If your business is turning inspiration into innovation, it’s time to be recognised.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Admitting Qantas’ ‘ghost flight’ misconduct is a win for Hudson
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has taken the pragmatic approaching of fessing up to the ACCC and ending the so-called ‘ghost flights’ case. It’s another step in her rebuild.
- Live
- Markets Live
Tech and property push ASX higher; GrainCorp drops
Shares advance; Qantas agrees to pay $120 million to resolve ACCC dispute; Westpac announces $1 billion buyback; GrainCorp downgrades profit guidance. Follow here for more.
ASX queries Kogan executive options sale ahead of share plunge
The online retailer, in response to questions from the market operator, said it did not think a poor sales update that sent its stock tumbling was material.
- Live
- Need to Know
Chalmers warns not the time for ‘scorched earth’ budget
Eastern Rafah residents told to evacuate; Chalmers warns against slash-and-burn approach to spending; Qantas settlement a quick win for consumers; murdered Australian surfers identified in Mexico. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Fresh meat in the Optus sandwich promised a helping hand
Optus and its owner, Singtel, have made governance changes to try to make the incoming CEO’s job easier. We’ll wait to see the proof.
Warren Buffett anoints Berkshire’s new king
Warren Buffett said Greg Abel should have final decisions on investments at Berkshire at the first annual meeting since business partner Charlie Munger died.
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.
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
What’s the difference between one whisky glass and another?
Qantas settles; Westpac rallies; Berkshire’s new king
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.
Former NSW Liberal president Geoff Selig dies at 59
The businessman had been the chairman of catalogues and marketing firm IVE Group, which on Monday told investors of his death while on holiday in Europe.
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.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
- Updated
- 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.
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.
GrainCorp profit downgrade casts doubt over earnings target
GrainCorp boss Robert Spurway is expected to face a grilling over the company’s through-the-cycle guidance after a downgrade to 2023-24 earnings.
Dan Murphy’s parent Endeavour posts 2.2pc sales growth
The pubs and bottle shops owner warned that market conditions have remained subdued so far in April.
Former APRA chairman Wayne Byres joins ASX board
His appointment comes as the exchange faces a range of governance questions after its failure to replace ageing clearing and settlements infrastructure.
THL in $200m wipeout as grey nomads stop buying campervans
The operator of Britz and Maui brands said it was also expecting to impair its businesses overseas, and was surprised by how quickly sales had dried up.
PwC survives Macquarie audit review
PwC has audited the Millionaires’ Factory since 1993, and it is one of its most lucrative ASX contracts.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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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
Answers emerge slowly to government’s $1b quantum questions
Questions are mounting over how PsiQuantum was backed when we have been told so often to marvel at local tech stars.
Technology editor
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
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.
Columnist
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
Reports
BOSS Best Places to Work
The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.
Politics
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.
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.
- 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.
SPONSORED
World
- Analysis
- US election
Gallows humour and escape: Trump’s possible return rattles Washington
Much of official Washington is bracing for the former president’s return – this time with ‘retribution’ as his avowed mission, the discussion is about self-imposed exile.
- Analysis
- Affordable housing
Why Australia’s housing crisis has gone global
Households are going backwards in 13 developed economies, including Australia, as record immigration runs into a housing crisis.
‘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.
Property
The suburbs where unit values are rising 11 times faster than houses
“Investors are snapping up apartments because they are more affordable and the yields are becoming quite attractive.”
- 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.
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
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
Sydney’s best restaurants for a business lunch
Where to go when you’ve got a deal to discuss, when you want to impress your top client or thank the team – as tested by our reviewers.
Introducing the AFR’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.
What an even closer peek inside the brains of ‘super-agers’ reveals
Scientists have become enthralled by a subset of the population aged 80 and older who with the memory of a person 20 to 30 years younger.
- 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.
