If your business is turning inspiration into innovation, it’s time to be recognised.
Westpac deflects downturn with special dividend
The Westpac boss says the return of $1.5 billion to shareholders is a sign of confidence in the Australian economy and the outlook for bad debts.
- 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.
ASX tipped to hit 8300 by year-end defying rate talk
Brokers and investors have all turned more positive on the outlook for the sharemarket, despite traders pushing out interest rate cut expectations to early next year.
ASX rises ahead of RBA cash rate decision; Westpac rallies
Real estate and technology stocks push shares higher; Qantas agrees to pay $120 million to resolve ACCC dispute; Westpac announces $1 billion buyback; GrainCorp downgrades profit guidance. Follow here for more.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Westpac shows how banks are mortgage war casualties
Peter King says Westpac is hunting growth. But he won’t find it in old-fashioned mortgages and deposits, where returns have been brutally competed away.
Israel urges Rafah evacuation ahead of assault
Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion.
Quadrant dips into Fortitude’s $300m-plus commercial food business
The $8 billion private equity firm has snagged two board seats in the deal led by managing partner Chris Coates.
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.
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Companies
BHP gets green light for improved Anglo bid
Two prominent Australian investors say they support BHP making an improved bid for Anglo American so long as discipline is not completely abandoned.
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.
- 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.
Transurban wants more drivers to see the benefit of toll fares
In a strategy presentation to investors, the motorway giant’s chief executive Michelle Jablko said the focus would be on ‘running the business better’.
NBN fixer Stephen Rue to restore Optus’ credibility
Stephen Rue has been charged with restoring Optus’ reputation with consumers and improving its services when he leaves the NBN to run the beleaguered telco group.
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.
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.
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Markets
RBA’s radio silence fuels extreme rate rise bets
Traders’ bet that the RBA will lift the cash rate is fuelled by the central bank’s lack of communications since March as it undergoes sweeping reporting changes.
Investors return to Chinese stocks on housing policy hope
Battered Chinese assets are getting a second look as a combination of earnings recovery, policy support and cheap valuations lure investors.
- 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.
Opinion
Why didn’t ACCC litigate Qantas?
Is what might be seen as regulatory brand ransom to force companies to admit to lesser charges and avoid the need to litigate, the way the watchdog should seek to uphold Australia’s consumer protection and competition law?
Editorial
Qantas’ Hudson takes the chance to shed some Joyce baggage
Vanessa Hudson has finally accepted reality by making a deal with the competition watchdog over ghost flights. She’s determined to leave behind the damage in recent years to Qantas’ reputation.
Columnist
It’s economically naive to cut China out of direct investment
There may be more “like-minded” investors out there for Australia’s resources sector, but will they be as competitive and efficient as China has proven to be?
Contributor
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
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
The great success story of Indigenous enterprise is missing
Indigenous businesses have proven robust and resilient against all the odds – that should be included in the Closing the Gap reports as well.
Reports
BOSS Best Places to Work
The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.
Politics
Social cohesion ‘fraying’, Albanese admits amid anti-Israel backlash
Anthony Albanese defended his efforts to keep the community together but would not be drawn on a looming UN vote on Palestinian statehood.
Minister was warned about radicalised teen before police shooting
A 16-year-old school boy shot dead by police in Perth over the weekend after a stabbing incident was part of a state-run deradicalisation program.
Victoria open to tax breaks to boost home building
Premier Jacinta Allan says her Labor government is open to pulling every lever available to boost housing supply, after developers called for taxation tweaks to boost investment.
FWC, government face pressure to step in over submarines pay stoush
The Albanese government insists that an industrial dispute at submarine builder ASC in Adelaide won’t affect the navy’s ability to deploy the ageing Collins-class submarines.
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.
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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.
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.
- 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.
Property
Victoria has become a poor state: economist Saul Eslake
The southern state’s high dependence on property and population growth has a fallout felt beyond its borders.
The complicated $1.8m sale of a ‘gamble’ that didn’t pay off
A suburban family bought their neighbours’ house to give them a larger block, but when interest rates went up further something had to give.
Why Michael Hill chose Chadstone to sell $1m diamond earrings
Michael Hill’s global flagship store will open in Melbourne’s biggest mall Chadstone, and will include a $1m pair of yellow diamond drop earrings.
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.
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
- Analysis
- AI
AI start-ups face a rough financial reality check
The AI revolution, it is becoming clear in Silicon Valley, is going to come with a very big price tag.
- 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.
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.
Work & Careers
The students to get Labor’s new ‘prac payment’, and who misses out
Too strict means-testing would make the federal government’s newly announced prac payment for university and TAFE students out of reach.
‘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.
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.
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Dell rethinks its legendary laptop
Dell has made some dramatic design choices in its quest to revitalise its legendary-but-ageing XPS laptop lineup, and we’re not sure all of them have worked.
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.
