Labor to challenge carbon tax repeal
Updated | Labor will attempt to force the Abbott government to adopt an emission trading scheme, rather than Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s direct action plan, when the Coalition tries to dump the carbon tax in parliament.
Big four banks defy prophets of doom
Updated | It’s been a miserable week for the large foreign hedge funds that have built up big short positions in Australia’s large banks in the belief that their share prices will tumble as the local economy loses its gloss.
Soul Patts seeks extension on shareholder meeting
Washington H Soul Pattinson is seeking court approval to postpone a shareholder meeting to ensure it can compile its own expert’s report on the $2bn break-up proposal from Mark Carnegie and Perpetual Investments.
Mystery deepens at DJs after sales beat forecasts
Updated | The mystery behind Paul Zahra’s intended departure from David Jones has deepened after the upmarket retailer’s first sales growth in nine months indicated its turnaround strategy is delivering results.
Why the property upswing is different this time
The property market is alight again, helped along by low interest rates and confident vendors and buyers. But unlike booms past, each state has its own set of circumstances: can the momentum be sustained?
Rio prepares to repatriate foreign workers at Mozambique Coal
Rio Tinto is making arrangements for the family members of foreign employees of its Mozambique coal operation to return home as instability in the region escalates.
Howes slams Andrews for ignoring CSG benefits
Victoria’s simmering onshore gas debate has split both sides of politics, underlining the dangers of an issue that pitches industrial jobs and investment against Greens and farmers.
Ex-Daily Telegraph’s Lewis joins REA board
Will Lewis, the former editor of London’s Daily Telegraph, is to join the board of News Corp-controlled REA along with News Corp Australia chief operating officer Peter Tonagh following the retirement of Stephen Rue.
ASIC urges Senate to increase its powers
ASIC has called for decade-old penalties for white collar crime to be updated to bring Australia in line with global jurisdictions, as well as greater protection for whistleblowers.
Huawei hits back at Coalition’s NBN ban
Updated | Controversial Chinese technology supplier Huawei has said it is “extremely disappointed” in the Coalition’s decision to uphold Labor’s ban of its products being used in the national broadband network.
Evans & Partners posts 63pc profit rise
The former chairman of the Essendon AFL club, David Evans, has capped off a personally challenging year after his stockbroking firm posted an impressive 63 per cent rise in profit to $6.88 million.
Interactive | A go-slow on the high-speed NBN rollout
Households are now becoming more interested in joining the NBN just as the government hits pause on its rollout.
Half of expats aren’t happy where they are
Australian expatriates are flooding out of traditional destinations such as Britain and Europe and into more lucrative destinations in south-east Asia – such as Indonesia where nearly one-quarter of expats earn above $US250,000 – the world’s biggest survey of expatriates has found.
The global advance of activist shareholders
Citigroup has taken stock of the growing wave of shareholder activism, and concluded that what was once primarily an American phenomenon is spreading abroad.
Online retail takeover fascinates market
Mnemon’s plans to buy of online retailer DealsDirect Group is being watched by investors, who welcome opportunity to take a peek inside the mostly privately-owned online retail sector.
Ex-Madoff trader implicates other workers in fraud
A former trader at Bernard Madoff's investment firm has described how he helped create false trades to prop up Madoff's $US17bn Ponzi scheme.
Ask, before you recline your seat on a plane
Before your rip off your socks, shove your seat back and jam in your ear phones, here are some thoughts on air travel etiquette.
Google launches new Nexus 5 smartphone
Google has unveiled its new Nexus 5 smartphone as the internet search giant steps up competition with Apple's iPhone, especially in emerging markets.
Kyle, Jackie O leave Sydney’s 2DayFM
Sydney’s Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O are leaving top-rating morning show on 2DayFM at the end of November, with speculation they could head to Nova.
Tony Abbott: leader of the bloke nation
Tony Abbott is preferred PM with more than half the electorate and some are putting that down to unashamed, old-fashioned masculinity.
Smart move to switch off
Being pushed “off the grid” after losing your smartphone can prove both terrifying and illuminating.
Perth’s top end property not so hot
Top end agent Mack Hall has dowsed talk that Perth’s luxury property sector is about to boom.
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.
National
Manufacturing expands to three-year high
Australian manufacturing expanded for a second month, with an index of the sector’s performance jumping to the highest level in three years, led by food, drinks and tobacco makers.
- Howes slams Andrews for ignoring CSG benefits
- Browse gas partners told to turn down the rhetoric
- Conflict of interest doesn’t apply to me: Clive Palmer
- Net benefit test flagged for Barrier Reef projects
- Ron Medich enters formal not guilty plea
- Alleged Whitehaven hoaxer Moylan denies charge
- Tripodi denies knowing of Obeid restaurant leases
- Car industry will die without subsidies: Macfarlane
- Shergold pushes outsourcing of community services
Australia eyes US move to allow device use on flights
Updated | Passengers on US airlines are expected to be able to use electronic devices during take-off and landing by the end of the year – but the timeline in Australia is less clear.
Opinion
The age of entitlement really is over
The hardest task in life is to say no to someone you care about. A weak government tends to give its citizens everything they wish for. A strong government has the will to say ‘NO!’
Smart move to switch off
Being pushed “off the grid” after losing your smartphone can prove both terrifying and illuminating.
Forex probes raise fears of a repeat of Libor scandal
Barclays on Wednesday became the latest bank to confirm it has launched an internal probe into its foreign exchange trading, adding to a growing sense among bankers and investors that an industry-wide investigation is rapidly spiralling into a scandal that might eventually match the scale of the Libor manipulation saga.
World
Edward Snowden gets Russian web tech job: report
In what might be regarded as having the fox guard the henhouse, a leading Russian website has hired fugitive secrets-leaker Edward Snowden to oversee its data protection.
- US eases restrictions on in-flight use of devices
- Ex-Madoff trader implicates other workers in fraud
- Fannie Mae seeks $800m from banks for Libor rigging
- Brooks, Coulson had affair, hacking trial told
- Barrick to shelve much-delayed Pascua-Lama, for now
- Britain may tax foreign home owners amid price surge
- Troika pushes Greece to close €2bn budget hole
- Toronto mayor apparently smoking crack on video, police say
- Central banks make crisis-era cash swaps permanent
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
Soul Patts seeks extension on shareholder meeting
Washington H Soul Pattinson is seeking court approval to postpone a shareholder meeting to ensure it can compile its own expert’s report on the $2bn break-up proposal from Mark Carnegie and Perpetual Investments.
- Online bookies cry hypocrisy over Tabcorp comments
- ADM’s GrainCorp takeover extended a second time
- Mystery deepens at DJs after sales beat forecasts
- Evans & Partners posts 63pc profit rise
- Macquarie reports big profit, hands out airport shares
- Dairy positions for ‘major consolidation’: Warrnambool
- Qantas domestic capacity falls as Jetstar grows
- Shareholders pour $624m into Rinehart’s Roy Hill
- Paladin shareholders told to reject $88m placement
Macquarie on the road to recovery
Macquarie has confirmed expectations it is positioning itself for a turnaround in equity and investment markets with a strong half-year result and a surprise distribution of Sydney Airport securities.
Technology
M2 delays redundancy plans for 100 jobs
M2 Telecommunications had delayed plans to lay off 100 people after agreeing to union demands for further consultation on the redundancies.
- Interactive | A go-slow on the high-speed NBN rollout
- Tech giants Google, Samsung, Huawei sued over Nortel patents
- Sony slashes profit outlook in contract to rival Japanese electronics makers
- Coalition NBN rollout grinds to a halt
- Oracle shareholders vote down Larry Ellison’s pay
- Push for greater transparency in Trans-Pacific trade
- NextDC incurs first strike over exec pay
- Google launches 'KitKat' Android software
- US eases restrictions on in-flight use of devices
Google launches new Nexus 5 smartphone
Google has unveiled its new Nexus 5 smartphone as the internet search giant steps up competition with Apple's iPhone, especially in emerging markets.
Markets
ASX down with weak US, London leads
Updated | The ASX fell on Friday led down by gold and mining stocks as investors followed weak leads from markets in the US and London, despite strong performances over October.
- $A up on China PMI after US Fed tone prompts slide
- Still value in industrials on FY15, FY16 view: DB
- Wall St ends lower as Fed uncertainty weighs
- Fannie Mae seeks $800m from banks for Libor rigging
- Central banks in denial about asset bubble
- Euro assets in, US government bonds out: poll
- Why the IPO market is running hot
- Shell caps European share gains as results disappoint
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 on financial markets.
Personal finance
No bubble worries at this end of the market
Melbourne Cup fever hits the nation this weekend but rather than having a head full of horses, I find I can’t keep my mind off houses.
- Shares open doors for property hounds
- Diversify and conquer the keys to business survival
- Why the apartment market is booming
- Low interest rates spur record unit approvals
- Investors stand by bank dividends after APRA order
- NAB accuses rivals of loan standards slips
- Central banks in denial about asset bubble
- APRA tells banks to restrict dividends
Property through the eyes of bond geeks
Says one bond investor – if you rent a house, you’re short the housing market, if you own the house you live in you’re neutral and if you own an investment property, you are long all the way.
Lifestyle
Charm offensive in the Cook Islands
Soak up hospitality as warm as the sunshine in the untrammelled Cook Islands, where newlyweds tie the knot on golden sands and families are freed from the trappings of modern holidays.
Elusive prize awaits PNG’s intrepid travellers
Finding rare birds in the wilds of Papua New Guinea is not for the faint-hearted and it takes local knowledge and skill to attract the shy, emblematic bird of paradise.
Delhi: City of living history
Legions of writers have long flocked to New Delhi. Sophisticated Traveller goes in search of what makes this city so fascinating and discovers a wealth of stories worth telling.
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.
