- Live
- Markets Live
ASX falls; Sohn: Target's Amazon playbook; HelloFresh can triple
The Australian sharemarket opens lower on weakness in BHP and banks. Live coverage of the Sohn Hearts & Minds with picks from VGI's Rob Luciano and Tribeca's Jun Bei Liu. Bill Ackman says go long in 2021. ARK tips Teladoc. TDM says Slack is 'cheap'.
Bill Ackman says 'go long': 2021 will be 'very very good year'
Bill Ackman told the Sohn Hearts and Minds event on Friday that the US is about to experience a grim winter in terms of the human toll of the coronavirus. But the economy is in great shape to anchor 2021 as a year of recovery.
National Cabinet to discuss increasing overseas arrival caps
Victoria records zero new COVID-19 cases, while Queensland and NSW record one new case each in hotel quarantine; National Cabinet is meeting this morning to discuss reopening borders and the economy ahead of Christmas. Follow live updates.
- Live
- US votes 2020
Trump bans China investments
Donald Trump has signed an order banning US companies from investing in companies deemed to be controlled by the Chinese government. More Trump loyalists are testing positive to COVID-19. Latest counting in Georgia and Arizona give Trump no chance. Follow live updates here.
Revealed: Australia's No.1 equity research team of 2020
Street Talk has its hands on the most important sell-side survey of the year.
China accuses Australia of 'gross interference'
China's Foreign Ministry has lashed out, accusing Australians of slander and saying the onus is on Canberra to fix the bilateral relationship.
- Opinion
- Property market
Melbourne house prices prove doomsayers wrong
The advent of tractable vaccines in 2020 coupled with RBA QE will help assure the post-pandemic recovery, which is being reflected in rising house prices in Australia's southern city, writes Christopher Joye.
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Directors count the cost of corporate failure
Many companies have been exposed for failing to meet community expectations, and some have paid the price for boards lacking key skills, writes Sally Patten.
- Opinion
- Executive education
Directors, the six questions you should be asking your CEO
Boards exist to hold CEOs and their leadership teams to account. They need to probe and question all aspects of a business, but the priority is strategy.
Director's job fraught with liabilities, risks and duties
Events of the past few years, including the Hayne royal commission, have been grim reminders of a director's weighty responsibilities.
Crisis of governance stands out in an ambiguous world
Boards have always had to work in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments, but the pandemic has magnified the operational issues.
- Opinion
- Executive education
Industry insight: what kind of leader will you become?
Directors need foresight to understand how actions now might play out well into the future, making the trade-off between risk and reward.
Companies
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The truth about Xero's accidental profit surge
Cloud-based accounting software company Xero surprised the market this week with a record half-year profit. But investors need to understand this was a pandemic-era aberration.
COVID-19 drives a dashcam boom
The car has become a safe haven in the pandemic and dashcam sales are through the roof as spending shifts from travel to hi-tech gizmos.
Goyder warns China breakdown threatens oil, gas and iron ore
Business heavyweights Richard Goyder and Michael Chaney have warned escalating trade tensions with China are a "tinderbox" which threaten key exports.
High risk workers lose under super stapling: CBUS
High risk workers could miss out on insurance coverage under proposed changes to the super system, as the government attacks Australian Super over 2050 net zero target.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Packer’s team dumps on Crown to save one of its own
Saving a key Packer lieutenant in the casino inquiry was the goal of the billionaire's legal team, but its approach threw Crown executives under the bus.
Pandemic-battered Optus looks to 5G future
Optus' first-half profit was hit by lower-margin NBN customers and COVID-19. But new chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin says she sees a way out.
- Updated
- Telecommunications
Telstra splits itself up as potential NBN sale looms
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has said a major restructure at the company means it is more likely to be allowed to buy the NBN in future.
Markets
Central bankers shy away from vaccine euphoria
The bosses of the Fed, the ECB and the Bank of England held to a simple theme: monetary policy is still being set in a climate of profound uncertainty.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to open lower, following the lead of global equities, as grim US virus data checks optimism that a vaccine is near at hand.
Vaccine a necessary reality check for tech stocks
The vaccine-induced sell-off in tech stocks is a much needed reality check for valuations as investors begin to price in how COVID-19's winners will perform once normal activity resumes.
Hipages sizzles then slumps in bumpy first day
Hipages shares leapt more than 16 per cent on its first day of trade, before flattening around its issue price of $2.45.
Bond markets take pause after wild sell-off
Bond markets calmed down, with yields steadying after three days of steep gains, but the sell-off may not be over just yet as investors look to central banks for direction.
Opinion
Where there's Joel Fitzgibbon, there's always fire
The rules established by Kevin Rudd to stop the leadership coups should comfort Anthony Albanese. That's unless the faceless men decide to ditch them.
Political editor
Telstra splits the difference
Andy Penn might have been stuck at home during COVID-19 but that hasn't stopped him from imagining a radically different structure and direction for Telstra.
Columnist
Only reform can water the shoots of recovery
Australia is sadly failing to get the most from costly fiscal and monetary policy stances if we do not remove structural obstacles to growth.
Editorial
Even the pretence of a democratic Hong Kong is now dead
The demise of democracy in Hong Kong has been a long time coming. It was never going to survive the reach of China's iron fist, but few thought it would be crushed this quickly once Beijing moved.
China correspondent
Trump is trashing the Republican brand
The Republican Party still has elections to win. It cannot let Trump build his own image by refusing to concede, at the expense of their own credibility, writes John Bolton.
Contributor
SA in the fast lane when it comes to electric vehicles
Credit to the SA government for introducing an Australian-first road user charge for electric vehicle - a first step towards the system recommended by the Henry tax review and the Productivity Commission.
Editorial
Politics
- Opinion
- Rear Window
Baird wins musical chairs for Business Growth Fund
Josh Frydenberg is set to make Mike Baird the new BGF chairman, but where is Will Hodgman headed?
PM tells Biden the security risk is real
Australia is going all out to embrace the new leaders of Japan and the US to shore up regional stability.
‘Disturbing’ claims: new investigator for war-crimes accused
Special Forces soldiers accused of war crimes will be tried under Australian law, and not by international courts
Travel waitlist swells as thousands try to get home for Christmas
Friday's national cabinet meeting will address travel caps as 35,000 Australians stranded overseas wait to return home.
- Exclusive
- The Paladin Affair
'Bitter litigation' reveals Paladin tax strategy
A bitter legal dispute between the owners of controversial security firm Paladin has revealed the company's strategy to minimise tax and discussions of sending profits to tax havens.
SPONSORED
World
Trump's challenge to the 2020 vote: A state-by-state guide
Trump's team is focusing the challenges in six battleground states and the President would need to move at least three of those into his column.
Ford reveals electric Transit van that's '40pc cheaper to maintain'
Ford sees big potential for the $62,000 vehicle and views Joe Biden's election as another possible boost for plug-in vehicles.
The real deal: how Joe Biden could help heal America
Over the past five decades, Biden has earned a reputation for being one of the best negotiators on Capitol Hill. He will need to be if he wants to get anything done as president.
COVID-19 virus is not going to disappear: Morgan Stanley
The COVID-19 virus is 'endemic', and people could potentially need an annual booster shot, after the initial vaccine, Morgan Stanley said.
How Biden wants to amp up fight against climate change
The President-elect is poised to embed action on climate change across the breadth of the federal government, expanding it beyond environmental agencies to speed up US efforts to mitigate global warming.
Property
S&P adds to Unibail's woes with rating cut
The downgrade, and 'negative outlook', increases pressure on the French shopping mall operator after a failed equity raising and board expansion.
Shoppers return to Vicinity malls as Melbourne lockdown ends
Along with other mall owners including Westfield operator Scentre, Vicinity's stock rode higher this week on news of a breakthrough in a vaccine for the coronavirus.
On trend: Charter Hall rides the logistics boom
Charter Hall has emerged as a big winner from the pandemic as demand for industrial and logistics space soars.
- 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.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
How states are untangling the strata law jungle
It’s time there was a nationwide template for strata law in Australia, where laws that match other jurisdictions are the rule rather than the exception.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
BAE Systems 'oversold' in pandemic and Biden fears
The UK-listed company has sufficient liquidity to see it through the crisis, while concerns about governments slashing defence budgets look overdone.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Why turning 60 doesn't always mean you can raid your super
Your retirement savings may be tax-free once you hit 60 but you'll fall foul of the ATO if you don't follow the rules on when you can access them.
Technology
- Opinion
- Telecommunications
At last, a reason to upgrade your phone to 5G
Over the next few years, 5G will have more spectrum thrown at it than any mobile phone technology we've ever seen.
- Opinion
- US votes 2020
TikTok's dance with Washington stuck in legal limbo
Will TikTok devotees in the US have to eventually make do without their daily dose of viral dance challenges? That remains unclear. But China’s tech companies have no more friends in Washington.
COVID-19 proves to be a tailwind for Nearmap
While some of Nearmap's customers have been affected, overall chief executive Rob Newman says the shift to remote working has benefited the company.
Work & Careers
Why Slack's CEO fears getting too big
Stewart Butterfield says as the software giant continues to grow, he worries 'busy work' will become a sort of invisible poisonous gas that strangles his workforce.
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.
Life & Luxury
Ferrari's first plug-in hybrid convertible packs a powerful punch
The SF90 Spider matches its coupe counterpart’s power and comes with a formidable price tag. When you want to be seen in it, its roof retracts in 14 seconds.
How to eat red meat without harming your health
Experts warn it increases your risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, but there are ways to consume it safely.
Cancer can't wait: the hidden cost of the pandemic
A new report found fewer cancers were diagnosed and treated in 2020 compared with 2019, showing cancer services are not dispensable and future pandemic planning must take this into account.
How The Crown tackled Diana's style evolution
Amy Roberts has the seemingly enviable task of dressing characters for Netflix's hit series. Just don't tell her that.
Distilled genius on display at Australian spirits awards
A whole new level of logistical problems had to be overcome to judge this year's bumper crop of award entries on Zoom.
