How the IMF is killing off Australian bank dividends
A visit to Australia last year by officials from the International Monetary Fund was the catalyst for the bank regulator to harden its position on dividend payments by the banks.
ASIO admits to security breaches
Updated | The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director general has used the agency’s annual report to warn that terrorism and espionage remain threats to national security.
Fonterra seeks 10pc stake in Bega
Updated | New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has hired broker Goldman Sachs to buy up to 10 per cent of dairy processor Bega in an after-market raid on Thursday.
Leighton names Spaniard to COO post
Leighton Holdings has appointed a Spanish executive, Adolfo Valderas Martínez, as chief operating officer, the first time a Spaniard has been given a management position at the contractor since Grupo ACS took control of its largest investor, Hochtief.
Toyota Australia seeks urgent cost cuts
Toyota Australia is following the lead GM Holden by seeking agreement from its workforce to remove “outdated and uncompetitive” labour practices and to cut allowances, as the Australian car industry struggles to stay afloat.
Investors welcome Wesfarmers, Zurich Insurance deal
Investors and insurance experts agree a sale of Wesfarmers Insurance to Zurich Insurance Group would be an ideal transaction for both sides and could net as much as $3 billion for the Perth-based conglomerate.
Daniel Janes to lead Credit Suisse joint venture
Daniel Janes, formerly one of Barclays’ co-heads of investment banking in Australia, has been appointed head of investment banking for Credit Suisse and First NZ Capital’s emerging companies joint venture, sources told Street Talk Online on Thursday.
PwC may pay $1bn for Booz & Co
Sources close to the proposed merger between professional services giant PwC and Booz & Company said the big four accounting firm could pay as much as $US1 billion for the global strategy house, which is roughly what Booz generates in annual revenue worldwide.
Coalition NBN rollout grinds to a halt
Major construction firms building the national broadband network have told sub-contractors they will have to wait up to five months before receiving more work, as the rollout of fibre optic cabling grinds to a halt.
Mining slowdown hits Flight Centre
Flight Centre Travel Group’s leisure business is reporting stronger growth than its corporate travel arm because mining companies in Western Australia have made significant cuts to their travel budgets.
Tripodi ‘knew Obeid had Quay holdings’
Updated | Former NSW ports minister Joe Tripodi knew that Labor faction leader Eddie Obeid’s family had an interest in leases at Sydney’s Circular Quay at the centre of a corruption investigation.
World there for the taking by Australia, says Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch declared that “the 21st Century is Australia’s for the taking” if it embraces immigration, “have a go” values and causes disruption in trade, technology and free markets.
Whiteley painting sets record
Brett Whiteley’s painting My Armchair set a new record price for the Australian artist on Thursday night. Auctioned by Menzies in Melbourne, it was hammered for $3.2 million (or $3.9 million including 25 per cent buyer’s premium).
Companies in the race for Flemington’s best marquee
Belly dancers, cocktail mixologists and sashimi chefs have mingled with painters and decorators who are putting the finishing touches on corporate marquees at Flemington Racecourse.
Daniel Janes to lead Credit Suisse joint venture
Daniel Janes, formerly one of Barclays’ co-heads of investment banking in Australia, has been appointed head of investment banking for Credit Suisse and First NZ Capital’s emerging companies joint venture, sources told Street Talk Online on Thursday.
Qantas HK lounge to offer Rockpool dining
Qantas has revealed its new lounge in HK will feature food from celebrity chef Neil Perry’s Rockpool and a cocktail and coffee bar with panoramic views.
Lenovo’s Kutcher launches Yoga tablet
Engineers are at a premium, yet Lenovo landed a new product engineer and celebrity pitchman when it inked a partnership with Ashton Kutcher.
Twitter's IPO roadshow has the ‘right buzz’
On the 36th floor of a New York city hotel, Twitter's execs and bankers, have pitched to investors over plates of pesto chicken salad and raspberry tart.
Fatter we get, more we spend to stop it
Australians are set to spend $6.6 billion in weight-loss measures as they ready for summer, according to IBISWorld research.
Retailer beats Buffett as most powerful CEO
Wal Mart’s Michael Duke has pipped Warren Buffett to the title of Forbes’ most powerful chief executive officer, while Rupert Murdoch ranks at No. 33.
Facebook Q3 revenue jumps 60pc
Updated | Facebook has posted strong mobile growth but has rattled investors after saying it did not plan to boost the frequency of ads.
Jacob’s Creek repackaged ahead of US price rise
Pernod Ricard will introduce contemporary new packaging and labelling for its flagship Australian wine brand Jacob’s Creek.
Rex Dupain recreates Sunbaker with smartphone
When Sony approached Rex Dupain to try out the camera in its Xperia Z1 smartphone, he took a cue from his legendary father Max.
New world order for equities could stifle future growth
The distinctions between equities and bonds have been blurred: it may have consequences for growth, investment and jobs creation.
Port Hedland’s post-mining boom property hangover
Port Hedland cafe owner Ray Sampson was looking for a one-bedroom unit that his son, who is also the cafe’s chef, could rent in the post mining boom property market.
National
Toyota Australia seeks urgent cost cuts
Toyota Australia is following the lead GM Holden by seeking agreement from its workforce to remove “outdated and uncompetitive” labour practices and to cut allowances, as the Australian car industry struggles to stay afloat.
- Registration looms for in-house lobbyists after ICAC report
- Low interest rates spur record unit approvals
- Qld enlists Len Scanlan to advise on casino development
- Lost votes may force WA back to the polls
- SA premier furious over car funding delay
- Tripodi ‘knew Obeid had Quay holdings’
- Labor hurt by carbon tax stance: Abbott
Companies in the race for Flemington’s best marquee
Belly dancers, cocktail mixologists and sashimi chefs have mingled with painters and decorators who are putting the finishing touches on corporate marquees at Flemington Racecourse.
Opinion
Taxpayers should not fund electoral campaigns
Since plenty of people are passionate enough about politics to stump up their own money, the question we ask is, why should everyone be forced to pay?
Exiting QE . . . now for the hard part
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens believes the US is getting its act together, but he told an investment conference in Sydney this week the biggest remaining problems were how to put the US budget onto a sustained long-run footing and how to manage the exit from quantitative easing.
The demise of the Australian car industry is inevitable
The policy goals Prime Minister Abbott took to the election were small government, lower taxes and a budget surplus – saying “a stronger economy is the key to everything else”.
World
Few taper hints as Fed says US economy needs more help
Federal Reserve policymakers have voted to extend their support for a slowing United States economy, saying the central bank will keep buying $US85 billion in bonds per month for the time being.
- Central banks make crisis-era cash swaps permanent
- ECB will provide more liquidity before cheap loans expire: Nowotny
- Obama to announce effort to lure foreign businesses to US
- Syrian chemical weapons equipment destroyed: watchdog
- Euro zone jobless rate stays at record high
- Nigeria disruption, refining weigh on Shell profit
- Mexican Senate passes junk-food tax
News of the World phone-hacking rife: prosecutors
Top executives at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World knew that staff were routinely hacking celebrities' phones, British prosecutors said as they opened their case in the trial over the scandal that sank the tabloid.
Business
Fonterra seeks 10pc stake in Bega
Updated | New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has hired broker Goldman Sachs to buy up to 10 per cent of dairy processor Bega in an after-market raid on Thursday.
- Investors welcome Wesfarmers, Zurich Insurance deal
- Customer insights help Woolworths gain on Coles
- Leighton names Spaniard to COO post
- BT Investment Management profit soars
- ERM defies power demand downturn
- New rules could force NAB to reassess dividends
- Mining slowdown hits Flight Centre
- Government must prove itself to business: Woolies CEO
Warrnambool ruling: Ramifications far beyond the milking shed
The welcoming green light the ACCC has flashed at Bega’s move on Warrnambool Cheese & Butter explains neatly why the other local contender for the Victorian processor has leap-frogged the competition regulator in its mission to get an offer to market.
Technology
Push for greater transparency in Trans-Pacific trade talks
The Greens and consumer groups have renewed a push for greater transparency into the wide-ranging but secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty currently being negotiated by 12 countries including Australia, calling for the agreement text to be published before further talks in December.
- NSA secretly collects Google, Yahoo data: report
- What is Google up to? Second mysterious barge spotted
- Grand Theft Auto: a missile of satire in the video game world
- Facebook Q3 revenue jumps 60pc
- Telstra eyes Asian acquisitions
- Empired signs $46m Main Roads WA IT contract
- Twitter's IPO roadshow has the ‘right buzz’ compared to Facebook
- Optus moves against ACCC internet speed checks
- New rollout statistics highlight sluggish NBN progress
Lenovo’s Kutcher launches Yoga tablet
Engineers are at a premium, yet Lenovo landed a new product engineer and celebrity pitchman when it inked a partnership with Ashton Kutcher.
Markets
ASX ends October in the black
The Australian sharemarket rose in October, supported by a combination of improved global economic growth and continued economic stimulus. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 4 per cent, for the month, but fell 0.1 per cent on Thursday.
- Outsize gains continued in October ... and then what?
- $A rebounds on jump in building permits
- Low interest rates spur record unit approvals
- Investors stand by bank dividends after APRA order
- Barclays joins UBS, Deutsche in forex investigation
- National debt to reach $420bn: Truss
- Retailer beats Buffett as most powerful CEO
- Few taper hints as Fed says US economy needs more help
- S&P; 500’s four-day rally ends on Fed’s weak outlook
Fed holds fire with focus on employment, inflation
The US Federal Reserve’s unsurprising decision to indefinitely continue its increasingly contentious quantitative easing program omits even a mere mention of one important factor: there is no recognition of the impact the easy money policies are having in financial markets.
Personal finance
APRA tells banks to restrict dividends
Exclusive | Australia’s “too-big-to-fail’’ banks have been told to limit dividend payouts to investors in order to meet new rules that will require them to hold billions of dollars more capital than expected.
- New home sales hit two-year high in September
- ‘Glass jaw’: corporate Australia’s stinging rebuke to ASIC
- ASIC targets full disclosure over company risk
- ATO probes gold companies over $65m fraud
- RBA’s Stevens calls for reason on property prices
- ANZ boss calls for end to four pillars policy
- ASIC calls for tougher fines for white collar crime
- Blackstone to invest several billion in Australian property
Home prices to rise up to 20pc: ANZ
Australian property prices will surge by more than two times average wages between now and the end of 2015, according to forecasts by ANZ property analysts.
Lifestyle
Cox Plate links Caulfield and Melbourne Cups
Before the country’s richest horse race comes the one believed by many to be the most significant, the W S Cox Plate.
Sixty-five days of style: Spring Carnival’s winners
Never mind the horses, trainers and jockeys – Spring Carnival is all about coming first in the aesthetic stakes.
Customised dreams
For many cyclists, custom bikes are a luxury; for Darren Baum they started off as a necessity.
Easy riders take the slog out of sightseeing in Paris
A Vespa tour includes most of the central monuments and interesting parts of the city in just a few hours.
Latest TV
Gonski slaps super funds for “short termism”
Future Fund Chairman David Gonski has told a Sydney business function the economy is too short term orientated, especially super funds.
Goyder's retail optimism
Wesfarmer's Richard Goyder sees consumer confidence as the last hurdle for retailers and hopes Australia provides bold leadership during the G20 summit next year.
Symond and Keen bicker over bubble
Professor Steve Keen and Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond have butted heads over a potential property bubble at the Citi Investment Conference. Reporter Samantha Hutchinson was there.
ANZ's Smith wary of wholesale funding
ANZ CEO Mike Smith is puzzled by the bank's low share price, and says the US political standoffs have shown the danger of wholesale funding.
