Tales of Brick and Mortar: The man who goes shopping for stories

Forget nail salons and burger joints: Old shops are in vogue for a new website.

Outlook lifted by investment bias

North Korea's test on Sunday could sap appetite for risk assets in a week where the RBA is expected to keep rates on hold again.

Treasury must keep a lid on the 'crazy'

Suggested head: Econocrats' job is to minimise the damage from lurch to populism

Expert panel has 'low confidence' in Santos CSG project

Santos's plan to develop coal seam gas in northern NSW has been found by an independent expert panel to lack key data that potentially underestimates impacts on threatened ecosystems and ground and surface water.

Don't be duped by 'orphan tourism'

As long as well-meaning people from prosperous places like Australia continue to finance the orphanages, children will be enslaved in them as bait for all those hugs and selfies.

Why our leaders lie, and we don't care

• COMMENT

People, like markets, despise uncertainty. We'd rather go along with the fiction that someone is in control. The problem, of course, is that once they know that, governments and managers act accordingly.

Uber needs a Tim Cook. Can the new CEO deliver?

• COMMENT

Unlike Apple at the time of that 2011 handover, Uber is a wildly unprofitable, undermanaged mess of demotivated workers and squabbling directors.

Citi broadens youth unemployment scheme

Citi Australia plans to spend an extra $1.5 million on its Pathway to Progress program.

Always be hustlin': Where working 9 to 5 is for losers

Just when a lot of industries are paying more attention to work-life balance, tech companies is branding workaholism as a desirable lifestyle choice.

Turnbull commits $100m to secure mining investment

The Turnbull government will commit $100 million to secure private investment in greenfield mineral exploration across the country to drive a new wave of discoveries and restart the flagging mining sector in its west.

Australia, East Timor strike 'landmark' deal over border

Parties agreed on a maritime boundary as well as sharing arrangements for the $US50 billion Greater Sunrise oil and gas field.

L'Oreal sacks transgender model after race comments

French cosmectics giant has sacked its first transgender model to appear on a British advertising campaign after she described all white people as racist on Facebook.

Wall St edges higher, rate bets drop

​Wall Street has made modest gains as a tepid US jobs report kept expectations muted for another interest rate hike this year.

Rio Tinto's reaps rich reward from Hunter coal sale

Rio Tinto officially handed over the key to its Hunter Valley coal business on Friday, prompting renewed speculation about what it will do with the proceeds from the $US2.69 billion ($3.5 billion).

'Drone detective' app aims to keep rogue pilots in check

Now anyone can snap pictures of and dob in people who fly unmanned aerial vehicles in restricted spaces, including sporting events and airports.

Bonanza continues for CEOs, despite some nips and tucks

One of the big features of this corporate reporting season, has been the increasing number of companies releasing the company's earnings, and the CEO's earnings, on the same day.

Billions made and lost but what did we really learn?

It was confession time for the nation's biggest listed corporations so who did well and who's had explaining to do?

Central banks enter the fray

With earnings behind us, and US politics and geo-politics still at the heart of the conversation, this week central banks also come into the mix with the RBA and ECB taking central focus. (This video was produced in commercial partnership between Fairfax Media and IG Markets.)

The angst about our productivity? Totally unproductive

• COMMENT

It's time to take a step back because people who should know better won't stop going into panic mode.

ACCC loses case against LG over customer repairs

Electronics giant LG did not break the law when it convinced customers to pay to have their faulty televisions repaired, even though they might have been entitled to a full refund or replacement, a court has ruled.

Ex-Slater and Gordon boss earns 5% of firm's value in pay

• COMMENT

Paying Slater and Gordon's former chief executive Andrew Grech a remuneration package of $1.5 million in a year when the company almost collapsed isn't a good look.

Landmark decision allows university to take 'nuclear' option

Hardline industrial relations tactics are now being used in the public sector.

CBA investors warned over foreign fine risk

The Commonwealth Bank risks being investigated by overseas authorities known to impose hefty fines if its anti-money laundering compliance scandal extended into foreign countries, investors have been warned.

Spring returns to ASX's step after turbulent week

The first day of spring brought a bit of sunshine to the Australian sharemarket, capping a hectic week.

Markets Live: Green shoots as ASX thaws

Shares suffered the final slings and arrows of August reporting season and another North Korean missile scare, but some spring returned to the ASX's step on Friday.

ASX winners and losers - a snapshot

The stand out listings traded on the ASX captured at key moments through the day, as indicated by the time stamp in the video.

Landowner splashes $53m on property after selling family farm

A newly-minted former city-fringe landowner has splashed out $53.75 million at a portfolio auction, spending part of a multi-million windfall from the sale of a farm on two childcare centres and two supermarkets.

Hong Kong billionaire buys half of Bindaree Beef

NSW beef processor Bindaree Beef has had another crack at securing a Chinese investment partner - this time successfully.

$5b investor's plan to fix 'cult' of excessive executive pay

• COMMENT

Outspoken investor Allan Gray has called time on current executive pay practices and is pressuring the companies in which it invests to adopt an alternative model.