Business News, Economy, Finance & ASX Market News

The mega-storm that wasn't

An infrared image of the category-5 strength tropical cyclone Fantala, described as the most powerful storm recorded in ...

There were curiously differing accounts from our miners about a recent cyclone.

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How to avoid slavery in your fashion

In the wake of the Rana Plaza factory collapse some Australian fashion brands have made huge leaps in stamping out exploitation from their supply ...

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Facebook's Australian dilemma

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook, wants people to share more to make his platform more ...

Australians are becoming more guarded in what they share on their Facebook page, agencies say.

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Insurers predict equities losses for 2016

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 18: Robert Goodman from US Goldman Sachs HQ on April 18, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo ...

Credit spreads will widen, the number of company defaults will increase and the benchmark US S&P 500 index will fall, insurers say.

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'Karget' could prevent write-downs

Target's exit from Geelong is more about shaking up the culture than cutting costs, sources say.

The 'merger' of Target and Kmart may save Wesfarmers from having to write down its struggling chain by as much as $800 million, denting ...

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Mitsubishi employees falsified testing

Mitsubishi Motors struggled for years to win back consumer trust after a car defects scandal in the early 2000s.

Mitsubishi Motors says it has found evidence its employees falsified emissions test data for several models of vehicles.

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ANZ, CBA face debt risk

Ill winds: Macquarie notes that choppy conditions in both the energy and mining markets are likely to translate into ...

ANZ Banking Group and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia could be at risk of taking further resources-related impairments on their loan books.

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Silence on wage fraud won't wash

A scandal at 7-Eleven was a key focus of the inquiry.

Malcolm Turnbull must act to protect migrant workers for the good of us all.

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Market Indices

Updated: April 20, 2016 - 2:35PM

Updated: April 20, 2016 - 4:01PM

Updated: April 21, 2016 - 4:41AM

Updated: April 21, 2016 - 12:00AM

United States Dollar

Price

0.7794

Percentage up/down

-0.35% fall
Euro

Price

0.6902

Percentage up/down

0.20% rise
British Pound

Price

0.5438

Percentage up/down

0.06% rise

Updated: April 21, 2016 - 4:26AM

ASIC's budget is expected to be boosted to nearly $350 million a year.

Financial services to foot most of ASIC bill

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Tabcorp faces a court battle with the federal government agency Austrac over 'dirty money' claims.

Tabcorp faces new 'dirty money' claims

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McGrath was founded by Sydney real estate agent John McGrath.

Bell Potter cuts McGrath outlook

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Debenhams and House of Fraser are the two latest UK retailers to target Australian shoppers.

Aussie retail's little Britain

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Blood in the aisles tempts bosses

When chips are down it's time to buy, just look at the Qantas chairman.

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More than funding needed to boost ASIC

Greg Medcraft's term as chair of ASIC was extended by 18 months on Wednesday.

COMMENT
Clancy Yeates

It's often claimed Australia's financial regulation is world-beating, but we also hold some more dubious honours in this area.

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Time for banks to feel the blowtorch

Adele Ferguson

Beefing up ASIC and reviewing the Financial Ombudsman Service is welcome, but not enough.

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At times, women decline to negotiate because they understand that they're already getting the best deal, a study from ...

When not negotiating pays off

Sometimes, opting out of pay negotiations can be financially beneficial.

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Too much mess can lower your productivity - but so can not enough clutter.

Clean up your desk, but not too much

Too much mess can lower your productivity - but so can too little clutter.

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You can catch more than a cold off your work colleagues.

The hidden cost of 'presenteeism'

Being sick and dragging yourself into workis not contributing anything.

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ASIC powers boosted

ASIC has had its powers boosted by the Treasurer Scott Morrison, as he seeks to head off calls by Labor for a royal ...

VIDEO: The Coalition has admitted the corporate watchdog has been underperforming, and hopes new powers will restore trust.

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Power of face to face communication

VIDEO: Marketo MD Greg Taylor talks about the power of communicating face to face in the office rather than email.

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Goldman Sachs' profit drops 56 percent

VIDEO: The investment bank's profit got hit hard by a sharp decline in fixed-income trading just like its rivals.

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"We can probably look for risk assets to maintain their somewhat better tone, although it is hard to envisage a major ...

Expectations driving equities, says Citi's Schofield

1h ago

Legend has it that John Maynard Keynes once ...

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Quant funds could trigger $US100b of buying

1h ago

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Critical year for Apple, says Barclays

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Historical precedent for greenback's swoon

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Oil higher as US crude output falls

1h ago

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China shuns effort to ease global steel glut

1h ago

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Iron ore reaches highest in 10 months on China bets

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Aluminium is the top gainer on the LME over the past month, up some 6 per cent after producers cut output.

Aluminium paces base metals higher in London

Aluminium hit a six-month peak as the ...

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The Australian dollar's strength could limit growth.

Aussie dollar's strength could be our downfall

The Australian dollar's recent strength could ...

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Bell Potter cuts McGrath outlook

Broking house Bell Potter has joined its ...

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Consumer staples, as well as the banks, led the index down on Monday.

Resources lift ASX for a second day

The Australian sharemarket rose for a second ...

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Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan with Treasurer Scott Morrison. The tax boss will be brought in to explain what the ATO is ...

Inquiry to ask if regulators are too 'soft'

Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan will be asked to address concerns that tax authorities have been ''soft'' on tax avoidance at a Labor inquiry being held on Thursday.

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Morrison needs a reality check on tax

The government needs to sell its budget quickly, with an election looming.

The government's theme for selling the budget reads like a Seinfeld script.

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Square, dink, dinks, dinkus, head shot, business, Michael Pascoe,

Democrats would 'keep the bastards honest'

COMMENT

It's a little late in a number of ways, but this would be a very good time to start the original Australian Democrats – an alternative to the increasingly tired and clichéd mainstream alternatives, a middle-path party to "keep the bastards honest".

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How 76 profitable companies left taxpayers $5.6b out of pocket

Black economy. Generic pics illustrating black economy, cash changing hands between tradesman and payer. AFR
Pic. by ...

New report found the average rate of tax paid was 16.2 per cent - or less than the income tax rate paid by a working nurse in Australia.

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'Are we that desperate?'

RBA governor Glenn Stevens' statement may refer to the firming Aussie.

Ultra-low global interest rates are playing havoc with retirement income plans, Glenn Stevens says.

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No confidence in our tax system left: IGT

Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi says taxpayers have lost confidence in the system.

The Australian Taxation Office has made inaccurate statements to parliament, according to the Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi, and its alleged bullying of small business has made taxpayers lose confidence in the system.

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Robert Goodman, global head of insurance relationships at GSAM, said the most negative sentiment among insurers stemmed ...

GSAM survey: Insurers predict equities losses for 2016

Credit spreads will widen, the number of company defaults will increase and the benchmark US S&P; 500 index will fall, investing insurers say.

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Financial services to foot most of ASIC bill

Big business, particularly the financial services sector, will bear the brunt of ASIC's new user-pays budget.

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ASIC chair Greg Medcraft: "Why should taxpayers be funding a market regulator?"

Beefed-up ASIC to step up bank scrutiny

Trouble spots including financial advice and life insurance will be probed.

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More than funding needed to boost ASIC

COMMENT
Clancy Yeates

It's often claimed Australia's financial regulation is world-beating, but we also hold some more dubious honours in this area.

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Time for banks to feel the blowtorch

Adele Ferguson

Beefing up ASIC and reviewing the Financial Ombudsman Service is welcome, but not enough.

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SACC lenders say caps could end some businesses

SACC loan companies such Cash Converters are worried tough income caps will make their products unviable

Small-amount lenders say a cap on how much of a customer's income can be used for their loans will put smaller lenders out of business.

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'Karget' creation could prevent write-downs

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How to avoid slavery in your fashion

In the wake of the Rana Plaza factory collapse some Australian fashion brands have made huge leaps in stamping out exploitation from their supply chains. Others have not.

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Trish Robbo, and her granddaughter Miracle, aged 2. Trish is the owner of a Samsung
washing machine that caught fire. ...

'It was a hush-hush thing'

EXCLUSIVE

A fire broke out in Patricia Borg's laundry. But two different stories have emerged about what happened in the aftermath.

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Luxury fashion houses Chanel, Hermes and Prada were among the lowest rating brands.

The secrets of the top fashion labels

Luxury brands Chanel, Hermes and Prada are among the least transparent when it comes to reporting their social and environmental standards.

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Oil higher as US crude output falls

Brent crude for June settlement advanced $US1.56, or 3.5 per cent, to $US45.59 a barrel. It touched $US45.82, the ...

1h ago

Oil climbed to the highest level in more than four months after a government report showed US crude production dropped.

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China shuns effort to ease global steel glut

Steel-trade tensions are rising worldwide as a result of a flood of exports by China.

1h ago

China declined to sign an international statement on actions needed to tackle the steel glut in a sign of the obstacles to balancing a market dominated by Chinese mills.

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Ore with 62 per cent content delivered to Qingdao climbed 3.1 per cent to $US64.77 a tonne on Wednesday, according to ...

Iron ore reaches highest in 10 months on China bets

Iron ore surged 3.1pc on resilient demand in China and BHP Billiton's plan to ease back on supply growth.

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Mitsubishi staff falsified emissions testing

Mitsubishi Motors says it has found evidence its employees falsified emissions test data for several models of vehicles.

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Is Elizabeth Holmes' stunning success story approaching a bloody end?

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of blood-testing company Theranos.

Elizabeth Holmes is learning a hard truth: the highest fliers fall hardest. But the world's youngest female self-made billionaire still has a few cushions to fall into.

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Are there too many Harleys?

Harley Davidson's US domestic sales fell during the quarter.

Analysts have suggested that Harley Davidson may have to prune models as its global sales rise but profits fall.

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John McGrath owns around 28 per cent of McGrath Estate Agents after a share top up.

John McGrath backs his business with share buy

John McGrath has backed his own management and business with the outlay of about $500,000 to buy the same amount of shares.

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An investor paid $1.75 million for a 320-square-metre whole floor at 21 Victoria Street, Melbourne.

Strata deals straight on

Investors put off by the tightening yields on strata shops in Melbourne's CBD are looking upwards to strata offices.

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Macquarie Bank Building at 1 Shelley Street, King Street Wharf, Sydney.

Charter Hall in running for 1 Shelley Street

Charter Hall has emerged as the front runner to buy the Macquarie bank office at 1 Shelley Street in Sydney's Darling Harbour, with a price tag of about $500 million.