of comics — who are yet to be announced — will each bring various comedic styles to the show, from stand-up to improv to physical comedy.
The series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in 2020 and will be available in more than 200 countries. Wilsonmade her start on Australian screensthrough comedy series’ Fat Pizza and The Wedge before catapulting to fame after her roles in Hollywood films Bridesmaids and the musical Pitch Perfect. She has since starred alongside Liam Hemsworth in the Netflix rom com Isn’t it Romantic and co-starred with Anne Hathaway as a female scam artist in The Hustle.
“Customers in Japan and Mexico have told us they love Documental and LOL: Last One Laughing,” James Farrell, head of international originals for Amazon Studios, said in a statement. The comedy series is produced withEndemol Shine Australia– the team behind MasterChef, Australian Survivor and Married at First Sight.
Endemol Shine Australia CEO, Mark Fennessy, said he was keen to be working with Rebel and Amazon on the comedy series. “LOL: Last One Laughing is a one-of-a-kind laughter survival format unlike any other,” he said. “We look forward to bringing Australia’s unique brand of unpredictable comedy chaos to Amazon customers.”
Growth forecasts just improved for the first time since 2018
In some rare positive news, the Australian economy looks like it’s picking up a little speed. On Wednesday, it ticked into positive territory for the first time since November 2018 — moving to 0.05% from -0.09 where it sat in June.
“Further confirmation of this around trend reading would be consistent with the economy growing around trend for the last three or four months of 2019 and well into the first half of 2020,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said.
The positive result was largely bolstered by some good economic performers. Gains on the stock market were the biggest driver of the result, followed by better-than-expect dwelling approval numbers. Strong commodity prices also helped lift the Index. “Since the beginning of August, global share markets have sold off sharply, the ASX is down 4% over the month to date after posting a 17% rally over the year to July,” Evans said.
This week Westpac also reported that the number of mortgage arrears — borrowers who have fallen behind on their repayments — had risen. The proportion of borrowers who weremore than 90 days behind grew to 0.9%. While still a relatively small proportion, any rise is a worry given the size of the major banks’ loan books and the fact that the value of those properties has likely decreased amida multi-year property slump.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reckons there’sa global economic downturn on the horizon and isdowngrading its own growth forecastsin the meantime. “Lowe has acknowledged that this patch is weak for the next six to twelve months but he remains optimistic that GDP is going to bounce back to 3% and inflation is going to hit 2%, which is what he does. He keeps revising down in the near term and keeping the medium-term outlook upbeat,” economist Stephen Koukoulas told Business Insider Australia.
Online retailer Kogan wants a slice of the $2.7 trillion retirement pie
Beginning as an online retailer, Kogan has since moved into selling insurance, telecommunications, travel packages and now it has launched its very own superannuation fund. “Our mission at Kogan.com is to bring Australians the products and services they need at some of the lowest prices in the market,” CEO Ruslan Kogan said in a statement announcing the launch.
“Kogan Super provides a no-frills, low cost, index-based offering with low fees enabling Australians to invest and grow their hard-earned money for the future,” The fund will endeavour to compete in the crowded $2.7 trillion markets by minimising fees.
For example, a $50,000 balance will incur combined fees of $335 a year. That would rank Kogan’s fees as the third-lowest in the country. The fund will offer Australians five investment options. One will be a conservative approach holding cash and short-term interest investments, while four will use different combinations of index funds — investments that mirror the performance of specific stock exchanges.
In other words, index funds don’t need to pay someone to make regular investment decisions. Instead, they just hold shares of each company listed on a stock market. Kogan.com is delivering the fund’s branding, marketing and online sign-up experience while Mercer will provide investment management, administration, and ongoing customer service for the fund.
