If your business is turning inspiration into innovation, it’s time to be recognised.
- Breaking
- Aviation
Qantas pays $120m to settle ghost flights case
Qantas customers on cancelled flights will receive up to $450 in compensation after the airline admitted it misled travellers, and agreed to pay $120 million to settle a claim brought against it by the regulator.
Big government spending to widen budget deficits
Next week’s federal budget will be expansionary, not contractionary as some economists have called for, and will do less to contain inflation and interest rate pressures than Jim Chalmers’ previous surplus budgets.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to edge up; RBA in focus; Westpac plans $1b buyback
Shares to rise at the open; Qantas agrees to pay $120m to resolve ACCC dispute; Westpac half-year results; GrainCorp downgrades profit guidance. Follow here for more.
Westpac pays special dividend despite profit down 16pc
Westpac’s strong capital position allowed it to pay a 15¢ per share special dividend on top of its 75¢ interim payout.
- Breaking
- Telecommunications
NBN boss Stephen Rue appointed Optus chief executive
The man running the National Broadband Network has been appointed the telco’s new chief executive following the departure of Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.
Big four accountants could face partner limits in governance crackdown
The big four accounting firms could be forced to slash partner numbers and incorporate their consulting businesses under a crackdown on governance standards flagged as a possible response to the PwC tax leaks scandal.
- Live
- Need to Know
Lifeboat rescue craft aborted in cruise ship rescue off Sydney
Al Jazeera told to get out of Israel; Victoria debt levels demand infrastructure cuts, warning rating groups; history suggests rates risk; privacy probe into EVs and connected cars. Follow all the latest news here.
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
monday media
Ad giant Dentsu’s epic losses no big deal for Japanese parent
Dentsu spends more than $1 billion every year in Australia on behalf of its clients, including Woolworths. It has lost $170 million over the past three years.
Stokes lieutenant Anthony De Ceglie wants a ‘unified voice’ at Seven
Seven West Media’s first company-wide editor-in-chief is now in charge of more than 30 news sites and 16 hours of news coverage every day.
Tax Office investigating Lachlan Murdoch’s Nova radio assets
The parent of SmoothFM revealed it is under an ATO microscope, hauling in PwC for tax compliance services.
Ten settles its Lehrmann bill, but from a shrinking purse
New accounts show Ten had almost $1 million set aside for litigation and legal bills before the Bruce Lehrmann defamation matter officially began.
Moguls circle as Telegraph, Spectator go up for sale again
Rupert Murdoch could launch a bid for the Spectator magazine, after an Abu Dhabi-backed consortium threw in the towel.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Sanjeev Gupta calls in rival to help Whyalla steelworks strife
Steel traders say customers of the Whyalla steelworks, which has been offline for almost two months, are ordering supplies from Asia amid uncertainty over a restart date.
BHP has industry super’s blessing for Anglo American copper prize
HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey has thrown her weight behind BHP’s plan to become the undisputed global king of copper through the South African deal.
Star Entertainment debt investor tries offloading stake
At least one lender is feeling nervous after the list of executives leaving Star got bigger, and its shares fell 20 per cent in the past month.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Macquarie guru Viktor Shvets says mind the generation gap
The Pro-Palestine protests at university campuses around the world are a symbol of the generational transition under way. Investors should be ready.
Backers of takeover target Austal want Hanwha in the race
Austal shareholders say the opening shots in takeover battle for the defence ship builder have fallen well short of the mark, but granting due diligence would be a start.
McGuigan owner Australian Vintage dumps CEO over ‘conduct’ issues
The ousted CEO of Australian Vintage, Craig Garvin, is ‘considering legal options’, while the chairman says his exit won’t have an impact on merger talks with Accolade.
- Analysis
- Due diligence
Time for Rio Tinto dual-listing rethink with Anglo American in play
Trading the spread between the value of Rio Tinto’s dual-listed London and Australian shares is usually the province of specialist arbitrage funds. But BHP’s tilt at Anglo American has it back in focus.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
Philip Lowe warns rates could rise again
The former RBA governor says with data surprising on the strong side getting back to a 2.5 per cent inflation level sustainably is not yet guaranteed.
How Sage Capital is making money from other investors’ panic
Veteran hedge fund manager Sean Fenton has no qualms going against the crowd, buying ResMed after its collapse in 2023.
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
RBA rate rise shock is being underestimated, history shows
It has raised interest rates almost every time in the last 25 years that it has faced the current high quarterly inflation figure immediately before a board meeting.
How markets were looking before the ASX opening bell
Futures indicate the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is poised to rise 0.3 per cent at the start of trade on Monday, before the RBA’s May rates decider.
This BHP old boy thinks copper and rare earths prices will spike
Arafura Rare Earths boss Darryl Cuzzubbo says higher prices are inevitable for two commodities vital to the energy transition.
Opinion
Moment of truth on inflation for Reserve Bank’s credibility
At stake here is whether the supposedly politically independent central bank can re-establish the low inflation foundations that supported three decades of unbroken economic growth until the interruption of the pandemic.
Editorial
Governor and treasurer share blame for sticky inflation
Michele Bullock and Jim Chalmers had fair warning about the need for decisive action.
Economist
Make this the tipping point on domestic violence
A tighter judicial system, support for families forced to leave violent homes, long-term culture change, and more sophisticated use of data and prediction. Nothing can be left off the table in tackling terror at home.
Editorial
There is so much to be done on violence against women
Maintaining the momentum of this week’s announcements after decades of neglect is the biggest issue facing the anti-violence movement.
Columnist
Albanese needs to get off the fence on antisemitism
Readers’ letters on the Israel-Gaza conflict, the government’s fight with Facebook, and a knotty royal problem.
Contributor
Look to South America to see Made in Australia in practice
The Albanese government’s Peronist-like policies won’t add to growth and investment, despite the prime minister and treasurer’s rhetoric.
Columnist
Reports
BOSS Best Places to Work
The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.
Politics
- Opinion
- Audit quality
Treasury questions the very nature of the big four consulting firms
Get ready for war as they fight back against suggestions they are too big, incapable of governing themselves and have compromised auditing roles.
Deeming cliff looms for 850k aged pensioners, welfare recipients
With inflation running high and cost-of-living pressures continuing to plague households, the government is being pressured to extend the freeze, or at least phase in, a higher deeming rate in the budget.
Labor to wipe $3b from students’ HECS debt
The government will cut the student debt of around 3 million students as cost-of-living pressures continue to create pain.
Allan flags budget handouts amid debt, inflation warnings
Premier Jacinta Allan vowed her government would not “put our heads in the sand” over a 20 per cent cost blowout in Victoria’s $80 billion project pipeline when the budget is handed down on Tuesday.
Labor to give teaching, nursing students $320 per week payment
Teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students will receive a weekly payment to help offset the costs of mandatory placements.
SPONSORED
World
‘Dark day for media’: Israel shuts down Al Jazeera’s operations
The government accused the Qatari-funded satellite channel of being a “Hamas mouthpiece” and a threat to national security.
Sunak clings on as PM by the skin of his teeth
The local elections were disastrous for the British PM, but rebel Tories have paused because the outcome suggests Labour may not be on course for a landslide.
Macron set to press visiting Xi on trade, Ukraine
France is backing a European Union probe into Chinese electric vehicle exports and in January Beijing opened an investigation into imports of brandy.
Russia using WW1 chemical weapons in Ukraine: US
The US made the accusation as the French president stepped up calls for Europe to consider sending troops to Ukraine in the future.
Fake videos of Modi aides trigger political showdown in India election
Indian police arrested at least nine people, including six members of Congress’ social media teams, in the states of Assam, Gujarat, Telangana and New Delhi.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Toorak power couple buy Nick and Camilla Speer’s $25m Portsea pad
Private equity executive Nick Speer and wife Camilla have sold their Portsea holiday compound Rovina to Toorak’s Sophie Oh and Grant Rule.
‘Tired’ deceased estate sells for $1m more than guide
Auction clearance rates rose at the weekend despite a 10pc increase in listings. Buyer’s agent David Morrell says good properties are “flying out the door”.
Farm land price growth to ease to 5pc in 2024 as rural incomes fall
Price growth this year is expected to be less than half the near 11 per cent achieved in 2023, as a three-year agricultural boom fades.
- Exclusive
- Property development
Red tape puts Labor’s $10b HAFF housing plan at risk
The federal government, set to fall 300,000 homes short of its 1.2 million target, faces another hurdle over workplace health and safety certification.
Centuria lifts glasshouse portfolio to $450m with big Vic acquisition
Centuria has paid about $100m to buy the Katunga Fresh glasshouse facility in a sale-and-leaseback deal with the Van den Goor family.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Venture capital
Stick or twist? How start-up investors know when it’s time to sell
VCs selling down Canva stakes could leave huge gains on the table, but don’t want to leave selling too late. Poorly timed sales have a history of destroying value.
Boomers direct spending to kids and grandkids
Financial advisors report many over-65s are helping family members rather than splurging – though travel is a thing.
‘Larger than life’: packed memorial farewells Lang Walker
Friday’s two-hour public service for the property developer and Rich Lister, who died in January, was attended by a who’s who of Australian business and politics.
Technology
- Live
- Funding
Sydney AI customer bot start-up raises from Peak XV
The Funded blog is the home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.
- Exclusive
- Cryptocurrencies
ASIC-investigated NGS Crypto was accused of ‘passing off’ as NGS Super
The Gold Coast-based cryptocurrency miner under investigation by the corporate watchdog was accused of passing itself off as part of a similarly named superannuation fund.
615,000 customers locked out of super accounts by Google fail
The super fund has blamed Google’s cloud computing services for the prolonged outage.
Work & Careers
‘Ignore him at your peril’: The man who runs Queensland
The emergence of Gary “Blocker” Bullock as Labor’s most influential unionist is a story of the rise of the left and the decline of the once-mighty AWU.
Labor to give teaching, nursing students $320 per week payment
Teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students will receive a weekly payment to help offset the costs of mandatory placements.
Life & Luxury
Introducing the Financial Review’s new restaurant guide, Fin Dining & Wine
Fifty Australian restaurants at the top of their food game that also understand the particular needs of those doing business over lunch.
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
What’s the difference between one whisky glass and another?
The Savu is a new product from Finland, designed to enhance enjoyment of your favourite tipple. We blind-tested it.
Between a rock and a hard place? That’s this director’s sweet spot
“I love the feeling of accomplishment when I’ve worked on a hard climb,” says the managing director of Perth-based Access Analytics.
Luxury price increases leave gap for Australian brands
Luxury goods are more expensive than ever. Customers are still buying – but they’re also looking for alternatives.
- Opinion
- Style
Fashion is a way to stand out. But sometimes camouflage is better
I was diagnosed with stage one hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in December. It’s the good kind, as these things go.
