How farmers felled ADM’s GrainCorp bid
Just before 8am on Friday morning, wheat and barley farmer Dan Cooper was in a taxi in Sydney when he got a text message telling him Treasurer Joe Hockey was about to give a press conference.
Li Xiang: a man making accidental billions
Li Xiang was a high school drop-out who developed a reputation for eating instant noodles without adding hot water. Now he’s now the pin up boy for China’s new class of internet entrepreneurs and the toast of Telstra’s boardroom.
Qantas weighs capital raising
Qantas Airways could be forced to raise cash through a share sale, selling assets or deferring aircraft deliveries to shore up its credit rating if the federal government doesn’t provide assistance.
Clean Energy profits up in smoke
The Abbott government’s plan to get rid of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation makes little sense to business people who have observed its commercial success.
Diamonds an investor’s best friend in Kimberley run
Diamond stocks are finally attracting serious attention, judging by the recent performance of Kimberley Diamonds.
Gove crippled by Rio plant closure
Australia’s struggling manufacturing sector has taken another hit with Rio Tinto deciding to mothball alumina production at its loss-making Gove site in Arnhem Land with the expected loss of about 1000 jobs.
Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways plan big expansion drive
There is little doubting the ambitions of the giant Middle Eastern airlines, but recent large plane orders demonstrate just how aggressively these carriers plan to compete in coming years.
NBN expected to push for more copper lines
More homes and businesses would remain connected to Telstra’s copper network as part of the Coalition’s national broadband network than previously envisaged, under an NBN Co recommendation.
Symond’s aria for Opera House
John Symond knows within the upper echelons of the arts and business community there is some unease about his appointment as chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust.
Abenomics sows seeds of recovery
Households in Japan face the prospect of inflation for the first time in almost a generation, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tries to reflate the world’s third-largest economy.
Festive pressure ups home market heat
A pre-Christmas auction glut has prompted calls for caution in the property market as buyers and sellers look to settle quickly.
Sink or swim in the flood of floats
With a number of companies set to list on the ASX, including Affinity, Nine Entertainment and Dick Smith, investors need to pick their punts with care.
Why Australia needs to get real on population growth
It is potentially the biggest economic and social challenge we face. Yet it hardly registers in the popular debates.
Saatchi’s annual ‘Team Nigella’ bill: $2.1 million
Charles Saatchi paid annual credit card bills of £1.2 million run up by his ex-wife Nigella Lawson and five aides, a court was told on Friday.
We need the ghost in the machine
Computers to fly our planes, find our cancers, audit our businesses. But removing the human factor completely is dangerous.
Six delicious hotel restaurants
A place to lay your head isn’t front of mind for guests at these hotels.
Geeksphone promises Firefox OS Revolution
Geeksphone, the little phone maker that could, has teased the world with the most powerful smartphone ever to run the emerging Firefox OS.
Harold Mitchell’s gone farming
The former head of media buying group Aegis is not exactly the retiring type.
China raises the red hammer
The lure of breaking into an art and antiques market worth $15 billion has lured Christie’s and Sotheby’s to China.
Gina Rinehart chairperson of the year: report
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has been named chairperson of the year by CEO Magazine which lauded her stewardship of Hancock Prospecting.
Fairfax dominates Walkley Awards
Fairfax Media has dominated this year’s Walkley Awards, with the book award going to The Australian Financial Review’s Pamela Williams.
Scott on course to triple the golf glory
Adam Scott is drawing crowd numbers rarely seen since the heyday of Greg Norman.
SingTel-Optus talks down Telstra in ad campaign
SingTel-Optus has launched a TV campaign targeting Telstra’s mobile phone plans as part of an aggressive strategy to promote its brand as being “fairer”.
National
Pyne has reignited education ‘war’: NSW
Tension between states and the federal government has stepped up a notch after Education Minister Christopher Pyne was accused of retreating further from election promises on school funding.
- Abbott backs Hockey as GrainCorp shares plummet
- Virgin asks for same support as Qantas
- Victoria splits with Abbott on cars
- Lazard appointed adviser for Medibank sale
- Asylum seeker arrivals slow to trickle
- Baird sees early power sale call
- Jakarta hints at delay in restoring diplomatic ties
- The Spectator slams ABC attacks
What is going on with the Abbott government?
Geoff Kitney | A dramatic re-positioning of Australia’s relationship to the rest of the world is under way. A new ideology is being applied by Tony Abbott and those with most influence on his thinking. And it is now clear that Joe Hockey is not one of those people.
Opinion
Abbott must focus on budget, not polls
It will be a pity if the recent unfavourable opinion polls unnerve Tony Abbott’s government. Instead, the polls should reinforce the need to improve economic growth as well as fix the budget.
The political economy of getting the cities right
Cities matter for competition and productivity. They also can make an important contribution to the efficiency of the labour market and the effectiveness of monetary policy.
Japan, China and South Korea shake hands as spat over Senkaku continues
As fighter jets were scrambled and aircraft carriers dispatched, trade negotiators from Japan, China and South Korea were shaking hands.
World
S&P strips the Netherlands of its AAA rating
Standard & Poor's agency cut the Netherlands' credit rating on Friday, reducing the euro zone club of full triple-A nations to just three, while rewarding Spain for efforts to reform its public finances.
- Bonuses propel London bankers to top of pay heap
- South Korea moves closer to joining TPP trade talks
- Tensions rise over disputed islands as China sends jet fighters
- UK may follow Australia’s lead on plain packaging
- Canada's economy gathers speed, no rate move expected
- Abenomics sows seeds of recovery
- Saatchi’s annual ‘Team Nigella’ bill: $2.1 million
- Emirates spearheads rise of Middle Eastern airlines
Obama in the eye of the storm
The US President would do well to take a leaf out of his Republican predecessor’s book if he wants to rally his public reputation.
Business
Freefall Friday as Hockey blocks ADM takeover of GrainCorp
Treasurer Joe Hockey has put political risk back on the map for the business and investor community with his shock decision to block Archer Daniels Midland’s $3 billion takeover of GrainCorp.
- Timor-Leste still sceptical of Woodside’s Sunrise project
- Oroton expects ‘improvement’ in 2014 earnings
- Edwards takes Lazard investment banking reins
- Diamonds an investor’s best friend in Kimberley run
- Perpetual and Trust walk down the aisle
- Primary keeps guidance despite fall in dental revenue
- Fonterra lifts Bega stake to 9.06pc
- Kyle and Jackie O sign with Mix 106.5 FM
- Credit Suisse upgrades Rio earnings forecast
Forge’s fate casts spotlight on Perth business links
Much chatter in the WA capital surrounds the extraordinary chain of events which led to Forge’s spectacular fall from grace.
Technology
Deadline doubts for Coalition NBN
The Abbott government’s national broadband network is unlikely to be completed on time and could prove inadequate for many business, according to an NBN Co analysis written for the Coalition.
- SingTel-Optus talks down Telstra in ad campaign
- Google breaking Dutch data law
- Cashed up Townsville start-up SafetyCulture to fly in developers
- UK man searches landfill for $8.2m Bitcoin stash
- ANZ talks up voice recognition technology
- Amazon, eBay the new tax collectors
- Samsung is world's biggest advertiser spending $US4.3b on ads
- Online GST to be decided by March
- Poor processes leave Victorian government exposed to cyber attacks
Geeksphone promises Firefox OS Revolution
Geeksphone, the little phone maker that could, has teased the world with the most powerful smartphone ever to run the emerging Firefox OS.
Markets
Wall St ends flat in shortened-holiday session
Updated | The Dow and the S&P 500 ended mostly flat in thin holiday trading on Friday, but technology stocks helped lift the Nasdaq to a 13-year high.
- $A in for wild ride as China loosens grip on yuan
- S&P; strips the Netherlands of its AAA rating
- Gold sheds more than 5pc on month on Fed concerns
- Copper rises as stocks erode, but down on month
- Qantas weighs capital raising
- Diamonds an investor’s best friend in Kimberley run
- ASX closes down for the week
- Abenomics sows seeds of recovery
The year of the bonds bonanza
With just a few weeks to run, 2013 is shaping up to be a monumental one for the local corporate bond market as a global hunt for yield exploded the market into life.
Personal finance
A little vision goes a long way for Darwin optometrist
After 15 years of building her optometry practice in the Northern Territory, Helen Summers now finds herself at the leading edge of innovation.
- Festive pressure doubles the heat in housing market
- Cheer our real heroes, says this legal rock star
- Why the dollar may force the RBA’s hand
- Big four banks becoming risky, expensive: Aberdeen
- Newcrest capital raise issue flares up again
- Bleak warning on resources ventures as downturn bites
- Tough day as Bis pulls $1bn float, Forge saved
- Online GST to be decided by March
Buy a business to retire on
Against the backdrop of a public debate that includes suggestions Australia’s retirement age be increased to 70, a reader has asked about a DIY super investment idea that could certainly fit with an era where older Australians are more active in their retirement.
Lifestyle
Nissan’s gutsy Black Edition is hottest off the blocks
Forget Porsche: hovering way above the regular Nissan range is a stunningly powerful race car for the street, known as the GT-R.
Catalonian tours for ‘very important foodies’
An inventive tour company reveals the secret histories of a Spanish region’s cuisine, and gives VIFs – “very important foodies” – a peek behind the scenes.
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Rooftop attractions for apartment dwellers
Property | Penthouses are giving way to pools and cinemas as developers see value in providing communal facilities instead.
Architects explore new territory – on home ground
Innovative designers love any opportunity to develop new angles and futuristic twists on the traditional box shaped house.
Latest TV
Hockey pushes Qantas debate
Treasurer Joe Hockey says Australian taxpayers face a choice: either be prepared to put money into its struggling national carrier Qantas, or the airline will need to be sold.
RBA's Lowe pushes infrastructure, cool on dollar
The Reserve Bank deputy governor says it's time to shake the stigma of infrastructure debt. Phillip Lowe also told an international productivity conference that rising US business investment would temper the Aussie dollar.
ANZ: Dollar to be lower in 2014
Recent RBA comments have pushed down the $A and ANZ economist Andrew McManus says the $A will drift further in the new year to the mid- to high US80¢ range.
Super fund cost blowout
Instead of buying an administration system off the shelf, the biggest industry superannuation funds tried to build one themselves. Columnist Tony Boyd says that was a costly disaster, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.
