US banks, big oil and Korean cars top global picks
Australia’s top international stock pickers are turning to US banks, big oil, health-care, and UK realtors amid concerns about valuations of the local banks and insurance firm QBE.
Taper risks seen for emerging markets
Experts predict that the advent of the Federal Reserve’s taper will see some emerging markets economies under pressure from higher interest rates this year.
Boost Juice in exclusive talks with Affinity Equity: sources
Retail Zoo – the company that owns the Boost Juice health drink franchise – is in exclusive sale negotiations with private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, sources said on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs, CBA outperform on super
Bankers have put their financial skills to good use, with Goldman Sachs & JBWere and Commonwealth Bank producing the top performing superannuation funds over the past decade.
ClearView chief calls for 20pc life insurance price hikes
ClearView Wealth chief Simon Swanson is urging insurers to raise the prices of new income protection policies by 20 per cent to ensure the sustainability of the industry, which is suffering from worsening claims and a weaker economy.
E*trade posts $34m profit on healthier market
Online broking group E*trade, which is wholly owned by ANZ, has posted an annual profit of almost $34 million, reversing a loss from the previous year.
OZ Minerals must show ‘obvious value’: Sandfire
Sandfire Resources’ managing director says OZ Minerals would need to exhibit an “obvious value proposition” for the mid-tier copper miner to consider making a bid.
Casino watchdog to finish Crown probe by March
Updated | A NSW casino watchdog investigation into whether it will grant Crown Resorts a licence for its Sydney casino will take less than three months, despite previous applications taking more than a year.
ASX down as mining stocks falter
Updated | The ASX has fallen into the red despite a positive start, led downwards by mining stocks with investors nervous about economic data from China later this week.
Coalition ‘carefully’ assessing Qantas issues: Cormann
Updated | The federal government is working through policy issues raised by Qantas Airways “carefully and methodically”, says acting Treasurer Mathias Cormann.
Construction growth slows but optimism remains
The construction sector continued to expand for the third consecutive month but at a slower pace in December, with particular strength in house building, a private gauge has found.
Goldman Sachs reshuffles tech, media banking group
Goldman Sachs is shaking up its technology, media and telecommunications investment banking group, appointing George Lee as the group’s chairman, internal memos show.
Your sector-by-sector investment guide for 2014
While some suggest the ASX is heading back to 6000, others expect another year of sub-trend growth. We’ve got your playbook for the market in 2014 right here.
Sony: a 4k cam for the rest of us
Ultra HD TVs have a problem: there’s almost no content for them. Sony’s solution: make the content for yourself with its cheap new 4k camcorder.
You’re not the only one hiding money from loved ones
Debra Cleveland | If you are married or in a de facto relationship and you have a hideway stash of your own cash, you’re not alone – but there are far healthier ways to do things.
Goldman’s Miller goes to HK in Asia-Pacific promotion
Goldman Sachs has elevated Anthony Miller to head of investment banking solutions in the Asia Pacific region ex-Japan, as part of a broader reshuffle that promoted Dan Dees to co-head the global technology, media and telecom group.
RBA fails to curb airline card charges
Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar are continuing to hit customers with inflated credit card surcharges despite RBA efforts to reduce excessive fees.
‘Hard to feel proper disgust’ over Wolf of Wall St
Jordan Belfort has had a great cinematic run in The Wolf of Wall Street, but for many of his victims, the ending is a beyond an insult.
Microsoft close to naming CEO, Ford’s Mulally out
Updated | Ford chief executive Alan Mulally will reportedly not take a job at software giant Microsoft, and will remain at the US automaker through at least this year.
Charm of wearable computers may soon wear thin
If it’s wearable computers you want then at the world’s latest annual gadget festival, wearable computers is what you got.
Twitter co-founder unveils search engine Jelly
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has unveiled his new venture since helping to build the popular micro-blogging website; a social search engine.
High demand hikes price of Colorado cannabis
Marijuana buyers in Colorado are facing steep price rises, long queues and shuttered stores.
Content will be the key for 4K
Three-dimensional television was all the rage several years ago, but when TV manufacturers took to Las Vegas stages this week, there was nary a mention.
Polar freeze grips US, disrupts business
A blast of Arctic air has gripped the vast middle of the United States, forcing businesses to close and cancelling thousands of flights.
Michael Bay bombs at Samsung CES event
Helping to launch new Samsung TVs, Hollywood director Michael Bay fluffed his lines, panicked and then stormed off the stage.
Bitcoins exceed $US1000 again
Zynga is the latest merchant to accept Bitcoins, which can be used to buy virtual items in online games.
National
Construction growth slows but optimism remains
The construction sector continued to expand for the third consecutive month but at a slower pace in December, with particular strength in house building, a private gauge has found.
- Job vacancies slide amid government cutbacks
- Coalition ‘carefully’ assessing Qantas issues: Cormann
- Coalition must reveal asylum tactics: Dreyfus
- Goldman Sachs, CBA outperform on super
- Antarctic ice drama over as ships freed
- Unions told to stop covert action
- Former chairman backs sale of $4bn Australia Post
- Business Council calls for coastal shipping deregulation
Boost for local retailers as online sales rise
Australians are expected to have spent close to $15 billion shopping online during 2013 – more than 10 per cent higher compared to a year earlier – and local retailers received most of the benefit.
Opinion
Labor will seek the ear of business
The late Mick Young once made an observation about his role as Federal ALP campaign director that has stayed with me down the decades.
Bonds bombed in 2013 but they may be due for a comeback
Bond investors were among the losers in 2013 but after last year’s sell-off, fixed income is looking like better value.
Learn from the lessons of the Great War
If leaders warn against ‘another Munich’, they are almost always advocating a tough response to aggression – usually military action. However, if they speak of ‘Sarajevo’, they are warning against a drift to war.
World
IMF to revise global growth forecast
The International Monetary Fund will revise upward its global growth forecast in about three weeks, managing director Christine Lagarde says.
- JPMorgan to pay $US1.7bn to Madoff victims
- Brooks' PA had planned 'move to Australia'
- Goodyear ‘boss-napping’ ends in France
- Fed's Rosengren gets comfortable with QE cuts
- Spain's Princess Cristina charged with money laundering
- Turkish government purges Ankara police force
- Chinese buyer ahead in race to buy Sydney’s Bishopscourt
- Fantasy sports score Wall Street points
JPMorgan move shows prosecutors getting creative
JPMorgan Chase’s latest criminal settlement shows that prosecutors are becoming more creative about getting money to victims of a fraud rather than just putting it into federal coffers.
Business
Boost Juice in exclusive talks with Affinity Equity: sources
Retail Zoo – the company that owns the Boost Juice health drink franchise – is in exclusive sale negotiations with private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, sources said on Wednesday.
- Casino watchdog to finish Crown probe by March
- OZ Minerals must show ‘obvious value’: Sandfire
- Goldman Sachs, CBA outperform on super
- Virgin enjoys ‘positive’ yields over July-November
- AMP Capital backs New York power project
- RBA fails to curb airline credit card charges
- Senex upbeat on drilling success
- ClearView chief calls for 20pc life insurance price hikes
Echo Entertainment’s year of uncertainty
Chanticleer | The bars and gaming floors were heaving at Echo Entertainment’s Sydney casino on New Year’s Eve but the gaming group has not exactly started 2014 in high spirits.
Technology
Samsung hands out special staff bonus, investors upset
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, has reignited shareholder calls for more returns after splashing out on a special employee bonus estimated at nearly $US1 billion ($1.1 billion).
- Tech start-ups leave Oz over tax
- The charm of wearable computers may soon wear thin
- Yahoo’s Mayer unveils rival to Google Now
- Apple seeks removal of court-appointed antitrust monitor
- Twitter co-founder unveils search engine Jelly
- iPhone, iPad app sales top $10bn in 2013
- Intel drops McAfee name from security software, founder glad
- Sony testing cloud TV service for PlayStation
CES 2014: Intel Booth Tour
In the first of a series of virtual booth tours, we take you around the Intel stand. This year the world’s largest chip maker launched a wearable computing initiative, and a computer the size of a postage stamp.
Markets
Taper risks seen for emerging markets
Experts predict that the advent of the Federal Reserve’s taper will see some emerging markets economies under pressure from higher interest rates this year.
- ASX down as mining stocks falter
- $A sluggish ahead of Fed minutes
- Oz stocks with US revenue popular in 2014
- Your sector-by-sector guide for 2014
- Your sector-by-sector guide for 2014, part 2
- Job vacancies slide amid government cutbacks
- Construction growth slows but optimism remains
- Wall Street advances on data after string of losses
Fantasy sports score Wall Street points
Drew Dinkmeyer spent seven years as a senior investment analyst in Tampa, Florida, before deciding to pursue fantasy sports professionally.
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.
Investors seek advice as confidence grows
Australians are expected to seek more financial planning advice in 2014 after years of shunning advisers, thanks largely to improving investor confidence and appetite for riskier assets.
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
Why Atlassian won't float here
Software developer Atlassian has plenty of reasons to float in the US rather than the Australian bourse.
Property outlook
Australian Property Monitors' Dr Andrew Wilson and Belle Property's Matthew Smythe look at what 2014 will bring for the property sector.
Newspapers move markets
New research on the links between financial news and market movements shows why investors should read the newspaper each day, says Chanticleer's Tony Boyd.
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.
