Business News, Economy, Finance & ASX Market News

Woolies in a spin over pokie punt

Talk that Woolworths may look at selling ALH has continued to bubble away. Illustration: Simon Bosch

ANALYSIS
Patrick Hatch and Catie Low

Gambling reform is back on the agenda and that puts Australia's biggest supermarket in an uncomfortable position.

Not everything is as it seems...

COMMENT
Jessica Irvine

Economic growth is quite robust and the jobless rate is falling. But price pressures are abating. How can that be?

Pizza wars gun down fast food chain

Over the past five years, pizza wars and fast food wars have escalated.

COMMENT
Adele Ferguson

The fast food industry can be a brutal business. When it is wrapped around a franchise system, it can be even more so.

The drama shaking up US politics

Roger Ailes, creator of Fox News, has been the creator and destroyer of political ambitions over the years.

COMMENT
Anne Summers

If you thought the shenanigans at the Republican National Convention were the weirdest thing happening in America this week, you'd be wrong.

Debt indigestion: Inside Eagle Boys' demise

Eagle Boys Pizza had been in dire straits since 2012.

ANALYSIS
Sarah Danckert

Collapsed Eagle Boys pizza chain had been in dire financial straits since 2012 due to a serious case of short-term debt indigestion.

Business liquidated to escape $800k fine

AB Recycling manager Leandro Guisasola in an advertisement for High Heat.

Nick Toscano

The operators of a prominent recycling company have sought to escape massive penalties for the death of an employee.

Hot air rife in renewables 'debate'

More than 83 per cent of South Australia's electricity came from renewables earlier this month.

COMMENT
Brian Robins

'Never let the facts get in the way of a lobbying position' could well apply to both sides of the 'debate' over the role of renewable energy.

Arrium loan to 'save jobs': Turnbull

The $49 million federal government loan is a last-ditch bid to improve the viability of Arrium's Whyalla business.

Nick Toscano

Struggling steelmaker will secure a $49 million lifeline under a loan that the government says will protect thousands of at-risk jobs.

Market Indices

Updated: July 22, 2016 - 4:37PM

Updated: July 22, 2016 - 6:01PM

Updated: July 23, 2016 - 7:15AM

Updated: July 23, 2016 - 2:00AM

United States Dollar

Price

0.7470

Percentage up/down

0.05% rise
Euro

Price

0.6808

Percentage up/down

0.06% rise
British Pound

Price

0.5698

Percentage up/down

0.04% rise

Updated: July 23, 2016 - 9:00AM

The Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo, which is home to the Ovolo Hotel.

Pizza wars gun down fast food chain

COMMENT

The fast food industry can be brutal. When tied around a franchise system, it can be worse.

Not everything is as it seems...

COMMENT

Economic growth is robust and the jobless rate is falling. But price pressures are abating. How can that be?

Hot air rife in renewables 'debate'

COMMENT

'Never let the facts get in the way of a lobbying position' could apply to the 'debate' over renewable energy.

Nintendo: The house that Mario Built

BULLS AND BEARS
30m ago

This weekend's release of PokémonGo in Japan ...

Investors watching inflation, central banks

G20 will use "all policy tools" to protect growth as Brexit looms

G20 calls for tax policy overhaul

Etihad stake may halve as Virgin share raising wraps up this week

BHP bids for coal assets as prices recover

Verizon near deal to acquire Yahoo

Wall Street watchers say growth is quickening.

Wall St rises in fourth straight week of gains

Wall Street rose on Friday, clinching the ...

About a quarter of S&P 500 firms have released figures so far, of which 82 per cent exceeded profit forecasts and 60 per ...

S&P; 500 sets fresh record high

US stocks rose as investors showed confidence ...

Brent for September settlement dropped 1.1 per cent to $US45.69 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe ...

Oil falls to lowest in two months

Oil dropped as the US heads toward the end of ...

"Risk assets will do well," Minerd, Guggenheim's chief investment officer, said. "We won't have a black swan event."

Minerd sees 15pc rally for US stocks

Equities are poised to rally after markets ...

High-heel shoes can have a debilitating effect on feet when worn every day.

High heels 'cost UK businesses $453m a year'

A smile, a name and a confident handshake can sometimes go a long way.

17 icebreakers for awkward networking events

Escaping the daily grind is possible

Warren Frehse

VHS is officially dead

We take a look back at the history of home entertainment as we say farewell to the humble video player.

Roger Ailes leaves Fox

Rupert Murdoch will act as Fox News Channel CEO after Roger Ailes' steps down following sexual harassment allegations.

Australia 'resilient' in wake of Brexit

Brexit is expected to only have a 'limited impact' on the Australian economy says Treasurer Scott Morrison.

The real problem with Australia's migrants

We pick the cream of the crop but Australia still has some way to go to make the most of its migrant community.

Not everything is as it seems...

COMMENT

Economic growth is quite robust and the jobless rate is falling. But price pressures are abating. How can that be?

Older unemployed people are, on average, out of work a lot longer.

Unemployment's age-old problem

ANALYSIS

If there's one thing worse than being unemployed, it's being unemployed and old.

Eight Australian entries on Fortune 500 list of world's biggest companies

Total margin loan balances were $12.3 billion for the September quarter of 2015, compared to the heady days of December ...

Australia's supermarkets, banks and miners have again made up the local entries on the list of the world's largest 500 corporations.

The women Australia should follow

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May meet in Berlin. So far there are hopeful signs ...

COMMENT

Australia has the ability to mitigate negative effects from Europe through positive relationships in our own region.

Business conditions at strongest level since GFC: NAB

The aftershocks of the UK's vote to leave the European Union continued to reverberate across financial markets including ...

Australian firms enjoyed strong growth in sales and profits in the second quarter, while subdued price pressures pointed to another soft reading for inflation, a survey showed on Thursday.

Aldi grocery share tops 10 per cent: ACCC

Aldi has said it could reach a 15 per cent market share as more stores open across Australia.

Madeleine Heffernan

German discount chain has cut duopoly's market share to about 70 per cent, competition tsar says.

A nation divided on our favourite meat

Peter Shaw, butcher of The Meat Store in Bondi Junction.

Lucy Cormack

Meat continues to be the meal of choice for Australians, who are spending $378 million a week on meat to cook at home.

Woolies in a spin over pokie punt

ANALYSIS
Patrick Hatch and Catie Low

Gambling reform is back on the agenda and that puts Australia's biggest supermarket in an uncomfortable position.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn sees positive signs in business credit growth.

NAB eyes the 'heartland' with shakeup

National Australia Bank is vowing to sharpen its focus on domestic businesses and consumers.

Bank sold debt after woman failed to pay for account she didn't want

Patricia Howard was caught between a rock and a hard place

Patricia Howard's first hint that something was wrong came when one of her credit cards was cancelled. Then the debt collectors started calling her.

NAB is merging five super funds to create the biggest retail super fund in the country.

Heads roll in NAB restructure

Three of NAB's most senior executives will leave the bank as it aims to become more 'customer-focussed'.

Accounting for Dick Smith failures

business pic greg newington afr syd 981229 ... generic money businessmen. big business etc. ****afr use only do not ...

COMMENT

As the receivers, administrators and ASIC work through the wreckage of Dick Smith's collapse, the accounting profession has questions to confront.

Bank dividends 'simply unsustainable'

The big banks' dividends are in the spotlight, again.

The most obvious response to likely increases in capital requirements would be to cut shareholder payouts, Perpetual portfolio manager Anthony Aboud says.

Bank satisfaction slides to three-year low

Customer satisfaction with the big four banks peaked in May last year but is now dwindling, Roy Morgan says.

Few customers are happy with their bank, despite very low interest rates.

At The Meat Store in Bondi Junction, beef is the most popular choice among customers, chicken is the least.

A nation divided on our favourite meat

Lucy Cormack

Former senior Google executive, Marissa Mayer has been criticised for her failure to turn Yahoo around under her leadership.

Verizon near deal to acquire Yahoo

MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and VINDU GOEL

SHD. A cake of Body Shop Olive Soap / Savon Olive with Certified Sustainable Palm Oil RSPO. Friday 22nd July 2016 photo: ...

Why people are spending $4.95 on one bar of soap

Lucy Cormack

Gold shines for BHP

South Australia's Olympic Dam has helped BHP to its highest gold haul in 14 years.

Iron ore, copper and petroleum may dominate the headlines, but BHP's output of gold has quietly hit a 14 year high.

BHP bids for coal assets as prices recover

BHP Billiton is looking at buying some Queensland coalmines as the market ticks higher.

Against the backdrop of firming coal prices as China's moves to force through domestic coal production cuts, BHP Billiton via its joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp, is among bidders for Anglo American's Australian coking coal assets, which could cost as much as $US1.5 billion.