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- Exclusive
- Governance
ASX warned its race, sexuality push on boards is misguided
Company directors would be asked to disclose their sexuality, any Indigenous heritage and disabilities under controversial updates to diversity reporting rules.
Brookfield’s $10b Neoen bid good news for Macquarie: JPMorgan
The tilt at the French utility was just the first example of the renewed appetite for green projects, the investment bank’s analyst Andrew Triggs says.
- Updated
- Minimum wage
Weak productivity halts minimum wage rise
The Fair Work Commission has warned that stalled productivity and falling profits in the retail and hospitality industries remain barriers to reversing the fall in real wages since the pandemic.
The a2 Milk Co’s main supplier Synlait needs China rescue package
China’s Bright Dairy is lending $NZ130m to the dual-listed company, in which a2 Milk Co has a 19.8 per cent stake and relies on for infant formula supply.
Afterpay says Treasury has overreached on BNPL regulation
Consumer groups, banks and even the corporate regulator say they also have concerns about Labor’s proposed laws to regulate buy now, pay later as credit.
- Opinion
- Liberal Party
Josh Frydenberg’s female vote of one
White middle-aged men can no longer get away with crushing young women’s careers, writes Aaron Patrick.
Brett Blundy poaches new Lovisa boss from Solomon Lew’s retail empire
The jeweller’s chief executive, Victor Herrero, will be succeeded by John Cheston, who runs Smiggle. Premier Investments has been hoping to float the kid’s stationery chain.
An insider’s guide to who’s making news in government this week.
Edition
Financial Review Rich List 2024
Tracking the fortunes of Australia’s richest people since 1983 | Australia’s 200 most wealthy and how they are handing over the keys to the kingdom
tuesday tech
- Analysis
- AI
Apple’s Siri to get its shot at AI redemption
Once the best (and only) AI assistant on phones and other devices, Siri has fallen into disrepair. Next week, Apple is expected to announce a host of improvements.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
VC firms lured to Qld by government funding
Early Tritium investors who sold out of the Brisbane-based company close to the peak of its valuation are among four VC firms to receive government backing.
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Providoor scraps hot food to concentrate on frozen meals
Online celebrity chef meal provider Providoor will target a growing market for pre-prepared meals, after struggling with delivery services for its hot meals.
Aussie experts can stop your smart-device cameras spying on you
When photos snapped by a robot vacuum cleaner of a woman on the toilet went viral, the smart home sector knew it had a problem; Aussie academics claim to have solved it.
- Opinion
- AI
Key workers left as invisible bystanders to the AI revolution
A hype-driven, tech-led approach to AI adoption will harm workers, disappoint investors and damage the economy, we must listen and learn from workers at the coalface.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
China-linked investors forced to offload Northern Minerals shares
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the decision, based on Foreign Investment Review Board advice, was made to “protect our national interest”.
- Exclusive
- Poker machines
Sydney’s Mounties club under AUSTRAC scrutiny for pokies profits
The club, in the city’s south-west, is one of the biggest in terms of gaming machines profit. It is unclear if other NSW clubs are under similar scrutiny from the financial crimes watchdog.
- Updated
- Hedge funds
Regal Partners goes big on private debt after buying Merricks Capital
The transaction will lift the firm’s assets under management to $15.1 billion and increases its exposure to one of the industry’s fastest-growing sectors.
Qatar Airways CEO reports ‘positive’ progress on bid to boost flights
The new chief executive of Qatar Airways expressed hopes talks to expand its right to land at major Australian airports would conclude soon.
Afterpay says Treasury has overreached on BNPL regulation
Consumer groups, banks and even the corporate regulator say they also have concerns about Labor’s proposed laws to regulate buy now, pay later as credit.
Denholm, Kestelman in joint play for big stake in women’s basketball
Tesla chairwoman and the Dodo founder already have significant interest in basketball. Others to have submitted offers for a 30 per cent stake include IMG, sources say.
Immutep raises $100m and signs with Merck on ‘blockbuster’ drug
Shares in the oncology therapy hopeful have risen some 45 per cent in the last 12 months as the company nears the commercialisation of its drug, Efti.
Companies in the News
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Markets
RBA rate rise still expected even after ‘balanced’ wage review
Bond traders are still anticipating the Reserve Bank may lift the cash rate to tame inflation, even as the Fair Work Commission kept the minimum wage increase below 4 per cent.
Investors pull money from tech in ‘next phase’ of the AI trade
Hedge funds have trimmed exposure to the Magnificent Seven and increased holdings in the utilities and healthcare stocks as the AI rally broadens to other pockets of the sharemarket
Barrenjoey picks Abu Dhabi for offshore fixed-income trading unit
The local advisory group has become the first investment bank to set up a bond sales and trading operation in the city, choosing it over London or New York.
ASX rises; real estate, banks gain, iron ore hits six-week low
Australian shares end higher. Oil falls as OPEC+ extends production cuts. Regal buys Merricks Capital for $235 million. Follow updates here.
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
RBA deputy points to ‘jobs test’ for interest rates
New deputy governor Andrew Hauser says the Reserve Bank has an agreement with Treasurer Jim Chalmers to “test” how low unemployment can sustainably be, justifying the central bank’s lower interest rates than overseas.
Opinion
Crackdown on Chinese investors a cautionary tale
Small critical minerals companies are caught up in the midst of a geopolitical struggle between China and the West. Northern Minerals is the latest example.
Columnist
Josh Frydenberg’s female vote of one
White middle-aged men can no longer get away with crushing young women’s careers.
Senior correspondent
Real wage pain with no productivity gain
Despite the big rises in the minimum wage over the past three years, it has not caught up with the growth in consumer prices since the pandemic.
Editorial
The many-sided crisis in management consulting
Artificial intelligence can increasingly do the lower end of consulting work, meaning the profession may very well be in secular decline.
Contributor
The three key lessons for RBA and our leaders to defeat inflation
Interest rates are going to have to stay (or go) higher for longer, and governments are going to have to stop expanding their spending so rapidly.
Economics professor
South Africa’s post-apartheid reckoning
The country that heroically freed itself of the colonial legacy of white minority rule in 1994 is now facing a political crossroads after Wednesday’s election.
Editorial
Reports
The future of financial advice
This special report looks at options to make financial advice more accessible and affordable, including robo-advice, as well as tips for the new financial year.
Sponsored
by CommBankPolitics
We got it wrong on record migration: Treasury boss
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy said the agency’s “frankly poor” forecasting owed to a failure to anticipate a sharp rise in foreign student numbers.
Wong slaps down Dutton, Greens over Gaza conflict
Quitting an international court would undermine efforts to call out China, the foreign minister said, while accusing the Greens of collaborating with extreme anti-Israel protesters.
Bill Shorten’s speechwriter earning $620,000
A former scriptwriter for soap operas Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice now earns more than a senator as “specialist speechwriter”.
Use partner migrants to fill skills shortages, experts say
Thousands of potential skilled workers are already in Australia, as secondary skilled migrants face lengthy wait times for visa processing.
Frydenberg rules out a return to politics – for now
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has ended a brief flirtation with a return to politics, saying he will not seek preselection for his old seat of Kooyong.
SPONSORED
World
Mexico’s first woman president inherits debt and violence
Claudia Sheinbaum capitalised on outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s popularity while also inheriting rampant criminal violence and a large fiscal deficit.
Jacob Zuma the disruptor has South Africa’s fate in his hands
Six years after being pushed from office, the former prime minister successfully upstaged his successor Cyril Ramaphosa in national elections this week.
- Opinion
- US election
It’s not the economy, stupid. Voters blame Biden for inequality
It’s unfair to blame the US president alone for imbalances that have been widening for decades, but nor will selling the good news harder make any difference.
Netanyahu aide: Gaza plan ‘not a good deal’, but Israel accepts it
In an interview with Britain’s Sunday Times, chief foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk said Joe Biden’s proposal was “a deal we agreed to”.
- Opinion
- East Asia Forum
History will judge the new era of US protectionism harshly
The unseemly contest by Joe Biden and Donald Trump to outdo each other in trade protectionism will make the world become less prosperous and more unpredictable.
Property
Migration behind Queensland house price surge: experts
Brisbane has overtaken Melbourne as the second-most expensive city to buy a house and Queensland is now the ‘epicentre’ of the housing crisis, an academic says
Why owner-occupiers beat investors for industrial property
There’s a soft rebound coming in sub-$40 million commercial property as rates ease, but different sectors face their own challenges.
House prices in cheaper suburbs surge 10pc in three months
Strong demand for affordable homes fueled a sharp increase in prices across some of the cheaper suburbs in Sydney and Perth, according to CoreLogic.
Downsizers who ‘weren’t looking’ buy $3.6m home
Competition for smaller homes in established suburbs like Claremont is so intense that many downsizers plan to build anew. But if they see something suitable, they jump at it.
Sydney’s home values to hit new highs within weeks
The city has fully recovered from the recent downturn, while Brisbane overtook Canberra as the second most expensive capital city.
Wealth
How to invest like a Rich Lister and beat the market
There are 37 listed stocks linked to Rich List members, and their ability to deliver above-market returns is impressive.
Decades after tycoon’s death, his family is suing each other over a mansion
Tech tycoon’s widow says she felt ‘used and abused’ in a dispute that pitted her three children against her – and each other.
- Opinion
- Super Q&A
I’m a high earner about to encounter Division 293 tax. What can I do?
You may want to consider reducing your taxable income below $250,000 by claiming allowable deductions such as donations to charity.
Technology
- Opinion
- AI
Key workers left as invisible bystanders to the AI revolution
A hype-driven, tech-led approach to AI adoption will harm workers, disappoint investors and damage the economy, we must listen and learn from workers at the coalface.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
VC firms lured to Qld by government funding
Early Tritium investors who sold out of the Brisbane-based company close to the peak of its valuation are among four VC firms to receive government backing.
- Analysis
- AI
Apple’s Siri to get its shot at AI redemption
Once the best (and only) AI assistant on phones and other devices, Siri has fallen into disrepair. Next week, Apple is expected to announce a host of improvements.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Workplace
Gen AI tools for lawyers ‘hallucinate’ up to one in three times
Generative artificial intelligence tools designed for the legal industry make up false or misleading information up to one in three times, a study has found.
- Updated
- Minimum wage
Weak productivity halts minimum wage rise
The Fair Work Commission has warned that stalled productivity and falling profits in the retail and hospitality industries remain barriers to reversing the fall in real wages since the pandemic.
Life & Luxury
This Tasmanian mill survived world wars and doonas. Can it go global?
It was founded in 1874 when Australia was the largest producer of wool on the planet. Today the team at Waverley Mills has big plans for a sustainable future.
Three ways to start exercising outdoors – and stick to it
Hate the gym? There are clear benefits to spending time in nature, so here’s how to start exercising outside and stick with it.
Tips for buying a suit off the rack
While tailor-made is best, it’s not always affordable or practical for everyday wear. We asked an expert how to buy instore.
A house for all seasons made entirely of concrete and plywood
This small Melbourne home is low energy, looks lovely and might win a big architecture prize.
How this comedian built a career while working for PwC
His bosses thought he’d just popped out for a moment, but he was actually working at the ABC.
