A do-it-yourself financial bubble
Another day, another warning about Australia’s booming $500 billion self managed superannuation sector. On Wednesday it was the turn (again) of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which warned of the potential for property investments by do-it-yourself schemes to trigger a house price bubble.
Palmer wants government handout for extra workload
Business mogul Clive Palmer, who looks likely to hold an important vote in the Senate, may ask for extra funding to help his party deal with legislative research demands.
ASX closes up 0.8pc with broad-based gains
Australia’s sharemarket has risen on broad-based gains with every major sector besides telecommunications closing higher. On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 per cent, or 41.7 points, to 5275.9.
Telstra slashes 1,100 jobs
Updated | Telstra will slash 1100 Australian jobs from its Operations business unit by June 2014, which is largely made up of field technicians, engineers, construction workers and IT staff.
Fair Work making progress says Iain Ross
Fair Work Commission President Iain Ross used a speech to a Swinburne University function in Melbourne on Wednesday night to again admit that the commission’s handling of the investigation into the Health Services Union and former federal MP Craig Thomson had damaged its reputation.
Abbott’s office takes control of ministers’ media
Tony Abbott’s press office has moved to crack down on media appearances by his frontbench, issuing an edict that all media requests for interviews be approved by the Prime Minister’s staff.
Regional business not up for sale: WIN
Regional broadcaster WIN Corporation has told its staff that its regional business is not for sale, after the company sold its Perth television station to Nine Entertainment Co for $220 million.
Gold predicted to fall further
Experts say the gold price will continue to slide as central banks prepare to withdraw liquidity from financial markets.
M&A to rise: Minter Ellison
A change in government and softer Australian dollar have paved the way for resurgence in merger and acquisition activity led by offshore buyers, according to law firm Minter Ellison.
New APN Property trust to list on ASX
APN Property Group has signed off on a merger deal to launch a new industrial trust through an initial public offering that is estimated to be around $200 million.
Virgin renews AFL sponsorship deal
Virgin Australia has renewed its lucrative AFL official airline sponsorship in a move that will lock out other football codes and sports from any similar deals with the airline.
Facebook, Twitter miss the boat to China
Facebook and Twitter face a daunting task in China, if access to their social networks is unblocked, as they would be up against deeply entrenched domestic rivals which cater to local needs and tastes.
Macquarie’s McCann Australia’s highest paid director
Macquarie chairman Kevin McCann has become the highest paid director in the country since taking over the chairman role at Macquarie Group.
Meet the Kiwis challenging medical device maker Resmed
Medical device maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare hopes a new mask that treats sleep-disrupting breathing disorders will increase its global market share by considering the other half of the equation: drowsy bed partners.
Low rates, limited supply fuel housing boom, UBS warns
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A housing boom is well under way as cheap borrowing rates, increasing investor confidence and limited supply fuel demand for buy-to-let real estate, says UBS analyst Jonathon Mott.
Apple’s free phone calls another hit to telcos
Apple’s newest voice feature, Facetime audio, is the latest challenge to Australia’s telecommunication providers, which are already battling apps that bypass traditional SMS and call charges.
Kiwi pride at stake in final race of America’s Cup
If New Zealand lose the America’s Cup “they won’t go home”, skipper of Australia’s victorious 1983 team John Bertrand said.
Julia Gillard to publish memoir
Former prime minister Julia Gillard will release a memoir that examines her time in politics and the personal experiences that drove her.
Samsung announces curved smartphone
Samsung said it will introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October, as the world's top handset maker set the pace of innovation.
Google’s Larry Page asks ‘Why not?’ all the time: Mayer
Larry Page’s superpower is asking “Why?,” former colleague and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says.
Tricks to cycling smarter not harder
Anyone inspired to follow the pattern of our pedalling Prime Minister should know that technique is as important for recreational riders as seasoned ones.
Bright Ruby spends $975m on Singapore gem
Asian investment house breaks Singapore’s single asset commercial property price record after acquiring landmark hotel and retail complex.
Etihad hungry for more investments
Etihad Airways will consider more equity investments in airlines if they add value, says chief executive James Hogan.
Australian appetite for mobile gadgets on the slide
Australians’ love of mobile devices could be on the wane after quarterly sales figures showed a second consecutive decline in notebook, mobile phone and tablet sales growth for the first time.
China to lift internet ban in free trade zone: report
China is trialling social media in its new Shanghai Free Trade Zone, with plans to unblock websites such as Twitter, Facebook and The New York Times, according to a media report.
National
Palmer wants government handout for extra workload
Business mogul Clive Palmer, who looks likely to hold an important vote in the Senate, may ask for extra funding to help his party deal with legislative research demands.
- Fair Work making progress says Iain Ross
- Abbott’s office takes control of ministers’ media
- RBA tells property investors to be ‘realistic’ about prices
- Barnett wants Browse onshore or no gas sales allowed
- WA seeks site for second big airport in Perth
- Private healthcare spending rises
- Telstra open to Turnbull’s NBN deal
- Shorten, Albanese out to woo supporters
Australia’s leveraged landlords increase risk of property collapse: UBS
Australia may have the world’s most leveraged landlords, making the nation more vulnerable to a property market collapse than regulators, banks and investors expect, UBS says.
Opinion
Bumpy road ahead for China and its trading partners
Asia needs to prepare for the impending slowdown facing the Chinese economy.
NBN mess needs a clean broom
Editorial | The new Coalition government is well within its rights to clean out the board of NBN Co and reform it, but that cleanout and the review announced on Tuesday highlight the inherent contradictions of the NBN model developed by Labor.
Is the US truly exceptional?
The modern perception of a remarkable America is mixed in today’s world as nations evolve and American’s sense of moral superiority weakens.
World
US home prices up, but confidence dips
US home prices slowed their rate of gains in July and a dip in consumer confidence this month underscored the potential for higher borrowing costs and a sluggish economy to dent a housing market recovery.
- Iran’s Rouhani preaches tolerance, peace
- JPMorgan may pay as much as $US7bn to settle with US
- Fed reviews report of unusual trading activity
- US bank stress tests to include Basel III capital rules
- 'Too big to fail' not yet resolved, Morgan Stanley says
- Kenya says five mall militants dead, 11 captured
- Barrick may sell more of its Australian mines
- China acquires 12.5pc stake in potash giant Uralkali
Obama, Rohani back resumption of Iran nuclear talks
US President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hasan Rohani have both spoken up forcefully at the UN for a resumption of stalled nuclear negotiations, but they gave no ground on their long-held positions.
Business
Telstra slashes 1,100 jobs
Updated | Telstra will slash 1100 Australian jobs from its Operations business unit by June 2014, which is largely made up of field technicians, engineers, construction workers and IT staff.
- Regional business not up for sale: WIN
- New APN Property trust to list on ASX
- Qantas inks 3-year tourism deal with Tasmania
- David Jones posts $101.6m profit on strong margins
- Commodity prices under pressure: BHP’s Nasser
- ANZ withdraws from Lloyds Capital Finance sale
- ASX chair defends actions in directors’ resignation
- Nufarm boss downplays profit slide
Never too late to innovate for David Jones
It is pleasing to see Paul Zahra using the release of David Jones’s full-year results to focus on the structural issues threatening to make department store owners extinct.
Technology
Facebook, Twitter miss the boat to China
Facebook and Twitter face a daunting task in China, if access to their social networks is unblocked, as they would be up against deeply entrenched domestic rivals which cater to local needs and tastes.
- Technology hiring stands out amidst GFC-level gloom
- Apple’s free phone calls another hit to telcos
- Samsung announces curved smartphone
- Google’s Larry Page asks ‘Why not?’ all the time: Mayer
- Spy agency reveals big increase in cyber attacks
- NBN speeds under Coalition will be ‘pretty high’: analyst
- No crudity please, YouTube filters comments
- Telstra open to Turnbull’s NBN deal
- Australian appetite for mobile gadgets on the slide
Wait! Samsung is prepping a flexible Note 3?
First came the news that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 would come with a variety of screen sizes. Now the news it might have a flexible model, too. Can life get any better than that? What next? The eradication of hunger?
Markets
ASX closes up 0.8pc with broad-based gains
Australia’s sharemarket has risen on broad-based gains with every major sector besides telecommunications closing higher. On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 per cent, or 41.7 points, to 5275.9.
- Investors have faith in Big Four amid bubble talk
- RBA sounds alarm on property in SMSFs
- Opportunities in small caps grow: DB
- Australian wheat prices to hold up despite record yields
- US default on debt to ‘roil financial markets’
- $A slightly lower in quiet trade and tight range
- Dow, S&P; 500 extend slide into fourth day
- Fund managers’ dirty little secret
- ASX chair defends actions in directors’ resignation
Nouriel Roubini: it’s time to buy equities
Investors should focus on equities as tapering of quantitative easing in the US is bad news for bonds and commodities, says NYU’s Nouriel Roubini.
Personal finance
Fund managers’ dirty little secret
It is the dirty little secret of the investment world: the fund managers who are paid handsomely to pick stocks but fail to beat a simple index.
- Suncorp argues for life changes
- Concerns for risky borrowers as banks increase loans
- China rebound gathers momentum
- Financial advice’s future is boutique: McDonald
- Pub floats on the tear as equity markets perk up
- Sydney clearance rate hits 88.4 per cent
- Fringe tenants seek out CBD space
- Greater consumer protection promised from new home building regulations
What happens when risk appetite unleashes a wave of cash?
Retail investors who opted for the security, flexibility and immediate liquidity of term deposits during the global financial crisis are starting to consider the riskier alternatives.
Lifestyle
Sydney shows new form in racing’s interstate stakes
Randwick's new $150 million grandstand shows Sydney is serious about becoming the centre of thoroughbred racing.
Tree-top hideaways in the New Forest
Chewton Glen, a top British country house hotel, has branched out with a dozen, totally indulgent tree houses.
Ferrari 458 Spider | Convertible without compromise
The Spider is still beautiful, fast and breathtaking to drive and most importantly, the styling has been preserved.
Rise to the 7 Peaks Alpine Ascent Challenge
Enjoy the thrills and chills of seven peaks in Victoria’s high country.
Latest TV
RBA changes property tune
The Reserve Bank has used its latest financial stability update to flag concerns with the boom in investment properties, particularly in self-managed super funds. More AFR TV
ASX ‘bruised’ by resignations
ASX chairman Rick Holliday-Smith says the company is “bruised” by the resignation of two directors last week, and has adjusted its existing search for new directors. More AFR TV
Abbott to follow Obama on free trade
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is likely to follow US Present Barack Obama on free trade, as a showdown looms between different forms. More AFR TV
Hope for housing
Encouraging new data shows housing construction has lifted for the first time in three years, although the boom in the mining states may not continue. More AFR TV
