Unis turned into aimless, money-grubbing exploiters

• Comment

Of the many stuff-ups during the now-finished era of economic reform, one of the worst is the unending backdoor privatisation of Australia's universities, which began under the Hawke-Keating government and continues in the Senate as we speak.

Giant company to offer parental leave on day one

Jack Bell was relaxed about taking more than three months off work on parental leave but knows some other men would not feel as comfortable taking that much time away.

Father, son, law firm face contempt for flouting freeze

A father and son duo, who are allegedly part of a ring running an international binary option scheme that has misappropriated millions from Australians, and their lawyer have been accused of contempt of court.

Wage suppression to cost workers $100 billion

Wage fraud, wage freezes, cuts to penalty rates and companies scrapping enterprise agreements will reduce the retirement savings of millions of workers by $100 billion by the time they retire, a report has found.

Labor demands independent inquiry into Hadgkiss

Labor is calling for an independent inquiry into the government's decision to appoint Nigel Hadgkiss to head the building industry watchdog despite legal concerns.

GM chief challenges China's planned bans on petrol cars

Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, has cautioned against the growing trend of officials in China and some other countries making plans to phase out sales of petrol and diesel-powered cars.

Wolf of Wall Street producer settles US forfeiture suit

The producer of The Wolf of Wall Street settled a forfeiture lawsuit by the US Justice Department alleging the movie was funded by money siphoned from a Malaysian state investment fund.

Summer of bitcoin ending badly as China clamps down on trading

Bitcoin's meteoric summertime surge risks coming to a painful end as Chinese policy makers move to restrict trading amid growing warnings of a market bubble.

Stagnant wages threat to economy, equality

In recent days, politicians have sought to twist key economic statistics measuring income, wealth and spending.

Property still doesn't appeal to billionaire investment guru Kerr Neilson

According to a character in David Williamson's Emerald City, the problem with Sydney people is that they know the meaning of life: waterfront real estate.

For young rebels, early innovation can be a path to ethical indiscretion

Entrepreneurs, it turns out, do not just move fast and break things, as Facebook's longtime credo put it. They are also more likely than others to cross the line.

'Historic lows': Coal exports left power plants with 'weeks' of stocks

A shortage of rail capacity in the Hunter Valley prompted by rising coal exports led three of the country's biggest power stations to run down stockpiles to their lowest in years.

'Very dodgy': Workers urged to sign contracts that cuts their pay in half

Private contractors building the Sydney Metro Northwest accused of trying to slash the pay and conditions of tradespeople using a controversial pay agreement.

Australians cough up $2 million to ATO scammers so far this year

"They are big organised crime and they make a fortune."

Ryanair cancels 82 flights after it `messed up' crew's time off

Ryanair scrapped 82 flights on Sunday, the start of a six-week program of cancellations it's making as it seeks to reduce a backlog of crew vacation required by Irish regulators before the end of the year.

SpaceX's greatest explosions, courtesy of Elon Musk

The Tesla billionaire published a blooper reel of the company's many failed attempts to land its rockets so they could be used again.

Week 1 for Shkreli in jail: Fun and games are over

It's hard to say what will happen to Martin Shkreli in jail, but one thing's for sure: It won't be fun.

Focus on beef exports in bilateral Beijing talks

China's suspension of exports from Australian beef processors will be raised in meetings in Beijing.

Emails shed light on Nigel Hadgkiss' conduct

Fair Work inspectors were ordered to withhold information about new provisions for unions.

AGL has become Australia's most monstered company

• COMMENT

The government is looking for scapegoats, monstering energy companies to breach their fiduciary duties.

Fortescue CEO Nev Power to step down next year

Fortescue Metals Group said on Friday chief executive Neville Power will step down in February.

Police intervene at village of the damned

State authorities have intervened in the operations of a retirement village run by a convicted criminal.

Myer's share price hits an all-time low

Myer investors have punished the department store and pushed its share price to an all-time low.

Over-indebted or wealthy? It's all in the detail

• COMMENT

Who says having debt three times your income is "over-indebted"?

From power failures to brain-eating viruses

• ANALYSIS

Brain-eating amoeba might be the only way to explain the government's energy policy.

Happy to be of service to Australia's jobs growth

So much for our ailing economy. Did you see that 264,000 additional jobs have been created in the first eight months of this year, with 88 per cent of them full-time?

Caltex cleans up in worker compo 'hoax'

• EXCLUSIVE

Amid the fracas of a wage fraud scandal tearing through Caltex, more than 200 franchisees and senior executives jetted into Tokyo in late March for a three-day conference at Tokyo's swish Hilton Odaiba, overlooking Tokyo Bay.

AustralianSuper scraps default insurance for younger members

The country's largest superannuation fund will stop automatically signing up younger members for insurance, in an industry-first attempt to slash costs from unnecessary cover.

Nobel-prize winner's plan to end inequality, tax dodging

Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on how to stop inequality and tax avoidance