What next for the big four?
It was a record year for the big four banks in 2013 as they posted combined profits of more than $27 billion, triggering strong share price gains and higher dividends for shareholders. As the new year approaches, here is a snapshot of what to expect from each of the big four banks in 2014.
ADM agrees to pay $US54m in bribery fines
Updated | The American food processing giant Archer Daniels Midland, which had its proposed takeover of GrainCorp rejected, has been charged by the US corporate regulator for bribing Ukrainian officials.
Santa Claus rally awaited as Feb taper nears
Before the Bell | While the forecast is for light trading in a short week, optimism remains high and shares may push higher in the coming days ■ Local markets closed Wednesday, Thursday.
Singapore the hot airline route
Almost a year after Qantas Airways moved its European hub to Dubai, Singapore is shaping up as the most competitive international route from major Australian cities in 2014.
Apple seals iPhone deal with China Mobile
Apple Inc has announced a multiyear deal with China Mobile to bring its iPhone product lines to China, starting January 17, 2014, although it is yet to announce the terms of the deal.
Car makers to win from FBT change
Salary packaging companies that laid off staff in July, after the former Rudd government announced it would cut fringe benefit tax concessions for salary-sacrificed vehicles, say they have started hiring again.
No holiday cheer for motorists at the bowser
Motorists can expect petrol prices to remain well above $1.50 a litre over the Christmas and New Year holiday period as the weaker currency pushes up the cost of imported fuel.
Stocks to watch as Holden quits manufacturing
These five ASX listed companies operate in various stages of the automative component to consumer assembly line, highlighting the different risks and potential upside under current market conditions.
Hungry law firms eye Asia
Global and regional law firms with bases in Australia are in the grips of fierce competition to win market share in the Asia-Pacific, as they jostle for work in one of the world’s most promising legal services markets.
New pollies leapfrog PM in wealth stakes
The Coalition’s new MPs have brought entrepreneurial nous and money to the ranks of the party, surpassing the assets of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a review of pecuniary interest declarations reveals.
Private equity hangs out for price falls
How to do deals in what looks like a seller’s market? With nearly $US800 billion to invest, of which $US140 billion is expiring next year, private equity managers are scratching their heads.
Google blesses Cyanogen. Android hacks for all.
First Google tried to ban it, now it’s embracing it: Cyanogen, the band of merry hackers who breathe new life into old Android phones, has received Google’s blessing and will be releasing its own phone.
Five networking tips for introverts
At Christmas events, everyone slaps on a smile and wanders round the room laughing and shaking hands. But inside, many of us are terrified of becoming a third wheel, or worse.
What’s different about how Buffett approaches derivatives
Pablo Triana, professor at ESADE business school, has shed some new light on the way Warren Buffett has made money when it comes to his large but non mass-destructive portfolio of derivatives.
The Wolf of Wall Street, money and fame
The Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo Dicaprio reflects on what the story showed him about money, power and fame.
Chocolate prices on the rise
Analysts say the supply of chocolate cannot keep pace with people’s appetite, leading investors to flock to cocoa futures.
Saatchi campaigned against Nigella
As Nigella Lawson faces a possible drug investigation, there are reports Charles Saatchi approached newspapers to plant stories about her.
Perfection fresh from the oven
With only a few more sleeps to Christmas, there is no time to rest for Phillippa Grogan, whose business is well into peak season.
Never mind the handbag, buy the company
The company that everyone wants to get their hands on, of course, is Hermès, which is on the ritziest multiple of all at 32 times.
2013: the sharpest year ever in consumer electronics
The year 2013 may go down as the the year the pixel all but vanished from sight.
What Bill Gates gave for Secret Santa
Secret Santa’s synonymous with coffee cups, chocolate and stationery, but one Reddit user got much more than she bargained for.
Is this the end for Cuba’s classic cars?
Cuba will allow unrestricted car imports for the first time in half a century, marking the end of an era that made icons of the island's automobiles.
Tennis Australia eyes Asia league
Tennis Australia is investigating buying an Asian-based franchise in the planned lucrative International Premier Tennis League tournament.
Film | Kill Your Darlings; Anchorman 2
The Beat Generation are unsatisfyingly viewed through the life of Lucien Carr, king of hip, who is ultimately charged with murder.
National
Car makers to win from FBT change
Salary packaging companies that laid off staff in July, after the former Rudd government announced it would cut fringe benefit tax concessions for salary-sacrificed vehicles, say they have started hiring again.
- Pink batts inquiry gets under way
- No holiday cheer for motorists at the bowser
- Hungry law firms eye Asia
- New pollies leapfrog PM in wealth stakes
- Austrade calls for change to shipping laws
- Car industry must cut costs, inquiry finds
- Business to design direct action penalties
- Abbott ‘gutting’ financial planning laws: Bowen
Private schools outgunned in NSW HSC
Abbotsleigh on Sydney’s North Shore emerged as the top performing NSW private school in the 2013 HSC, leading selective academic heavyweight Sydney Grammar by share of students who scored 90 per cent of more in any HSC subject.
Opinion
Time to get lucky once more
Editorial | If Australia was the Lucky Country in 1964 when Donald Horne published his bittersweet book of that name, 50 years later we must be even more the world’s luckiest country. The question, in 1964 as today, is whether we deserve such good fortune.
Totes amazeballs, you can never fail
At ground-breaking Creative Coalition Jobs, they take a refreshing, dynamic and innovative approach to Job Placement Strategies.
There are 460,000 reasons to leave the NDIS alone
Disabled Australians are set for an uncertain Christmas as the National Disability Insurance Scheme ends the year with a cloud over its head.
World
IMF to raise US growth forecast
The International Monetary Fund predicts the US economy will expand at a faster pace next year, given positive economic data and some signs of compromise in Congress.
- Russia’s Khodorkovsky vows he won’t enter politics
- Big oil mum on Iran lobbying
- Spanish spirits raised by ‘Fat One’ lottery
- Syria ‘must answer’ for UK doctor’s death: Cameron
- Yellen takes big step toward taking reins at US Fed
- Politics big risk to emerging markets
- London ‘draining life’ out of UK
- US growth revised higher, economy on firmer footing
- Japan aims for economic boost with big budget
How Edward Snowden’s reshaped US spying
Experts say Edward Snowden’s disclosures will mark a turning point in US spying, much as revelations of CIA assassinations and NSA domestic spying led to creation of the congressional oversight committees and new laws in the 1970s.
Business
What next for the big four?
It was a record year for the big four banks in 2013 as they posted combined profits of more than $27 billion, triggering strong share price gains and higher dividends for shareholders.
- ADM agrees to pay $US54m in bribery fines
- SFG Australia’s Fenning takes leave of absence
- AustralianSuper buys half of UK mall for $494m
- Singapore the hot airline route
- Abbott austerity threat puts cloud over ad spend
- Mexico tipped to become strategic oil producer
- Car makers to win from FBT change
- Private equity hangs out for price falls
- Politics big risk to emerging markets
The Wolf of Wall Street, money and fame
Truth really is stranger than fiction could ever hope to be. The Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo Dicaprio reflects on what the story showed him about money, power and fame.
Technology
Inside a Bitcoin mine
By some calculations, all the machines dedicated to mining Bitcoin have a computing power about 4500 times the capacity of the US government’s mightiest supercomputer.
- App taps Gen Y donors
- PR exec Sacco loses job, cops abuse over tweet
- Target breach highlights how US lags in card security
- News Corp snares social news play Storyful for $US25m
- BlackBerry posts $4.4bn loss quarterly loss
- Schools still learning iPad lessons
- 2013: the sharpest year ever in consumer electronics
- Facebook puts $US3.85bn of stock up for offer
Markets
Santa Claus rally awaited as Feb taper nears
Before the Bell | While the forecast is for light trading in a short week, optimism remains high and shares may push higher in the coming days ■ Local markets closed Wednesday, Thursday.
- What next for the big four?
- Politics big risk to emerging markets
- Private equity hangs out for price falls
- Resources pessimism may offer opportunity
- Deutsche Bank reaches $US1.9bn mortgage settlement
- Goldman Sachs bans multidealer chatrooms: source
- How you can invest in foreign companies
- Fed's Rosengren urges patience on reducing stimulus
What’s different about how Buffett approaches derivatives
Pablo Triana, professor at ESADE business school, has shed some new light on the way Warren Buffett has made money when it comes to his large but non mass-destructive portfolio of derivatives.
Personal finance
What investors should expect in 2014
Global growth may be back on the agenda but Australia faces challenges that will require careful navigation, particularly now that the US central bank has decided to start winding down its bond-buying program next month.
- What’s different about how Buffett approaches derivatives
- Don’t bet on low rates lasting long
- How you can invest in foreign companies
- Marriage makes all the financial difference when separating
- US recovery bodes well for global REITs
- Miss Limousines founder is driven to make a difference
- Strange forces behind sharemarket fall
- Magellan vs Platinum: star funds at odds over global outlook
The great Chinese property takeaway
The Chinese have a seemingly endless appetite for Australian real estate and are prepared to pay big cash for homes and apartments.
Lifestyle
Summer food series 5 | Shane Delia
In this final instalment of our stunning series, Shane Delia of Maha restaurant in Melbourne creates a Middle Eastern feast
Animal spirits hold sway in a sparkling menagerie
From elephants and pandas to frogs and bees, luxury houses are reviving an ancient tradition in precious baubles.
Beachside glamour in Rio
Some say that a hotel in Rio is just a place for cleaning off the sand, but for those who prefer to do so with monogrammed towels, Trousseau toiletries and a marble soaking tub, the Palace fits the bill.
Cars: the very best of 2013
A few impressive machines for reasons of space and timing didn’t secure a full road test. This is the best of them.
Latest TV
Fed scales back bond-buying program
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defends decision to cut aggressive bond-buying program as economy continues making progress.
Euro zone moves towards banking union
Euro zone finance ministers make progress on some details of a plan to close banks, paving the way for completion of a euro zone 'banking union' that aims to restore confidence in the financial sector and boost growth.
Crazy penguins and entrepreneurs
Taking outlandish risks may not be smart investment strategy, but it's how some entrepreneurs thrive. Commentator Christopher Joye has been talking with gambling wunderkind David Walsh about the importance of the extreme.
Gonski to chair ANZ
David Gonski's director duties runneth over and, while he's a strong choice as ANZ chairman, Mike Smith says the appointment shows the shallowness of the talent pool in Australia.
