New NBN comes cheaper and sooner – but not simpler
Tony Boyd | The new $41.5 billion national broadband network promised by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be cheaper and rolled out faster, but will not be simpler.
Little decline seen for $A next year
As the Reserve Bank of Australia keeps up its hard line on the Australian dollar, experts reveal the currency is already at or on the cusp of fair value, dealing a blow to the case for a significant drop next year.
Unemployment rate rises despite jobs growth
Updated | Employment jumped in November by more than twice the amount forecast by economists, while the jobless rate edged higher, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday
Ex-Prime directors guilty of corporate breach: court
The Federal Court has ruled that former federal health minister Michael Wooldridge and other directors of the collapsed Prime Retirement and Aged Property Trust, had breached their corporate duties.
Abbott ‘deeply regrets’ Holden’s exit
Updated | Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he “deeply regrets” that the money the federal government put on the table to keep Holden in Australia past 2017 was not enough.
Air NZ, Singapore and Etihad to lift Virgin stakes
Updated | Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways will increase their stakes in Virgin Australia Holdings after only 25.3 per cent of retail shareholders took up their entitlements as part of a $350 million capital raising.
APN loss widens after error discovered
APN News and Media’s loss of $432 million last year was actually more than $50 million larger due to an error made in writing down the value of the company’s intangible assets.
Chevron lifts cost of Gorgon to $US54bn
US energy major Chevron has suffered another cost blowout at its huge Gorgon LNG plant in WA, the country’s biggest single resources project, making the expected budget 46 per cent higher than first anticipated.
ASX down as banks, miners decline
Updated | The sharemarket is lower with banks and miners falling after US stocks posted their largest drop in a month as investors remain wary ahead of a key meeting of the US Federal Reserve next week.
Facebook to join S&P 500
Social networking giant Facebook will join the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index of the United States’s most influential firms at the end of next week, ending months of speculation.
Hedge fund makes big bet on Manchester United
British soccer team Manchester United has made a poor showing on the field this season. Now a British hedge fund manager is making a multimillion-dollar bet that the club’s shares will go the same way.
Christmas gadget guide fit for her
From the Sony Xperia Tablet Z to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, there’s a gadget here to make her smile.
The legal tax haven right under your nose
Debra Cleveland | Looking for a legal tax haven? There’s no need to look offshore – how about one you can get in Australia.
Mark Bouris’s Anteo seeks to raise $7.5m
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Blood test biotech Anteo Diagnostics, chaired by Mark Bouris of Yellow Brick Road, is seeking to raise as much as $7.5 million. Bell Potter is managing the deal.
McKinsey drops off 50 Best Places to Work list
Last year, McKinsey & Company was voted one of the top five companies to work for – but this year it hasn’t even made the top fifty.
Want a new job? Avoid being ‘responsible’
If you’re looking for a new job, it’s a good idea to avoid saying you’re responsible, strategic or creative – the three most overused buzzwords of 2013.
Palmer details titanic pile of assets
Billionaire MP Clive Palmer has given a glimpse of his financial interests which include more than 100 companies, a golf course and vintage cars.
Prime the pipeline to the C-suite, tout de suite
Katie Lahey | Diversity expectations far broader than gender are heading towards workplaces whether they are ready for it or not.
Person of the year: Pope Francis beats Cyrus
Time magazine has named Pope Francis as Person of the Year, beating contenders such as pop singer Miley Cyrus and gay activist Edith Windsor.
Spirited bidding for Coles hotels
Supermarket giant Coles has sold a portfolio of Liquorland-leased hotels in Queensland. .
Tips to cut your work week to three days
Toby Webber’s average day starts with a surf, a relaxed breakfast and a look at his online orders.
Gillard spinner’s aggressive tactics revealed
Julia Gillard’s chief media adviser John McTernan swore at staff and encouraged colleagues to mobilise “twitter armies”, emails show.
You can invest like Warren Buffett
An empirical study has found that individuals can recreate the strategy and success of the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett.
Accountants brace for upheaval
A triple-whammy of change will hit the accounting profession in 2014, creating clients who need their accountants less.
National
Abbott ‘deeply regrets’ Holden’s exit
Updated | Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he “deeply regrets” that the money the federal government put on the table to keep Holden in Australia past 2017 was not enough.
- Unemployment rate rises despite jobs growth
- High Court strikes down gay marriage laws
- NSW blames ‘challenging’ economy for $656m rise in debt
- Palmer details titanic pile of assets
- Victoria takes on building unions with new ‘move-on’ laws
- Fallout may help SA Premier in March poll
- ACCC calls for submissions on GrainCorp terminal
- Keating crashes Vic Labor’s party
- Vodafone’s Bill Morrow to join NBN Co next year
The remarkable story of the float of the $A
A little like 2013, 1983 had been a very long, very dramatic year in federal politics, in the economy and in the financial markets.
Opinion
Less government largesse with super pensions
A change in the social security income test from 2015 will claw back some of the age pension generosity as it relates to super pensions. Here are the implications.
Mackenzie’s laser-like productivity focus tightens BHP operations
In setting the scene for a subtle but fundamental change in the way his US petroleum silo will do business, new BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie seems to have foisted unexpectedly high public ambition on management of his equally performance-critical Pilbara iron ore business.
Reduce minimum wages and let the people work
Thousands of Australians would love to have paid work. They include those just out of school, just out of jail, age and disability support pensioners, sole parents and refugees.
World
US poised for stronger growth in 2014: poll
US growth is set to accelerate in 2014, giving the Federal Reserve room to start dialling back its massive monetary stimulus, certainly by March, according to a Reuters poll.
- RBNZ signals it will raise rates in 2014
- Israel's Fischer said to be Fed vice chair pick
- Hilton raises over $US2.3bn in biggest-ever hotel IPO
- Pope Francis is Time person of the year
- RBS pays $US100m in US sanctions probe
- Canada Post ends home mail delivery, axing 8000 jobs
- Russia seeks trade talks with Washington
- Prosecutors drop charges against Pike River chief
- BayernLB to file new case against F1 boss Ecclestone
Asset managers could blow us all up
The most sobering lesson of the global financial crisis was that developments expected to increase resilience turned out to reduce it. Does a similar danger now threaten stability? Yes.
Business
Air NZ, Singapore and Etihad to lift Virgin stakes
Updated | Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways will increase their stakes in Virgin Australia Holdings after only 25.3 per cent of retail shareholders took up their entitlements as part of a $350 million capital raising.
- APN loss widens after error discovered
- Chevron lifts cost of Gorgon to $US54bn
- Rio seeks new investors for $US20bn Guinea project
- FlexiGroup acquires ThinkSmart businesses
- ACCC calls for submissions on GrainCorp terminal
- Yanzhou gets indefinite reprieve over Yancoal stake
- Rinehart more than doubles executive salaries: report
- Ease start-up rules: ASX
- Autohome shares jump 76pc in NYSE debut
Rex pushes play on French expansion strategy
Grasping at school boy French he learned as a young chap in England, Chris Rex will spend a fortnight in France in January, advocating ‘La Voie Ramsay’ to his newest employees.
Technology
CBA joins Westpac to launch smartphone tap and pay
Commonwealth Bank of Australia customers with Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, can now use it to make PayPass tap and go payments, in what the bank is branding as a world-first partnership with MasterCard, to popularise payments via near field communications chips in smartphones.
- Vodafone’s Bill Morrow to join NBN Co next year
- Australians more reliant on high-speed broadband
- Facebook to join S&P; 500
- Autohome shares jump 76pc in NYSE debut
- Westpac makes tap to pay with your smartphone a reality
- Yahoo Mail outage reaches second day
- First Australian equity crowdfunding platform to launch in February
- NAB’s tech overhaul to benefit new customers from late 2014
- Microsoft says Xbox One global sales top 2 million units
Christmas gadget guide fit for her
From the Sony Xperia Tablet Z to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, there’s a gadget here to make her smile.
Markets
ASX down as banks, miners decline
Updated | The sharemarket is lower with banks and miners falling after US stocks posted their largest drop in a month as investors remain wary ahead of a key meeting of the US Federal Reserve next week.
- Little decline for $A next year despite RBA wishes, strategists say
- Unemployment rate rises despite jobs growth
- Facebook to join S&P; 500
- $A hits five-year low against the Kiwi currency
- US poised for stronger growth in 2014: poll
- RBS pays $US100m in US sanctions probe
- Wall St falls as Fed angst triggers profit taking
- European shares edge lower on Fed concerns
- UBS joins Grocon in $10bn property platform
Floats dominate banking pipeline heading into 2014
Australia’s bulging initial public offering pipeline looks set to expand further in the first half of next year despite this week’s string of disappointing debuts.
Personal finance
Magellan vs Platinum: star funds at odds
Two of Australia’s best performing and most respected international fund managers are taking wildly different bets on the global outlook.
- Exchange-traded funds offer a broader, cheaper choice
- Beware a season of floats ending in regrets
- A little vision goes a long way for Darwin optometrist
- Extended low rates boost market appeal
- Landscaper’s resourceful approach a blooming success
- GFC no handicap for growth in billionaires
- Heads or tails bet on bitcoin
- Festive pressure doubles the heat in housing market
Why 2014 will be different for investors
Australian investors are sitting pretty as the year draws to a close thanks to stellar returns from residential property and shares.
Lifestyle
The best gadget gifts this Christmas
Take a look at the latest gadgets sure to bring joy to the technology-obsessed this Christmas.
Home is where the designer collaboration is
Fans of art and fashion are loving the trend by big labels to expand into home decor and kitchenware.
The perfect gift for the wine lover in your life
Finding something special for the wine connoisseur in your life just got a little easier.
Gifts for him
Travel | For maximum wow factor and bragging rights, you can’t go wrong with one of these experiences.
Latest TV
Yancoal mixes foreign investment message
Joe Hockey's relaxing the foreign investment rules for Chinese target Yancoal. Columnist Mike Smith says foreign investors are getting mixed messages after the Treasurer's earlier rejection of ADM's GrainCorp bid.
Billabong looks to the future
New CEO Neil Fiske has great faith in his company's brand power, but Chanticleer columnist Mike Smith reckons generation Y may not share his passion.
Volcker could impact mortgage rates
Bank traders have traditionally helped keep bond markets liquid. The Volcker Rule's implementation, however, may restrict the market. Reporter Jonathan Shapiro says that could affect mortgage rates.
Will Japan remain the land of the rising stocks?
Japan's benchmark Nikkei has bolted forward this year, gaining nearly 50 percent. But the rally may not be sustained as the government runs out of reform firepower.
