Facebook can't fake it any longer
Facebook used to be a fun place where friends shared cat videos and swapped memes, then we discovered it had teeth and claws. Now the social network has hired teams to try and tame the beast.
Why truth still has value in Australia
As rough a year as its been, Australians have many reasons to be thankful for strong institutions and a growing economy that have helped to keep the troubles of the world at bay.
An optimist's guide to investments in 2019
Equities look better value after recent falls but investors need to keep an eye on six key factors that may extend the global cycle in the new year.
The year of the woeful world leader
From Donald Trump's bloviating incompetence to Viktor Orban's 'slavery laws', 2018 has seen a staggering number of countries woefully misruled by the worst crop of world leaders in recent memory.
Opal cracks a minefield for investors
While nobody died, this was a pretty grim Christmas for the residents and owners of the Opal Tower in Sydney's Olympic Park.
Global economic growth slow
A global economy that until recently was humming has broken down, a sharp contrast to the picture just a year ago when the world was experiencing its best growth since 2010.
Why the RBA isn't that fussed about falling house prices
As long as the economy is doing well and people have jobs, the RBA is not too concerned about falling property prices increasing negative equity.
NSW orders probe into 'cracked' high-rise
NSW orders 'comprehensive' investigation into developer Ecove's Opal Tower in Sydney Olympic Park.
Meet the Baby Boomer whisperers
Baby Boomers are a powerful economic group, but many brands are still struggling to talk to them.
Open banking the next minefield
After a year of unprecedented scrutiny by the Hayne inquiry, banks are desperate to ensure the sharing of customer data under the government's "open banking" regime doesn't sow the seeds of the next royal commission.
Boxing Day sales mayhem to top $2.5b
Post-Christmas sales are expected to rise 3.1 per cent, with bargain hunters expected to splurge $2.5 billion in the Boxing Day sales.
Why the RBA isn't that fussed about falling house prices
As long as the economy is doing well and people have jobs, the RBA is not too concerned about falling property prices increasing negative equity.
Whiff of extinction blows through bull market
The bull market that for 10 years has confounded and chastened its detractors is staggering up to death's door. And the haters and admirers are all turning out to pronounce last rites.
Nikkei's Christmas Day plunge worries traders
Christmas Day brought no presents for the Japanese sharemarket, as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged below 20,000 and slipped into a bear market.
Trump urges buying the dip as DC chaos sinks shares
US President Donald Trump has suggested a swoon in US sharemarkets is a buying opportunity for investors, even though many analysts blame his policies for the plunge.
Fed caught in a no-win balancing act
As the Fed responds more and more to factors beyond its control, the markets begin to fear a policy mistake, writes Mohamed A. El-Erian.
US regulators see no reason for panic
Top US financial regulators assured Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a hastily organised call that they are seeing nothing out of the ordinary in markets.
Opinion
Opal cracks a minefield for investors
While nobody died, this was a pretty grim Christmas for the residents and owners of the Opal Tower in Sydney's Olympic Park.
Australia is still a land of optimism and trust
Purges like the Hayne royal commission and #MeToo show a mature democracy able to repair itself without over-reacting
As Mattis goes, so does his protection
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis achieved that glorious double in his letter of never directly attacking the president, while not missing any of his questionable strategic calls.
RBA needs to pull its head in on lending
The banks are being justifiably cautious on home loans and will be building even more equity capital buffers. This means they'll need less capital, which explains their hybrids' strong performance, writes Christopher Joye.
Has Donald Trump made it easier for politicians to lie?
As voters prepare to return to the polls in 2019, is lying in federal politics easier because of Donald Trump?
Labor's hubris is a mistake
Labor's presumptuous attitude is a mistake - there is a long way to run between now and election day.
Australia on track to miss Paris emissions targets
Australia is on track to drastically miss its Paris greenhouse emissions reduction targets by 19 percentage points, new government figures show.
Indian giant Adani approval delayed
Adani will miss its Christmas deadline to begin construction of its Carmichael mine after the Palaszczuk government commissioned a new independent review.
Morrison has nowhere to go on energy
A triple pile-on on Scott Morrison government's big stick energy policies last week leaves the government with nowhere to go.
Indonesia issues 'extreme weather' warning
Indonesian authorities have warned of "extreme weather and high waves" around the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, urging people to stay away.
Mexican power couple killed in helicopter crash
A local governor and her husband have been killed just days after she had taken office following a bitterly contested election.
China opens further to foreign and private investment
China has slashed the number of sectors closed to foreign or non-state investment by more than half, in Beijing's latest move to open up the world's second-largest economy.
Nissan executive released on bail in Japan
Television footage captured bespectacled Nissan executive Greg Kelly slowly walking out of the detention centre on Christmas Day.
Trump takes parting shot at Mattis
President Donald Trump criticised departing Defence Secretary James Mattis for failiig to recognise the true costs of America's military support around the world.
Personal Finance
Festive cheer that could last all year in your block
While we're in Christmas mode, it's worth thinking about how to encourage a community buzz that remains.
Family conversations to keep ageing parents happy
For older parents, it's about making your wishes heard. For adult children, it's about sharing the responsibility.
Wall Street is bad for your financial health
A new study suggests that the most lucrative investment a fund could make would be paying to relocate its operations as far away from the financiers as possible.
What a year of reading only women authors taught me
These days, most of us are alert to the perils of unconscious bias in our professional lives. But I hadn't expected to find it so explicitly on my bookshelves.
Rear Window's 2018: The descent continues
As in 2015, Australia withstood both a change of Test cricket captain and of Prime Minister. Both high offices are now occupied by placeholders.
Why Credit Suisse is betting on Australia's young rich
Credit Suisse is focusing on Australia's younger generation of internationally minded, tech-savvy customers as it ramps up its private banking business.
Charismatic Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown dies
Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, who has died aged 77, led the Liberal Democrats over 11 years from near-eclipse to the fringe of participation in Tony Blair's Labour government, but could not translate this advance into real power.
Lifestyle
All Aussie race for Sydney-Hobart honours
It's an all-Australian battle for line honours in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race after an eventful start in which one yacht was clamped and the only foreign supermaxi withdrew.
The best of David Rowe's cartoons
