Why Ross McEwan is the lowest-paid bank CEO
Four senior executives at NAB earned more than $2 million dollars but took pay cuts as the bank reported a 37 per cent fall in profit for the year.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
CBA is sprinting just to stand still
Despite COVID-19, Commonwealth Bank is running much faster than the market in home loans, business loans and deposits. But low rates will weigh on it for years.
- Live
- US votes 2020
Whistleblower recants vote tampering claim
President-elect Joe Biden says Donald Trump's refusal to concede defeat in the election is an embarrassment. A Pennsylvania electoral worker Republicans were relying on for a court challenge to the results has withdrawn his claim. Follow live updates here.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX firms above 6400pts; RBNZ lifts stimulus citing vaccine "lag"
ASX momentum continues; roaring Xero shares drives All Tech index; RBNZ steps up policy support with warning of pandemic challenges.
Sydney COVID-19 cases likely triple official records
A new study found that 7450 Sydneysiders were probably infected with COVID-19 in the first wave back in March and April, which is up 3½ times the diagnosed number. Health Minister says Australia has secured crucial "cold chain" logistics for Pfizer vaccine. Victoria: no new cases, no new deaths. Follow live updates.
- Opinion
- Currency wars
For how long can the greenback rule?
Exchange rates seem remarkably stable. But the pressures are building for an upheaval like the collapse of Bretton Woods.
Packer's lawyers seek to distance him from Crown failures
Their arguments appeared to run into an early obstacle when the commissioner pointed out the billionaire had accepted some responsibility during his evidence.
US ELECTION AFTERMATH
- Opinion
- US votes 2020
Biden offers just a glimmer of hope for liberal democracy
The right response to Biden’s election is hope without naivety. Trump has tested to destruction the idea that a solipsistic superpower determined to disrupt the global order will do much more than destroy its reputation.
Biden win sparks Aussie rush into China, cannabis stocks
As outgoing President Donald Trump's grip on the White House began to slip, trade volume on the Stake platform spiked 18 per cent compared to the previous day.
Inside Operation Warp Speed’s $26b sprint for a vaccine
It’s expensive, secretive, and the US government's best hope of emerging from the pandemic. A vaccine breakthrough this week has breathed new life into the mission.
McConnell digs in on stimulus package
The Senate majority leader says last week’s fall in the jobless rate to 6.9 per cent shows the US economy is weathering the storm "a whole lot better" than thought.
How America's suburbs moved away from Trump
On average, Joe Biden improved on Hillary Clinton's performance in 373 suburban counties around the US by about 4.6 percentage points.
Companies
Cans and DIY home brew save Coopers Brewery
The largest Australian-owned beer group has cut its dividend payout to family shareholders for the first time since 1994.
Small cap tech stock Straker soars 49pc on major IBM deal
Faithful Straker investors were rewarded on Wednesday, when the language translation tech company scored a game-changing deal with tech giant IBM.
Gas lobby says intervention will stymie recovery
The head of Australia's peak oil and gas lobby has raised concerns with the level of government interference proposed in Scott Morrison's gas-led recovery.
Woodside sticks with Pluto-2 plan to save costs, time
Woodside says that building a second LNG train at its Pluto plant near Karratha will save costs and time as it targets a go-ahead in the second half of 2021 to develop its large Scarborough field off Western Australia.
Calabria Family Wines wants certainty on China
The 14th largest wine group in Australia buys three brands, including Deakin Estate, as part of its premiumisation strategy.
Harvey Norman's high-interest credit card gets a Shonky Award
White Lady Funerals also made it onto this year's list by consumer advocacy group Choice, in which companies are called out for taking advantage of customers.
KPMG, Minters and the hush-hush casino proposal
You charge how much for governance advice? Ka-ching.
Markets
Vaccine breakthrough jolts market victims back to life
Pfizer unleashed a global rally in beaten-down stocks with news its vaccine candidate is more than 90 per cent successful, while investors trashed shares of COVID-19 winners.
- Opinion
- Inflation
Steeper yield curve no augury of reflation
In the short term, new vaccines are unlikely to beat coronavirus and revitalise world economies. Inflation will not soar soon, even as yields edge up modestly.
Another lash for Mayfair's whipping boy Mawhinney
A written judgment about the IPO Wealth fund was not kind.
How the economic outlook changes with vaccine timing
Getting an early vaccine is not a prerequisite for the Reserve Bank to upgrade economic growth. But a late vaccine could hurt growth, according to Goldman Sachs.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are poised to extend their advance. Wall Street is mixed. Oil, gold higher. $A flat.
Opinion
Why an AMP board role is one of the trickiest jobs right now
The AMP board is under enormous pressure to wrap up the sale of the embattled group before it haemorrhages too many more staff or clients and the country heads off on summer holiday.
Columnist
Rules shift on the climate battlefield
Joel Fitzgibbon's resignation from Labor's frontbench is another example of Australia's continuing political brawls over climate changing policy. But the business community and the states are taking a different path.
Columnist
Way to throw your CEO under a bus
Corporate leaders believe the Cartier watch scandal reveals that Canberra holds unrealistic expectations of the talented executives hired from the private sector.
Columnist
Australia's special interest in Biden's success
Failure to contain the pandemic will damage Joe Biden's authority – and make it more difficult to deal with the key China, climate, and trade policy challenges that matter for Australia. writes Alan Mitchell.
Contributor
I took the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It's a miracle for genetic medicine
The great news about RNA vaccines is that they can easily be reprogrammed. Even after we defeat COVID-19, new viruses will come along.
Contributor
Trump lost politicising COVID; let's not repeat the mistake
Pfizer's vaccine breakthrough is a classic public-private partnership between big government and big pharma. Turning the drug into a red versus blue state controversy will only discourage people from taking it.
Contributor
Politics
Sydney COVID-19 infections triple the number diagnosed
An estimated 7450 Sydneysiders were infected with COVID-19 in the first wave, or three times the diagnosed number.
Universities lobby for changes to foreign interference bill
The bill looks likely to pass but higher education providers say it affects them adversely.
Culture review for unit at heart of $29.8m airport land deal
The NSW government unit - which is at the centre of the $27 million overpayment for land for the new Western Sydney Airport - will face a review after "very substantial" problems.
- Analysis
- Labor in turmoil
'Worst I've seen': Albanese, Fitzgibbon go at it hammer and tongs
Monday night's shadow cabinet meeting was the most explosive many had witnessed as Joel Fitzgibbon and Anthony Albanese traded blows over the US election and climate change.
- Updated
- Political Leadership
Albanese faces leadership test as climate tensions rise
Anthony Albanese's leadership is facing scrutiny after Joel Fitzgibbon's departure exposed the extent of the party's split over climate policy.
SPONSORED
World
- Analysis
- World elections
NLD's Myanmar election win good for business
Voters have given Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy another five years to transform the crony economy left behind by decades of military rule.
Francis Fukuyama on fame, grand postulations and woodwork
The political philosopher, who has published ten books and teaches at Stanford University, spends his free time making furniture.
Alibaba insists recession, political spat will not hurt Singles' Day sales
The world's biggest online shopping extravaganza kicks off in China on Wednesday, and Australian products traditionally rank high in the list of volume of sales to the planet's largest consumer market.
Britain bids to maintain post-Brexit London's financial pre-eminence
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils climate measures and digital plans for financial services, as the EU dithers over keeping the door open.
South Korea financial groups look to raise billions via IPOs
As many as six large financial companies are lining up listings on the Seoul bourse, starting in 2021 with the planned debuts of KakaoPay and Hyundai Card.
Property
Going Dutch: Charter Hall wins mandate for $800m logistics portfolio
The new partnership comes amid a relative boom in the industrial sector, accelerated by increased demand for space from e-commerce operators.
Charter Hall buys emergency services command centre
Charter Hall's ASX-listed Social Infrastructure REIT has bought a government emergency services command centre and car park under construction in Adelaide.
The pandemic hit to mortgages is easing
Numbers from non-bank lender Firstmac are an early indicator of fewer borrowers needing hardship assistance as the virus is brought under control and the economy reopens.
San Francisco curbs virus but downtown is empty
Legions of tech workers have left. Families have fled for roomy suburban homes with backyards. The exodus has pushed rents in the prohibitively expensive city to their lowest in years.
US bankruptcy court approves sale of JC Penney
The retailer faces an uphill battle to attract shoppers this holiday season as they stay away from the malls and stores for safety reasons and shop online more.
Wealth
Sharemarket poised to rally into year end
Positive news of a vaccine on top of the US presidential election result has analysts hopeful of a much firmer outlook.
- Opinion
- Property investment
Property lessons from 1990s recession
While history offers hope for a strong market recovery, several concerning issues could stymie a rebound.
Funder overturns 'chilling' decision on underpayment class actions
A court ruling that scraps a precedent requiring litigation funders to pay millions of dollars in costs upfront will prompt an increase in industrial relations class actions, lawyers say.
Technology
Brussels adds Amazon to its list of Big Tech targets
The EU says Amazon is leveraging its marketplace for its own advantage, as Brussels picks yet another trans-Atlantic fight.
Facebook rolls out local alerts as news boycott looms
Facebook is promising to crack down on disinformation as it rolls out a new emergency alert system ahead of this summer's bushfire season.
- Opinion
- Video games
The new PlayStation 5's controller is a game-changer
The DualSense unit's so-called haptic feedback takes gaming technology to the next level in a big step forward.
Work & Careers
Did you know you could be a data scientist?
Lionel Kho has worked for Medibank, ANZ and even the Australian Ballet. He reveals how he ended up in a job that didn't even exist when he started his career.
Junior workers most nervous about return to the office
Workers in entry-level positions remain the most concerned about exposure to COVID-19, as most industries have begun to return to the office.
Life & Luxury
Pop star lists Toorak home for $7m
Singer-songwriter Tina Arena bought the grand residence in the exclusive Melbourne suburb for $5,733,000 in 2017, records show.
- Opinion
- Electric cars
Plug-in hybrids now some of the fastest cars you can get
Some new models with a combination of petrol and wall socket electric power, such as Ferrari’s SF90 Stradale and McLaren's Speedtail, leave other cars behind.
Apple launches new Macs with a big difference
The tech titan says its own M1 chip in the fresh MacBook Air, Pro and Mac mini offers a battery life of up to 18 hours, faster graphics and speedier processing.
'The best news the travel industry has had all year'
Plummeting COVID-19 cases are encouraging Australians to book domestic holidays and news of a potential vaccine means overseas holidays may also be on the horizon.
Melbourne cinemas want help to keep the lights off
The projectors are rolling in Melbourne cinemas again, but operators say the industry needs a tailored support package to help it recover from lockdown.
