Housing starts not falling as expected
Demand for housing in big cities remains strong due to rising population growth, according to UBS, with construction not falling as fast as expected.
Corporate America brings cash home
Farewell, Ireland: For years, the likes of Apple and Microsoft have stashed billions of dollars offshore to slash their US tax bills. Now, the tax-code rewrite could throw that into reverse.
DIY super funds drive debt blow out
The closely tracked Australian household debt to income ratio has now reached 200 per cent after self-managed super fund debt was counted.
ANZ to pay $5m for car finance breach
ANZ has agreed to pay $5 million to ASIC over dodgy car loans approved through its former finance business Esanda.
Myer overhauls management, cuts costs
Myer has appointed a new COO and CFO and is stepping up cost cutting after posting an unprecedented fall in sales before Christmas.
Turnbull hails 'great jobs number'
Jobs rose by 25,000 in December, more than doubling forecasts, but unemployment has also risen to 5.5 per cent.
Markets: ASX notches gains
The ASX is trading marginally higher, with banks shoring up the benchmark as miners and energy firms lose ground.
Energy management start-up to list on the ASX
Energy management tech company Simble is set to be one of the first tech listings on the ASX in 2018.
Alumina Ltd receives biggest dividend in a decade
A 42 per cent rise in alumina prices over the past six months ensured Alcoa's Australian joint venture partner, Alumina Limited, received its biggest gross dividends in a decade.
BHP, Whitehaven cut coal targets
BHP has cut its coking coal export target for fiscal 2018 and revealed it will record impairments in its half year financial results.
Woodside flags 'significant increase' in LNG output
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has pointed to improving prices and LNG output through the year.
Auction house Mossgreen collapses
Prominent auction house Mossgreen has collapsed with $12 million in debts, including almost $6 million owed to vendors who sold paintings via the company.
New smart trade is selling Bitcoin to buy gold
With the price bouncing downwards, sellers are switching out of digital gold and into the real thing.
$A tops US80¢ to hit four-month high
The local currency extended its recent run to push above US80¢ for the first time since September.
Goldman worth less than Morgan for first time in decade
For the first time in over a decade, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is worth less than its longtime rival, Morgan Stanley, at least in the eyes of equity investors.
Bank of Canada lifts key rate to 1.25pc
The Bank of Canada, as widely expected, lifted the target for its overnight rate to 1.25 per cent.
Opinion
Alarm bells as Wall St baffles analysts
The latest cryptocurrency price collapse is a reminder of the terrifying speed with which paper profits can be completely wiped out.
Insurance managers should be ashamed
The management of Australia's four largest general insurance companies should hang their heads in shame in the wake of the $120 million in refunds paid to customers who bought dodgy insurance policies.
Warning for RBA in upbeat consumer confidence
Consumer confidence looks to have made a definitive break from last year's doldrums, but beneath the apparent resilience are warnings signs for the central bank.
Pay rises for all is the mantra of the moment
Remember when the national argument over pay rates focused on excessive wage hikes? That all seems so last century, or at least so last decade.
Turnbull sets March deadline for TPP
After several setbacks, Australia's PM Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that a trade pact could be signed by March.
Families should be 'off limits': Shorten
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called for a return to conventions that see MPs' families considered off limits in partisan attacks.
Donations pose 'risk' to democracy: ICAC
The NSW corruption body says cash for access or to influence decision making erodes trust in politics permanently.
Cotton industry rip shreds off ABC
Peak lobby group is backing Pauline Hanson's demands the ABC be "fair" and "balanced", taking aim at the broadcaster's recent reports on the Murray-Darling Basin.
SA energy consumers score 'huge win'
South Australian electricity consumers have scored a win after the Federal Court sided with the national energy regulator against a tariff appeal by grid owner SA Power Networks.
Why I'm proud to live in a nation of s--tholers
We have a president even more ignorant of America than he is of the rest of the world.
US troops to stay in Syria
Secretary of State Tillerson says they must stabilise the country even after Islamic State is defeated.
'If the president says something, everybody has to applaud'
Nursultan Nazarbayev has clung to power for 26 years. But a popular move to change the language from Cyrillic to Latin is being tripped up by the humble apostrophe.
China worries fade just in time for things to turn ugly
As the Year of the Dog approaches, the level of worry about China's seemingly unsustainable growth pattern is as low as at any time since the financial crisis almost a decade ago.
Carillion shows 'dumb money' knows no borders
German investors could lose $200m in the collapse of the British construction firm.
Personal Finance
How to protect your SMSF nest egg
While there are limits to how much you can contribute to super, low tax on earnings is a key advantage writes Sam Henderson who answers your questions on super.
Health insurance hike to stay below 4pc
Macquarie says better outlook for private health insurers will temper premium hikes.
Rich Lister owns the hottest stock on the ASX
Rich Lister lister Travers Duncan holds some of the ASX's best performing stocks, including Sundance Energy, which has staged a comeback of late.
Are there more bullies or just more of the bullied?
Employers now have more responsibility for the emotional wellbeing of their staff. But they are dealing with changing standards they cannot control.
Plastic bags are the new tobacco
Plastic seems indispensible as well as indestructible. But there is a political tide moving against it.
Unis warn funding freeze threatens courses
Regional universities say local communities will be severely affected by the federal government's freeze on new students.
Deal-maker Sewell takes the reins at Abacus
Former Federation Centres CEO Steven Sewell has been appointed to lead the next growth phase at Abacus Property Group.
Lifestyle
Luxury boom means big wins for travellers
The big hotel brands are hoping to lure travellers with the kind of offerings favoured by boutique operators.
David Rowe cartoon
