Australian shares extend rally
In a day of quiet trade, Australian shares have extended last week’s late rally, riding the wave of confidence spurred by the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut stimulus.
Sydney auction fever yet to fade
Sydney buyers were still clamouring for property at the last auction of the year just two days out from Christmas, with more than 60 people turning up for the sale of a Balmoral Beach townhouse.
Is the US recovery for real?
Analysts, economists and investors are wondering if the US economic recovery is just an illusion built on a flood of cheap money and no fundamental drivers.
SPC Ardmona blasts Productivity Commission inquiry
Embattled manufacturer SPC Ardmona has blasted the Productivity Commission for an inquiry into processed fruit products that the company claims was flawed from the start.
AMP unveils $660m Circular Quay revamp
A major slab of Sydney’s Circular Quay precinct will be transformed by AMP Capital in a $660 million redevelopment of its iconic harbour front skyscrapers.
Retail Adventures creditors in court win v Cameron
Creditors of failed group Retail Adventures, which ran discount chain Chickenfeed, have scored a legal win in their battle against the company’s owner, Jan Cameron, the founder of Kathmandu.
Aid agencies call for details of federal funding cuts
Aid agencies say they will be forced to resort to asking the Australian public for additional donations unless the government puts an end to prolonged uncertainty over their funding.
Local buyers boost Barossa Valley land prices
A pick-up in demand for vineyards in Australia’s premier wine growing region, the Barossa Valley in South Australia, has seen land values rise 7.7 per cent in a year, according to a new report by Knight Frank.
Health insurers raise premiums as costs jump
Private health insurance premiums are set to rise by an average 6.2 per cent in 2014, costing hundreds of dollars more for the average Australian family already feeling the pinch of rising health care expenses.
Retailers feel the Christmas cheer
Retailers have been buoyed by high levels of foot traffic and the solid take-up of new service offerings, but opinions are mixed on whether results from the 2013 holiday season will be brighter than last year.
Tempers flare in sardine class
Flying economy class is increasingly a bruising business. Don’t try to recline your seat too much, you probably won’t be able to anyway as airlines cut the maximum recline and try to squeeze in extra rows of seats to boost their revenue.
Big Apples arriving next year
Apple will release a big iPhone in May 2014 and a big iPad in October, according to a report.
The cost of being a ‘faithless servant’
The notion of hitting someone where it really hurts in the wallet is being taken a step further these days when it comes to violations of securities laws.
UK pardons gay 'father of computing'
Britain has granted a pardon to Alan Turing, the World War II code-breaking hero who committed suicide after he was convicted of homosexuality.
Trevor O’Hoy: why I made bland beer
Former Foster’s boss Trevor O’Hoy, now on board with craft brewer Stone & Wood, says big beer players are all about bland – a strategy he once embraced.
Twitter's Jack Dorsey joins Disney board
US entertainment giant Walt Disney Company has announced that it tapped Twitter co-founder and chairman Jack Dorsey to join its board of directors.
Ho ho-hum
There’s an elementary error of thinking that because it is Christmas, people find unfunny things funny. Only they don’t: embarrassing remains embarrassing 365 days a year.
Australia slips in happiness stakes
People who live in South Australia and the Northern Territory are happier than the rest of the country – but happiness overall is on the slide.
No room at the inn for the nativity
Santa Claus and a plethora of symbols of the festive season are up in lights everywhere – but isn’t there room for the original birthday boy, Jesus Christ?
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.
How Buffett approaches derivatives
New light has been shed 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.
National
Aid agencies call for details of federal funding cuts
Aid agencies say they will be forced to resort to asking the Australian public for additional donations unless the government puts an end to prolonged uncertainty over their funding.
- ASIC drops proceedings against AWB pair
- Olympic Dam no SA panacea: business leaders
- Health insurers raise premiums as costs jump
- Turnbull starts earmarking broadband priority areas
- Holden suffers social media backlash over new ad
- Australians curb travel plans
- Car makers to win from FBT change
- SA business leaders plot jobs to replace lost Holden work
- No holiday cheer for motorists at the bowser
Lunch with the AFR | Kathryn Greiner
Barbara Bush talked too much; as minister Christopher Pyne got education wrong. This Liberal blueblood, no stranger to the power structure, is refreshingly candid with her comments.
Opinion
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.
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.
Danger of worshipping false iDols
In merging ourselves with so much modern technology, are we in danger of losing some of our humanity? .In the church of the iPhone there is very little room left for real life
World
North Korea’s Kim killed uncle over business deals
The uncle of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, executed earlier this month, apparently hadn’t plotted a coup but had fallen victim to intrigue within the country’s elite over lucrative business deals, South Korean lawmakers said.
- Confident US consumers brighten outlook
- UK pardons gay 'father of computing'
- Gamers may need North Pole miracle
- Fed proposes scaled back emergency lending powers
- Cashing in on rooms by the hour
- Universal delays Fast & Furious 7 until 2015
- Pussy Riot women vow to fight on
- South Sudan rebel leader ready for peace talks
- JD.com to top sales target as Chinese flock to internet
Tempers flare in sardine class
Flying economy class is increasingly a bruising business. Don’t try to recline your seat too much, you probably won’t be able to anyway as airlines cut the maximum recline and try to squeeze in extra rows of seats to boost their revenue.
Business
Retail Adventures creditors in court win v Cameron
Creditors of failed group Retail Adventures, which ran discount chain Chickenfeed, have scored a legal win in their battle against the company’s owner, Jan Cameron, the founder of Kathmandu.
- SPC Ardmona blasts Productivity Commission inquiry
- Centuria secures Nordic investment in unlisted fund
- APRA boosts buffer for big four banks
- Transurban close to completing Tunnel deal
- Saputo increases Warrnambool stake to 17.92pc
- Health insurers raise premiums as costs jump
- QBE confirms $US500m debt issue
- Newcrest targeted by shareholders in class action
- SA business leaders plot jobs to replace lost Holden work
Retailers feel the Christmas cheer
Retailers have been buoyed by high levels of foot traffic and the solid take-up of new service offerings, but opinions are mixed on whether results from the 2013 holiday season will be brighter than last year.
Technology
Toyland takes on a digital bent
A US survey of 1000 parents with children between two and 10 found that more than half planned to buy a tech item for their children this Christmas.
- Inside a Bitcoin mine
- Twitter's Jack Dorsey joins Disney board
- 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
Turnbull starts earmarking broadband priority areas
The federal government has begun the process of earmarking areas that will be given priority for receiving national broadband services, but details of the locations won’t be released until next year.
Markets
Australian shares extend rally
In a day of quiet trade, Australian shares have extended last week’s late rally, riding the wave of confidence spurred by the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut stimulus.
- $A lower with trade limited ahead of holiday
- Dow, S&P; 500 set all-time highs, buoyed by Apple
- UBS stung by Australian rate rigging
- Block trades hit five-year high
- Italian, Spanish bond yields rise on selling chatter
- Confident US consumers brighten outlook
- Zinc hits highest in nearly 10 months, copper steadies
- US hedge funds set sights on Europe
End of year IPOs fail to impress
The end of year initial public offerings failed to impress on their first day of trading.
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.
