Household wealth hits new record
A combination of rising house prices, surging equity markets and an entrenched savings culture pushed average Australian household wealth to a record $872,000 in 2013, according to Outlook Economics.
Mixed sharemarket signals for year ahead
A lower Australian dollar and an uptick in credit growth are just two factors that could pave the way for improved returns from the sharemarket in 2014.
Small business gets behind online GST push
The peak small business lobby has urged the Abbott government to reverse the abolition of tax breaks - Labor’s asset write-offs and tax loss benefit - worth more than $700 million a year.
Federal spending falls 6 per cent: Finance
The federal government pulled back its procurement commitments last financial year by $2.54 billion, signing up to $39.257 billion worth of new contracts in 2012-13 down from $41.797 billion in 2011-12.
Olive oil wars heat up
Olive oil importers are at war with local growers over a $300,000 “buy Aussie” campaign which claims the domestic product is fresher and healthier.
Valence Industries to kick-off 2014 IPO market
On Monday a $6.7 million float from Valence Industries, formerly Strategic Graphite, priced at 20¢ per share will kick off the initial public offer market for 2014.
NSW govt extends $7000 relocation grant to renters
In an effort to boost regional town economies, the NSW state government has extended the $7000 Regional Relocation Grant to renters.
Offshore buyers push commercial sales to record
It was a record year for commercial property transactions in 2013 with $24 billion worth of offices, shopping malls and industrial property changing hands, according to CBRE Group.
Australian shares fall on weak global equities
Australian shares dropped 0.3 per cent in thin trading on Friday after major global equity markets started 2014 lower following the release of disappointing Chinese factory activity data.
Murdoch’s China retreat a rare defeat
Chanticleer | Rupert Murdoch’s decision to pull the plug in China has been a long time coming. It also symbolises a rare defeat for the global media mogul who rarely gives up without a fight.
Today new HQs ... tomorrow, the world
The giants of the digital world – Apple, Amazon, Google – are building new headquarters as lavish as palaces. But for workers, the new culture cuts both ways.
Secretary a stepping-stone to senior roles for women
The company secretary role is fast becoming a stepping-stone for talented women to get into top leadership roles within a company.
Staring into book readers’ minds to learn what they crave
Before the internet, books were published but no one had a clue what readers did when they opened them up. Did they skip or skim? Now a wave of start-ups is using technology to help writers give readers more of what they want.
Would you let tech run your stock portfolio?
Computerised trading has already taken over Wall Street. But are investors ready to hand their portfolios over to machines, too?
Peas & Queues helps avoid the gaffe
There’s no better time to brush up on our manners than when faced with the social intricacies of the holiday season, as Peas & Queues, reveals.
2014: time for wearable hi-tech cool
At this year’s biggest gadget show, the Consumer Electronic Show starting in Las Vegas, a new zone has been set up for what’s expected to be the show’s hottest topic: wearable computers.
Follow the French and forget facelifts
Author and lifestyle coach Mireille Guiliano explains why French women don’t go in for cosmetic surgery as they age.
Film | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Smaug the dragon fires up the new Hobbit escapade and a glamorous elf adds sex appeal; in August: Osage County, Meryl Streep plays a dragonly matriarch.
Classic style at the Rose Street Trading Company
It’s a Saturday lunchtime on Melbourne’s busy Hawthorn shopping strip and over the holidays the Rose Street Trading Company store is a popular destination.
What’s ahead for the world in 2014
Experts have consulted their crystal balls to shed light on the biggest questions of 2014.
Rocky Mountain High as Denver sells marijuana legally
Updated | US customers began lining up before dawn in Denver on Wednesday to take part in what they called a historic departure from drug laws focused on punishment and prohibition. Many had flown in to buy a bag of marijuana.
High price for ultra-high-definition TV
Samsung has priced its new 110-inch ultra-high-definition television at $US152,000.
Opportunity glimmers through China’s toxic smog
As China’s smog levels crept past record highs in early December, the phone lines at pollution-busting kit maker Broad Group lit up.
National
Household wealth hits new record
A combination of rising house prices, surging equity markets and an entrenched savings culture pushed average Australian household wealth to a record $872,000 in 2013, according to Outlook Economics.
- Small business gets behind online GST push
- Federal spending falls 6 per cent: Finance
- Olive oil wars heat up
- Offshore buyers push commercial sales to record
- We may recoup costs from Greenpeace: Bishop
- 2013 Australia’s hottest year on record
- Workplace change should top reform agenda: business leaders
- Super funds reap best returns in 13 years
- Buswell vows to block GST changes to online purchases
NSW govt extends $7000 relocation grant to renters
In an effort to boost regional town economies, the NSW state government has extended the $7000 Regional Relocation Grant to renters.
Opinion
An education in schools of thought
There’s nothing simple about the decision to send your child to a public school or private. And religious beliefs are the least of it.
How Mornington’s appeal lost me my idyll
I hate it when a plan doesn’t come together. It seems to be the story of my life down on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, where I have sought to find a holiday idyll for the family.
The year ahead for Australia’s economy
Fragile recovery expected in the US and Europe this year, but questions remain over China’s ability to reform. Meanwhile, Australians should look to get their own house in order – politically and economically – over the next 12 months.
World
China to centralise military command
China's increasingly sophisticated military will establish a joint operational command structure for its forces to improve coordination between different parts of the country's defence system, the official China Daily says.
- Fed as committed as ever to easy money: Bernanke
- December US auto sales miss expectations
- Ariel Sharon’s ‘vital organs failing’
- Growth slows in China’s services sector
- Deutsche Bank settles US mortgage lawsuit
- Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox sells out of China
- Former VP candidate Lieberman joins private equity firm
- India opens doors to foreign investors
Fiat’s Marchionne has a challenge to boost performance
Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne has won complete ownership of Chrysler and will now begin trying to realise his long-held dream –that of building a world-class auto maker.
Business
Valence Industries to kick-off 2014 IPO market
On Monday a $6.7 million float from Valence Industries, formerly Strategic Graphite, priced at 20¢ per share will kick off the initial public offer market for 2014.
- BlackRock emerges as buyer of Forge Group stock
- Marais to push for long-term overhaul of executive pay
- Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox sells out of China
- Aurora Oil reins in spending on shale wells
- Fortescue resumes mine operations after death
- O’Keeffe in Canadian iron ore merger
- Ansell completes BarrierSafe Solutions acquisition
- DJs capitalises on Myer’s website fail
- Woodside, MIMI scrap Browse LNG sales contract
Secretary a stepping-stone to senior roles for women
The company secretary role is fast becoming a stepping-stone for talented women to get into top leadership roles within a company.
Technology
Would you let tech run your stock portfolio?
Computerised trading has already taken over Wall Street. But are investors ready to hand their portfolios over to machines, too?
- Staring into book readers’ minds to learn what they crave
- 2014: time for hot and wearable hi-tech cool
- Snapchat hacked days after security group’s warning
- 2014: the year of the smartwatch
- Computers learning from own mistakes
- High price for ultra-high-definition TV
- Apple denies ‘back door’ NSA access
- NSA will keep breaking encryption, White House panel says
Bitcoin is a high-tech dinosaur soon to be extinct
For all the regulatory crackdowns on Bitcoin in recent weeks, the cryptocurrency's advocates remain unfailingly optimistic.
Markets
Wall Street closes flat after Fed comments
Updated | US stocks ended a volatile session mostly flat as investors digested comments from Fed officials that raised questions about how quickly the central bank will end its stimulus program.
- Fed as committed as ever to easy money: Bernanke
- Valence Industries to kick-off 2014 IPO market
- European shares bounce; Telecom Italia jumps
- Yen rises from five-year low v $US as investors shun risk
- Lower-rated euro zone debt rallies on improving data
- Copper eases from seven-month high as surplus looms
- Australian shares fall on weak global equities
- $A lower, but recovering ground
- The year US stocks surprised, soaring 30pc
Mixed sharemarket signals for year ahead
A lower Australian dollar and an uptick in credit growth are just two factors that could pave the way for improved returns from the sharemarket in 2014.
Personal finance
Household wealth hits new record
A combination of rising house prices, surging equity markets and an entrenched savings culture pushed average Australian household wealth to a record $872,000 in 2013, according to Outlook Economics.
- Mixed sharemarket signals for year ahead
- Super funds reap best returns in 13 years
- Change the way you think about investing
- Floats 2013: The ones that got away
- Prominent bears concede to the bulls
- Jazz artist sings to her own tune
- Gutsy decisions are the ones that count
- What investors should expect in 2014
Classic style at the Rose Street Trading Company
It’s a Saturday lunchtime on Melbourne’s busy Hawthorn shopping strip and over the holidays the Rose Street Trading Company store is a popular destination.
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 a Rio hotel is just for cleaning off the sand. For those who prefer to do so with a marble soaking tub, there’s the Palace.
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
Property outlook
Australian Property Monitors' Dr Andrew Wilson and Belle Property's Matthew Smythe look at what 2014 will bring for the property sector.
Ageing Australia
It is not just about the numbers, though they are large: Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released late in 2013 estimate the population will more than double to 48.3 million by 2061.
Hot housing market
In Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, dwellings are now 14.5 per cent and 8.5 per cent more expensive, respectively, than they were in December 2012.
Where is the housing market heading?
The housing market is under close scrutiny as Columnists David Bassanese and Christopher Joye look at what the coming year will bring for the sector.
