- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to fall; Afterpay, Westpac ink deal; BHP bins Olympic Dam plan
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open weaker after US stocks fell as stimulus hopes fade. Westpac to provide banking services to Afterpay customers. BHP iron ore makes strong start to year. Cochlear says first quarter revenues lagging. Tabcorp first quarter revenues down 5.7 per cent.
Afterpay to offer savings accounts through Westpac
Afterpay is making a strategic shift towards banking and will use Westpac's new 10x platform to provide savings accounts using the bank's licence.
Trump lashes anew at Fauci
Top US military leaders cleared to return to work at Pentagon. Early US voting shatters records. Morgan Stanley sees US cases at 10m within weeks. Follow live updates here.
Frydenberg and Andrews go to war
The federal Treasurer has traded blows with Victoria's Premier amid fears the state's contact tracing and testing regimes are still not up to scratch.
BHP bins another Olympic Dam plan
BHP has revealed another pivot in its long running efforts to find an economic way to expand Olympic Dam, as iron ore exports remained strong.
- Exclusive
- Scandal
Perth Mint holding $100m of gold for tax haven clients
Scandal-plagued Perth Mint failed to conduct ID checks on clients of a bank now under investigation in five countries.
Why the second wave might not drag down European equities
Fund managers say central banks and governments will be pushed to do more, buoying markets - but not everyone's an optimist.
Companies
- Exclusive
- Financial planners
Radical shake-up of financial advice rules floated
Rice Warner has proposed a major rethink of the laws governing financial advice, deregulating the troubled sector in a bid to improve access and affordability.
Third probe into Crown's junket dealings
Feared regulator AUSTRAC is the latest body to examine Crown's dealings with Asian junket operators, who have long been suspected of links to organised crime.
Forrest-backed green cattle company in super seaweed first
FutureFeed, part owned by Andrew Forrest, Woolworths and GrainCorp, has sold the first licence to grow and produce a seaweed additive that reduces greenhouse gas emissions from cattle.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
There’s a taxing job for Cormann if he gets the OECD role
Tax reform, and making Big Tech pay its fair share, is at the top of the organisation's agenda – and its next secretary-general will have a crucial part to play.
Virus response sees banks' operational resilience emerge from shadows
Herbert Smith Freehills found one-third of global bank leaders are concerned complexity will exacerbate a new risk, which the RBA and APRA are warning about.
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
Cleanaway meeting's 'unorganised and aggressive chaos'
A senior manager at Cleanaway Waste Management has been reported to the head of human resources after he allegedly acted in an aggressive manner towards a Transport Workers Union official.
'Overkill': Business fumes as Melbourne stores stay shut
Retailers are increasingly worried that delaying reopening their doors any further will make crowds unmanageable when shops do open in the future.
Markets
Investors back recovery trade as Victoria opens up
Investors are backing stocks leveraged to Victoria's reopening, saying the easing of restrictions will pave the way for a recovery in some of the market's most beaten-down names.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares to slide at the open as Wal St slumps, as the virus surges and stimulus talks drag on. Atlassian resets record high.
- Analysis
- World markets
China delivers a recovery masterclass
The 4.9 per cent rebound in China's economy has left faltering Western economies in its wake. President Xi Jinping intends to press home that growth advantage.
'Financial heroin hits': Three CFD firms fined total of $75m
The Federal Court has hit three trading firms with large fines that targeted investors with high-risk products, as the regulator readies product intervention powers for the retail derivatives sector.
VP Capital's journey from two-minute noodles to three-baggers
Tom Lambeth and John So take a rigorous approach to valuation with the improvisational attitude of a start-up. Their VP Capital returned 31.2 per cent in 2019-20.
Opinion
'Callous indifference', 'just a Liberal': Vic insults get personal
Daniel Andrews is a strong political performer despite his government's many failings in dealing with the coronavirus. So to distract critical attention, he is accusing Josh Frydenberg of playing political games.
Columnist
Why the RBA isn't fazed by the prospect of rising house prices
RBA boss Philip Lowe has decided that in the context of a pandemic, a further drop in borrowing costs will help people get jobs and shrink the level of problem loans.
Columnist
China's recovery is cold comfort for some Australian exporters
With the coronavirus under control, China's consumers are spending again. However, Australia's wine, beef, cotton and coal exporters have little to celebrate as political sanctions bite.
China correspondent
A proud premier endures the indignity of her life
Gladys Berejiklian has been required, by dint of her relationship with a cad, to share more personal information than any political leader.
Senior correspondent
Why history is on Trump's side, not Joe Biden's
Late tightening of polls, the power of incumbency, and the enthusiasm of crowds mean that the President is far from dead.
Contributor
Border election brings populism in from the fringe
Annastacia Palaszczuk has made the state election a referendum on whether Queenslanders should decide who goes there, and the circumstances in which other Australians are not allowed to come, no matter how high the financial cost.
Editorial
Politics
Coalition's 'pointless machismo' on China hurts coal exports: CFMEU
'Undiplomatic, reckless and sometimes bizarre' attacks on China by Coalition MPs pose a grave threat to coal exports, the CFMEU says.
The wedding venue on the wrong side of the Murray
Victoria is hoping its regions can be absorbed into a larger bubble with NSW as local businesses along the border remain constrained by tough COVID-19 restrictions.
Taxpayers 'may have been defrauded' in airport land deal
Taxpayers may have been defrauded in the Western Sydney airport land deal, the Auditor-General says.
$31b slipping through tax collection net
The latest gap figures released by the Tax Office shows nearly 7 per cent of personal and business obligations are going unpaid.
'Looks like a cover-up': $30m Western Sydney Airport land deal probed
Infrastructure Department boss Simon Atkinson says two public servants are under internal investigation over the controversial land purchase.
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World
China growth keeps rapid recovery on track
China's economy grew 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, missing forecasts but confirming its status as the only major world economy likely to deliver positive growth this year.
Trump slams 'stupid' Republicans for disloyalty
The US President said he respects Democrats because they "stick together", while chiding a small group of outspoken Republicans who have distanced themselves from him.
![Nancy Pelosi: "The 48 [hours] only relates to if we want to get it done before the election - which we do."](http://web.archive.org./web/20201019224612im_/https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.2691%2C$multiply_0.2644%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_44/t_crop_custom/e_sharpen:25%2Cq_52%2Cf_auto/e3826e7857ef1b1ec5746ebeb8157d43be35ccef)
Pelosi sets deadline for stimulus deal
The US House Speaker said an economic stimulus deal must be struck within 48 hours for Congress to pass legislation before election day.
Early voting begins in crucial battleground state of Florida
President Donald Trump is running out of time to change the dynamics of a race that polls show him losing.
Europe’s second wave raises threat of double-dip recession
Rising coronavirus infections and fresh restrictions on people’s movements could cut short the region’s recent recovery.
Property
Melbourne auctions to soar as restrictions ease
Auction listings are already on the rise in Melbourne, even before restrictions were eased, as the embrace of digital platforms to conduct auctions entirely online becomes widespread.
- Exclusive
- Office
AECOM cuts Sydney office footprint as staff work from home
The pandemic created a greater willingness by staff to move away from fixed desks, letting the consultancy cut two floors, not just one, from its lease.
Sir Cecil Looker's Melbourne farm for sale as $100m housing estate
The 434.6 hectare property in Beveridge, in Melbourne's northern growth corridor, is being offered for sale by the children and grandchildren of the renowned 1960s business leader.
- Exclusive
- Property development
Tony Denny slams local council as Central Coast exit looms
Developer Tony Denny, who has sold five out of six sites offered in March, is quitting the NSW Central Coast because he has run out of patience with councillors.
Facelift plans for iconic Sydney shopping strip
A tired segment along one of Sydney's iconic shopping and party strips, Oxford Street, is one step closer to receiving a major facelift
Wealth
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Why Aussie equities may surprise and outperform
Three reasons why local stocks have a competitive advantage over other parts of the world.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
How to position your SMSF ahead of US election
Investors should retain a long-term view and avoid emotional, politically-driven investing decisions.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
How to decode technology investments
Understanding where a tech company sits in the "hype cycle" is critical in the valuation of opportunities.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Funding
Start-up that lets supermarket customers skip the scanner raises $7.5m
Tiliter's computer vision technology is used in 20 Woolworths supermarkets, but within 18 months the goal is for it to be in 1000 stores, including in the US.
- Exclusive
- Cloud
Optus signs up with Amazon Web Services to sell cloud services
Optus and AWS will create software services together and a new 'cloud academy' to train 2000 employees in cloud-related skills as the telco evolves.
- Exclusive
- NBN
COVID-19 surge in home tech shows urgent need for NBN upgrade
The pandemic has contributed to a 'massive uptick' in demand for smart home services that don't work properly on the NBN initially built by the government.
Work & Careers
Starbucks ties executive pay to diversity goals
From next year, the compensation of the coffee giant's CEO and 42 other senior executives will be tied to its success at meeting those aims.
Uni overhauls business degree to make it more work-oriented
UNSW has redesigned its basic commerce degree to include new themes emerging from the pandemic, such as workplace flexibility.
Life & Luxury
Welcome to the luxury 'bula bubble' in Fiji
Fiji 's exclusive 'Blue Lane' is designed to help the wealthy get back on the water with ease.
- Opinion
- Review
Why Google's Pixel 5 is a threat to the pricey iPhone 12
The Pixel 5 may not be the most futuristic phone on the market, but somehow it feels like the future of phones.
'Relieved and ecstatic': How Melburnians spent first day of freedom
As Melbourne awoke to a taste of freedom on Monday morning, tennis courts, golf courses and hairdressers were hives of activity. But Melburnians wanting a wax or manicure will have to wait a little longer.
The do's and don'ts of racing fashion, 2020-style
As we get set to celebrate the Melbourne Cup virtually for the first time in its 159-year history, it's time to throw caution – if not your hat – to the wind.
The power picnic is spreading
With outdoor meals one of the few pleasures sanctioned during the pandemic, companies are forming to help you think beyond wicker basket and frayed blanket.
