How the world could finally turn the corner on the virus
A vaccine breakthrough and the promise of stable leadership in the US has sparked hope that 2021 could be a brighter year.
- Live
- US votes 2020
Trump wrongly takes full credit for vaccine
Trump once again falsely attributed rising US cases to higher testing. US daily virus cases seen at 300,000 by early December. A Michigan judge says Republican vote allegations 'not credible'. Follow live updates here.
Dow rises in broad rally, S&P resets closing high
At Friday's close, the Dow was up 400 points or 1.4 per cent. All 30 of the Dow's components closed higher, paced by Cisco, Boeing and Walgreens.
Who are the market winners and losers in this new world order?
The US election and vaccine breakthrough have excited the markets, but stock pickers need to look beyond the news cycle to the structural shifts of the post-pandemic world.
Hope of economic revival buoyed as Australia opens up
The development of vaccines is ahead of schedule, while a review of contact tracing finds reason for confidence as Australians start moving about the country.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Fizz in Coca-Cola power struggle
Tension between the Coca-Cola Company and Amatil goes back a long way, escalating when Amatil strayed from the simple job of selling lots more Coke.
Hubris killed EL&C Baillieu, a Melbourne broking icon
One of Melbourne's oldest stockbrokers, established in 1889, couldn't survive the downfall of its rainmaking broker Stephen Macaw.
Companies
Insurers on notice after summer bushfire crisis
The federal government put the sector on notice not to shirk its responsibilities in the wake of natural disasters.
ASIC to call out buy now, pay later 'harms that we continue to see'
ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes said "harms" to buy now, pay later users will feature in a report next week but future regulation is a matter for government.
Hubris killed EL&C Baillieu, a Melbourne broking icon
One of Melbourne's oldest stockbrokers, established in 1889, couldn't survive the downfall of its rainmaking broker Stephen Macaw.
Savers kicked again as banks slash rates
Commonwealth Bank has cut interest rates on some of its popular savings accounts for the eighth time this year as earnings pressure from super-low rates forces out the red pen on costs.
Where the retail daigou are now
Traditional personal shoppers who would empty supermarket shelves have moved online instead, according to a former Swisse vitamins executive who now helps run one of the biggest distributors to the daigou channel.
Business blueprint for healing 'bungled' China relationship
Alarmed by trade sanctions and China turning its back on a multibillion-dollar investment opportunity in LNG, Australian business leaders want the Morrison government to find a way to stop the bleeding.
Unions prevail over BHP in workplace spat
BHP's flagship industrial relations reform has been dealt a major and final blow by the Fair Work Commission.
Markets
ASX falls; Sohn conference tips CSL, Treasury Wines, Temple & Webster
The sharemarket closed 0.2 per cent lower on Friday. Sohn Hearts & Mind saw Paradice's David Moberley spy 'significant' opportunity in CSL. Regal said Temple & Webster can double and Tribeca was bullish on Treasury Wine. Milford liked Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
Bill Ackman says 'go long': 2021 will be 'very, very good year'
Bill Ackman told the Sohn Hearts and Minds event 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.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Investors can learn from Bill and Gladys
Legendary investor Bill Ackman and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian have something in common - they were not afraid to do things no one else was doing during the COVID-19 crisis. There's a lesson there for investors.
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.
RBA faces its big sell on QE
Economists think the Reserve Bank may have to start presenting its extraordinary monetary policy decisions in a new light. But what will the bank's priorities be?
Opinion
The trouble with the Canberra bubble
Christian Porter's attitude towards women has been called into question, making that other putative Morrison successor, Josh Frydenberg, just a tad more confident.
Senior writer
A turning point that's still full of risk
Joe Biden's arrival on the world stage, a prospective vaccine and, at home, the start of an economic rebound. The world looks better than it did but many things have not changed.
Editorial
It's time to make political lies a stigma again
Donald Trump made lying normal. Now it's up to news organisations to pull the plug if politicians are telling flat-out lies.
Contributor
The vaccine results are good news but there's a way to go
Breakthroughs in the US and Russia this week suggest vaccines can work for COVID-19, but there are still many ethical, geopolitical and logistical issues to overcome.
Health editor
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.
Columnist
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
Politics
Perrottet floats lottery revenue sell off as budget looms
With a forecast deficit in the tens of billions of dollars, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will use the state budget to lobby for large-scale tax reform.
Long haul over for mine workers as WA borders finally come down
Thousands of resources industry workers breathe a sigh of relief as they regain access to their home states.
- Exclusive
- QLD Votes 2020
UAP will fight on despite Qld election drubbing, says Clive Palmer
Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer said his United Australia Party would continue to contest elections despite a dire result in the recent state election.
Scott Morrison ties public service pay to private sector wage growth
A 2 per cent cap on public service pay increases will be scrapped and generous bonuses reviewed.
Insurers on notice after summer bushfire crisis
The federal government put the sector on notice not to shirk its responsibilities in the wake of natural disasters.
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World
- Analysis
- US votes 2020
Rupert Murdoch's Trump two-step
As Trump rages on Twitter about Fox News treachery and threatens to set up his own shop, the Murdochs appear to be more focused on repairing relations with his successor.
Trump's Republican bulwark starts to crumble
The outgoing president's insistence the election was stolen is starting to wear on Republicans, who say he should help unite the country by supporting the transition to Joe Biden.
Trump's challenge to the 2020 vote: a state-by-state guide
Donald Trump's team is focusing the challenge on six battleground states. He would need to move at least three of those into his column to retain the presidency.
- Analysis
- Hong Kong protests
The West's threats to China over Hong Kong are empty
International outrage over China's actions in Hong Kong has never been louder, but it won't make any difference.
PNG turmoil leaves Morrison's visit in doubt
Defections from Prime Minister's James Marape's governing coalition threaten his grip on power.
Property
Grand Sydney house expected to break suburb record
Medieval Italy meets the inner west in this two-title offering that was built in 1889 to house a huge family with 14 children.
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.
Wealth
Cheapest borrowing rates and how to make the most of them
Borrowers can save thousands of dollars a year in repayments by switching loans. What's on offer and how to avoid the traps.
- 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.
$2 million pay rise for Melbourne biotech boss
The Financial Review's CEO pay survey shows it increasingly pays to work in biotechs and start-ups, not the banks.
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
Ross McEwan's recipe for a simple life
The CEO's Kiwi upbringing informs his personal approach to money and the attitude of accountability he's trying to instill at NAB.
'Fundamental shift': builders break from CFMEU
Workers at two large second-tier builders in NSW have voted for lower pay rises and more flexible conditions despite strong CFMEU opposition.
Life & Luxury
We are here: new gallery opens in Sydney's west
The Granville Centre Art Gallery near Parramatta is making its debut with exhibition of works by Dharug artists.
Would you have the snip to save the environment?
Vegan activists are a new demographic seeking sterilisation before they have had any children.
Ross McEwan's recipe for a simple life
The CEO's Kiwi upbringing informs his personal approach to money and the attitude of accountability he's trying to instill at NAB.
Why BMW's new electric SUV still has a huge grille
It has no need for an air intake for an internal combustion engine, so why does it sport the classic kidney-shaped feature? Think cameras and sensors.
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.
