Savers haven’t fully benefited from super industry growth: Silk
Updated | Savers have not benefited fully from the massive growth in the superannuation industry, one of the sector’s most prominent leaders said on Friday.
Vic corruption watchdog clears former Baillieu staffer
Victoria’s corruption watchdog has cleared Tony Nutt, the former chief of staff to Premier Ted Baillieu, over his role in the secret tapes saga that brought the Coalition government to the brink in March.
Shares dive 5pc in May, worst month in a year
May was the worst month for the Australian sharemarket in 12 months as investors reacted to bad news about a potential slowdown in the United States, China, Japan and Australia.
Green energy policies sting consumers: King
Updated | Origin Energy boss Grant King has singled out green energy policies as the key driver of future rises in household utility bills, saying the “green part” of a typical power bill is set to rise to 30 per cent.
ACTU’s Kearney considers battle for Batman seat
Updated | ACTU President Ged Kearney has yet to confirm if she will contest the Victorian Labor seat of Batman, which would set up a high-stakes battle with Senator David Feeney.
CBA buys Symond out of Aussie Home Loans for $190m
Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond was paid more than $190 million to sell most of his remaining stake in the group to Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Offer asbestos compensation, Shorten urges Telstra
Updated | The Gillard government has asked Telstra to compensate people who may have been exposed to asbestos during the rollout of the national broadband network.
Leighton stops work at Indonesian mines
Leighton Holdings suspended operations at two mines in April over a contractor’s dispute with mine owner Bumi Resources.
IMF backs Japan yen devaluation
The International Monetary Fund has strongly endorsed Japan’s economic stimulus program and played down the impact of the yen’s depreciation on other countries, such as Australia.
NBN-related death in Kiama
Updated | A man has died in the NSW town of Kiama near a construction site for the national broadband network.
Elders swings to first-half $303m loss
Embattled listed agribusiness Elders swung to a first-half loss of $303 million as it took extensive write-downs on both its rural services and automotive divisions, two businesses it is trying to sell.
'Blockupy' protesters cut off access to ECB
Thousands of demonstrators from the anti-capitalist Blockupy movement cut off access to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on Friday to protest against policymakers' handling of Europe's debt crisis.
Top end of property market heats up
The property market shows little signs of cooling off in the winter months with 1140 properties up for auction on the final autumn weekend, and similar volumes for expected in Melbourne and Sydney through June.
New mining data shows how far industry has to fall
Updated | New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics about the mining industry in 2011-12 paints a picture of an industry at its peak and illustrates the scale of the income hit that could come as commodity prices fall.
Deutsche bets Crown will lag local credit market
Investors in Crown’s debt have reaped the benefit of the rally in corporate bonds but Deutsche Bank credit analysts Gus Medeiros and Anthony Ip say the credit markets have got ahead of themselves.
Meet the $200m bushy, Tom Brinkworth
You won’t find this controversial pastoralist in the social pages nor in the saddling enclosure on Melbourne Cup day.
Accord stopped us becoming poor white trash: Hawke
Updated | Bob Hawke says the landmark prices and incomes accord deal halted the risk Australia would become the “poor white trash of Asia”.
Abbott speaks to 8000 voters – with one phone call
Tony Abbott has used one phone call to speak to almost 10 per cent of the voters in the marginal Labor seat of Lindsay.
Waterhouse cuts back TV betting appearance
High profile bookmaker Tom Waterhouse will cut back his appearances on the Nine Network's NRL coverage, starting Friday night.
NaviBot home help in a tangle
The robot vacuum cleaner may have new spinning legs, but it always manages to find something to gum up the works.
Virtual haven for rogues and spies
Security experts say proceeds from child pornography and illicit sales of national secrets and drugs are moved via anonymous payments systems.
McGuire gets full board backing
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who is embroiled in a racial vilification controversy, received support from his board, but not all players of his AFL club.
Disagreements go further than sex, money, sport
Why, given the compelling business case for more women in the workforce, is the pace of change so slow?
Executive relocation raises rentals in key cities
Relocation budgets for top executives have grown by up to 60 per cent in the past year.
Sydney Harbour Bridge gets $20m makeover
Sydney Harbour Bridge will repainted for the first time in the structure's 81-year-history.
National
Savers haven’t fully benefited from super industry growth: Silk
Updated | Savers have not benefited fully from the massive growth in the superannuation industry, one of the sector’s most prominent leaders said on Friday.
- Vic corruption watchdog clears former Baillieu staffer
- ACTU’s Kearney considers battle for Batman seat
- Barnett will ask China to salvage $6bn Oakajee
- Australia wheat demand to spike after US GMO find
- Accord stopped us becoming poor white trash: Hawke
- NBN-related death in Kiama
- FWC to live stream minimum wage review
- Ambassador says Indonesians need more beef
Court win for Melbourne wholesale produce traders
Melbourne’s wholesale fresh produce traders have won a legal victory against the state government’s push for them to sign leases immediately for a new $670 million facility.
Opinion
Capex and dollar should keep rates on hold
A stronger than expected investment outlook for the coming financial year and the recent sharp depreciation of the Australian dollar mean the Reserve Bank should leave interest rates on hold next week.
Labor’s desperation on display with funding deal
Labor, in its desperation, was prepared to sign up to an election funding deal which would ultimately be more to its opponent’s long-term advantage than its own.
Answers to Australia’s challenges closer than London
When it comes to sorting the challenges that face Australia, while it’s tempting to look to Britain for clues, the answers may be closer to home.
World
'Blockupy' protesters cut off access to ECB
Thousands of demonstrators from the anti-capitalist Blockupy movement cut off access to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on Friday to protest against policymakers' handling of Europe's debt crisis.
- Tiananmen mums condemn China president
- Indian economy grows at slowest rate in a decade
- IMF backs Japan yen devaluation
- US first-quarter growth revised lower
- China to study possibility of joining US-led trade talks
- Euro zone’s economic mood brightens
- Shift to shares tipped for Japan’s public pension fund
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox face losing battle
Under popular pressure to fulfill election campaign promises to make the burdens of citizenship more equitably shared, an Israeli government committee has approved a proposal to phase out wholesale exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
Business
Elders swings to first-half $303m loss
Embattled listed agribusiness Elders swung to a first-half loss of $303 million as it took extensive write-downs on both its rural services and automotive divisions, two businesses it is trying to sell.
- Santos, BG, Origin explore gas swap deal
- CBA buys Symond out of Aussie Home Loans for $190m
- Leighton stops work at Indonesian mines
- Green energy policies sting consumers: King
- Tabcorp looks set to keep monopoly
- Merrill Lynch Equities pays ASIC $120,000 penalty
- ASX pays $55m for electricity derivatives firm
- 1500 sign petition to extend Rio’s Warkworth mine
No intrigue in Peter Gammell’s step-down as Seven boss
Peter Gammell, Kerry Stokes’s right-hand man for more than two decades, has resigned as company CEO, but, despite rumours, there has been no fall out with the Stokes family.
Technology
NBN-related death in Kiama
Updated | A man has died in the NSW town of Kiama near a construction site for the national broadband network.
- European Commissioner Calls for Eliminating Roaming Fees
- Offer asbestos compensation, Shorten urges Telstra
- Conroy avoids NBN performance review questions
- Spy chief says ASIO’s new building security top notch
- Virtual haven for rogues and spies
- Quigley defends NBN asbestos handling
- Wired for trouble at the NBN Co
- More Australian government departments admit censoring websites
The state of the internet in one set of slides
Smartphone users reach for their handsets 150 times a day, Samsung’s increased its market share seven times in two years and the country whose people are most active with sharing online isn’t what you might think.
Markets
Shares dive 5pc in May, worst month in a year
May was the worst month for the Australian sharemarket in 12 months as investors reacted to bad news about a potential slowdown in the United States, China, Japan and Australia.
- Aussie slides for a 5th consecutive week
- Let me tell you we’re triple trouble, y’all
- Government grant for accused Westpac laundering client
- Gold prices tugged by Chinese buying, US sell-off
- Wall Street rises on optimism Fed stimulus safe
- US first-quarter growth revised lower
- US lawmakers want currency in Pacific trade deal
- European shares recover, boosted by miners
- Coffee drops to new lows in steep downtrends
The argument against a bond crash
Betting against bonds has proved tempting for traders ever since rates were pushed to historic levels. But there’s a compelling case that long-term bond rates will linger at low rates for years to come.
Personal finance
Mum’s dream finds wheels with skating rink
Karen MacKenzie has transformed her family’s passion for roller skating into a thriving business, Maximum Skating in Sydney’s Smeaton Grange.
- Time trumps toys for Australia’s super-rich
- US shares are good value – for now
- Chinese investors push up prices
- ASIC shelves plan to slow high-frequency traders
- ASIC warns life industry to act on churning
- Bradbury orders crackdown on card surcharges
- Developers bank on investors to stave off Melbourne apartment glut
- Swiss near tax-evasion deal with US
Lifestyle
Architects in pursuit of happiness
Beyond symmetry, proportion, harmony and function, architects are striving to make us feel good.
Puglia on the menu: rich history, simple fare
Travel | A uniquely unhurried region tucked into the heel of Italy, undiscovered Puglia is Italy’s major oil-producing region.
Motoring | Jaguar’s classic comeback
Through all the changes of ownership and lost decades, the British cat is still a car that draws conversation from strangers.
Morocco’s capital of contrasts
Travel | From heady souks to edgy nightlife and high-end shops, the old and new converge in Marrakech.
Latest TV
Origin CEO Grant King on CSG
Origin Energy CEO Grant King says gas must be allowed to develop. More AFR TV
Road to 2100: Where will our food come from?
As the world’s population swells to over 9 billion by 2050, Curtin University Graduate School of Business Professor Fiona McKenzie looks at where we’ll grow our food and how we’ll get it to our cities. More AFR TV
Wesfarmers chief on growth
Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder expects the company’s return on equity to grow as it beds down the acquisition of Coles. More AFR TV
Qube persists on Moorebank hub
Qube MD Maurice James is pushing ahead with its Moorebank freight hub that competes with the federal government’s own terminal. More AFR TV
