Ramsay leaves $3.3bn to charity
Ramsay Healthcare has announced that the $3.3 billion stake in private hospital operator owned by the company’s late founder and chairman will be transferred to the Paul Ramsay Foundation, which will “be of enduring benefit to the Australian community.” The billionaire, Australia’s 11th-richest person, passed away at his home in Bowral on Thursday night after a short illness.
New home sales rise points to broader recovery
New home sales rose nearly 6 per cent in the March quarter, according to the Housing Industry Association. Queensland posted the biggest rise up more than 20 per cent.
NSW Police Minister stands aside over ICAC revelations
Updated | NSW Police Minister Michael Gallacher has stood aside after fresh revelations at the ICAC linked him to payments from coal baron Nathan Tinkler’s companies to a Liberal party slush fund.
ANZ payout no guarantee other bank dividends will rise
Vesna Poljak | Westpac and NAB are well placed to match ANZ’s improvement in New Zealand earnings and rebound in markets income when they report next week, but their payouts may not match ANZ’s generosity, experts say.
Treasury Wine rockets on Pernod Ricard rumours
Shares in Treasury Wine Estates have rocketed nearly 15 per cent on rumours that global French drinks giant Pernod Ricard could be circling to snap up key assets of the business.
Moore puts Macquarie back on track
Chanticleer | Macquarie Group’s return to the glory days of $1 billion-plus annual profits will continue into next year as a solid performance across all its divisions helped the bank beat earnings forecasts.
ASX steady with Macquarie, Myer falling
Updated | Macquarie followed ANZ in posting a strong result – and still being sold off – while the broader market opened flat with no strong lead from Wall Street or Europe.
Myer profits to fall as three-month sales edge down
Updated | Department store chain Myer is facing its sixth consecutive half-year of declining profits after sales slipped 0.93 per cent to $646.5 million in the three months ended April 26.
Padbury shares resume trading with a dive
Updated | Investors have hammered Padbury Mining on the iron ore tiddler exiting a trading halt on Friday, sending the share price down almost 80 per cent in the first few minutes of trade to less than a cent.
Retirement age will rise to 70 by 2035
The federal budget will lift the retirement age to 70 by 2035, Treasurer Joe Hockey will announce on Friday – almost 20 years earlier than recommended by the commission of audit.
How to get a Qantas upgrade
Even if your budget only stretches to a seat in cattle class, your Qantas Points can make up the difference – and upgrades are considered one of the best ways to use those points.
Chinese stocks set for rebound?
Richard Lie | There’s a dislocation between the bearish news about China and price action in equities. While it looks like China is slowing, in fact green shoots are starting to appear.
Living like Warren Buffett
Ryan Morris, the 29-year-old president of Meson Capital, manages about $US15 million a year; he travels to Omaha, Nebraska, each year to learn at the foot of his hero, Warren Buffett.
Yellow Brick Road in Vow deal
It is six weeks since Mark Bouris-led Yellow Brick Road told investors it had entered into three exclusivity agreements on potential acquisitions.
Hipsters take over Aboriginal Redfern
The Aboriginal community is being pushed out of Sydney’s Redfern district as young urbanites move in.
AFR reporters win Citi Journalism awards
Three reporters for The Australian Financial Review, Tony Boyd, John Stensholt and Andrew Cornell, have won Citi’s business excellence awards.
LinkedIn loss disappoints investors
LinkedIn has suffered a first-quarter loss as the online professional networking service ramped up its investments.
Too much on our plates
For many of us, life unspools as a never-ending to-do list, leaving its victims wrung out, joyless, too tired to stop to smell the roses.
Penfolds salutes 170 years with rare shiraz
Wine label Penfolds celebrates 170 years by releasing a rare shiraz in a bespoke box made by the Queen’s nephew.
Here come the robots
Rapid improvements in artificial intelligence are raising questions as to what jobs will exist in the future and who will benefit from the machines.
Cabcharge chairman Reg Kermode dies
Reginald Kermode predicted he would die at his desk at Cabcharge’s East Sydney headquarters. He almost did.
Crack-smoking mayor Ford steps down
Toronto mayor Rob Ford has taken leave of absence after a new video emerged of him smoking crack cocaine last weekend.
Sephora to open before Christmas
Sephora, the world’s largest beauty retailer, has brought forward its entry into Australia and plans to open its first store before Christmas.
McMurdo plots Deutsche path
If James McMurdo has achieved one thing heading Deutsche Bank’s local arm, it’s that the industry is once again talking about the German colossus.
National
NSW Police Minister stands aside over ICAC revelations
Updated | NSW Police Minister Michael Gallacher has stood aside after fresh revelations at the ICAC linked him to payments from coal baron Nathan Tinkler’s companies to a Liberal party slush fund.
- Retirement age will rise to 70 by 2035
- Middle-class welfare crackdown
- How a metallic brown car is Australia’s future
- Defence targets Lockheed Martin for $700m data deal
- New home sales rise points to broader recovery
- Govt urged to sell assets, scrap industry aid
- University students might have to pay 55pc of costs
- Cap parental leave payment to $28,730, audit urges
Sports clubs don’t need fans on board
AFL commissioner Linda Dessau has called for sports clubs to appoint business figures to their boards who are not fans of the team, saying it would improve corporate governance.
Opinion
Ideological madness – and some sense
Tony Shepherd’s Commission of Audit mixes sensible and overdue structural and micro-economic reform recommendations with a grab bag of ideologically driven brain explosions.
Making welfare state affordable
Editorial | The report of the National Audit Commission is not a radical manifesto to dismantle the fundamental nature of modern Australia.
Budget and ICAC cost Abbott the high ground
Laura Tingle | The combined shocks of the unravelling of the clothes of Emperor Abbott and his party on both budget management and political probity will have inevitable repercussions on the way politics plays out long into the future.
World
Ukraine reinstates military conscription
Ukraine is bringing back military conscription with immediate effect to deal with a spreading pro-Moscow insurgency in its east, according to a decree by interim president Oleksandr Turchynov.
- Adams arrest to test Irish support for Sinn Fein
- US may return to electric chair for executions after drugs ban
- Turnaround completed, Ford’s leader steps down
- Get this English jargon out of our offices ASAP, say the French
- Confusion about MH370 was immediate
- Royal Bank of Scotland poised to report rare profit
- Japan consumption better than expected, Abe says
- New York teachers to get $US3.4bn in back pay
- Consumer shopping spree bolsters US outlook
China powers through reforms despite challenges
The new leadership in China realises the need for reform and has the desire and the power to see this through.
Business
Paul Ramsay leaves $3.3bn to charity
Ramsay Healthcare has announced that the $3.3 billion stake in private hospital operator owned by the company’s late founder and chairman will be transferred to the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
- Macquarie profit beats expectations, outlook disappoints
- Treasury Wine rockets on Pernod Ricard rumours
- Myer profits to fall as three-month sales edge down
- Murray Goulburn invests $127m in dairy facilities
- Rebel Abano shareholders push for meeting on chairman
- Padbury shares resume trading with a dive
- Domain seeks CFO in recruitment drive
- QRx Pharma appoints Edward Rudnic new CEO
LNG fillip from Ukraine crisis
Angela Macdonald-Smith | However the Ukrainian crisis pans out, LNG suppliers – even those in far-flung Australia – look set to benefit.
Technology
Sony slashes profit forecast again
Sony cut its earnings guidance for the third time in a year on Thursday to barely 10 per cent of its initial outlook as further losses from its PC exit cast a pall over its struggling electronics division.
- Defence targets Lockheed Martin for $700m data deal
- LinkedIn posts Q1 loss as expenses rise
- White House report calls for transparency in online data collection
- eBay settles with US over non-poaching agreement
- IBM Australia tumbles by $118m
- Facebook to let users anonymously log in to apps
- Google Australia pays $7.1m tax on profit of $46.5m
- AT&T;, DirecTV consider possible $US40bn deal: report
- Which apps are draining your phone?
CBA tech chief Michael Harte quits
Australia’s highest profile technology executive, Michael Harte, who piloted the Commonwealth Bank’s modernisation program, will leave midyear after landing the chief operations and IT role at Barclays.
Markets
ASX steady with Macquarie, Myer falling
Updated | Macquarie followed ANZ in posting a strong result – and still being sold off – while the broader market opened flat with no strong lead from Wall Street or Europe.
- Macquarie profit beats expectations, outlook disappoints
- New home sales rise points to broader recovery
- $A under pressure amid tax hike talk
- Consumer shopping spree bolsters US outlook
- ANZ payout no guarantee other bank dividends will rise
- Wall St pauses ahead of April jobs report
- UK pound close to five-year high on manufacturing data
- Private equity misses out on super cash
- Tasmanian Pure Foods gears up for ASX listing
Gross’s outlook cuts neutral rate to 2pc
The increasingly eccentric Bill Gross – chief investment officer at PIMCO – says the “new neutral” US funds rate is 2 per cent.
Personal finance
Junk bonds queues indicate risk is back
It doesn’t seem that long ago that investors were just focused on simply riding out the financial storm, preserving cash and keeping a lid on any damage.
Finding home loan deals based on your profession
If you’re on the hunt for a home loan, check whether what you do for a living or the size of your loan can secure you a better deal. Lenders’ “wealth” or “professional” packages can get you access to lower interest rates or a wider range of loans.
Lifestyle
Scotland going for culinary gold
Forget the deep-fried Mars Bar: in Scotland, they’re talking seasonable and sustainable.
Magnussen’s quest for greatness
The Olympic medalist is learning that winning is as much about mental strength and discipline as it is about physical prowess.
Vogue Italia: high fashion with an edge
For more than 25 years, Franca Sozzani has been one of Conde Nast’s most robust and most rebellious editors.
Dine and stay in the Grampians
A little fun-filled flair is the ingredient that will turn the beautiful Grampians into an unmissable fine dining destination.
Latest TV
Commission targets Medicare, pension age
The Liberal government's commission of audit is taking on the pension age and Medicare, although it's stopped short of a US style approach to health care.
ANZ results surprise as Asia rises
ANZ proves the doubters wrong with a better than expected half year result and a huge dividend increase, thanks to a strong Asia strategy.
No time to waste for Wallabies: McKenzie
The Wallabies need to start winning again – fast. Coach Ewen McKenzie is using change management skills learnt in the corporate world to reinvigorate his charges and fans.
Negative gearing to dodge debt levy
The idea of a temporary increase in income tax to quicken the reduction of national debt is not being well received, and could prompt negative gearing of share income.
