Medicines to be priority as Post curbs bite
The Morrison government has ordered Australia Post to prioritise the delivery of urgent goods after Christine Holgate said the impact of Victoria's restrictions on deliveries was like the 'Suez Canal coming down a drainpipe'.
Upside hopes amid stressed blue chips
As investors contend with a highly uncertain outlook for business conditions, results in the week ahead will be significant for the sharemarket and confidence.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Jim's Mowing boss doubles down in stoush
Jim Penman and other successful franchise businesses are trying to fight what Penman regards as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' irrational restrictions, writes Jennifer Hewett.
- Exclusive
- Food bowl
Forrests lead push into zero-carbon cattle business
Andrew Forrest, Woolworths, GrainCorp and the AGP Group have joined forces to commercialise a CSIRO super seaweed that could wipe out massive greenhouse gas emissions and make cattle grow faster.
Queensland under fire for propping up theme park giants
The Palaszczuk government is bailing out tourism operators who have been hit by their border closures.
These four funds got their money back with one bet
Canva's success has already paid back four entire venture capital funds, marking a milestone in the maturation of the local VC industry. But what about the others?
Clearance rates up as online bidding embraced
Clearance rates rose strongly in Melbourne at the weekend as fewer vendors pulled out and more buyers pushed ahead with their purchase, while Sydney buyers are also active despite the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Digital CEOs ride out lockdown and call for future changes
The CEOs of some of Australia's leading online and communications companies say they are performing well in lockdown and that Australia's economy must become more sophisticated.
Queensland under fire for propping up theme park giants
The Palaszczuk government is bailing out tourism operators who have been hit by their border closures.
Victoria's deadliest day, grim global milestones
Victoria recorded 17 deaths in the past 24 hours, its worst toll since the pandemic began; Australia has recorded 404 new cases, 394 in Victoria and the rest in NSW; the pandemic is continuing to surge across the globe.
Five months on, still living the Ruby Princess nightmare
Perth financial broker Kiri-Lee Ryder is still unable to return to work almost five months after she disembarked from her fateful cruise in Sydney.
Indifference as Brazil marks grim milestone
More than 100,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19, as nations hardest hit by the pandemic passed a series of grim milestones with little sign of respite from new infections and deaths rising at alarming rates.
Companies
- Exclusive
- MeToo movement
No women in leadership? Women kick off on AMP
A panel of Australia’s top female chief executives say sexual harassment will continue to be a 'no risk' misdemeanor unless there is an equality of women in leadership positions throughout organisations and industries.
Analysts back Qantas despite pandemic, Virgin 2.0
The airline's share price languished at $3.32 as of Friday's close, less than half of what it was at January 1. Yet analysts are still telling investors to buy.
- Exclusive
- Food bowl
Forrests lead push into zero-carbon cattle business
Andrew Forrest, Woolworths, GrainCorp and the AGP Group have joined forces to commercialise a CSIRO super seaweed that could wipe out massive greenhouse gas emissions and make cattle grow faster.
- Exclusive
- Conflict gold
Perth Mint dumps auditor but retains crucial accreditation
A tainted gold scandal has not cost the Perth Mint its most important accreditation, but one fund manager has questioned the rigour of the review process.
Rio revelations 'deepen anguish' of traditional owners
Traditional owners of Juukan Gorge say they are traumatised to learn of the dysfunction within Rio Tinto that led to destruction of their ancestral lands.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
What we learnt: Welcome to profit season's brave new world
A retailer which raised its dividend despite getting $4 million in taxpayer funds is a neat window into the topsy-turvy world of a COVID-19 profit season.
Andrew Forrest is now a big fish in ocean farming
The mining billionaire is casting his net wide, with aquaculture ambitions in oysters, shellfish and yellowtail kingfish in the waters off Western Australia.
Markets
These four funds got their money back with one bet
Canva's success has already paid back four entire venture capital funds, marking a milestone in the maturation of the local VC industry. But what about the others?
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Why the bulls are back in charge
The historical record shows that of the 13 post-war recessions, equities have risen during nine of them. Markets are just doing what they always do.
- Opinion
- Commodities
Why gold is not a one-way bet
Gold's cheerleaders shouldn't get too carried away – the risk-adjusted returns it's achieved this year are not sustainable and prudence is required from here.
Buffett's firm hit by virus but profit soars
Part of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's empire took a $US10 billion asset write-down and cut about 10,000 jobs during the first half of the year, but it was not enough to stop profits surging 87 per cent.
Nasdaq snaps seven-session streak of gains
A sharp slowdown in jobs growth and as yet no deal on more stimulus put investors on the defensive ahead of the weekend.
Opinion
Long way back for an economy mowed down
An adamant Daniel Andrews is rejecting the concerns of Victorian businesses – and the Morrison government – that too many of the state's restrictions are neither COVID-safe nor business-safe.
Columnist
Why gold is not a one-way bet
Gold's cheerleaders shouldn't get too carried away – the risk-adjusted returns it's achieved this year are not sustainable and prudence is required from here.
Contributor
Virus leaves no room for politics or ideology
The reality of a long and deep economic depression – and one in which no one can confidently predict the end – has been sinking in, writes Laura Tingle.
Columnist
Growing cause to question the Andrews strategy
We may still all be Melburnians, but the huge national cost of Victoria's lockdown demands more answers than the country is getting.
Editorial
Victoria used to run the country. Not any more
COVID-19 means change and this is happening to Victoria, the state that largely made the running in Australian political and corporate developments over the first 66 years of Federation, but is now in crisis.
Senior writer
Trouble in the Murdoch trust fund
Rupert's succession saga is over but brace for a trust fund melodrama as the money stream dries up.
Senior writer
Politics
Lift childcare subsidy to drive post-virus economic recovery: Grattan
The Grattan Institute says spending an extra $5 billion on subsidies would grow the economy by more than double that amount.
'Motivated by resentment': verbal grenades in War Memorial heritage battle
Former defence minister Brendan Nelson has hit back at critics of a $500 million redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial.
PM open to virtual participation in federal Parliament
Scott Morrison says MPs voting on legislation must be in Canberra, but options for video conferencing could be considered.
Quarantine audit needed to prevent repeat of Vic disaster
Restrictions on Australians returning from abroad will stay in place for "some months", and the states have been advised to audit their quarantine procedures.
- Analysis
- GDP
Forecasting has never been more fraught
The Reserve Bank's assistant governor Luci Ellis mentioned the word uncertainty no less than a dozen times in a speech on Friday.
SPONSORED
World
Britain mulls 'Australian solution' to boat arrivals
A record influx of illegal boat arrivals from France has prompted talk of naval involvement in turnback operations.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Virus exposes holes in Duterte’s 'iron fist' approach
The Philippine President's record in fighting what he has declared to be a 'war on many fronts' has been spotty at best, but he has been victorious in his assault against human rights and media freedom.
Trump's aid package claims Congressional powers
Donald Trump bypassed the nation's lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit, after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.
Indifference as Brazil marks grim milestone
More than 100,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19, as nations hardest hit by the pandemic passed a series of grim milestones with little sign of respite from new infections and deaths rising at alarming rates.
- Opinion
- Construction
Why sand shortage is a big problem
Saudi Arabia has lots of sand. That should be useful for a part of the world with a penchant for constructing ever taller buildings and ever more chic resorts on reclaimed land fanning out into the Arabian Gulf. Unfortunately, it is the wrong sort of sand.
Property
Melbourne home buyers embrace virtual auctions as sellers get real
Clearance rates rose strongly in Melbourne at the weekend as fewer vendors pulled out and more buyers pushed ahead with their purchase.
ARA creeps up to 27pc of Cromwell
The activist shareholder has pushed its long-running battle for board representation forward after on-market share buys.
Chinese company pays $60m for Yunghanns' Yaloak Estate
A caveat was placed over the estate by Harvest Agriculture, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangxi Qiutian Investment Co.
Inside Mirvac's first build-to-rent Sydney apartments
Mirvac's first build to rent upmarket apartments are renting at above market rates, and getting mixed responses from tenants.
Sydney property bounces back
The Reserve Bank had some good news for the Sydney market on Friday, declaring a "strong bounce-back" in auction rates and listings returning to normal levels.
Wealth
What 30 years in global markets teaches us about COVID-19 fears
Analysis of global bond and equity markets since 1990 reveals some of the secrets to successful investing during good times and bad.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Sneaky strata decisions made under cover of COVID-19
Beware rushed electronic approval on matters affecting your apartment block, as some will be more expensive than you realise and could take years to unpick.
How to stop togetherness from driving your family apart
Adult offspring and older parents sharing homes is an increasing cause of expensive court cases to resolve bitter financial disputes.
Technology
Twitter courts ByteDance for TikTok
The US social media giant has entered the fray to buy the wildly popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app after US President Donald Trump vowed to ban it within 45 days.
Atlassian lets its staff stay at home forever
The Australian tech giant says it will 'measure outcomes, not clock hours' and hire talent from anywhere in the world, as it commits to a permanently flexible workforce.
How deep fakes could ruin your business
Author Nina Schick says Western democratic systems and freedoms that should protect you from misinformation could make you more prone to the 'infocalypse'.
Work & Careers
- Opinion
- First Person Pandemic
How lockdown helped this MD get to know her team
Each day can feel like an endless stream of Zoom meetings but an upside is knowing more about your team's lives, writes Kate Quirke.
- Opinion
- First Person Pandemic
'I knew this high couldn’t last forever': From start-up to shutdown
The first two years for Etoile Collective felt like a "constant high" but the pandemic has changed everything for the start-up's founder.
Life & Luxury
The man who captured every day style in the Big Apple
New from a legendary New York photographer's archives: five decades of street style.
Why the Beach Boys are up there with Mozart
In 'Echoes from the Canyon', Bob Dylan's son Jakob explores the legacy of the thriving music scene in LA's Hollywood Hills during the mid '60s.
Why women are posting black-and-white selfies
Questions have been raised about the practicality of a new Instagram campaign that uses black-and-white images of women in an effort to promote female empowerment.
Bluesfest owner sees red on profiteering
The booking agents for some Australian acts are trying to capitalise on a lack of foreign competition, veteran promoter Peter Noble says.
Australian designers join forces to win Chinese hearts
Luxury e-tailer Showroom-X brings together the best of fashion, beauty and art from Down Under.
