Scale of drug money laundering is ‘overwhelming’
Australia’s biggest money-laundering probe has identified hundreds of unwitting Australian residents duped into helping launder drug money overseas, including cash generated by outlaw motorcycle groups and people-smuggling operations.
Nine set to win ratings race
Media buyers say Nine Entertainment Co is the network most likely to boost its share of the free-to-air advertising market this year, but it is unclear whether that would likely come at the expense of Ten Network Holdings or Seven West Media.
CPI’s inflationary jump hits savers
The surprise spike in the headline consumer price index to an annual rate of 2.7 per cent, has pushed the “real” cash rate into negative territory for only the second time since Reserve Bank of Australia began targeting an inflation rate of between 2 and 3 per cent.
Abbott calls for G20 action
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the Group of 20 meetings to be held in Australia will be about “real actions” and “specific outcomes”, not just another international talkfest.
Parental leave scheme flexible, says government
The federal government has released details of how its paid parental leave scheme will work, denying claims it will seek to override existing industrial agreements
ANZ bankrolls child labour sugar cane plantation
Banking giant Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is financing a Cambodian sugar plantation that has involved child labour, military-backed land grabs, forced evictions and food shortages.
Focus on independence, urges Perpetual CEO
Perpetual boss Geoff Lloyd wants company independence and reducing the complexity of Australia’s $1.6 trillion superannuation industry to be spotlights in the federal government’s latest health check into the financial system.
Tension flares between FMG and Yindjibarndi
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has won the right to explore a parcel of Pilbara land without input from the Yindjibarndi native-title holders, in a legal decision that has inflamed tension between the groups.
Online retailers can’t rely on weakening Australian dollar
Online retailers are cheering a steady decline in the Australian dollar because it is boosting their competitiveness against offshore businesses.
NAB looks to divest UK bank
National Australia Bank will look to sell out of its United Kingdom-based bank but will continue to provide high-level support to the business until a buyer is found, an international credit ratings agency has concluded.
Sale of Echo Townsville casino within the week
Echo Entertainment Group is expected to announce the sale of its smallest property, Jupiters Townsville, within a week.
Stars start to align for Macquarie’s Moore
Expect a rather ebullient Nicholas Moore, Macquarie Group’s chief executive, when he gives an operational briefing on February 11, which is expected to include a third quarter trading statement and guidance on the company’s full year earnings.
NSW moves to dry out violence hot spots
The belief that something has to be done to stem alcohol-fuelled violence has not protected this week’s new drinking restrictions for Sydney’s centre from sceptical attack.
The Wolf of Wall Street – the inside story
Roula Khalaf reveals her role in bringing down the fraudulent trader Jordan Belfort, the man at the centre of the Martin Scorcese movie ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’.
Telstra should reinvest $5bn warchest: CLSA
CLSA telco analysts Laurent Horrut and Roger Samuel reckon Telstra should reinvest its cash warchest organically, and resist acquisitions or capital returns.
Classical music left behind by modern retail
For classical music lovers with old-fashioned ideas about buying recordings in Manhattan the choices have dwindled.
Puzzles the clue to mental sharpness in age
A huge new study has shown that doing just 10 one-hour sessions of brain training over a period of five or six weeks has the “potential for delaying dementia”.
Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian resigns
Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian has resigned and will leave the bond heavyweight in March as part of a leadership overhaul.
Facebook’s Sandberg makes billions, shares jump
Facebook shares have climbed to a new high, catapulting chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on to the roster of tech billionaires.
Zero to hero as BlackBerry stock rallies
BlackBerry, one of the biggest losers on the Toronto Stock Exchange last year, is one of 2014’s top performers.
Coppo and Afternoon Report to go
Richard Coppleson is leaving Goldman Sachs and his indispensable Afternoon Report goes with him.
Advertisers cash in on Hollande affair
Companies are looking to drum up business by having a laugh at the French President affair.
Five tips to clean up your credit history
Debra Cleveland | Only have one or two credit cards? In the new regime of credit reporting you’ll be a ‘good’ risk and more likely to get the thumb’s-up for a loan.
How China is outgrowing its cheap image
Japan managed to transform its reputation from a cheap goods manufacturer to a powerhouse of quality. China is set to do the same.
National
Scale of drug money laundering is ‘overwhelming’
Australia’s biggest money-laundering probe has identified hundreds of unwitting Australian residents duped into helping launder drug money overseas, including cash generated by outlaw motorcycle groups and people-smuggling operations.
- ASIC cracks down on dodgy brokers
- Abbott calls for G20 action
- Parental leave scheme flexible, says government
- Weatherill’s woes rise as budget deficit tops $1bn
- Labor says companies have a duty to reveal taxes paid
- Food rating decision ‘didn’t follow best practice’
- ACCC to take sober look at beer contracts
- WestConnex expressions of interest close
- Record low rates drive up household debt to near pre-GFC levels
‘Sell property assets’ business tells government
Peak business groups are calling on the federal government to sell property assets out of corporations such as the ABC to help sure up a future budget surplus and solve housing constraints.
Opinion
Reject crony capitalism and embrace the real thing
It is a real tragedy that so many of the great and the good who are meeting in Davos this week don’t really understand the difference between genuine free markets and crony capitalism.
How companies get bargained into oblivion
One of the early decisions made by the Abbott government was to ask the Productivity Commission to undertake a review of workplace relations in Australia.
Model of a modern central banker
In The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan satirised the notion of an educated “modern major-general”. Today they might satirise academic central bankers, of which Ben Bernanke is the very model. His knowledge of economic history helped him halt a terrifying panic. But he also made mistakes, and there is much to be learned from his time at the Fed.
World
Abbott calls for G20 action
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the Group of 20 meetings to be held in Australia will be about “real actions” and “specific outcomes”, not just another international talkfest.
- Shooting adds to Thai emergency tensions
- India mulls inflation revamp
- Deflation spectre rising as IMF ups growth forecast
- Deal makers eye Davos M&A; magic
- BOJ to stand pat, stick to upbeat inflation forecasts
- El-Erian resigns from Pimco, to stay on at Allianz
- New York plans $US1.5bn prekindergarten expansion
- China pollution wafting across Pacific to blanket US
- Delta profit rises on revenue gains, lower fuel costs
Snowden rebuffs chairman’s Russian spy claims
US intelligence whistle-blower Edward Snowden has adamantly denied as absurd and smears the suggestion by the leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees that he might have been a Russian spy when he downloaded archives of classified National Security Agency documents and leaked them to journalists.
Business
Tension flares between FMG and Yindjibarndi
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has won the right to explore a parcel of Pilbara land without input from the Yindjibarndi native-title holders, in a legal decision that has inflamed tension between the groups.
- Labor says companies have a duty to reveal taxes paid
- ASIC cracks down on dodgy brokers
- PwC expands its wealth advice by buying MGI firm
- Online retailers can’t rely on weakening Australian dollar
- Sale of Echo Townsville casino within the week
- Profit kick for R M Williams’s luxury new owners
- Nine set to win ratings race
- JPMorgan commodities sale due within week: reports
- El-Erian resigns from Pimco, to stay on at Allianz
The NSW country town begging to keep Qantas
The Flying Kangaroo may be under pressure on many fronts, but the north-west NSW town of Moree is certainly not one of them.
Technology
IBM misses revenue targets as China cuts IT spend
IBM missed revenue expectations for the fourth straight quarter as it grappled with weakening demand for servers and storage in emerging markets such as China and saw a 16 per cent drop in Asia-Pacific revenue.
- Start-ups back employee share scheme review
- Intel gives up on TV set-top boxes
- Telstra caps cost of calls as prices fall
- Amazon developing pay TV service: report
- Google tax not viable: OECD
- BlackBerry stock rallies as support grows for new CEO
- SAP defers profit targets to build cloud revenues
- Apple wins temporary stay on court-appointed antitrust monitor
Mobiles will change the world in 2014, says Yahoo! chief
The rapid adoption of smartphones and the applications that run on those devices will make 2014 a tipping point that radically changes the way people worldwide work and live, said Yahoo! chief executive Marissa Mayer.
Markets
CPI’s inflationary jump hits savers
The surprise spike in the headline consumer price index to an annual rate of 2.7 per cent, has pushed the “real” cash rate into negative territory for only the second time since Reserve Bank of Australia began targeting an inflation rate of between 2 and 3 per cent.
- Shares fall as miners and rising inflation weigh
- Aussie spikes as inflation numbers reduce chance of OCR cut
- Australian economic cycle lags behind US, NZ
- Saracen gold acquisition boost shares
- Surging inflation builds rate rise case
- House price rises set to outstrip income growth: Fitch
- REST Super starts internal equities team
- Materials lift S&P; 500 in volatile session, Dow lower
- ASX struggles after high inflation data, $A soars
Stars start to align for Macquarie’s Moore
Expect a rather ebullient Nicholas Moore, Macquarie Group’s chief executive, when he gives an operational briefing on February 11, which is expected to include a third quarter trading statement and guidance on the company’s full year earnings.
Personal finance
Investment fraud a ‘significant threat’ for Australia
The Australian Crime Commission says it is developing prevention and intervention measures to harden Australia against the emerging threat of organised investment fraud.
- Wealth management heavyweights court SMSF trustees
- Meet the wedding planner
- Big, brash houses selling at a discount
- Winery dreams can soon turn sour
- What the charts predict for the market in 2014
- Life expectancy a ticking time bomb for household savings
- Superannuation sledging bound to step up a notch in 2014
- The thousand-dollar fines you’ll get for breaking the SMSF rules
- How it feels to hold a stock in freefall
Five stocks to watch out for in 2014
While some investors are easily put off by strong gains, they frequently miss the profits generated by proven performers entering a purple patch.
Lifestyle
From car yards to upscale architecture
A former industrial precinct in southern Sydney is the new high-density, green hot spot.
Southern hospitality rings true on River Road
Take a break from New Orleans’ French quarter and step back in time along River Road.
Spanish gin the tipple for a hot summer’s day
The Spanish drink more gin than any other country: free poured and served with tonic and ice.
A weekend in Antwerp
Forty-eight hours is not nearly enough to savour the Flemish city’s flair for fashion, food, art and architecture.
Latest TV
REST tops super ranks with foreign focus
Despite being the best performing super fund last year, REST Industry Super is ringing in the new year with change. Associate editor Sally Patten says more funds will be managed internally, and REST is also pulling back slightly from international equities in 2014.
Aussie dollar set to slide
Lower commodity prices will drive the Aussie dollar down this year, even below US$0.85. Columnist David Bassanese says overall that's good news for our stock market and equity-heavy super funds.
Inflation nixes rate cut talk
Inflation data for the December quarter was higher than expected, but while a rate cut is now unlikely, the weak economy means a rate increase in 2014 is far from certain.
Startups target staff share schemes
Employee share ownership schemes have faced tough tax treatment, which startups claim have hurt their ability to attract staff. Financial services editor James Eyers says this is likely to change under the Abbott government, which should make it easier to keep entrepreneurs in Australia.
