Business News, Economy, Finance & ASX Market News

Deadline for Clive Palmer's Townsville refinery

Clive Palmer says he's back in the money.

Clive Palmer has one week to take charge of safety at his Townsville nickel refinery or the Queensland government will make him.

Insolvencies jump for first time since GFC

Joe Gutnick, whose debts stand at $275 million, issued a $2.7 million loan just 16 days before going bust.

Patrick Hatch

The ranks of Australians taking financial measures of last resort has swelled.

Banks help ASX back above 5400

An exuberant February helped the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index towards a gain of around 9.5 per cent for the first quarter ...

Jessica Sier

The ASX extended its winning run to six straight sessions, with the benchmark top 200 index topping 5400 points for the first time since May.

Rate cut to 'pressure bank profitability'

Moody's says banks' profit margins are being squeezed by record-low interest rates.

Clancy Yeates

Credit ratings agency Moody's predicts a squeeze on bank profit margins.

Are plastic cards on their way out?

ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott tries out Android Pay, alongside general manager of deposits and payments, ...

Clancy Yeates

ANZ boss predicts digital wallets could take over from plastic credit and debit cards in less than a decade.

Nintendo shares up another 16%

Players walk around real-life neighbourhoods to hunt down virtual cartoon characters on their smartphone screens.

Shares of Japanese video games company Nintendo soared 16 per cent on Thursday, thanks to the success of its new smartphone game, Pokemon Go

Jobless rate up despite full-time surge

The jobless rate rose in June, but markets took heart from a big full-time push.

Mark Mulligan

The unemployment rate rose slightly in June, although a surge in full-time jobs may take some pressure off the RBA to cut interest rates further.

Court overturns Prime Trust bannings

Former federal health minister Dr Michael Wooldridge was originally hit with a 27-month ban and a $20,000 fine.

BREAKING
Sarah Danckert

Shock decision to overturn bans on Michael Wooldridge and Bill Lewski could cost ASIC millions.

Market Indices

Updated: July 14, 2016 - 4:36PM

Updated: July 14, 2016 - 6:01PM

Updated: July 14, 2016 - 6:42AM

Updated: July 14, 2016 - 10:47PM

United States Dollar

Price

0.7638

Percentage up/down

0.41% rise
Euro

Price

0.6855

Percentage up/down

-0.04% fall
British Pound

Price

0.5719

Percentage up/down

-1.18% fall

Updated: July 14, 2016 - 10:32PM

Michael Schaper, deputy chair of the ACCC, says to independently source contact details for the ACCC through an internet ...

Consumer watchdog victim of latest scam

Colin Kruger, CBD

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman has taken the company into African waters.

Woodside expands footprint in Africa

Angela Macdonald-Smith

The ASX will attempt to post six days of gains in a row.

Markets Live: Straight six

Live
Vanessa Desloires

NAB has gone further than rivals in winding back the role of sales targets for staff.

NAB to axe salaries, sales targets link

Clancy Yeates

Bad strategy, not foul play

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 25: Shopers walk into the Dick Smith store, Bondi Junction in the Westfield Centre, as ...

ANALYSIS

ELIZABETH KNIGHT: The first official autopsy into the demise of Dick Smith appears to have found the cause of death.

After Dick Smith came... childcare?

CBD: Weeks before Dick Smith fell into oblivion, private equity group that sold it to the public acquired a childcare business.

Chinese highlight Australia's shift

Exports of services, including a surge in Chinese tourists to Australia, are helping to limit the pain of a mining slump.

ANALYSIS

How a Chinese tourism boom, and a slide in the number Australians jetting to Bangkok, symbolises big changes in our economy.

BlackRock calls AAA downgrade a 'real risk'

BlackRock's Stephen Miller has warned the ...

Banks help offset energy sell-off

Jobless rate up slightly despite full-time surge

Markets Live: Straight six

Live

Most powerful stock pickers don't manage a cent

The Chinese trade outpacing Buffett, Amazon

Two rate rises may be needed in 2016: Fed's Harker

Retired at 39, John Hempton says he co-founded Bronte in 2009 when his wife threatened to divorce him if he didn't get ...

The Aussie short seller taking on US billionaire

Tax official turned hedge fund head John ...

Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May leaves after attending a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, in London, Tuesday, ...

need2know: ASX to open slightly higher

Local shares poised to open higher as the ASX ...

On war footing? A Chinese frigate launches an anti-ship missile during military exercises in the South China Sea.

How to invest for an Asian arms race

Rising tensions in the South China Sea ...

The Australian shares of BHP and Rio Tinto have appreciated rapidly compared to the miners' London shares.

ASX gains for a fifth session

A strong bounce in oil and a surging iron ore ...

A 2013 study found that while bright lights can make workers more alert, dim lights can make them more creative and ...

Office lighting can boost your productivity

Employees can make or break your business.

Why you should be nice to ex-employees

Prepare to answer the tough questions to nail an interview.

How to answer tricky job interview questions

Gabrielle Dolan

Why Cara's stressing out at the shops

Alex Crespo and Cara Heasman, who have experienced "analysis paralysis" in their Bronte flat.

With the plethora of products, you'd think we'd be satisfied. But we're actually feeling a whole lot of regret, according to a new study.

Forget a four-hour week - try this

Five hours a week of deliberate learning could make a huge difference to your future success.

If you have a spare hour each workday, the results of this experiment might surprise you.

How Bella gives 'free money' to charity

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 13: Bella Thomas is a young university student that struggles to donate to charities on July ...

One Australian social enterprise believes it has found a way to help consumers "give free money to charity".

Insolvencies jump for first time since GFC

The number of Australians becoming bankrupt or insolvent has jumped for the first time since the global financial crisis.

Jobless rate up slightly despite full-time surge

The unemployment rate rose slightly in June, although a surge in full-time jobs may take some pressure off the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates further.

Malcolm Turnbull said he would bring legislation to the Parliament consistent with what was presented to voters in the ...

Turnbull must switch to a budget for all

COMMENT

The plain fact is that the mainstream politicians have forfeited our trust and lost our respect.

RBA plays down credit rating fears

RBA's Luci Ellis: "I think it's fair to say that countries that have experienced sovereign downgrades from where we are ...

Countries that have lost their AAA rating have not experienced dramatic financial consequences, RBA's Luci Ellis says.

Business shrugs off Brexit, pre-election doubts

Despite the generally positive mood, the outlook for retailers continues to be dogged by cost pressures.

Business has shrugged off post-Brexit market volatility and pre-election doubts to report some of the best conditions since the global financial crisis.

Consumer confidence hit by election

'Confidence has been buffeted by uncertainty': ANZ head of Australian economics Felicity Emmett.

Consumer confidence has fallen for a third straight week amid uncertainty about the election result and the outlook for the global economy.

David Jones unveils strong full-year sales

Catie Low

South African-owned department store David Jones has maintained its strong lead on rival Myer.

Dick Smith suppliers, dividends in liquidator's sights

Payments to suppliers are in the frame after Dick Smith's administrator McGrathNicol revealed plans to claw back about ...

Catie Low

Dick Smith's administrator will target suppliers to the failed electronics chains in a bid to claw back payments made to the retailer in late December when the business was insolvent.

Google launches Android Pay in Australia

Tim Biggs

Google has today announced the launch of its contactless smartphone payment system Android Pay in Australia, providing a new way to pay for just about anything without needing to grab your wallet.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has some big decisions to make.

Carney opens Lehman playbook

Mark Carney looks poised to repeat a strategy that served him well during the global financial crisis.

Rate cut would pressure bank profits: Moody's

Credit ratings agency predicts a squeeze on bank profit margins.

Ian McPhee said the scope of the review would be further clarified, with different stakeholders having interpreted the ...

Banking review needs resources: McPhee

The man assessing the progress of the banking industry's self-imposed review has stressed the need for banks to dedicate sufficient resources to make changes.

Digital wallets may displace plastic within 10 years: ANZ

Why ANZ reckons customers will soon embrace paying on their smart phones.

NAB to axe salaries, sales targets link

The salaries of National Australia Bank's frontline staff and managers will no longer be linked to sales targets.

NAB wealth shake-up creates country’s biggest retail super fund

NAB executive general manager of superannuation, Paul Carter (left), and group executive for NAB wealth, Andrew Hagger.

National Australia Bank is merging five of its superannuation funds to create the country's biggest retail fund.

Deadline for Palmer's Townsville refinery

Clive Palmer has one week to take charge of safety at his Townsville nickel refinery or the Queensland government will make him.

Tesla's Musk promises new 'master plan'

"The Elon Musk effect is alive and well," said Ben Kallo, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co.

A new corporate manifesto is expected to connect the dots between Tesla's myriad projects, including its proposal to acquire solar installer SolarCity Corp.

Woodside expands footprint in Africa

Woodside Petroleum has agreed to pay about $US430 million ($565.5 million) to serve its way into a potential $US5 billion oil project off the coast of Senegal.

Nintendo shares jump on Pokemon GO

Shares of Japanese video games company Nintendo soared 16 per cent on Thursday, thanks to the success of its new smartphone game, Pokemon Go

CIMIC faces lawsuit from Middle East partner

EXCLUSIVE

Australian construction giant CIMC Group, formerly Leighton Holdings, is facing a damaging lawsuit launched by a partner in its besieged billion-dollar Middle East joint venture.