- Updated
- Telecommunications
Telstra splits itself up as potential NBN sale looms
A new internal structure of Telstra's assets is designed to give it 'optionality' as the NBN is completed, as it also investigates becoming an energy provider.
APRA waters down banker bonus overhaul
The prudential regulator backflips on a proposal it had strongly defended despite industry resistance and an endorsement from royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX dips; Telstra jumps 5pc on shake-up; Xero, Afterpay lead tech rally
The Australian sharemarket is lower as banks offset gains in Telstra and Wesfarmers. Telstra restructures into three businesses. Wesfarmers reports "significant" growth in Bunnings, Officeworks. Xero reports net profit of $NZ34.5 million. Nine first half earnings to rise 30 per cent. GrainCorp reinstates dividend.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Is Catch Group Wesfarmers' 10-bagger?
Wesfarmers is seeing strong e-commerce growth across its retail businesses, but online marketplace Catch Group is a standout.
- Live
- US votes 2020
Trump 'not shirking'; Morrison calls Biden
Scott Morrison will urge Joe Biden to keep America in the World Trade Organisation. Donald Trump attended his first official event since losing the election. He didn't speak. Follow live updates here.
Victoria records 13 days without cases
NSW sees fifth day with no local cases but virus detected in Bowral, western Sydney; Victoria's 14-day average close to zero; Hotel quarantine greater risk to Queensland: expert; Follow live updates here.
Bunnings sales jump 25pc as Wesfarmers' online sales soar
Wesfarmers has started the financial year with a bang after sales at its largest business, Bunnings jumped and online sales across the group, excluding Catch Group, soared 166 per cent.
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Why managers struggle to step up to the board
The transition from an executive role to a non-executive position involves a mindset change from operations to oversight and strategy.
Every company should spend $1000 per worker on innovation
Australian universities have stepped up their capabilities to teach innovation, which is building a nation of workers able to challenge the status quo.
Policy setting is a critical skill in changing times
Public policy is a core competency for board members and formal courses help decision-makers in acquiring a deep understanding of it.
Why climate change is keeping directors awake
Australian boards are on notice: address climate change or bear the brunt of economic consequences.
Cyber risks need attention at the top level of business
It is not enough for businesses to leave cyber threats and their management to IT teams.
Companies
Xero's fast growth slows, but profits surge
Xero's revenue growth slowed to 21 per cent in the first six months of the year, but the business is now more profitable than ever.
Bunnings sales jump 25pc as Wesfarmers' online sales soar
Wesfarmers has started the financial year with a bang after sales at its largest business, Bunnings jumped and online sales across the group, excluding Catch Group, soared 166 per cent.
Nine forecasts first-half rebound, flags $230m cost-cutting drive
The media company is predicting earnings in the first half to rise by 30 per cent, excluding significant items, compared with the same time last year.
Seven 'love the cricket' but will hold Cricket Australia 'accountable'
The broadcaster has been at loggerheads with Cricket Australia over the value of its $450 million broadcast deal amid changes to the 2020-21 summer of cricket.
GrainCorp bounces back as bumper harvest starts to roll in
Giant east coast grain handler back in the export game post drought and restructuring.
- Exclusive
- Executive pay
Pandemic forces CEO pay cuts as annual bonuses drop 24pc
Paul Perreault toppled Macquarie's Shemara Wikramanayake as Australia's highest-paid CEO after a stellar year for CSL.
Sonic Healthcare October sales climb 33pc
Chief executive Colin Goldschmidt told investors at a virtual annual meeting that the pandemic in Australia is under control, and base revenue is in positive growth.
Markets
Why the world's biggest float is on ice
A stand-off between China's powerful financial regulators and the country's highest-profile businessman, Jack Ma, has put a cloud over the future of the Ant Group IPO.
Economy bounces out of recession
Further stimulus and a plunge in bank loan deferrals have underpinned the sharpest recovery in consumer confidence and property buying intentions on record.
Why US tech stocks are still a buy
Big tech names have faltered this week but a fundie who has good form in picking trends says we are only at the start of a multi-decade digital transformation.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are poised to open higher, as Wall Street regained its tech footing. $A slips. US bond market closed for Veterans' Day.
Macquarie says vaccine changes everything, and nothing
Macquarie suggests unless the vaccine's side effects include structural inflation, then the rotation into value stocks may prove short term.
Opinion
Getting Trump to concede is just the start of Biden's challenges
Joe Biden is determined to "keep calm and carry on" as President-elect. But it's not just Donald Trump making the usual transition to a new administration as hard and as ugly as possible.
Columnist
Centrist Joe is precisely the president America needs
The economic security that Americans want to regain was built by postwar centrists, not radicals of left or right.
Contributor
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.
Columnist
Labor's civil war hides Coalition's power failures
The climate wars are now pulling Labor apart. Yet the price of the Coalition’s new political edge on climate change is an incoherent energy policy that undermines investment in cheaper, cleaner and more reliable power supplies.
Editorial
How Australia and China can begin the great defrost
Multilateral work together on virus relief, trade and regional debt could be a circuit-breaker for a diplomatic chill.
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
Politics
Porter accuser voted off ruling body for barristers
Kathleen Foley, one of Christian Porter's accusers, has been voted off the ruling body for Victorian barristers, along with the president.
Axing of responsible lending laws in doubt
The government's plan to scrap the responsible lending law for banks faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
What the inquiry into audit quality recommended
A jargon-free guide to the 10 recommendations in the final parliamentary report into audit quality.
- Exclusive
- Regulation
ASIC shells out $1.5m on leadership gurus
The amount, spent over two years, went to consultants to provide coaching and organisational psychologists for top regulators, as well as assessments and advice.
Labor's unrest: There's no clear alternative to Albanese
While there is broad agreement that Anthony Albanese needs to lift, there is no consensus as to who would replace him
SPONSORED
World
Hong Kong pro-democracy politicians resign from parliament en masse
Hong Kong's rubber stamp parliament is now made up entirely of Beijing appointees following the latest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement by China.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Economy needs more than a vaccine to fix it
It may be tempting for lawmakers to shelve major fiscal relief efforts if a coronavirus vaccine is on the way. That would be a mistake.
Britain mobilises medical profession for COVID vaccination blitz
Convention centres and sports facilities will be commandeered and the army drafted, as GPs are told to be ready to go 'any time' next month.
Global uncertainty fails to curb China's online shopping spree
Two of China's biggest e-commerce giants reported a combined $119 billion in online sales during the early phase of the world's biggest shopping festival.
Remembrance Day bomb attack in Saudi Arabia wounds several
France has condemned the cowardly attack in the city of Jeddah, in which four people were reportedly slightly injured.
Property
- Opinion
- Property investment
Why the next wave of housing investors will be different
Housing investors who have been off the radar will return, writes Robert Harley. But things are going to be different.
- Exclusive
- Retail
Collins Street's home of Louis Vuitton in new hands
The four-storey building is thought to have sold about the $65 million mark, well in excess of initial expectations of about $50 million.
Shareholders thwart Unibail equity raising
Activist investors get seats on the board as Europe's debt-stricken mall giant grapples with the legacy of buying Westfield.
Housing sentiment bounces back to pre-COVID-19 levels
Homeowners are now less worried about the state of the property market, says the ME Quarterly Property Sentiment Report.
'Hold on to investment property', the students will come back
An analysis predicts student numbers will exceed their 2019 peak once international borders reopen.
Wealth
Inheritance capital gains tax quirks
There can be CGT payable by beneficiaries even if assets were bought pre-1985, writes John Wasiliev who answers your questions.
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.
Technology
This 18-year-old AI whiz could be the next Elon Musk
Katie Stevo had a plan for everything, but this year challenged her in ways she never expected.
Electric vehicle taxes expected across Australia
South Australia's move to tax electric vehicle users for each kilometre they drive has caught many in the industry off-guard.
Half steps better than no steps for soon-to-be listed Plexure
New Zealand-based mobile engagement tech company Plexure is raising almost $35 million, as it prepares for a secondary listing on the Australian exchange.
Work & Careers
What this Mercedes-Benz executive learnt during lockdown
Diane Tarr has missed her frequent work trips, but admits that being stuck at home in Melbourne opened her eyes to treasures in her own backyard.
Aged care workers want 25 per cent pay rise
More than 200,000 personal carers, catering, cleaning and admin workers in aged care centres would see their wages rise by at least $5 an hour if the union wins its new pay claim.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- PCs & laptops
How to get a better computer than everyone else
The machine you dream of is at your fingertips – not to mention greater knowledge of technology and your own brain's shortcomings.
Buyer of $36m pink diamond could still make a profit
Jewellery expert Benoit Repellin, who led the sale, said it set a record for a diamond graded fancy vivid purple pink sold at auction.
Sidney Nolan's Ned-head template among affordable lots on sale
Among the 124 items are works with surprisingly low estimates for an artist of this calibre, as well as several that are particularly notable.
Battered hotels pitch themselves as remote workspaces
Eager to get guests back in their empty rooms, hotels and resorts are pitching themselves as remote workspaces.
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.
