Australian business leaders and global experts debate how to create a better world after COVID-19.
Lew's 'Midas touch' infuriates landlords
Solomon Lew's refusal to pay rent on shuttered stores while using JobKeeper subsidies to slash costs has enraged fellow billionaires, who say it goes against the spirit of the COVID-19 code of conduct between landlords and retail tenants.
NZ deputy PM suspects breach of hotel quarantine to blame for outbreak
New Zealand's deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has "inside information" suggesting that the country's recent coronavirus outbreak is linked to a failure in hotel quarantine. Follow updates here.
JPMorgan snaps up Credit Suisse MD
JPMorgan has a new managing director headed for its Australian investment banking team.
NAB's COVID provisions under the microscope
NAB chief executive Ross McEwan is expected to raise the bank’s COVID-19 provisioning by up to half a billion dollars on Friday.
Vendors slash prices as uncertainty persists
A year ago, just 5.1 per cent of Sydney vendors were discounting their asking prices. In July, almost three times as many were discounting – the highest proportion of reduced price listings in the country.
Palmer claims WA snookered on $30b damages claim
Western Australia Attorney-General John Quigley has likened the legal moves and countermoves over a stalled iron ore mine to a complicated game of chess.
- Analysis
- Sharemarket
Magellan cranks its ETF offerings
The structural shift of retail investors preferring to invest in collective investment schemes via an exchange, rather than mutual fund wrapper is accelerating.
EARNINGS SEASON
'It's written pretty clearly': QBE firm on rejecting pandemic claims
A fight is emerging about pandemic insurance and business interruption claims, but QBE CEO Pat Regan says the wording in policies is "clear".
Last drinks for dividends before cycle bites
A better than expected dividend splurge through the August earnings season could prove short-lived, with many companies flagging a difficult or uncertain financial year ahead.
Woodside 'primed' for deals despite huge loss
.Woodside is keen to grow through acquisitions, which could involve assets in which it already has interests, but also opportunities further afield.
Telstra primes shareholders for lower dividend as profit falls
CEO Andy Penn says the management is doing everything in its power to replace a widening earnings hole caused by the rollout of the NBN.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Culture and virus overshadow AMP's slow rescue
CEO Francesco De Ferrari insists he's making progress on his group turnaround. But cultural controversies are making that progress hard to see.
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Regional Victoria faces stage four restrictions as virus spreads
Health authorities are considering imposing stage four restrictions on more of Victoria in response to a growing number of "mystery cases" in the state's biggest regional centres despite overall new case numbers falling.
State border closures a long-term hit to labour mobility
This year's revolution in working from home could break Australia's city-centricism, but Fortescue warns state border closures will have a long-term impact
'None of this was unforeseeable': Aged care response slammed
Peter Rozen, senior counsel assisting the aged care royal commission, has made a damning assessment of the federal government and sector's COVID-19 response.
NSW woman succumbs to coronavirus, Canberrans arrive home
NSW Health confirmed the first COVID-19 death in nearly two weeks as 12 new cases were uncovered, while Canberrans stranded in Victoria have begun arriving home.
Economic reform must be about confidence, not ideology
The bureaucrat in charge of the government's coronavirus reform strategy has warned that confidence needs to be at the centre of the post-pandemic reform process.
Companies
CBA 'almost unrecognisable' under Comyn
Three years after the bank was hit with a $1 billion capital penalty after a series of scandals, an independent auditor finds a sea change within.
De Ferrari: hiring Alex Wade 'my responsibility'
AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari says he would rather discuss earnings results were overshadowed than answer questions on the company's handling of sexual harassment.
Virgin Australia co-founder breaks cover in race for airline
Virgin Australia's rebel bondholders have wheeled out a slew of former executives in the latest push to demonstrate the credibility of their proposal.
KPMG revenue up 7pc in 'wholly unusual year'
Growth across all of KPMG's divisions – including auditing, deals and advisory – has seen the big four consulting firm post a revenue of $1.91 billion.
- Opinion
- Future of Work
Telstra calls time on the offshore call centre
Amid full-year results that showed all the uncertainties of 2020, Telstra demonstrated it has got a clearer idea of what the future of its workforce should look like.
CBA's rosy recovery outlook not shared by investors
The bank's shares are down more heavily than rivals as analysts predict bad debts will get worse next year before recovering from the crisis.
Take off! Rex swoops on 737s left behind by Virgin 2.0
Major domestic flight routes hopeful Regional Express is set to pounce on a bunch of Boeing 737s discarded by the downsizing Virgin Australia.
Markets
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX sinks 0.7pc; Telstra falls 8pc; AGL's worst day since 2007
The ASX ends down 0.7 per cent as Telstra has biggest decline since March after cutting return target. AMP shares rallied 10.9 per cent on $544 million capital returns. AGL suffers biggest fall since October 2007 after dividends were cut.
Where to invest in a post-pandemic world
Business leaders say large-scale change is needed following COVID-19, and share their views on the opportunities that lie ahead.
Jobless rate hit 7.5pc before lockdown
The jobs market was improving more than expected, but the latest figures do not take into account the second COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria.
- Opinion
- Investing
Watch out monopolies, the redistribution revolution is coming
The money printing memes blame the Fed for high stock prices. But that is only half the story.
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
'The next Skase': investor fury over iProsperity fugitive
The finger-pointing and recriminations have begun over Michael Gu, the founder of failed property group iProsperity, being allowed to leave the country.
Opinion
Workers need to move states to get better jobs
Unemployment is highest in the states with the hardest border closures. If they continue with their border parochialism, workers and the unemployed will pay the price.
Senior writer
Double standard at play as PM stays silent on Andrews
If the Victorian Premier were a bank chief, Scott Morrison would be calling for 'heads to roll'. But there's a different rule for holding politicians accountable for failures.
Columnist
The next virus disruption will be shift to digital currencies
The pandemic has sped up the end of paper money. So central banks can't afford to play catch-up to manage the security risks of digital currencies.
Columnist
Telstra calls time on the offshore call centre
Amid full-year results that showed all the uncertainties of 2020, Telstra demonstrated it has got a clearer idea of what the future of its workforce should look like.
Technology editor
Joe Biden and the riddle of Kamala Harris
Biden has hired not just a running mate but an executive burden-sharer and — forgive the macabre note — a viable stand-in. But who is Kamala Harris really?
Contributor
In office markets defying gravity, how low will falling rents go?
The Property Council's new numbers on office vacancies show the effects of the pandemic. Rents and values will fall – it's just a matter of how much, writes Robert Harley.
Contributor
Politics
Employers win $2 billion case on personal leave
The Federal Government and employers have welcomed a decision of the High Court on personal leave.
Pandemic could reverse gender pay gap gains
Australian companies are more likely to have a CEO named Andrew than one who is a woman, and the COVID-19 crisis is likely to make the gender disparity worse.
Labor may approve IR exemptions but wants JobKeeper increased
The government will push ahead with a reform budget in October, despite the setback caused by the Victorian coronavirus outbreak
- Opinion
- Hearsay
High Court bookies wary of PM's mate
The race to the High Court is wide open, but Hearsay has some important information
- Exclusive
- Political Leadership
Struggling against Andrews, Vic Liberals consider leader swap
The Victorian Opposition has been unable to capitalise on the Melbourne quarantine debacle, triggering great internal angst, writes Aaron Patrick.
SPONSORED
World
China expands port facilities for Brazil's iron ore supercarriers
The giant ships used by Brazil's Vale group, the main competitor to Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue Metals, can carry almost double the amount of iron ore than those used by Australian miners.
Harris on Trump: He's run America down, 'like everything he inherited'
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have made clear they would seek to turn the coming campaign into a referendum on Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Blast knocked out half of Beirut's healthcare centres
The blast heavily damaged at least four of the city's major hospitals, sparking mass evacuations even as wounded residents streamed in looking for help.
- Analysis
- Obituaries
It was business, it was personal: The Redstones’ father-daughter feud
Sumner Redstone, who once told a reporter that his daughter was 'the love of my life', dangled the possibility of her winning control of his empire – only to pull back when she seemed to be gaining power and influence.
Biden plans to make Harris as powerful a Veep as he was
Joe Biden plans to model Kamala Harris' role on the influential part he played himself for eight years as Barack Obama’s vice-president.
Property
Goodman surges to new heights as COVID-19 boosts warehouse demand
Greg Goodman's bullishness was matched by that of investors with Goodman Group shares surging to new intra-day high of $18.45 on Wednesday.
Childcare centre landlord prospers despite pandemic
Strong government support for the sector in the midst of the shutdown helped Arena stay on track.
Charter Hall retail fund looks to essential shopping
Charter Hall Retail REIT's weighting towards essential services shops and major retailers such as BP, Coles and Woolworths offset reduced activity from specialty retailers during the height of the pandemic.
- Opinion
- Office
The big test for offices - how low will falling rents go?
The Property Council's new numbers on office vacancies show the effects of the pandemic. Rents and values will fall – it's just a matter of how much, writes Robert Harley.
Vacancy a warning as virus stalks office markets
Across the country, Sydney and Melbourne recorded the largest increases in vacancy, while Canberra was the only capital city to record a vacancy decrease.
Wealth
Should I boost my gold holdings?
Be careful you're not just following the crowd and don't go over 15 per cent of your portfolio.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Why some strata services are essentially a rip-off
There's bound to be trouble when the company performing the inspections is also the entity that fixes any faults that are found.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Move to top drop boosts Budweiser APAC
Increasing disposable income and urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific region are leading a shift in consumer preferences towards more premium beer categories.
Technology
Microsoft Surface Duo phone goes on sale starting at $1950
It is the thinnest Surface ever, with screens that unfold completely to serve as a phone or act like a book to provide more space for different apps.
Stephen Rue lays ground for NBN upgrade blitz
NBN customers may be in for a pleasant surprise after the CEO was cagey on Tuesday when asked whether he would exceed NBN's peak funding of $51 billion.
- Exclusive
- Business IT
SAP boss warns on trade tensions' risk to tech world
Christian Klein, the youngest ever SAP chief executive, says rising tensions between the US and China are the last thing the world needs as it grapples with the pandemic.
Work & Careers
- Opinion
- First Person Pandemic
Why late-night work calls are no longer a drag for 99designs CEO
The graphic design platform's team is more productive than ever and CEO Patrick Llewellyn is seeing his kids more. But the pandemic has caused one blind spot.
- Opinion
- First Person Pandemic
Husband and wife team find family and work balance a stretch
Half of KX Pilates' studios are closed and owners Aaron Smith and Andi Fiorenza are at home with two kids under five. Staying creative is proving a challenge.
Life & Luxury
Beware, Brisbane – giant birds are striking in September
Florentijn Hofman, the Dutch artist behind Sydney Harbour's supersized rubber duck, is unveiling his latest work at this year's Brisbane Festival.
The right tool for the right job: Samsung's Galaxy Tab S7+
For anyone who wants to take handwritten notes on top of an audio recording, this is a killer device.
Simon Cowell just broke his back on an e-bike, so how safe are they?
Safety concerns about electric bicycles have sparked again after the 'America's Got Talent' judge crashed while trying out his new model. Here are seven tips.
- Opinion
- Food
I tried every burger at McDonald's and ranked them from worst to best
I ate a total of 18 for this assignment, taking photos of each and jotting down notes about their ingredients, taste, and appearance as I went along.
And now for Rolls-Royce's post-opulence era
What do 'people of success' want in tough times? The head of the luxury British marque's Bespoke division explains.
