- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The best fundies in Australia last year
Last year delivered extraordinary returns for those invested in the best performing funds among thousands on the Morningstar database. But winning fundies, such as Bennelong Equity Partners' Mark East, said it would be hard to replicate the high returns of last year in 2020.
Fire fallout to hit property prices, mortgage arrears
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's is predicting "elevated mortgage arrears" in bushfire ravaged areas, where unemployment is expected to rise. Property prices may also be hurt.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX dives; Coles drops on downgrade
Australian shares are trading lower through the middle of the session; Morgan Stanley has downgraded Coles; British business feels Boris bounce.
A2 Milk exec quits as shake-up continues
A2 Milk will have a new-look management team in 2020, with a a new chief executive, new CFO and new head of technology.
Contractor tangled in machinery is Qld's eighth mine death
The eighth death strikes Qld's industry in 18 months - and after Coronado said it was working hard to avoid accidents.
Iran protests over downed jet turn violent
Security forces stepped up patrols as protesters, many of the them students, came out in force in Tehran's landmark Azadi Square and at Shahid Beheshtri University, as well as in several regional cities.
MI5 chief shrugs off intelligence-sharing risks from Huawei
Andrew Parker says he has 'no reason to think' the UK’s intelligence-sharing with the US would be hit if Britain adopted Huawei technology in its 5G mobile phone network.
Companies
- Opinion
- Big four
Westpac needs to fill its hottest seat fast
Institutional investors, worried that Westpac has a lame-duck chairman and an acting CEO, are pressuring the bank's board to fix the situation quickly.
- Exclusive
- Cyber protection
Don't hide hacks: cyber security boss
Government cyber security officials are trying to fend off an unprecedented level of digital attacks against businesses and are imploring them not to cover up breaches.
Siemens under fire after sticking with Adani
Siemens will be hit with protests at its annual general meeting next month after the German conglomerate resisted pressure from environmental activists and said it would continue to work with Adani.
Westpac leads $13.8b bank bond blitz
The big four are finding welcome buyers for their bonds in global credit markets.
- Exclusive
- Aviation
Jetstar workers hit pause on strikes
Jetstar has partially quelled a disruptive workers' revolt with an agreement to meet union-backed baggage handlers and ground crew later this month.
Oil industry threatened with abandonment levy
A levy is one option to ensure taxpayers don't have to pay clean-up costs for ageing oil and gas fields owned by cash-strapped companies.
Cleanaway can negotiate rocky regulatory road
Cleanaway Waste Management faces a challenge to deal with a ban on exporting waste, but it is better placed than its rivals.
Markets
Be selective, but stick with shares
Asset allocation experts are advising institutions and financial planners to stay invested in the sharemarket, even as market indices reach all-time highs, global growth shows signs of slowing and geopolitical tensions are on the rise.
Dixon US property fund slashes asset value by 30pc
Dixon Advisory has blamed a weak New York property market for slashing the value of its US property fund units.
- Analysis
- Interest rates
British business feels Boris bounce
The election-winning PM's optimism is proving infectious for business, but Threadneedle Street isn't seeing the green shoots yet.
- Opinion
- World markets
Rampaging bulls hope China has their backs
Proof China has stabilised its growth may prolong the record-breaking run in stocks and boost hopes of global recovery.
Apple bulls rush to lift price targets on extended surge
Shares in the iPhone maker are into their eighth month of record highs and analysts are struggling to keep up.
Opinion
Commodities may not stay cheap forever
In an ideal world, the next commodities bubble, whenever it comes, could help us make what might be the final shift — away from fossil fuels and towards renewables, writes Rana Foroohar.
Columnist
It's energy inequality that we need to worry about
Climate change may have reached a point of no return. But poor access to energy options in developing countries means continued use of toxic fuel sources.
Columnist
Here's some new year predictions to ponder
Could we have predicted Harry and Meghan divorcing the Royal family? Well, not specifically but like many of the event in 2020, the trends were already there.
Columnist
Taiwan votes for sovereignty and against Beijing's autocracy
The dramatic political comeback of Taiwan's President underlines Australia's concerns about China's attempts to impose its will and influence.
Columnist
Banks need more talent, not more penalties, to compete in 2020s
Financial institutions must not only be well supervised but well managed. APRA's regulatory overkill could stops banks from recruiting the talent needed to compete with disruptive competitors.
Editorial
The case for the digital Aussie dollar
Some big tech company will establish a global digital currency within five years. The RBA should get in first to establish its own digital dollar.
Contributor
Politics
Scott Morrison, Coalition plunge in latest Newspoll
Labor is ahead of the Coalition for the first time since the election and the Prime Minister's approval rating has plunged, Newspoll's latest survey shows..
Morrison could ditch Kyoto credits
Prime Minister Scott Morrison signalled the government could stop claiming Kyoto credits to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets, in response to anger over the bushfire crisis.
APRA's plan to assess 40,000 super fund options too ambitious
The prudential regulator should abandon plans to analyse the performance of 40,000 superannuation options on the market because the task will be a "time-consuming distraction", a leading academic says.
Unisuper targeted in divestment campaign
One of Australia's most successful superannuation funds is under pressure to dump $10 billion of shares in fossil fuel companies with the launch of a campaign capitalising on sentiment stirred up by the bushfires.
States and federal governments should work together on fire crisis
Readers of The Australian Financial Review have given the Prime Minister poor marks for his handling of the bushfire crisis.
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World
- Analysis
- EU
Germany searches for its place in the world
From Washington to Beijing to Brussels, many wonder where Berlin's foreign policy is headed. It's a big question as Angela Merkel prepares to step down.
How China helped its enemy win Taiwan's election
Hong Kong's protests and an increasingly authoritarian China under Xi Jinping were the main influences on the outcome of Taiwan's elections.
Class is at the heart of France’s strikes
Beyond the latest unrest over pensions reform is a much larger conflict over class, privilege and money amplified by 200 years of French history.
Nissan executives step up planning for potential split from Renault
The move to map out a potential split is the latest sign of tension in the alliance held together for nearly two decades by Carlos Ghosn, former chief executive and chairman of both companies.
Indonesia lets plastic burning continue despite toxins warning
Tofu makers in East Java have seen business plummet after a report claimed toxins from the manufacturing process are contaminating food.
Property
Auction listings set to surge within weeks
Auction listings are forecast to lift when the February auction season gets under way, although some vendors may have raced ahead of the market with their price expectations.
Tetris-led consortium wins $470m SA contract
The South Australian government is seeking to a draw line under its troubled procurement past with a new education tender.
Rich Lister Perichs process big dairy deal
The acquisition of the historic Torrumbarry aggregation will help drought-proof the country's largest dairy farming operation.
Drought, then bushfires take a lick from national milk pool
Forecast milk production will be revised down further to take into account both immediate disruption caused by bushfires and the longer-term impacts.
Oversupply, weaker tourism growth hits hotels
Hotel owners and operators keep a brave face despite greater competition from new hotels and a drop-off in the number of tourists.
Wealth
Ditching the rule book helps this fund manager succeed
Dumping old school valuation tools like price-earnings ratios helps Insync's Monik Kotecha deliver consistent outperformance, especially in the fast-moving digital sector.
Why it pays to go green
Sustainable investing can boost long-term returns, reduce portfolio risk and help the planet.
Sustainable investments: what's on offer
Confused about where to invest and how the different funds operate? We outline their screen processes and their returns.
Technology
Mark Zuckerberg's new decade resolution
The Facebook chief executive has ditched his usual New Year's tradition of setting an ambitious, personal goals for the year ahead in favour of sharing a big picture 10-year plan.
How Amazon puts the squeeze on its suppliers
Amazon has transformed the small miracle of delivery of goods into an expectation of modern life. But people don't realise what goes on behind the scenes.
UXC's Geoff Lord to chair ASX cyber security small cap
Renowned tech investor of UXC fame Geoff Lord hopes to turn cyber security business Tesserent into another big success.
Work & Careers
American women outnumber men in the US workforce
The US jobless rate is at a 50-year low, and for the second time in history, American women outnumber men as the majority in the country's paid workforce.
Jan Logan's fateful passage from farm girl to design icon
Jeweller Jan Logan has built her success on an eye for design and a willingness to take up in the opportunities life puts in her path.
Life & Luxury
Why this CEO dances in the street
Pure Insights Group chief executive Anastasia Massouras found she had a natural talent for moving to the music.
Breaking down culinary walls in Berlin
The German capital's dining scene shucks off its staid reputation with a new breed of restaurant revelling in an innovative, less-is-more philosophy.
Exorcisms make a 21st-century comeback
The Catholic Church in the US is training more "spiritual warriors" to cast out the devil from people who believe they are possessed.
The Danish distillery producing rude good spirits
Copenhagen's Empirical Spirits takes the wildly creative Noma approach to liquor making – with a twist of political outrage.
Why a trip to Siena is this director's best travel memory
Director Dave Parker recalls how an invitation to an Italian street party led to him kissing a horse.
