Abbott vows to get back to business
Exclusive | With the latest opinion poll pointing to a landslide Coalition win at Saturday’s federal election, Tony Abbott is promising a low-profile government that will consult formally with business as part of a return to a traditional style of rule.
Labor’s causes lost
Geoff Kitney | In a total of two years and nine months and with two attempts at the job, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s time at the top is nearly over.
US job growth offers cautionary note for Fed
US employers hired fewer workers than expected in August and the jobless rate hit a 4-1/2-year low as Americans gave up the search for work, potentially complicating the Federal Reserve’s next move.
Polls and odds align for a crushing Coalition victory
Polls and betting markets agree Tony Abbott’s Coalition is on track for a devastating victory in Saturday’s election and it appears the only uncertainty left is the margin by which he’ll win.
Costly divorce looms as Packers split
James Packer and his wife Erica have separated and will file for divorce as the casino billionaire prepares to spend more time pursuing business interests in the United States.
Hunting season opens on executive pay
The BHP Billiton board’s decision to slash 35 per cent of long term incentive share payments that its executives had already qualified for has drawn the battles lines for proxy battles in the annual meetings season.
Low interest rates drive housing market boom
Cuts in interest rates last year triggered a resurgence in the housing market and the spring homes season is now shaping up to reach the lofty benchmarks set in the 2009-2010 property peak.
Coalition win just a sugar hit for the bond market
Fixed income experts have rejected assertions that Australian bonds could come under pressure if the Coalition wins the weekend federal election.
How Nokia killed innovation and why Apple could be next
Frank Nuovo was the chief designer who’s vision led Nokia to the top of the world. After watching as the company fell from its precipice he warns Apple it risks the same fate unless it learns from its lessons
Smartwatch market pushed by Sony and Samsung
Sales of smartphones are expected to top 1 billion this year, while smartwatches lag far behind. Nevertheless, Sony launched its SmartWatch 2 alongside its Xperia Z1 smartphone this week.
Interactive | Untangling the Senate
Anyone who’s anyone thinks Tony Abbott will go to bed on Saturday night as Australia’s latest Prime Minister, but will the Senate spoil his dreams?
Ex Babcock & Brown execs team up to tackle the humble home
Investment bank Babcock & Brown went belly-up during the global financial crisis. Now Phil Green, Trevor Loewensohn and some of the old team are back with a unique idea for Australia’s baby boomers.
Take stock and boost your portfolio’s winners
With reporting season over it’s worth asking, is it time to take profits on some of the high flyers in your portfolio or cut losses on the duds?
RBS Morgans poaches Macquarie’s Mark Carew
Updated | RBS Morgans has hired Mark Carew, an associate director in the institutional equity sales division at Macquarie Group. The silver doughnut has also looked to refill its ranks.
The chef who mastered the fire
French restaurateur Jacques Reymond has come a long way from his parents’ Burgundy truck stop.
Perth, the home of haute couture
Perth has shrugged off its title as the home of bogans and beachwear, and its growing affluence has brought in fashion-forward consumers and world-famous brands.
Marketing whizz hits web sweet spot
Diane Costa put her music gig on hold to find success building affordable sites for small companies.
Win a $50,000 African adventure
Life & Leisure’s The Sophisticated Traveller and The Australian Financial Review are giving you the chance to win a $50,000 African adventure to Kenya.
Professor wants hide-and-seek at Olympics
Sixty-four-year-old Yasuo Hazaki hopes to encourage ‘sport for all’ by lobbying hard for the game of hide-and-seek to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games.
New government faces foreign affairs test in Dubai
Today’s decision by a Victorian court to back two Australians detained for years in Dubai will be one of the Coalition’s first major tests of foreign affairs.
Hottest hulls, best deals to get you on the water
ST’s lowdown on the latest boat designs from Europe as well as cruise deals for families, golf addicts and carefree sailors.
Branson claims ‘giant step’ in race to space
Billionaire Richard Branson's commercial space venture Virgin Galactic is one step closer to carrying tourists into space.
Here’s a proposal Mr Abbott, say I do, I do, I do
The majority of Australians support same-sex marriage, and equality for people in same-sex relationships.
NBN speed and access issues to dog ACCC
Poor download speeds and rationed access to YouTube could become a big headache as the NBN rolls out, says the ACCC’s chief.
National
Abbott vows to get back to business
Exclusive | With the latest opinion poll pointing to a landslide Coalition win at Saturday’s federal election, Tony Abbott is promising a low-profile government that will consult formally with business as part of a return to a traditional style of rule.
- Low interest rates drive housing market boom
- Budget crisis raises downgrade fears
- Perth, the home of haute couture
- Close to voting but still unsure
- Smartwatch market pushed by Sony and Samsung
- Tech giants fight Coalition’s e-safety plan
- TV falls off its electioneering perch
- ‘Ragtag’ party mix for Senate
- Marginal Brisbane seat gets most leader visits
Treasury island: One young gun vs. the budget of the smallest republic
When Jason Murphy was sent to Nauru to oversee its eccentric budget, the 26-year-old was up against non-stop crises, bingo tax evaders and one quietly spoken rebel.
Opinion
Two cheers for Tony Abbott
Editorial | A strong mandate at the top will lift business resolve. That by itself is a good reason for The Australian Financial Review to conclude Australia’s prosperity would be better served by a Coalition government
Abbott will win support for reform
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott knows too well how hard it is to explain the case for change. But will the economy wait for him to make his move?
Labor’s causes lost
Geoff Kitney | In a total of two years and nine months and with two attempts at the job, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s time at the top is nearly over.
World
Obama concedes ‘hard sell’ on Syria strike
President Barack Obama ran into an impasse in his bid to rally international backing for a military strike on Syria as world leaders wrapped up a summit meeting in Russia on Friday.
- US job growth offers cautionary note for Fed
- Macquarie fund selling US wireless unit for $4.8bn
- Leaked: NSA cracks encryption tools guarding corporate systems, personal internet use
- Bank of America, Merrill in $39m gender bias settlement
- Ford board open to earlier exit for Mulally: sources
- Professor wants hide-and-seek at Olympics
- Shanghai free trade zone to take on the world
- ICAP in talks to settle Libor probe: report
Germany will always hold itself back
Europe’s greatest republic has built its success from enormous fiscal discipline, a firm belief in balance and social equality. But under the binds of history, modern Germany is constrained.
Business
Packer back into media with Zillow
James Packer investment in online US real estate group Zillow was a surprise. But Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff has a bigger surprise. It’s really a media company.
- Court dismisses Sunland Dubai corruption case
- Tea lady makes the perfect brew with sale to Unilever
- Low interest rates drive housing market boom
- Shea rejected harassment investigation, says Purvis
- Rebellious viewers make TV bosses scramble
- SeaLink embarks on public float
- Hunting season opens on executive pay
- UBS snags Duet’s $100m pipeline deal
- Raise for Joyce as Qantas freezes base pay
How Marlene Kanga engineered her way to the top
One of six women in a class of 200 chemical engineers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay in the 1970s, Marlene Kanga struggled to convince Australian immigration officers and employers that women could be engineers. She is now president of the industry group, Engineers Australia.
Technology
Leaked: NSA cracks encryption tools guarding corporate systems, personal internet use
The full extent of the NSA’s decoding capabilities was known only to a limited group of top analysts from the so-called Five Eyes: the NSA and its counterparts in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- Not even popular Malcolm Turnbull is shielded from a social media backclash
- Abuses alleged at China iPhone plant
- Liberal’s internet filter blunder
- Telstra hints at mobile plan for launch of new iPhone
- Social media play for bankers snares $US30m
- Australian teen Sonny Dickson behind new iPhone leak
- Russian tech giant scores on Facebook shares sale
Samsung touts 4K OLED TV
Having trouble choosing between OLED and 4K TV? Welcome to another episode of our long-running series, Why Not Have Both?
Markets
Take stock and boost your portfolio’s winners
With reporting season over it’s worth asking, is it time to take profits on some of the high flyers in your portfolio or cut losses on the duds?
- Fed bets wound back though taper seen proceeding
- Wall St closes little changed ahead of weekend
- US bonds rally as jobs data raises doubts on tapering
- Wells | Aus bonds notch fourth 5-plus-day losing streak this year
- Greenback tumbles broadly after US jobs data
- Shanghai free trade zone to take on the world
- Local shares climb on back of investor confidence
- Hunting season opens on executive pay
- Copper gains on Fed expectations, global growth outlook
Coalition win just a sugar hit for the bond market
Fixed income experts have rejected assertions that Australian bonds could come under pressure if the Coalition wins the weekend federal election.
Personal finance
Timely journey of discovery
Treasure can be found in unexpected places; from school fund-raisers, to local markets, to a Queensland cattle property. But seekers must keep digging, as there are endless possibilities.
- Why it’s time to get back into Europe
- Value to be found beyond yield plays
- Now’s the time to find a place among commercial property stars
- Wasiliev | Stick to the fundamentals in DIY super investment
- Marketing whizz hits web sweet spot
- ASIC disciplines financial advice firm over poor SMSF advice
- Moody’s cuts sub-debt rating of Australian banks
- Perpetual equities deputy Lanchester to leave
Get the better of dark pools and fast trades
The relatively new phenomena of dark pools and high-frequency trading have emerged via innovation and competition, but pose significant threats to investors.
Lifestyle
Africa’s main game – altitude 60 metres
Bench International’s Torben Rune had an epiphany in his Cessna Grand a few years ago – more people should see Africa from the air. So he set up Scenic Air Safaris.
Great escape produces secrets from the heart
Laura Tingle swaps Canberra’s cold corridors of power for the warm largesse of the Kimberley coast and finds herself in the grip of a dilemma.
Relative values surprise all at sea
When an unexpected guest arrives on board the luxury liner, Crystal Symphony, Fiona Carruthers discovers there’s more to cruising than just fine dining, day spas and spectacular scenery.
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Boy’s own adventure in Genghis Khan territory
Almost 15 years ago, Tim Cope spent his 21st year riding a bicycle from Russia to Beijing and stumbled across Mongolia, which has held him in thrall ever since.
Latest TV
Independents surge at election finale
The winner of Saturday’s election may be all but certain, but the surge by independent contenders will be a key focus, as political editor Laura Tingle and chief political correspondent Phil Coorey discuss. More AFR TV
On the trail | Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd has sharpened his message in the what could be his last full day as PM, says political correspondent James Massola. More AFR TV
Rudd’s last days?
Political editor Laura Tingle speaks with chief political correspondent Phillip Coorey about Kevin Rudd’s potentially last National Press Club appearance as PM. More AFR TV
Little distinction in Coalition costings
An anti-climactic release of the Coalition’s costings shows there won’t be much difference in budget management under the Coalition. More AFR TV
