ACCC sues Coles over ‘unconscionable’ conduct
Updated | The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken action against Coles alleging it engaged in unconscionable conduct towards 200 of its smaller suppliers. “The conduct of Coles alleged by the ACCC in these proceedings was capable of causing significant detriment to small suppliers’ businesses,” the regulator says.
Job ads surge signals economic rebound
Updated | Demand for workers continues to strengthen, with job advertisements rising for a fourth straight month in April at an annualised pace of nearly 30 per cent, adding to signs the economy is rebounding.
Investors not swayed on big bank profits
Chanticleer | Westpac’s strong first-half result, on the heels of ANZ and Macquarie Bank, is further evidence of another bumper bank-reporting season but investors are proceeding with caution.
Big banks drag sharemarket down
Stocks are now trading lower, pulled down by losses in the big banks after initially posting a surprisingly strong start where the big miners were both up 1.2 per cent.
Bendigo Bank to buy Rural Finance for $1.8bn
Updated | Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said it has agreed to purchase the business and assets of Victoria’s Rural Finance for $1.78 billion as its shares went into a trading halt ahead of a capital raising.
Tax Office warns share traders to come forward
The Australian Tax Office has given investors until May 28 to come forward and declare if they’ve engaged in dividend washing, without being hit with big tax penalties.
Aquila deal a bid to take WA’s stranded iron ore to the world
The $1.23 billion bid for Sino-Australian bid for control of Tony Poli’s Aquila Resources represents a signal moment in Western Australia’s drive to connect long-stranded iron ore deposits to global markets.
Conroy offers to be witness in NBN contractor dispute
Senior Labor Senator Stephen Conroy has volunteered to be a witness in a looming court stoush between contractors building the national broadband network.
Clive Palmer calls for Hockey explanation
Updated | Clive Palmer has described allegations that Joe Hockey is offering privileged personal access to wealthy business people as “corruption” and called on the Treasurer to explain himself.
Packer, Gyngell punch-up pics for sale
Updated | A bidding war is under way for explosive photos that show James Packer exchanging punches with former best man and Nine chief David Gyngell.
Butlers on board as Etihad ups the ante
Etihad Airways has fired the latest salvo on the kangaroo route, unveiling a private suite with living room, double bedroom, en-suite shower room and dedicated butler on its new A380s.
Apple iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S5
Apple’s rumoured new phone will be “be thinner, more comfortable to hold and use” than Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5.
Morgan Stanley’s pitch on PAS Group float
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Morgan Stanley analysts published five reasons why initial public offering candidate PAS Group should increase earnings after listing and valued the company at up to 12 times forecast financial 2015 profit.
Buffett pilgrims come from far and wide
The band of Australian devotees who travel to Omaha each year to listen to the gospel according to Warren Buffet is growing steadily.
Unilever has global plans for Melbourne’s T2
It was a relatively small investment for a company with annual revenues of $75 billion, but Unilever has grand plans for gourmet tea retailer T2.
Strong growth for AFL websites and apps
Traffic to official AFL websites and apps is growing at more than twice the rate this year as experienced across the 2013 season.
The legacy of Paul Ramsay
After 50 years in the hospital business, billionaire Paul Ramsay was flown from Ibiza in Spain to Bowral for a final homecoming.
Brett Whiteley – the wild one
The brilliant but tortured genius of Brett Whiteley had its evolution in a thrill-seeking boyhood on Sydney’s north shore.
Recipe for disaster
It couldn’t be too hard helping little old ladies get their ingredients and instructions straight. Or could it ...
Film: Young & Beautiful and Transcendence
A schoolgirl turns to prostitution in Young & Beautiful; while Johnny Depp turns into a superbrain in Transcendence.
Use LinkedIn to your advantage
If you're looking for a social network to build professional connections, LinkedIn is far and away the best.
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.
Living like Warren Buffett
29-year-old Ryan Morris manages about $US15 million a year; he travels to Omaha, Nebraska, each year to learn at the foot of his hero, Warren Buffett.
National
Clive Palmer calls for Hockey explanation
Updated | Clive Palmer has described allegations that Joe Hockey is offering privileged personal access to wealthy business people as “corruption” and called on the Treasurer to explain himself.
- Top rate of 49pc would make Australia 8th-highest tax nation in OECD
- Tax Office warns share traders to come forward
- NBN cost cuts could hit homeowners
- House market springs awake with 2000 weekend auctions
- Fail mark for industry
- PM, Hockey push ahead on debt tax
- ACCC talks tough on carbon tax windfall gains
- Infrastructure silver bullet is a myth: Grattan Institute
- O’Brien keen on keeping state’s AAA rating
Indian influx leads surge in new students
Driven by an Indian resurgence, Australia’s international education industry has roared back to life with the number of new students beginning courses in the first semester this year up over 20 per cent.
Opinion
High $A means RBA will leave rates alone
The Reserve Bank of Australia will quite rightly leave official interest rates on hold on Tuesday, for the eighth meeting in a row.
Superfunds overcharge by 50pc claims Grattan
Wealth industry executives were aghast last week at claims by the Grattan Institute that Australian super funds overcharge members by 50 per cent.
Why wait? Start deregulating now
Fred Hilmer | The National Commission of Audit could hardly be accused of an overly cautious approach to economic reform. So why recommend that the federal education minister take another 12 months to consider options on the deregulation of uni fees?
World
Ukraine’s east ‘essentially’ at war
Ukrainian forces are pressing their assault on separatists, with the head of its anti-terrorist centre saying eastern regions are ‘essentially’ at war, even as European observers who had been held hostage were released.
Too big to fail just one worry for banks
John Kehoe | Are the world’s biggest banks not only too big to fail, but also too big and complex to manage?
Business
Bendigo Bank to buy Rural Finance for $1.8bn
Updated | Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said it has agreed to purchase the business and assets of Victoria’s Rural Finance for $1.78 billion as its shares went into a trading halt ahead of a capital raising.
- Westpac raises dividend as first-half profit jumps
- Aurizon, Baosteel in $1.4bn takeover bid for Aquila
- Fitch questions APRA’s proposed securitisation structures
- Offshore companies bring new perspective to construction projects
- ACCC ‘out of touch’ with grains sector
- Chevron cites weather, labour risks to Gorgon schedule
- Unilever has global plans for Melbourne’s T2 tea stores
- Macquarie’s Moore amplifies call on bond market
- PEP mulls entry into Goodman Fielder battle
CBA settles one Bankwest suit
James Eyers | High-powered legal teams for Commonwealth Bank and property developer Rory O’Brien have resolved to settle a case due to get under way in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
Technology
NBN cost cuts could hit homeowners
Home owners will have to pay for equipment used to connect to the national broadband network under moves aimed at cutting costs for the company rolling out the massive infrastructure project.
- File-sharing site ban to go before cabinet
- CBA tech chief Michael Harte quits
- ispONE up for grabs in Sunday sale
- Sony slashes profit forecast again
- 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
Leveraging LinkedIn: Using the social network’s new features to your advantage
LinkedIn may not make headlines as frequently as Twitter and Facebook, but if you're looking for a social network to build professional connections, it's far and away the best.
Markets
Ukraine casts dark shadow over markets
Before the Bell | As the prospect of a bloodier conflict for control of eastern Ukraine increases, investors may choose the sidelines despite continuing positive signs about the US economic recovery.
- Big banks drag sharemarket down
- $A gains on US employment figures
- Upbeat ASX tipped on steady OCR
- Forget too big to fail, megabanks are too big to manage
- Healthy return at the expense of capital
- Pioneer Credit reaches a new frontier – where it’s all about the customer
- Will rate rises spoil the sharemarket party?
- Why investors just love LICs
- JPMorgan sees 20pc drop in quarterly trading revenue
Rich list names hurt by cruel April for biotech stocks
In April almost $1 billion was wiped from the combined market value of four well-regarded companies, Acrux, Mesoblast, QrXPharma and Prana Biotechnology, dragging down equally well known names like Waislitz, Liberman, Smorgon and Walker.
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.
Commercial property tactics for DIY super
Commercial property consistently attracts greater investment among do-it-yourself super funds than residential real estate.
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
No Westpac special dividend
Westpac has delivered a 90c dividend as expected, blaming rising APRA capital requirements for not handing out a special dividend.
Why Australia leads US in payment systems
Smartphone penetration and our big grocers help Australia keep an unlikely edge over the US, the home of internet e-commerce giants such as Amazon and PayPal.
Spotless prepares to clean up with an IPO
Cleaning and catering company Spotless has lodged its prospectus as it prepares to relist on the stock exchange later this month, in what will be the biggest IPO in three years.
NSW Premier Mike Baird eyes state asset sell-off
NSW Premier Mike Baird says he’s not driven by an ideology of privatisation and will pursue state-owned asset privatisation only if business can do it better.
