Australia’s labour shortage is becoming a real crisis. Businesses are struggling to fill 300,000 jobs, says the National Skills Commission, while the ABS puts combined private and public sector vacancies at 480,000 – 111% higher than in February 2020, prior to the pandemic.

The current wave of flu and COVID is only adding to the pain, as any frequent flyer can attest. Our airlines are turning in some of their worst on-time performances ever, with more than half of all domestic flights last week delayed or cancelled, largely as a result of staff shortages.

Investment giant BlackRock this week suggested that given the demise of the so-called Great Moderation (a period of steady growth and inflation), investors should prepare for persistent inflation, short and sharp swings in economic activity, and a possible return to levels of volatility last seen in the 1970s.

With attracting and retaining employees such a huge challenge for businesses, employers are calling for an urgent ramp-up of skilled migration as a priority fix to be resolved at Labor’s national jobs summit scheduled for September.

PM Anthony Albanese acknowledged the labour crisis this week, saying Australia needs to do more to help foreign workers seeking permanent residency. The issue may become a key test for the new government, at a time when the PM’s approval is wavering as his post-election honeymoon fades.

The XJO followed world markets and opened slightly lower this morning, trading below 6600 in the early part of the session. The market has been forming a symmetrical triangle over the past four weeks, suggesting that the market could break out in either direction in the coming days.

The XJO’s implied volatility is sitting around 19.5% and its IV rank is around 50. The 50-day MA (currently at 6910) is sloping down and closing in on the gap between itself and the price level of the XJO index.

If we see a break to the upside, we expect to see the first level of resistance around the 6750 to 6770 levels. The next major level of resistance will be around the 50-day MA. On the downside, we see support around 6400 to 6450, with the next level of support around 6340.

The negative returns of our equities markets in 2021-22 may appear less than impressive on the face of it, but everything is relative. The ASX 200 last year delivered its best outperformance of the global market in almost two decades, according to JP Morgan – and is well positioned to do so again this year.

We have an upcoming investor briefing with a security and surveillance tech company with the only surveillance solution that can sense, think and act – without needing people, data cables or power cords. Spectur Limited (ASX: SP3) provides a service for institutions such as Optus, Surf Life Saving and the Department of Defence and has grown to dominate its $10 million-plus home market in WA.

Tomorrow, Thursday 14th July at 12pm (AEST), we will be joined by managing director Dr Gerard Dyson who will provide an update on how the company is rolling out plans to replicate its WA success across a near-term $300 million-plus market spanning Australia, New Zealand and select US states. This will be a fascinating conversation for potential investors. Click here to attend.