Victoria records 439 new cases and 11 deaths, NSW records 12 new cases
Premier Daniel Andrews has banned exercise for peoople who are meant to be isolating after 3000 people were doorknocked and 800 were not home - those failing to stay home face a fine of $5000. A New Zealand expert says Victoria's intense lockdown will work. Follow our live updates here.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX soars more than 2pc; RBA ahead
Soaring tech stocks have led the Australian sharemarket above 6000 points; the Reserve Bank of Australia will meet today to discuss its monetary policy settings; Wesfarmers, JB Hi-Fi higher despite retail lockdown in Melbourne.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Jobs crisis will put virus on every Melbourne street
Melbourne's shutdown will smash the SME sector, hit 250,000 jobs and spread through the national economy. It's another blow from a city that's reeling.Â
- Updated
- Private equity
Lazard no longer substantial AMP shareholder
Local value investor Lazard Asset Management sold down stake in troubled wealth management group AMP, which has announced Kylie O'Connor will replace outgoing property boss Carmel Hourigan.
Small businesses doubt they can survive Lockdown 2.0
Industry groups say the latest Victorian restrictions could be the final nail in the coffin for many small businesses.
TikTok ban set for September 15 without a sale
US President Donald Trump says the US government should get a "substantial portion" of the sale price of the US operations.
Aussie tech bigwig Bevan Slattery bankrolls HR software microcap
NextDC and PIPE Networks founder Bevan Slattery is set to take a stake in listed microcap intelliHR.Â
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
The make or break skills for consultants amid lockdown
Emotional intelligence is more important than ever when communicating over video as people work from home, says KPMG's Sarah Overton.
Victoria's deep business freeze to hit 250,000 workers
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has stood down another 250,000 workers under unprecedented restrictions that will close offices and shop, and drastically limit manufacturing and construction.
PM approves $1500 pandemic payments, tweaks JobKeeper
Victorians who still have a job but have run out of sick leave will be given $1500 to stay home for two weeks if they are at risk of having contracted the coronavirus.
Wine exports slide in June quarter as COVID-19 hits
Wine drinkers are buying more online as restaurants and bars are restricted from trading around the world, and that's prevented steeper falls in wine exports.
Melbourne real estate agents brace for a six-week drought of sales
Real estate in the Victorian capital faces a severe cash flow crunch as all operations and services are closed as part of the level-four shutdown.
Companies
AMP Capital appoints Kylie O’Connor to head real estate
AMP Capital has appointed the chief operating officer of its real estate division Kylie O’Connor to take over from the outgoing Carmel Hourigan as head of the division overseeing $28b-worth of commercial real estate.
Terms blasted for $100m Splitit raising
Raising terms have landed for listed instalments payments business Splitit Payments' $100 million cash call.Â
- Exclusive
- Managed funds
Fundies back dividend ban, ETF probe
Seventy-five per cent of CFA members believe regulators should 'ban companies who receive emergency support' from paying dividends or bonuses.
- Exclusive
- Tech crackdown
ACCC fights for small business as big tech battle heats up
Competition watchdog boss Rod Sims is rising to his role as a global pioneer in redressing the power of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple, saying more legislation is still needed to prevent small businesses being treated 'dreadfully'.
In tennis rights fight, did McLennan play everyone?
An offer that was too good to be true – $50 million a year for right to broadcast the Australian Open – helped rip apart the tennis hierarchy.
AFR profit season calendar and results
Here is a list of the results of Australian companies reporting their full-year financial results in the August reporting season.
Billionaire Solomon Lew says Victoria should have acted sooner
The owner of Just Jeans, Jay Jays and Smiggle had already decided to shut their stores in Melbourne from July 8.
Markets
- Opinion
- Apps
TikTok could become Microsoft's deal of the decade
$US50 billion? We'll soon find out the true value of ByteDance's video app, and more importantly, that of Microsoft's chief executive officer.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Governance issues dog SSX, NSX
The fight to become the preferred second board market in Australia has begun in earnest with a new strategy at the Sydney Stock Exchange. But both the SSX and its rival, the National Stock Exchange, are dogged by governance concerns.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to soar at the open, with a surge in Microsoft adding ever more fuel to the major US tech giants.
- Analysis
- Managed funds
Magellan simplifies global funds with complex restructure
Magellan has retained its faith in closed-end funds, even as it has sought to simplify its global equities offerings.
- Analysis
- Gold
Gold rally unleashes $40b of fear and loathing
The surge in gold and iron ore prices has produced plenty of winners, but the cash-flow bonanza could trigger a new debate about who gets to share the spoils.
Opinion
Carpet-bombing the Victorian economy
Victoria is in its own world of pain with businesses and individuals now suffering an extreme lockdown that will decimate the economy and spread across borders.
Columnist
Victorian siege chokes economy, strangles budget
The small circle of light at the end of this tunnel is that, if successful, Victoria’s bracing assault against the Melbourne outbreaks could leave Australia with minimal COVID-19 infections heading into Christmas.
Editorial
End the casual confusion
Rather than leave an important public policy decision to the lawyers and regulators, or left to the veto of the ACTU, the law regarding casual worker needs to be urgently fixed.
Editorial
Lockdown will test Australia's willingness to sacrifice
Politicians must present more rigorous evidence and cost-benefit analysis to keep people’s faith that the sacrifices of COVID-19 lockdowns are worth the pain.
Senior writer
The case for a pink stimulus shot
Spending on social care must now sit alongside traditional stimulus targets such as building and hard infrastructure.
Contributor
Litigation funders level the legal playing field
Without big backers, large numbers of Australians would never have risked trying to right a civil wrong.
Contributor
Politics
Two things could bring the crackdown unstuck
Top experts say the unprecedented restrictions being imposed on Victorians will succeed in suppressing the virus – if human frustration and community transmissions can be kept under control.
Eight mystery cases keep NSW 'precarious'
Premier Gladys Berejiklian says NSW is only halfway through its battle to avert a second wave of the pandemic, with eight cases over the past week not linked to any known source.
Henry blasts mining tax 'stupidity'
Tax reform architect Ken Henry has revived the mining tax debate, saying Australia's economically 'illiterate' failure to tax the mining boom properly has cost the country dearly.
Queensland on edge ahead of 'crucial' week
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the next week will determine whether the state is on top of the latest coronavirus outbreak.
Morrison accused of 'monumental failure' on submarines
Labor deputy leader Richard Marles says Scott Morrison is failing Australians on national security because of problems with the $90 billion submarine program.
SPONSORED
World
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Republicans couldn’t care less about the unemployed
It's an astonishing failure of governance, right up there with the mishandling of the pandemic itself.
Former king leaves Spain, reports say, amid corruption allegations
The 82-year old King Emeritus' decision to leave stunned Spaniards and left them divided too.
Is Europe calling the Forrests?
Murmurs have reached us from normally reliable quarters that Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest and wife Nicola are trying to make it to Europe, for at least three months.
North Korea has 'probably' developed nuclear devices for its missiles
The rogue nation's past six nuclear tests had likely helped it develop miniaturised nuclear devices, according to a confidential UN report.
New York prosecutor calls out Trump's new bid to shield tax returns
The district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., is seeking eight years worth of the President's tax records.
Property
Melbourne high-rise building site staffing slashed
Sweeping restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 will hit productivity of the Victorian capital's largest building sites.
Access to finance for developers 'toughest since GFC'
Not only are loans harder to secure from increasingly cautious and risk-averse banks and non-bank lenders, but they have become significantly more expensive.
MaxCap says it is harder to find qualifying developers
MaxCap, which has just closed a $170 million construction finance deal, says hurdles such as presales are increasingly tough.
Real estate debt returns more than equity, Australian Unity says
The lender, developer and healthcare operator says investors are getting annual returns up to 9 per cent for first mortgage security loans.
Melbourne, Sydney price falls to accelerate
New figures show price falls have accelerated in Melbourne as virus cases surge, weakening the housing market outlook dramatically.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Property investment
'Hybrid' property auctions the way of the future
Because online platforms improve transparency, a mix of physical and digital bidding could become common once pandemic restrictions are lifted.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Four shares that could get a boost from the remote working trend
It's worth investors keeping a watching brief on companies that set up systems to help staff communicate and collaborate in the new world of working from home.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Why telcos could be coronavirus-proof
Telcos have been a challenge for investors, with falling margins from mobiles and the NBN, but the growth story could come from the demerging of infrastructure.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Start-up money continues with new $75m fund
Local venture capital outfit Our Innovation Fund has closed a $75m tranche of a new fund, backed by a mix of wealthy investors and tech company founders.
- Opinion
- AI
Banks grapple with the ethical use of AI
The lessons from the Hayne inquiry remain raw as institutions, including Commonwealth Bank, start rolling out AI to make decisions about their customers' lives.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Entrepreneurs take out loan rather than hit up VCs
Brisbane based Rex Labs is looking to expand its portfolio of real estate apps but its founders didn't want to dilute their stake with additional investors.
Work & Careers
Why you'll need to audition for a job
Sceptical that degrees are the best measure of whether candidates have the skills they need, employers are looking for ways applicants can prove themselves.
'Workplaces need more people like me'
Business leader Charlotte Valeur tells Maria Lally why, in her fifties, she has spoken out about her autism.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Motoring
In the four-wheel drive market, retro-chic is all the rage
The new Grenadier and Bronco models prove that everything old is new again – but will you be buying one?
Concrete colossi of war-ravaged Europe captured in black and white
A limited-edition collection of photographs by interior designer Don Cameron channels the immense power of the Continent's far-flung Brutalist beauties.
21 tell-tale signs that you're a modern snob
As it's reported that Prince Harry called his brother, William, a snob over his attitude to Meghan Markle, here's how to tell if you're a latter-day elitist.
Burberry opens its first real-world social media store
Luxury brand Burberry has opened a new store in Shenzhen, China, where people can like, share, scan, book and spend through an associated WeChat app.
As a kid he hated running. Now this CEO's hooked on ultra-marathons
'I'm obsessed with going to very dark places to learn something I never knew about myself,' says Physio Inq founder Jonathan Moody.
