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World shares end 2015 where they began

It's been a year of high drama and stock markets have taken a circuitous and volatile route to end up where they began.

Tom Stevenson 10:01AM

A few simple decisions in January determined whether you had a good or a bad 2015. The top decision was to avoid anything commodity-related.

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The falling currency sets a fresh challenge for Beijing's leaders, as the Chinese yuan is increasingly woven into the global marketplace.

Yuan decline poses challenges

Keith Bradsher 10:16AM

If China’s currency falls too steeply, the volatility could prompt traders to place large bets on further depreciation, making the decline harder to control.

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The allegations have amplified the public outrage over the brash, boyish-looking Martin Shkreli, who has become the poster child for the issue of soaring prices for prescription medications.

Shkreli says fraud charges 'baseless'

10:28AM

Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceuticals entrepreneur vilified for jacking up the price of a life-saving AIDS drug, said unrelated securities fraud allegations that resulted in his arrest were "baseless and without merit".

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All the major retailers pointed to Malcolm Turnbull's upbeat leadership style to explain the merry Christmas.

Jingle sells: Retailers rejoice

Catie Low

Forget expensive technical forecasts, Nicholas Egonidis can tell how well Christmas retail is travelling by counting his jocks.

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Coal's future looking blacker

Ross Gittins

It's clear Australia will have to lift its game if we're not to be seen as global bludgers.

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Molybdenum is used in many steel building materials and to help harden the drills used to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground.

This year's worst commodity

An obscure metal used to make steel has become this year's worst-performing commodity.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 21: Chairman and biggest shareholder James Packer and incoming chairman Rob Rankin are seen arriving at the Crown Resorts annual general meeting at Crown Entertainment Complex on October 21, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. James Packer is handing the Chairman position to Rob Rankin. (Photo by Patrick Scala/Fairfax Media)

Packer rolls the dice

Perry Williams

As Crown Resorts' high-profile board gathered in Melbourne on Wednesday morning, there was one notable absence.

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The Economy Pathology battle in every clinic
Mining and Resources BHP dividend in Moody's sights
Markets A tough road for Slater & Gordon
Retail Coles' bold new strategy to 'embarrass' suppliers
Mining and Resources Whitehaven attacked over coal demand claims

Market Indices

Last updated: December 19, 2015 - 9:15AM

Currencies

United States Dollar
Last updated: Dec 20, 2015 - 5:42PM (delayed by 30 minutes)
0.7175	0.61%
Euro
0.6605	0.00%
British Pound
0.4817	0.00%

Comment & Analysis

Malcolm Maiden

Less interest in politics since Turnbull arrived
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Ross Gittins

Coal's future looking blacker
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Harold Mitchell

Talk, sure, but try listening this Christmas
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Illustration for bleisure [mixing business with leisure] - a businessman on holiday reclines with his feet up on his wheeled brief case, and dressed in board shorts and thongs and a suit jacket, tie and bowler hat.

Idea illo sep 28

travel Idea illo 28th september .jpg

This CEO has rolled over 338 leave days

Anders Melin

Bosses who rarely go on breaks can create a culture where employees feel insecure about taking holidays.

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In Depth

Australia is still stuck in second

Australia ranks second-best in the world for its quality of life, the UN annual survey says.

For the second year in a row, Australia trails Norway as the best place in the world for quality of life, the UN says. Switzerland comes in third.

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2016 will be 'better than expected'

Saxo Bank's chief economist Steen Jakobsen believes Australia is on the right economic path under Malcolm Turnbull.

Mark Mulligan

The US Federal Reserve's first rate in hike in almost a decade should fire up credit demand .

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Star Wars awakens Playstation sales

PS4 is Sony's fastest-selling console ever.

Jared Lynch

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first film in the 38-year-old franchise to be released in a decade, is helping buoy sales.

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Workplace

'Hungry' Jack's penalty rate stand-off solution

Consumers may have to pay more for a Whopper burger if Sunday penalty rates aren't reduced.

Sue Mitchell

Hungry Jack's founder Jack Cowin says consumers will have to pay more for fast food if campaign to reduce penalty rates fails.

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Uber and Lyft Drivers to form unions

Uber drivers in Seattle will be allowed to form unions.

Seattle's city council voted unanimously Monday to approve a bill allowing drivers for Uber, its rival Lyft and other ride-hailing apps to form unions.

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Markets

Share fall may slow 'Santa rally' amid rough ride for oil

BHP Billiton will come under selling pressure on Monday after news that a court ruling has blocked its Brazilian assets in response to the Samarco dam disaster.

Stephen Cauchi 9:27PM

Hefty falls on Wall Street and further bad news for BHP from the Samarco disaster will put Australian shares under pressure on Monday.

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Judge blocks BHP Billiton's Brazil assets after dam disaster

Compensation is being sought for environmental damage caused by a dam collapse in Brazil.

Jenny Wiggins 5:03PM

A Federal Court judge in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is "assigning environmental responsibility" to BHP Billiton and Vale as "indirect polluters" after a dam burst because they are controlling partners of Samarco.

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Brazilian assets of BHP frozen

Samarco is working with police, firefighters and other rescue workers to help the injured and homeless.

3:19PM

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO December 19 Reuters - A judge in Brazil's state of Minas Gerais has frozen the Brazilian assets of mining giants BHP Billiton and Vale SA after determining their joint venture Samarco was unable to pay for damage caused by the bursting of a dam at its mine last month.

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All Asia currencies seen down for third year
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Oil seen at $US25 or lower in first quarter
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Oil hits six-year low on global glut worries
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Oil exports approved as US spending bill passes
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Hawk-heavy policymakers set to rule Fed committee
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Wall St stalls on oil, $US eases
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2016 will be 'better than expected', says Saxo's Jakobsen
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Fed bounce sparks hopes of Santa rally
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Class Limited chairman Barry Lambert sees growth opportunities for the SMSF software business.

Class Super soars 41 per cent on debut

Search Quotes & Charts

The Economy

The corporate lie: tax transparency 'misleading'

Nassim Khadem

The list of tax paid by Australia's biggest companies may have raised more questions than it answered. Nevertheless, we needed it.

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18 of 70 tech companies on ATO list paid no tax

From left, Microsoft's Bill Sample, Google's Maile Carnegie, and Apple's Tony King faced a Senate grilling earlier this year.

Nassim Khadem and Gareth Hutchens

Some of the biggest tech companies in the world are paying little or no tax in Australia, an analysis of the Tax Office's data release shows.

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Australia is still stuck in second
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Multinational oil and gas giants paying no petroleum resource rent tax
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Strong jobs growth: where they are being created
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Which companies are not paying tax
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Retail

Small business goes digital in wake of IKEA opening

Charmaine Lageman and Andrew Watta at Furniturewise, before it became Mandarin Duck.

Stephen Jeffery 11:30PM

One Fyshwick furniture retailer has changed its business practices to offer niche services.

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Former Oroton boss to get Big W back on track

Sally Macdonald restored profit growth at Oroton and hopes to do the same at Woolworths' BIG W.

Catie Low

Sally Macdonald has taken on the turnaround of Woolworth's discount department store laggard Big W.

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Banking & Finance

Crowdfunding still too costly says Sharesight chief

Doug Morris, Sharesight CEO, said: "Limiting crowdfunding to unlisted public companies ... means that a company like Sharesight could not have crowdfunded the raise we just completed."

Shaun Drummond 5:55PM

New crowdfunding rules would still put equity raising online out of the reach of investment app Sharesight, says chief Doug Morris.

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Judge questions Kisimul "fishing exercise" in Bendigo

Bendigo Bank subsidiary Rural Bank has labelled vexatious Kisimul's claim it illegally used its database of 120,000 farmers

Shaun Drummond 1:46PM

Kisimul Holdings has resorted to subpoenaing Bendigo Bank in the data company's bid to dig up evidence the bank and its subsidiary Rural Bank illegally used its database of 120,000 farmers. The judge hearing the case, however, said its search for evidence resembles a "fishing exercise".

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Citigroup may cut at least 2000 jobs in January
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Class Super soars 41 per cent on debut
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More than a few bad apples at CBA
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NAB chairman defends 'outstanding' performance
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ANZ hit by protest vote on pay
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Mining & Resources

Judge blocks BHP Billiton's Brazil assets after dam disaster

Jenny Wiggins 5:03PM

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Brazilian assets of BHP frozen

3:19PM

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World Business

'Wolf of Pharma Street' shows unwelcome mirror to industry

"If you talk to anyone in pharma, maybe I don't have the same resources as Pfizer, I may not have the same experience as Merck, but I'm crafty as f---," Martin Shkreli said in a December 16 interview.

Doni Bloomfield and John Lauerman

Martin Shkreli has come to represent everything that was bad and wrong with drug companies.

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'Most hated' CEO resigns after arrest

Carolyn Y. Johnson

Martin Shkreli has resigned from the pharmaceutical company he founded after being arrested on fraud charges.

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'Lies, deception, greed' lead to arrest
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IMF chief Christine Lagarde to face French trial over Tapie affair
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'Pharma bro' Martin Shkreli arrested by FBI on security fraud charges
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Uber is 'probably' IPO bound
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Infamous pharma executive Martin Shkreli charged with fraud
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China

Wind-up of Sino on hold

Sino Australia Oil and Gas has been in administration since May 2015.

Sarah Danckert

The directors of Sino Australia Oil and Gas appointed administrators because it was unable to deal with an investigation by the corporate regulator.

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China central bank sees growth slowing

The world's second-largest economy still faces downward pressure and the impact of fiscal and monetary policies that were rolled out this year will be evident by the first half of 2016.

Xiaoyi Shao and Kevin Yao

China's annual economic growth is likely to slow to 6.8 per cent next year from an expected 6.9 per cent this year, the People's Bank of China said in a working paper.

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Good times over for China's start-ups
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Alibaba buys South China Morning Post
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Fosun's Guo Guangchang goes missing
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China exports fall for fifth month
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Chinese demand for Aussie homes down 15% - McGrath
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China's fortunes to weigh more on $A
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Property Focus

Triguboff sticks with property

Harry Triguboff sees property as among the few attractive investments in the nation amid rising rents and a "terrible" stock market.

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City Tattersalls votes for $200m redevelopment

New impression of the City Tattersalls Club, to be developed in Sydney CBD into hotel and apartments.

Carolyn Cummins

Members of the City Tattersalls Club have voted overwhelmingly to approve development of the Pitt Street building's airspace.

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Scentre strikes $2.85m deal with Booodl start up

Apps such as Boodl are increasingly aiding customers find perfect Christmas gifts.

Carolyn Cummins

Shopping is not everyone's most enjoyable way to spend a day, particularly wandering around a mall trying to locate the stores selling the items on your list.

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