Global equities sell-off on renewed virus fears
Bearish sentiment knocked more than 1000 points from the Dow in late trade in New York amid ever heightening worries about the coronavirus. The ASX is set to plunge.
Elizabeth Warren ends presidential campaign
The senator from Massachusetts at times electrified Democrats, however that enthusiasm failed to translate into votes cast during the primaries to date.
RBA cut forces Xinja to halt deposits
The start-up bank said it can't take any new deposits because it's hit regulatory ratios before it has started lending and is burning cash at $2 million a month.
Top 10 tech stocks to own amid the coronavirus sell-off
Does the coronavirus massively disrupt/erase the long term transformational bullish tech trends? Wedbush asks: "The answer in our opinion is a resounding 'No'."
Office lockdowns and enforced home working tkes hold in London
Health officials in UK have warned there probably aren't enough resources to treat all cases at the potential height of the outbreak.
Jobs subsidy plan to bust recession fears
Wage subsidies to prevent small and medium businesses laying off workers are being actively considered as part of the government's stimulus package.
'Misleading' PwC underpayments data questioned
PwC has been accused of sharing "misleading" and "inaccurate" data about the extent of the underpayment crisis facing corporate Australia by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Virus crisis
![Epping Boys High School.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Sydney high school shut down after student contracts coronavirus
The NSW government has closed Epping Boys High School after a student tested positive for the virus.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus outbreak
![Wagas Australian co-owner Jackie Yun . . . ‘People see Wagas as a foreign brand but good value.’](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Australian expats laud China's swift emergency virus relief
Australian entrepreneurs say while business has taken a blow from the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese government knows how to handle a crisis.
!["Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans."](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
WHO urges nations' to 'pull out all the stops'
"This is not a drill. This is not the time for giving up. This is not a time for excuses," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus outbreak
Government monitors drug supplies as disruption fears grow
The federal government is actively monitoring the security of Australia's medicine supply amid growing concerns over the coronavirus disruption.
Risk of first recession in 29 years rising
Leading economists fear that the fallout from the coronavirus and bushfires could snowball into Australia's first recession in 29 years.
Companies
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
![Ian Martin, telco analyst at New Street Research, won praise from Justice John Middleton in his TPG judgement.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Lessons for ACCC in TPG debacle
The TPG-Vodafone court loss is the biggest blow to the credibility of the ACCC in years. Perhaps the federal government should examine whether we need a separate communications specialist regulator.
![Crash landing ... coronavirus put paid to the already ailing Flybe.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
UK airline collapse spurs Macquarie into action
The defunct regional airline Flybe accounted for 90pc of traffic at Macquarie's half-owned Southampton Airport.
![The Noble Tom Prosser drilling rig is now working on the second of two wells at the West Barracouta project in the Bass Strait.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Exxon promises new gas for east coast by early 2021
The $600 million West Barracouta project is being developed as the energy giant looks for a buyer for the Bass Strait venture.
![Coronavirus is impacting the global travel industry.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
International airline bookings plummet amid virus fears
Arrivals from the nation's key tourism markets have dramatically fallen, bringing new pain for Australian businesses.
Rio Tinto boosts tax dispute war chest
The miner has set aside another big lump of cash in case it loses its transfer pricing battle with the Australian Taxation Office.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Inside Mike Baird's decision to quit NAB
He was once considered a shoo-in to be the CEO. All that changed when Andrew Thorburn became a high profile royal commission scalp. Now, Mike Baird is open to offers for executive - but definitely not political - roles.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
What big fundies fear most as virus spreads
Signs of tightening credit conditions overseas and higher gearing in Australia have institutional investors fearing coronavirus capital raisings, says a Goldman-Sachs strategist.
Markets
![Oil demand growth forecasts for 2020 have been slashed because of global measures to halt the spread of the virus.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
OPEC backs biggest oil cut since 2008 crisis, awaits Russia
Russia and Kazakhstan have not yet agreed to a deeper cut, raising the risk of a collapse in cooperation that has propped up prices since 2016.
![AFR](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Back to the 1990s for bond market as growth fears rise
Mounting recession fears are expected to breathe new life into the 40-year bond bull market, as they did in the 1990s recession.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
![Widening credit spreads have big investors hunting potential pockets of balance sheet weakness in Australia.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
What big fundies are fearing most as coronavirus spreads
Signs of tightening credit conditions overseas and signs of higher gearing in Australia have institutional investors fearing coronavirus capital raisings.
- Analysis
- Monetary policy
How the RBA would do quantitative easing
If the RBA cuts the cash rate one last time to the 0.25 per cent "lower bound", the bank would then consider announcing an interest rate target for government bonds.
ASX ends up 1.1pc; Remains in correction
Ray Dalio says coronavirus "once in a 100 year catastrophic event"; 'panic buying' could boost Coles; ACCC will not appeal Fed Court's TPG decision.
Opinion
Why bad debts soured banks for investors
Investors worry that the big banks will see a spike in bad loans, as they're pressured to show leniency to borrowers affected by the the coronavirus outbreak.
Columnist
Don't bail out bloated unis
Universities that have gorged on private fees from Chinese students should not force taxpayers to socialise their losses as the travel bans hit enrolments.
Columnist
Class actions face political scrutiny
The Coalition government looks at the effect of class actions as Victoria's government hurries legislation to let lawyers charge US-style contingency fees.
Columnist
Law firms must plan for profit hit from Fair Work ruling
The important lesson is to be prepared for different scenarios – and have contingency plans in place for some award mayhem.
Contributor
China's stumble spells the end of complacency
Australians have used the easy prosperity delivered by China for the last few decades to indulge in the economic equivalents of First World problems.
Editorial
Coronavirus is what you get when you ignore science
What we've seen so far in the global response to the virus should frighten you.
Contributor
Politics
![ASIC chairman James Shipton says AustralianSuper faces an ongoing probe about the accuracy of material disclosing a new levy.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
ASIC probes AustralianSuper over fee disclosure
The corporate regulator is examining whether AustralianSuper is telling the truth when it blames government legislation for forcing it to introduce a new levy.
![Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Call for end to 'confusing' sexual harassment regime
The world-first inquiry has recommended the sexual harassment equivalent of Fair Work's anti-bullying regime and wants greater powers to investigate workplaces.
![Scott Morison says technology could beat a net zero emissions target by 2050](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
PM to Coalition: net zero emissions is on the cards
Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that while the government may not formally adopt a net zero target, as Labor has done, it may just get there anyway.
Employer groups should police underpayments: unions
A union peak body is calling on the government to fund employer groups, as well as unions, to audit underpayments to crack down on a 'wage theft epidemic'.
No one monitoring financial advisers, Labor warns
“There will be 12 months when there will be no one overseeing whether or not individual financial advisers are compliant,” said Senator Jenny McAllister.
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World
![Elizabeth Warren proved to be among the best debaters in the nation.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Elizabeth Warren ends presidential campaign
The senator from Massachusetts at times electrified Democrats, however that enthusiasm failed to translate into votes cast during the primaries to date.
- Opinion
- Energy
![It doesn't help an association with white man’s burden that one of the icons of climate change activism is Greta Thunberg, a Nordic, blonde Scandinavian teenager preaching panic.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Climate activism is the new 'white man's burden'
Rich nations wanting to deprive the poorest nation of the coal needed to alleviate poverty recalls the discredited logic of Empire.
- Opinion
- Regulation
![The US's SEC wants companies to disclose how reverse factoring affects liquidity and cash flows.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Behind the SEC's war on freedom of speech
The SEC's move to regulate proxy advisory firms is a naked political gambit.
Indonesia ramps up COVID-19 testing as regional cases climb
It's now clear the virus has been in the country for weeks, even though Indonesians were told they were not at risk.
Russia-Turkey talks a last chance to avert Idlib calamity
A summit between the Turkish and Russian leaders may be the last chance to work out a deal that avoids further calamity in Syria's northwest.
Property
![How the 365m-tall Green Spine tower will look.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Australia's tallest skyscraper gets council go-ahead
On a site now home to the BMW dealership, the taller of the project's two towers would rise through 102 storeys to 365.1 metres above the ground.
- Exclusive
- Hotels
![The Vibe Darling Harbour hotel opened late last year](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Thai family strikes biggest hotel deal of the year
The new owners are food importers the Savetsomphob family who also own the Intercontinental Resort in Koh Samui, which they bought in 2018.
![The rethink will add hotels, offices and homes to the retail concept.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Westfield owner dumps plans for big London mall
Facing a tough market, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is taking Croydon out of its development pipeline and going back to the drawing board.
ARA takes control at logistics investor LOGOS
Powerful Singaporean fund manager ARA Asset Management has taken a majority stake in LOGOS Group, a local industrial property investment platform.
JPMorgan to sell mall and office tower in Melbourne
The St Collins Lane mall and the Twenty8 Freshwater Place office tower will be put on the market.
Wealth
![The older generation is gifting money to adult children and want to protect that money from a relationship breakdown.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Why you can't have your cake and eat it
When it comes to property held in an SMSF, things can get tricky, writes John Wasiliev, who answers your questions on superannuation.
- Opinion
- SMSFs 101
When you should close your SMSF
The five 'trigger' situations include insufficient funds, declining mental or physical capacity, death, lack of time to oversee a fund and moving overseas.
Why cyber criminals will increase ransoms and target the rich
Researchers have used game theory to predict cyber criminals will focus their energy on extorting the rich as well as businesses over the coming decade.
Technology
![TPG boss David Teoh managed to beat expectations in what is likely to be his last set of results as chief executive of the company he built from the ground up.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
TPG lifts guidance as Vodafone merger beckons
The announcement came as the ACCC, which had opposed the $15 million merger, announced it would not appeal the Federal Court's decision to allow it.
![ACCC boss Rod Sims said he remained disappointed with the Federal Court's ruling, but would not appeal.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
ACCC will not appeal TPG-Vodafone ruling
The competition watchdog will not appeal the Federal Court's decision to allow the merger ofTPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia to merge.
![Huawei Australia chairman John Lord.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Huawei insists it hasn't given up on 5G
Besieged Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will launch a last ditch charm offensive to persuade the federal government to let it build 5G networks in Australia.
Work & Careers
- Opinion
- Wage Slave
![ASIO boss Mike Burgess.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
What I learnt sharing a drink with ASIO
Australia's spooks could teach our business leaders a thing or two about addressing controversial topics.
The executives solving customer trust issues
AGL's chief customer officer Christine Corbett says using customer data is a balancing act between convenience and privacy as businesses work to rebuild trust.
Life & Luxury
![Healthy homemade trail mix.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
How to stockpile healthy food for a 14-day quarantine
If you really feel the need to hoard food, don’t feel you have to fill your pantry with saltines and tomato soup.
![A teaser image of the Apex AP-0, which is priced to compete with Tesla's Roadster.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
The Aussie brothers taking on Tesla with $294,000 supercar
The car, codenamed AP-0, is the brainchild of Jason and Gary Leung, who founded Apex Motors. Its forerunner, the AP-1, feels fast. Really fast.
![Nick Jackson is one of only 450 people in the world to earn the title Master of Wine.](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
How does it feel? The secret to wine tasting mastery
Turns out you can tell a lot about a wine from its structure on your tongue, reveals the author of an indispensable new blind-tasting guide.
![](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Virus stops James Bond in his tracks
It's Daniel Craig's last outing as 007 and the Billie Eilish song is already out, but 'No Time To Die's release is pushed back seven months on virus fears.
![Amazon Echo Show 8](/web/20200305213055im_/https://www.afr.com/assets/b4682377.gif)
Echo Show 8 review: Alexa, shut up already
If your main interest in a smart display is communicating with family and friends, Amazon's are a clear choice – irritations aside.