10 things you need to know this morning in Australia

[View this email via your browser]( [Business Insider Australia]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [Enable Images to View]( [Enable Images to View]( [10 things you need to know this morning in Australia]( Good morning all. [Enable Images to View]( [Australians can once again freeze their home loans, as the banks try to avoid a wave of lockdown defaults]( Australian banks have restarted their loan deferral programs, enabling borrowers to put off their repayments during the most recent lockdown. Impacted mortgage holders can now pause and reduce repayments or restructure their loans are part of a new relief program, while businesses will be presented with additional options. [Enable Images to View]( [The pandemic changed Australia's media appetite for good, says a new report, with streaming platforms set to become the billion-dollar winners]( The coronavirus pandemic accelerated massive changes in Australia's media and advertising appetites, according to a new report. PwC Australia contends spending on streaming platforms will explode by 2025, after audiences latched onto on-demand viewing through lockdowns. [Enable Images to View]( [An Australian firm producing home COVID-19 tests for the US market has called on the federal government to reconsider its ban]( The founder of an Australian firm which produces at-home COVID-19 testing kits says the federal government appears "unwilling" to consider testing alternatives. [Enable Images to View]( [Rents are rising faster than any time since 2009, but the market might have finally found a ceiling]( Australian tenants are shelling out thousands of dollars more in rent after a record-breaking 12 months. Rents have risen as much as 21% in some capital cities, and 11.3% across regional Australia. [Enable Images to View]( [Enable Images to View]( [Dow plummets 726 points for worst day of 2021 as virus variants threaten global recovery]( "While the second-quarter earnings reports have so far beat expectations, this is old news now," an analyst said. [Enable Images to View]( [Here's what medical experts say could improve COVID-19 safety measures at the Tokyo Olympics]( Medical experts are concerned about the COVID-19 mitigation plan for the Tokyo Olympics, with thousands of local doctors calling for its cancellation. [Enable Images to View]( [Founder Adam Neumann and his wife used WeWork's elementary school to host weekend dinner parties and left a mess for teachers to clean up, new book says]( From hiring nightmares and vegan lunches to $42,000 tuition, "The Cult of We" surfaces new details about the company's defunct school, WeGrow. [Enable Images to View]( [Jeff Bezos will spend just 3 minutes in space, with no pilot or spacesuit. His flight will be unlike any before it.]( The New Shepard spacecraft carrying Jeff Bezos won't reach Earth's orbit, and there won't be anybody flying it. [Enable Images to View]( [A 22% surge in US coronavirus deaths is hitting unvaccinated people hardest. Experts worry about the long-term effects for vaccinated people, too.]( Experts worry about breakthrough cases in older people or those who are immunocompromised, or the virus mutating into a more dangerous strain. [Enable Images to View]( Business Insider Australia © 2021 [Pedestrian Group]( [Unsubscribe]( • [Email to a Friend]( • [Privacy Policy](