Santos delivers a huge blow to Harbour
The Santos move to reject Harbour Energy's $US14.4 billion offer and to disengage from further negotiations arrived a stunning and unexpected blow to the ambitions of its US private equity pursuer.
Parental guarantees critical: Westpac
Westpac has urged the royal commission not to recommend regulation that made it harder for guarantors to underwrite business loans for family members, arguing this would cut off a key supply of small business credit.
Netwealth founder joins record 76 in billionaires' club
Michael Heine makes the Rich List for the first time following the spectacular float of investment platform provider Netwealth.
Political donor linked to UN bribery scandal
One of Australia's biggest political donors has been named in federal parliament for funding a $US200,000 bribe to a senior UN official and having close links to the Chinese Communist Party.
Private equity drives M&A surge
The Australian market is proving to be a happy hunting ground for leading local and international PE firms.
ASX to dip at open, Wall St fades into close
Australian stocks appear set to slip at the open as Wall Street losses accelerated into the close.
Internal debate looms over company tax cuts
Malcolm Turnbull say he will take company tax cuts to the federal election amid internal speculation the government must reassess whether to stick with the policy.
This is what caused Telstra's nationwide outage
Telstra has laid out the blame for its second widespread network outage in a month, which left customers unable to make calls or use mobile data.
Wal King is back at the coalface
Wal King has returned to a humble corner of the Queensland coalface and brought adman John Singleton along too.
Fiery CPA AGM calls for stripping Alex Malley's life membership
Disgruntled CPA Australia members have demanded former CEO Alex Malley and his board have their life membership stripped at a fiery AGM on Tuesday night.
Big Un CEO Evertz resigns as administrators take control
Big Un Limited's day of reckoning arrived on Tuesday as the company's main business unit was placed into administration while controversial CEO Richard Evertz stepped down.
David Jones boss shown the door
John Dixon, the former M&S; executive charged with turning around David Jones, has been shown the door.
Dollar bulls stung as yields stall
The US dollar's newly revived correlation with Treasury yields - a rallying cry of late for greenback bulls - may be cutting short the currency's five-week climb.
Xiaomi's float to make dozens of workers millionaires
Xiaomi is one of the most successful smartphone makers in the world and it's prepping a blockbuster initial public offering, netting 56 workers about $US36 million each at the midpoint.
Iron ore market dynamics shifting
Structural changes in China, the world's biggest importer of iron ore, are re-shaping how the industry works.
China steel nears month low
China's steel extended losses into a third session on worries about weakening demand.
Opinion
Hayne fails to dislodge small business banker swagger
It's clear small business lenders don't adhere to higher behavioural standards than other bankers, but their role in supporting the backbone of the economy gives them a certain edge.
NAB's rethink of banker pay won't be enough
NAB, like many bank boards, is rethinking its approach to executive pay. That sounds sensible enough but it's hardly going to assuage community irritation about the level of bankers' pay as well as their behaviour.
Messy worlds of SMEs and family laid bare
Westpac's grilling over its acceptance of disability pensioner's guarantee for her daughter's business loan showed how messy families and money can be, but failed to land a knockout punch.
Is it time to panic? Hanson backflips again on company tax
Pauline Hanson has changed her mind at least four times on company tax cuts. She may be harder to win back this time.
Union cop charges Bill Shorten's AWU protege
The Turnbull government's trade union watchdog has launched civil proceedings again Bill Shorten's Australian Workers Union protege Cesar Melhem.
Keating tells business to back 12pc super 'catch-up'
Paul Keating tells business to back 12 per cent super guarantee to compensate workers for weak wages growth or face a return to "retrograde" centralised bargaining.
ACTU's vow for politically correct procurement
Unions want procurement rules rewritten to force governments to prioritise Australian suppliers, with new criteria that would take into account a company's indigenous workforce, gender pay gap and corporate tax record.
Canberra must discard 'traditional thinking'
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop that Canberra must take a more proactive approach to the relationship.
Coalition backs plan for migrants to revive rural towns
The Coalition has endorsed a report calling for an extra 3000 migrants a year to be added to country towns.
China slashes car tariffs after truce with Trump
Car shares have surged after China said it will cut the import duty on passenger cars from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, further opening up a market that's been a chief target of the US in its trade fight.
Trump's ZTE penalty softening opposed
Donald Trump's move to soften penalties on China's ZTE Corp is opposed by US lawmakers, complicating efforts to end a US-China trade dispute.
Marks & Spencer closes 100 UK stores
Marks & Spencer will close more than 100 stores in the UK as it intensifies its drive to cut costs and boost online sales by one third.
'Climate change is real', car makers tell White House
Car makers have urged the White House to cooperate with California officials in a coming rewrite of vehicle efficiency standards, saying "climate change is real".
Trump casts doubt on summit with Kim
US President Donald Trump said there was a "substantial chance" his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12.
Personal Finance
Morgan Stanley upgrades 'deep value' AMP
Rumours of AMP's future demise might be overplayed, according to Morgan Stanley.
Messy worlds of SMEs and family laid bare
Westpac's grilling over its acceptance of disability pensioner's guarantee for her daughter's business loan showed how messy families and money can be, but failed to land a knockout punch.
Super funds should hire skilled directors, not consultants
Superannuation funds' extensive use of consultants is under scrutiny by the prudential regulator which is calling for boards to hire skilled directors instead of relying on too many external experts.
Wage growth may need a new grand bargain on super
Workers are no longer getting the benefit of their own productivity. Increasing the super guarantee might be the best solution all round, writes Paul Keating.
ASIC calls for end to 'finger pointing'
The corporate regulator has warned banks that it is "no longer acceptable" to use industry norms as an excuse for failing to put an end to practices that hurt customers.
Rich Listers reveal: What I'd do if starting out today
What if the likes of Gerry Harvey, Jack Cowin, Clive Palmer, Len Ainsworth, Imelda Roche and Lang Walker only had $100,000 left to play with? We asked 12 Rich Listers for their thoughts.
Meet the mystery Aussie worth $5.88b
Indian-born Vivek Sehgal owns one of the world's biggest car parts firms and he's on the Financial Review Rich List for the first time.
Lifestyle
Italian car design turns heads again, thanks to China
The Sibylla concept car is part of a growing trend: it's a collaboration between Italian design duo GFG Style and China's Envision Energy company.
