If we’ve learned anything in the past month, it’s that you can’t keep US President Donald Trump down. America remains divided following election day, as do some of Australia’s state leaders. This is Wednesday’s briefing.

NSW recorded nine new COVID-19 infections, Queensland two and Western Australia and South Australia one each, taking the national caseload since the pandemic began to 27,432, with 907 deaths.
I am just an optimistic guy, says steakhouse king Bradley Michael, whose Seagrass group is betting against the pandemic with plans for three new restaurants by early next year. Australians are already out shopping, but the promising September figures dont show the rebound across the services sector since the lockdown-induced slump.
Woolworths 12.3 per cent sales surge for the September quarter was partly driven by customers treating themselves with ‘affordable luxuries’ during a tough year. But after assuming the pandemic was over in July, CEO Brad Banducci is settling in for the long haul. Thats why the real action is happening beyond the supermarket aisles, with stores increasingly being used to fulfill online orders.
The second wave crashing over Europe isnt bothering Australian businesses with skin in the game there. Dominos is expecting a sales surge on the Continent unless all takeaway and food delivery services are temporarily shuttered a la New Zealand. The e-commerce shift has proved a boon for the Cromwell Property Group, whose bullish outlook on the European logistics sector has been justified by three lease signings for its assets there.
The Ai Group/Housing Industry Association performance of construction index rose above the benchmark level for the first time since 2018, with government stimulus driving house-building even as apartments, commercial and infrastructure remain subdued. For existing home owners, moves by the major banks mean theyll have to rework their mortgages to take advantage of rate cuts, while investor borrowers are left out in the cold.
If making the Financial Review Rich List is on your bucket list, there are some lessons to be learned from this years top 200. While being male, pale and stale might help, not working for the man is even more important. The tech sector boom is also here to stay, as is that great Australian tradition of wealth building: digging stuff up and shipping it out.