| Hi all, it's Jackie here. Before we get into last night's leaders' debate, I wanted to give a heads up that we're hosting a Twitter Spaces discussion on climate change today. My colleagues Jason, Georgie and David will be tackling that topic at 11 a.m. Sydney time; you can set a reminder here. Today's must-reads: More ordered and polite. That's how I would describe last night's debate in comparison to Sunday's yelling matches. Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese were pressed on increasing the minimum wage, climate change and political integrity during Wednesday's showdown. Albanese was narrowly selected as the winner by an audience of undecided voters. Cooling housing prices will be a challenge no matter who wins the vote. The property market will have to absorb the sharpest interest-rate increases since 1989, if bond markets are right, spurring bets that home values will fall and building will slow. With so much of our wealth tied up in real estate, a property slump could sap household sentiment and consumption, compounding the effects of higher mortgage repayments. The intense rain we've seen in the east coast could be part of a broader problem confronting the world's crops. As Russia's invasion chokes off Ukrainian wheat exports, pushing up bread and noodle prices, the global harvest faces an added test: extreme weather. Droughts, floods and heatwaves threaten output from the US to France and India. IFM Investors is part of a DigitalBridge-led consortium that agreed to buy US data-center operator Switch for about $8.4 billion. The parties are offering $34.25 per share in cash for Las Vegas-based Switch in a deal that values the company at about $11 billion including debt. US inflation slowed less than expected, indicating price growth will persist at elevated levels for longer and keeping the Fed on the path of aggressive rate hikes. Core CPI also eased less than forecast. Former New York Fed President Bill Dudley suggested the central bank hike to 5% or higher, and the Fed's Raphael Bostic said he'd support moving more if prices remain too high. Australian stocks are on track for another day of declines as equities fell overnight in volatile trading after the CPI data. Saudi Aramco overtook Apple as the world's most valuable company, stoked by a surge in oil prices and as inflation fears hit tech shares hard. The Treasury curve flattened, with the gap between two- and 10-year yields narrowing. Hong Kong's crackdown isn't over. National security police arrested four democracy activists — including a 90-year-old Catholic cardinal and a pop singer. All were later released on bail. And the de facto central bank bought the local dollar for the first time since 2019 after the currency weakened to the lower end of its trading band to the greenback. Where streams come true. Disney+ gained more subscribers than estimated, allaying fears that the streaming business may be peaking after Netflix's surprise decline. Still, overall sales and profit missed. It might also take a hit to operating income of about $350 million in coming months on Covid shutdowns at its Hong Kong and Shanghai parks. - Australian consumer inflation expectations
- Orica and Xero release earnings results
Reality check. Even the most stringent RTO plans are starting to unravel. Many white-collar workplaces are taking a more flexible approach to remote work as their employees stubbornly stick to WFH while struggling with childcare, the grind of commuting and worries about Covid. Bosses fearful of losing talent are adjusting demands around how often workers need to be at their desk. | 
