- Live
- Markets Live
ASX rises; CSL reaffirms profit guidance
The Australian sharemarket has risen sharply at the open after a strong US session; HT&E has taken a 1.8pc stake in oOh!Media; G8 Education set to raise $301 million.
How Webjet survived 17 days in virus ICU
Roger Sharp was mountain biking with some mates in Central Otago, on New Zealand’s south island, when his phone rang.
Albanese and Berejiklian say restrictions are here for the long haul
Federal medical and political leaders have pushed back against growing calls to release restrictions on economic activity. Follow our live coronavirus blog here.
How GFC winners are playing it now
Dion Hershan, Anton Tagliaferro, David Pace and Nick Pashias outline how they're viewing COVID-19 in terms of traps and opportunities.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Global tech immune to virus
Each time a market crashes, investors want to buy bargains, but this is impossible to pick and experts say find quality companies and buy when they are cheaper.
The crisis isn't looking so bad
The worst-case medical outcome has almost certainly been averted. But the economic outlook is less certain.
How suburbs have saved us in the virus fight
The traditional suburban quarter-acre block has played an important role in keeping the death rate from COVID-19 relatively low in Australia.
How the coronavirus is changing markets, business and politics.
Coronavirus: Need to know. Our daily reporting, in your inbox.
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coronavirus pandemic
Australians are jumping into the sharemarket right now with both feet
Some funds and brokerage platforms say they’ve seen triple the number of trades through March and into April. Here's what people are buying.
- Analysis
- Coronavirus pandemic
Lives matter but at what cost?
COVID-19 overwhelmingly kills older people, but a generation of Australians in the prime of their lives are suffering the brutal economic consequences of the shutdown. It is legitimate to ask if policymakers should prioritise people of all ages equally, says John Kehoe.
Working from home is a productivity 'disaster'
One expert warns that working from home is creating a collapse in investment and the long-run economic damage is going to be huge. It's not just because his son is learning the bagpipes.
The final JobKeeper rules explained
The government's JobKeeper package sailed through parliament on Wednesday. Here is who will get the payments and when.
What happened overnight: WHO defends itself
The number of people around the world who've tested positive for the virus is nearing 1.5 million.
Companies
Bauer's $40m Pacific Magazines deal delayed
Seven West Media has agreed to push back the completion date of Bauer Media's $40 million acquisition of its magazine business Pacific Magazines, but says no terms of the deal have been changed.
Viva fuel sales smashed
The petrol and diesel supplier is also reconsidering maintenance work at its Geelong refinery and is delaying a share buyback.
Panel beaters at a loose end as traffic drops
Australia's largest crash repair group AMA has pulled its profit guidance and wants rent reductions because of fewer vehicle accidents in a coronavirus world.
HT&E buys oOh!media stake
Here, There & Everywhere has bought into outdoor ad company oOh!media, sparking speculation the cashed-up radio broadcaster may look at M&A opportunities.
JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman forecasts slashed
UBS expects JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman same-store sales to fall for the next four quarters as the COVID-19 crisis takes a toll on the housing market.
Bank shareholders brace for dividend pinch
The devastating outlook for dividends among Australia's major banks could prompt income-focused investors to reconsider their investments.
Analysts offer bleak outlook on bank dividends
Senior banking sources and analysts are forecasting first-half bank dividends will vanish, but some fund managers remain optimistic.
Markets
S&P 500 could reach 3000 in bear market rally: Bank of America
While US benchmarks have recovered more than 20pc from their March lows, Bank of America said bulls shouldn't be rejoicing just yet.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to open higher, with the RBA's Financial Stability Review in focus. This is the final trading day before Easter.
Surviving the COVID-19 market crash
"I was broking back in '87, but this was very different. It's unlike anything we've seen before." March 2020 broke all records for stockbroking teams trying to manage record workloads while being directed to work from home.
Iron ore seen 25pc lower by end of June: Capital Economics
Ballooning steel inventories and weak demand in China is forecast to hammer the price for iron ore toward $US60 a tonne within months.
Survival of the fittest in oil price war
Australia's stint as the world's biggest LNG exporter looks certain to be short-lived as the local industry battles an oil price war, a pandemic and global recession.
Opinion
Keep the faith to rise up from this calamity
Between flattening the curve and building the economic bridge to the other side, Australians have every reason to keep faith with the way that the country has handled this crisis.
Editorial
Investors reel as banks suspend dividends
Bank shareholders have given up any hope of receiving an interim dividend from ANZ, Westpac and NAB, but they're hopeful that Macquarie and Commonwealth Bank may still deliver.
Columnist
Prime Minister pivots to an early exit
As Australia passes through the peak in infections, the government will dump its six-month business hibernation strategy.
Columnist
This great leveller will end, but the world will be different
In the same way the Black Death impacted art and religion, COVID-19 will shape our post-pandemic reality.
Senior Writer
Amid this pestilence, listen to Easter's revolutionary message
In the year of the coronavirus, the dangerous meaning of Christ's strange and unexpected death and resurrection calls the bluff of our shallow secular society.
Former Anglican Bishop of South Sydney
Pell's acquittal is justice served
The High Court decision shows why allegations must be tested by the courts, so that the rights of individuals can be protected.
Editorial
Politics
Australians risk coronavirus 'information overload'
Four out of 10 Australians say they're overwhelmed by media information about coronavirus, while giving the Prime Minister high marks for handling the crisis.
Live art sector asks for $850m, gets $27m
There's new money for regional and indigenous arts, and a charity supporting struggling musicians, but the performing arts sector says it needs more to survive.
Liveris calls the start of the on-shoring era
Andrew Liveris, the former Dow Chemical chief who helped write manufacturing policy for Barack Obama and Donald Trump – and is now doing the same for Scott Morrison – believes the post-coronavirus economy needs an historic overhaul.
Why Morrison dropped the 'snap back' strategy
The political task ahead for Prime Minister Scott Morrison is mammoth. First, how to keep a society and an economy in hibernation to save lives. And then, how to wake it up.
Coronavirus measures are temporary: PM
The restrictions on society as well as the expensive rescue packages were essential responses. They should not, however, be regarded as permanent, the prime minister warns.
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World
Bernie Sanders to end presidential campaign
"As I see the crisis gripping the nation," Sanders told supporters, "I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win."
What happened to the US election?
Election 2020 may have taken a back seat as the coronavirus rages across America. But there's a lot happening right now that will determine the outcome.
Lobster back on the menu for recovering China
China’s demand for rock lobster is bouncing back just in time for Australia’s struggling fishermen.
Beijing trains sights on tycoon who mocked Xi's virus response
Ren Zhiqiang, who is also a well-connected Communist Party member, faces a long prison term after authorities in Beijing confirmed he was being probed for a "serious violation of law and discipline".
Johnson 'stable' in ICU, but confusion on lockdown timetable
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care and was in a stable condition on Wednesday after receiving oxygen support for COVID-19 complications.
Property
Airbnb accused of misleading property owners
Airbnb has been accused of sending confusing information to NSW hosts about a strata law due to start on April 10 that bans short-term letting by investors, in a bid to delay it being taken up by strata schemes.
Fund manager offloads Brisbane industrial estate
The deal for the Pinkenba estate was struck on a yield of 5.8 per cent and is one of the biggest this year in Brisbane to date.
- Opinion
- Property investment
What the shutdown means for property investors
At a time of global crisis, landlords are being required to share some of the financial challenges faced by their tenants, writes Robert Harley.
National crane tally falls to two-year low
One risk of the COVID-19 pandemic is that investors freeze plans for projects and the churn of old cranes for new ones comes to a halt.
Buyer plans to bring new life to former Botany tannery
A private investor has paid $5.73 million for an industrial building in Sydney's south.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
No leeway for levies and fees as shortfalls bite
It's time to think about contingency plans if your building’s finances are tight and some owners can't pay up.
Holiday home owners look to long-term renters to ease pain
Rental listings surged in the second half of March as short-stay landlords switched to the longer-term market in a COVID-19 world.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
COVID-19 puts squeeze on older Australians' finances
Cash-strapped retirees facing caveats on their homes may be better off with a reverse mortgage.
Technology
Meet SafetyCulture, Australia's latest unicorn
The workplace safety platform boasts a $1.35 billion valuation after it completed a mid-pandemic venture round that included Malcolm Turnbull.
Altium paints rosy picture but withdraws guidance
Altium still believes its operating model is robust and it's committed to its 2020 target of $US200 million in revenue, despite withdrawing guidance.
Kogan staff to receive $500 bonus
Kogan.com CEO Ruslan Kogan says there will be no job losses due to the COVID-19 crisis and all staff including casuals will receive a $500 bonus.
Work & Careers
Prison tips on keeping fit in lockdown
From jump squats to the creative use of tuna cans ex-prisoner Joe Kwon takes us through the best exercises for confined spaces.
Norton Rose slashes hours, partner pay, admin staff
Norton Rose Fulbright is cutting staff hours by up to 20 per cent, slashing partner pay and standing down 2-3 per cent of its workforce in response to the COVID-19 downturn.
Life & Luxury
Beauty via Facetime as salons respond to the COVID shutdown
Forced to close its shopfronts, the beauty industry is pivoting to virtual appointments and online consultations with customers.
After 20 years, this natural beauty brand goes more than skin deep
The founder of luxury skincare brand Sodashi says a visit to France was the trigger for deciding to start her organic business.
Nine streaming TV shows to binge on this Easter
With so much content to choose from it's just as well many of us have some extra time to devote to the pleasure of getting lost in someone else's world. Here are the shows that have grabbed our attention.
Happy films to while away the hours in isolation
We all seem to have more time to watch TV in quarantine. Good thing that there's a backlog of great films worth catching while responsibly being in social isolation.
80 great books to try over the lockdown: Part 2
Authors David Astle, Heather Rose, Chris Hammer, Miranda Tapsell, Andy Griffiths and James Bradley nominate titles worth your time.
