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Call to curb minimum wage rise
Business groups have fired an early salvo over the minimum wage, naming a weakening economy and government-imposed regulatory costs as reasons to defer an increase until 2015.
MP slams cabinet over SPC’s $50m plea
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Victorian Liberal MP Sharman Stone has reignited a divisive debate within the Abbott government over assistance to struggling businesses, criticising members of cabinet who are resisting a request from SPC Ardmona (SPCA) for $50 million as motivated by free-market “dogma”.
User-pays could be the future of infrastructure
Australia’s “entrenched” culture of treating infrastructure as a free public good needs to be abandoned and consumers encouraged to pay for the infrastructure they use, Infrastructure Australia has recommended.
Three bidders in Shell’s $3bn sell-off
The battle for Royal Dutch Shell’s Australian service stations is heating up with three consortia involving global investors such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council in the final stages of a $3 billion auction.
Local LNG ventures ignore reality of US exports
Australia’s new liquefied natural gas ventures are ignoring the far-reaching impact that US exports will have in their key Asian markets, with some likely to struggle to make returns from their ultra-expensive investments, the Melbourne-based head of the US’s latest LNG export venture has warned.
ABS tracks the growth of local online sales
Economists will be given a clearer picture of the growth in online retail sales in Australia when the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes separate data on online purchases for the first time on Thursday.
Can John Redmond turn the tide for Echo in 2014?
When John Redmond took the reins of Echo Entertainment Group last January pundits thought the embattled casino operator was at its lowest point. Since then the outlook has worsened and investors worry that uncertainties may not be resolved in the coming year.
Cheaper reinsurance prices provide a boon for insurers
Australian insurers are enjoying cheaper reinsurance cover in 2014 after years of price hikes, but not all companies are buying extra protection as they adjust their risk portfolios.
Cheese wars: Bega eyed as Parmalat nabs Harvey Fresh
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While all eyes are on Canadian Saputo and local co-operative Murray Goulburn’s $500 million-plus fight for Warrnambool Cheese & Butter, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra is watching NSW-based Bega Cheese.
Investors positioned for housing recovery
New data shows increasing growth in residential building sector as investors get ready to take advantage.
Goldman’s Miller goes to HK in Asia-Pacific promotion
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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.
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We need to move it, move it
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There’s a free wonder drug called exercise but not many are swallowing it.
RBA fails to curb airline card charges
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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
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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
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Updated | Ford chief executive Alan Mulally will reportedly not take a job at software giant Microsoft, and will remain at the US car maker through at least this year.
Charm of wearable computers may soon wear thin
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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
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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
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Marijuana buyers in Colorado are facing steep price rises, long queues and shuttered stores.
Content will be the key for 4K
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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
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A blast of Arctic air has gripped the vast middle of the United States, forcing businesses to close and cancelling thousands of flights.
National
Call to curb minimum wage rise
Business groups have fired an early salvo over the minimum wage, naming a weakening economy and government-imposed regulatory costs as reasons to defer an increase until 2015.
- MP slams cabinet over SPC’s $50m plea
- Labor told to condemn union move
- El Niño to make it hotter in 2014
- WA government ready for police pay row
- Industry bids for Direct Action exemptions
- Construction growth slows but optimism remains
- Job vacancies slide amid government cutbacks
- Coalition ‘carefully’ assessing Qantas issues: Cormann
- Coalition must reveal asylum tactics: Dreyfus
Opinion
Europe’s economic situation worse than the 1930s
Recent growth in the euro area has tracked the experience of much of Europe in the 1930s all too closely. But in some ways, its prospects are even more challenging than the parallel with the Great Depression suggests.
Gloomy outlook for university economics teachers
Lay-offs and deaths reflect difficult period for practitioners of the dismal science.
World
IMF to revise global growth forecast: Lagarde
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 ‘bossnapping’ 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
- Ireland aims to rekindle a tech recovery
Business
MP slams cabinet over SPC’s $50m plea
Victorian Liberal MP Sharman Stone has reignited a divisive debate within the Abbott government over assistance to struggling businesses, criticising members of cabinet who are resisting a request from SPC Ardmona (SPCA) for $50 million as motivated by free-market “dogma”.
- Local LNG ventures ignore reality of US exports
- Three bidders in Shell’s $3bn sell-off
- Call to curb minimum wage rise
- ABS tracks the growth of local online sales
- Cheese wars: Bega eyed as Parmalat nabs Harvey Fresh
- Can John Redmond turn the tide for Echo in 2014?
- Boost Juice in exclusive talks with Affinity Equity: sources
Technology
Microsoft close to naming CEO, Ford’s Mulally out
![Microsoft close to naming CEO, Ford’s Mulally out](/web/20140108140345im_/http://www.afr.com/rf/image_lowres/2009-2014/AFR/2014/01/08/Photos/10d88734-77f9-11e3-97a1-15d3239acd95_2013-11-06T140736Z_15528265--90x60.jpg)
Updated | Ford chief executive Alan Mulally will reportedly not take a job at software giant Microsoft, and will remain at the US car maker through at least this year.
- Samsung hands out special staff bonus, investors upset
- 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
Markets
Shares flat on mixed signals
Australian shares closed flat despite local data indicating continued improvement in the labour market and ongoing growth in the construction sector.
- Fed taper ripples through developing economies
- $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
- ASX down as mining stocks falter
- Construction growth slows but optimism remains
- Wall Street advances on data after string of losses
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.
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.