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    Albanese and Dutton fight on the home front for voters

    With the countdown now on to the election, both sides have used budget week to stake out their territory and target the voters they need to win.

    Mark Freeman says AFIC’s discount to NTA makes it a buying opportunity.

    The seven stocks our biggest LIC is buying

    While the LIC sector is under pressure, the 98-year-old Australian Foundation Investment Company is staying patient and hunting for value. 

    Maia Schweizer,COO  Sundrive, and Vince Allen, founder and CEO

    Critics say Aussies can’t make cheap solar panels. This start-up says they’re wrong

    The brains behind SunDrive say Australia has the material, the best resources, and even national security reasons, for keeping solar panel expertise here.

    RBA caught in political spin

    Political considerations may explain the central bank’s unusual cheerleading of the federal budget, writes Christopher Joye.

    Westpac brings back time sheets for salaried staff up to $140k

    Time recording for high-earners is becoming the new norm in the finance sector as firms guard against underpayments from excessive overtime. But some white-collar workers “hate it”.

    Shares drop; Bendigo Bank jumps, SkyCity to pay $67m AUSTRAC penalty

    Shares drop 0.7pc. Star’s license suspension extended. US equities swing lower. Iron ore climbs as China posts mixed data. Oil firms. Follow here.

    The red line on Gaza: PM draws it, students ignore it

    Tensions have come to a head after Australia voted “yes” in a United Nations vote to support a Palestinian bid to become a full member.

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    FEDERAL BUDGET

    Peter Dutton’s migration and housing changes explained

    The opposition leader says his changes to permanent migration and housing laws will help Australians by “restoring the dream of homeownership”. Will the changes be effective?

    How the west’s miners won over Canberra

    The production tax credits on critical minerals processing unveiled in the federal budget were the result of months of careful negotiations that started with a meeting in Perth.

    Foreign owners bought only about 1300 established houses in Austalia in 2021-22.

    Dutton concedes homes sales to foreigners are ‘low’

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has conceded only a tiny fraction of property sales in Australia are made by foreign residents, hours after releasing a major new population policy.

    Dutton to slash migrant intake, ban foreign property buyers

    The opposition leader has vowed to slash permanent migration by a quarter and ban foreign investors buying established homes for two years.

    No more buzz – hydrogen is finally trying to get real

    At the World Hydrogen Summit this year, vaulting ambition began giving way to pragmatism and a paring back of priorities.

    review

    Former US president Donald Trump considers Mar-a-Lago his safe space.

    Inside the weird, deluded world of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

    The former president exists in a parallel universe inside the walls of his beloved Florida estate.

    President Nelson Mandela became the first democratic elected president in the election on April 27, 1994 in South Africa.

    How South Africa has changed 30 years after apartheid

    The country, which goes to the polls on May 29, made widespread improvements in its first 15 years of majority rule. The past 15 have been another story.

    Russell Brand shared the news of his baptism in a typically verbose Instagram video on April 29.

    The unlikely relationship between Russell Brand, Bear Grylls and God

    Why would chief scout Grylls, a man with a flourishing global career, team up with the “cancelled” Brand – and risk harming his own squeaky-clean brand?

    Vladimir Putin’s preparing for a long war

    The Russian president’s idea of the motherland is much larger than the country’s globally recognised borders, an atavism that’s widely shared within his nation.

    How 18-year-old Barron Trump could follow in his father’s footsteps

    The youngest of Donald Trump’s children graduates high school this week, which makes him a target for the press.

    Features include the ability to save articles, dark mode and real time notifications.

    Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.

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    Companies

    A former Brisbane-based Transurban employee has alleged in court that he was dismissed after blowing the whistle on coercion, manipulation of company records and raising safety issues on toll roads.

    Transurban network operator claims he was fired for whistle-blowing

    The former employee has alleged in court that he was dismissed after blowing the whistle on coercion, manipulation of company records and raising safety issues on toll roads.

    Lendlease sells down Asia venture amid campaign for overhaul

    The $147 million sale of a stake in its life sciences business comes amid activist investor demands for the property giant to pull back from overseas markets.

    The corporate regulator is investigating ANZ Bank’s handling of a $14 billion federal government bond sale.

    Traders finger ‘pre-hedging’ in ANZ bond probe

    Fixed income traders say pre-hedging is “a grey area” riddled with inherent conflicts of interest. ASIC has already targeted Westpac over the practice in swap markets.

    Endeavour Energy workers have been taking protected work bans since February.

    Company has rare win over work bans that jacked up its power bill

    Agribusiness giant Manildra has won orders to stop Endeavour Energy workers’ long-running industrial action after arguing it would cost millions of dollars in extra electricity costs.

    Lendlease’s Michael Ullmer to step down in board overhaul

    The country’s largest property group will face disgruntled investors this month, who are calling for significant changes to its strategy.

    Anglo American wants a single buyer for its Australian coal division

    The London-listed diversified miner this week unveiled a major divestment plan designed partly to keep a $64.4 billion buyout proposal from BHP from succeeding.

    Shell sues ATO over claim it was short-changed $99m in CGT bill

    The ATO believes the company should have declared capital gains $330 million higher than first reported for its exit from the old Woodside Petroleum.

    Companies in the News

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    Markets

    Alex Pollak, CIO at Loftus Peak.

    Nvidia bulls are selling – here’s what one fundie is buying instead

    The AI market darling is reporting earnings next week, following a jaw-dropping share price run in the last 18 months.

    “The 13F releases show that the growth of bitcoin ETFs can’t just be attributed to retail traders buying in brokerage accounts,” said Stephane Ouellette, chief executive officer of FRNT Financial.

    Millennium, Point72 and Elliott are among bitcoin ETF buyers

    No matter the reason, and there could be several, Wall Street is clearly dipping its toes into the world’s largest digital asset.

    The Dow cleared the 40,000 mark for the first time, then wavered.

    What happened overnight? The Dow broke 40,000 for the first time

    ASX futures were lower. US equities pared their early advance to close modestly lower. Gold slipped, oil edged up, iron ore rose. Bitcoin was steady.

    Mortgage relief in sight after traders scrap rate rise bets

    A surprise pickup in the unemployment rate has bolstered bets that the next move from the Reserve Bank may be lower. Cooling US inflation data overnight also helped, sending the Aussie dollar to a four-month high.

    This small cap has rocketed since South32’s manganese mine disaster

    Shares in Jupiter Mines have doubled in value since Cyclone Megan forced the closure of one of the world’s biggest producers of the steel making commodity.

    Opinion

    This budget sees the return of government as saviour

    Two decades ago, Australia was poised to shed the hard-done-by battler mindset. Now it is more entrenched than ever.

    Phillip Coorey

    Political editor

    Phillip Coorey

    What a ‘free Palestine’ means in practice

    The campus protesters are not the first generation of Western activists who have championed movements that promised liberation in theory and misery and murder in practice.

    Bret Stephens

    Contributor

    Bret Stephens

    The big fail in Australia’s housing

    The Albanese government’s promises of 1.2 million homes over five years are now in the realm of political fantasy, despite the billions of dollars it has pledged for housing.

    Solar panels debunking makes case for critical minerals leg-up

    Even in a world of geopolitical and supply chain risk, the old economic orthodoxies of international specialisation and comparative advantage still apply.

    The AFR View

    Editorial

    The AFR View

    China’s housing mess has finally reached Xi Jinping

    The president is stepping in to help the country’s beleaguered developers. But only the state-owned players who are critical to his power base.

    Shuli Ren

    Business commentator

    Shuli Ren

    Chalmers is telling a big budget fib

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers stood in front of 600 guests at his post-budget speech in Parliament House on Wednesday and repeated a misleading number about spending.

    John Kehoe

    Economics editor

    John Kehoe

    Reports

    BOSS Best Places to Work

    The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.

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    Politics

    arrister Andrew Smith, a Wiradjuri man, gives the welcome to country at a ceremonial sitting in the Banco Court to mark the 200th anniversary of the NSW Supreme Court

    Supreme Court turns 200, with a didgeridoo salute

    An Indigenous barrister and musician had lead roles in a ceremony to mark the bicentenary of the NSW Supreme Court.

    Prescription data safe, says cyber chief

    A-League players arrested for alleged yellow card betting racket; no need to replace Medicare cards after MediSecure cyber hack. Here’s how the day unfolded.

    Unemployment increased to 4.1 per cent in April.

    Jobless jump could unwind next month, economists say

    Economists predict some of the lift in unemployment in April may unwind in May, amid broader signs the jobs market remains strong and is absorbing a surge in migrants.

    Labor slammed for offshore gas approval backdown

    A deal with the Greens means Labor is close to passing Petroleum Resources Rent Tax changes and vehicle emissions standards, but it has shelved fast-tracked gas approvals.

    CFMEU blockade ‘drives up costs’ on state project

    An allegedly illegal CFMEU blockade has cost a Queensland infrastructure project $300,000 and will cause weeks of delays, according to the principal contractor.

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    World

    Emergency services fight a fire following a Russian air strike near Kharkiv.

    More troops, better tech: Putin’s Ukraine push worries West

    Multiple factors are helping Russia’s military advance, including a delay in US weaponry and Moscow’s technological innovations on the battlefield.

    A man stands in front a burnt car after unrest in Noumea, New Caledonia this week.

    ‘Massive’ French police force arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia

    Deadly violence has raged across the French Pacific territory this week over electoral reforms pushed in Paris, forcing France to impose a state of emergency.

    President Joe Biden has thrown open the door for economic trade war.

    China-US clean energy trade war could get dirty

    History suggests Beijing will reply in kind and lift tariffs on a range of American exports, which will raise the stakes once again in their long-running tit-for-tat tussle.

    ‘That is a lie’: Trump’s lawyer attacks Cohen’s credibility

    The former president’s lawyers have attempted to destroy Michael Cohen’s credibility, grilling the prosecution’s star witness at the “hush-money” trial.

    They still hate him, but Wall Street’s big donors turn to Trump

    Exasperated with Joe Biden’s policies, top financiers are increasingly on board for a second Trump term despite being alienated during his first presidency.

    Property

    Adam Flaskas to sell luxury Brisbane ‘sky home’ before Manly move

    The developer and his fiancee have put their five-bedroom penthouse on the market ahead of a southern relocation.

    Ex Pendal CEO to sell $18m harbour mansion with trophy boatshed

    Emilio Gonzalez and his wife, Nicola, have called time on their Cremorne harbourside address, offering it to prestige shoppers.

    The resort includes a pool and bar.

    NRMA snaps up Yamba holiday park for more than $40m

    The association will add the Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort in Yamba to a tourism portfolio that includes Cradle Mountain Hotel and Freycinet Lodge in Tasmania

    Not a home office: cafe finds coffee and laptops don’t blend well

    The same reasons that drove19th-century writers from their garrets have led office workers to colonise café tables.

    Perth property ‘went nuts’, but these sisters managed to get in first

    Jennifer and Maxine Gamble are sisters who have bought a house together to future-proof aged care issues that might arise in the future for them.

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    Wealth

    Jonty Taylor hasn’t even graduated, but he’s already got a plan to pay off his student debt.

    ‘Window of opportunity’ for graduates to score debt reprieve

    An accounting quirk means some graduates can escape the brunt of indexation, but only if they act fast.

    How this Millennial plans to retire at 35

    Saving hard and opting out of the consumer lifestyle has helped these people retire decades before their parents did.

    The $150b club: Record number of super rich

    The combined net worth of the world’s super-rich club is up 13 per cent this year to $3.3 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Technology

    Online music platform Melodie banks $1m funding

    The Funded blog is the home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.

    Children allowed screen time during breakfast, lunch or dinner are 15 per cent more likely to be overweight.

    Children glued to their phones at meal time face obesity risk

    Experts say letting youngsters scroll social media, watch videos or eat in front of the TV is “dangerous” and may be fuelling a growing obesity epidemic.

    Aristocrat chief executive Trevor Croker has delivered another solid profit result.

    How gridiron and cartoon elves sent this ASX giant surging

    The 12 per cent surge in Aristocrat Leisure’s share price reflects a solid profit beat. But there’s a secret sauce behind its long track record of growth.

    Work & Careers

    Endeavour Energy workers have been taking protected work bans since February.

    Company has rare win over work bans that jacked up its power bill

    Agribusiness giant Manildra has won orders to stop Endeavour Energy workers’ long-running industrial action after arguing it would cost millions of dollars in extra electricity costs.

    How Kmart is now more product maker than retailer

    Kmart Group’s own brand has boomed, helping it deliver record profits. Its CEO says the low-cost goods chain is now more product maker than retailer.

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    Life & Luxury

    Beth Sanner: “If you … start influencing policy more than informing it, then it’s a slippery slope.”

    ‘We don’t know the truth’, says senior CIA officer

    Beth Sanner was Donald Trump’s daily intelligence briefer for two years. Few people know the boundaries between secrecy and democracy so well.

    Xander Schauffele hits from the fairway on the eighth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship.

    Sizzling Schauffele grabs early PGA Championship lead

    Not even the two hottest golfers on the planet, world number one Scottie Scheffler and number two Rory McIlroy, could muster a challenge to Xander Schauffele.

    Think you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions

    Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

    This week’s lovely luxuries: chi-chi coffee to divine dog blankets

    Plenty to savour here, from stylish kitchen essentials to gifts for friends – furry ones included.

    The trial paid an average of £128 to participants.

    Men paid $760 to lose weight in ‘Game of Stones’ health scheme

    A trial of a dieting program in which participants potentially lose money has been so successful that it will be rolled out nationally.

    From the gallery