- Live
- Markets Live
ASX falls 2.3pc; Afterpay below $120, AMP up 6pc
Afterpay upsizes offering to $1.5b, Mesoblast halted as it strikes private placement. Orica drops 18pc as CEO exits. US 10-year bond yields jump to 1.52pc. BWX is up 15pc and local dollar gives back gains. Follow the latest here.
AMP sells half of AMP Capital to Ares
AMP has inked a $1.35 billion deal with US asset manager Ares Management to skive off 60 per cent of AMP Capital’s unlisted markets businesses, just weeks after a takeover proposal for the whole company was dumped by the suitor.
- Live
- Need to Know
Regulator will continue Melissa Caddick investigation
Human remains have been DNA matched to missing Sydney woman Melissa Caddick; Facebook has restored news for Australian media; NSW goes 40 days with no local COVID-19 cases. Follow updates here.
Harvey Norman faces JobKeeper heat as profits double
Harvey Norman increased its interim dividend to 20¢ a share after net profit surged 114 per cent.
Future Fund bolsters private equity team
Street Talk understands the Alica Gregory-led PE program at Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has added Tammi Fisher to its ranks, as a director.
Lynas cashes in on higher rare earths prices
A less is more approach has paid off for Lynas Rare Earth Limited with the company reporting big increase in half year revenue and profit.
Remains of missing fraudster Melissa Caddick found
The decomposed remains of missing fraudster Melissa Caddick have been found on a NSW south coast beach three months after she vanished following a police raid on her home.
The untold story of how two university friends hatched the perfect crime only to be undone by the desire for more.
Companies
Sezzle, Openpay point to buy now, pay later sales acceleration
A flurry of buy now pay later providers are reporting on Friday, including Sezzle, Openpay, Payright, Splitit, Zebit and Laybuy.
The 150-year making of Netwealth
The Heine family has a long history of exploiting the zeitgeist. Now, they are in pole position to profit from the wealth management industry’s royal commission reckoning.
Kogan.com celebrates bumper first half but January stalls
Kogan.com’s December-half net profit rose 165 per cent to $23.6 million, fueled by record spending on electronics, appliances, homewares and pet products.
Made in Melbourne customer data platform raises $33.5m
Lexer’s clients include Optus and Billabong, but it’s eyeing offshore growth.
JPMorgan makes franchise bet on Afterpay
JPMorgan’s got a VIP ticket to the hottest show in town.
Orica appoints new CEO, flags earnings downgrade
Orica chief executive officer Alberto Calderon will be replaced by an internal pick, Sanjeev Gandhi, as the company flagged its half year earnings could be hit by up to $125 million.
Facebook signs deals with independent publishers
Facebook has signed deals with the publishers of Crikey, InDaily and The Saturday Paper as news content began to re-appear on the platform on Friday morning.
Markets
Interest in Warren Buffett’s thoughts as strong as ever
The billionaire chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway has a chance to break his silence with the release of his annual letter this weekend.
GameStop surges and no one truly knows why
Shares in the company rose more than 100 per cent, then retreated, to end the latest New York trading day up 18.6 per cent.
US Treasury yields surge, sounding alarm for risk assets
Traders pulled forward bets on when the Federal Reserve will start lifting policy rates, and yields took off with startling speed.
NZ housing policy stand blows up the bond market
New Zealand’s bonds were sold-off savagely on Thursday after the RBNZ added housing to its policy remit. Bond managers think it will have no option but to raise interest rates to preserve affordability.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
The Fed may need to head off a money-market mess
US policymakers should slightly lift the rates the Fed pays on bank reserves and on its borrowings in the repo market to help prevent other short-term rates from going negative.
Opinion
Political pile-ons could get in the way of vaccine rollout
The point-scoring over vaccination bungles risks undermining confidence in the program we are relying on to get the economy back to normal.
Political editor
Alan Joyce looks up, up and away
The Qantas chief is trying to persuade state and federal governments that the vaccine rollout means it is time to keep state borders open and plan for international travel by October. Will it work?
Columnist
Coates shows why he is the master of Olympic politics
A lifetime of plotting, scheming and flattery by the Australian Olympic Committee president has paid off.
Senior correspondent
Australia’s submarine deterrent needs a clear course
Australia’s huge submarine contract with France has run into trouble. But that is what happens when too many pressures pull on a project.
Editorial
McKinsey turmoil shows the firm’s struggle with ‘pace of change’
The vote to replace global managing partner Kevin Sneader after just one term shows the partnership is still struggling to adapt to evolving expectations around transparency and ethical behaviour.
Professional services editor
Pandemics not state Libs’ real problem
State oppositions were failing to give mainstream Australians a reason to vote for the Liberal Party long before the parochial Labor premiers became virus heroes, writes John Roskam.
Columnist
Politics
Super should be used ‘more effectively’: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg says retirees must be encouraged to draw down on their super “more effectively”, hinting that the government could freeze the guarantee.
BWX sales flat in first half, but sticks to full year outlook
The Natural skincare group posts mixed overall half year results, and flags an equity-linked partnership with retail pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse Group.
- Exclusive
- University
Chinese students told not to study in Australia
Beijing’s dispute with Australia appears to have reached a new low, with education agents based in China given a directive not to send students to Australia.
Now the Olympic fast-rail Games begin
The 2032 Games will place huge demands on infrastructure in and around Brisbane, and mayors from surrounding areas are insisting improvements are crucial to serve the fast-growing population of their region.
Labor wavers on pre-election JobSeeker commitment
Labor has left the door open to going to the next federal election without committing to a specific increase in JobSeeker despite previously saying it would do so.
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World
The many lives of Cold War double agent George Blake
I was beguiled when I met the notorious British spy in Moscow, but the charm wore off fast when I considered the man’s life.
Georgia counties sue Trump for legal fees over failed vote fraud suits
The state says former US President Donald Trump’s legal actions were based on ‘unsubstantiated and frivolous claims’.
China claims to have ‘eradicated’ extreme poverty - but questions remain
In a bombastic ceremony, Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared ‘complete victory’ over extreme poverty but facts and figures were hard to come by.
- Opinion
- World politics
Super Mario will give Italy more sway in Europe
The new Prime Minister will put Europe and the US at the centre of his foreign policy – a marked shift from his predecessor, who had aligned Italy more closely with China.
- Opinion
- First Person Pandemic
The day the President came to my vaccination
The Indonesian government is in a race against time to get 181 million safe from the clutches of COVID-19. Today it was my turn.
Property
Sydney median auction house price hits record high
It’s reached $1.68 million in stunning activity across the city amid fierce buyer competition during a record month of clearance rates.
Housing boom lifts homemaker centre landlord Aventus
Visits to homemaker centres owned and operated by Aventus hit a record high of 44 million in 2020, benefiting tenants like Bunnings, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Stockland’s housing warning
Mark Steinert delivered his last profit result on Thursday after seven years as CEO of property group Stockland. He returned to a familiar theme - Australia’s poor track record in supplying land for detached housing.
Stockland reports strongest sales result in four years
The country’s largest diversified developer is confident in its ability to boost house-and-land production in response to demand from a sharply rising market.
Growthpoint trims distribution rate, launches buyback
Managing director Tim Collyer has pared back the interim distribution after adopting a more conservative payout ratio.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Sony valuation ‘undemanding’ even after share gains
The multinational conglomerate is focusing on higher-margin and recurring sources of revenue, with content – music, movies and games – as the key driver.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Dogged determination leads to pet-friendly strata laws
Owners corporations in NSW will not be able to unreasonably deny permission for residents to have pets – just as soon as MPs have agreed on the definition of “unreasonable”.
Munger calls out Robinhood, other brokers for ‘dirty’ money
Warren Buffett’s business partner dismisses commission-free brokerages as gambling services.
Technology
The massive challenge of regulating Big Tech
As countries take on the growing political and economic power of the tech giants, the focus is moving beyond breaking them up to tougher rules around privacy protection and ownership of data.
Aussie tech leaders launch climate network
Leaders from technology companies including Expert360, Xero and Marley Spoon Australia have banded together to make a contribution to the fight against climate change.
- Exclusive
- Digital transformation
Digital disruption looms for Australian industry, analysts warn
Industries at the centre of Australia’s pandemic response are at biggest risk of a digital upset, warns a report commissioned by Google.
Work & Careers
Gender pay gap improves as more men take on low-paid work
The pay gap improved 0.6 percentage points to 13.4 per cent because of labour market shifts, rather than progress on equality.
CFMEU kills off non-union deal as major builders bow to big pay rises
The Fair Work Commission’s rejection of second-tier builder Lipman’s agreement could threaten the approval of four other non-union agreements.
Life & Luxury
How low can you go with your next phone?
Before buying Oppo’s new budget phone, the A15, you need to ask yourself some challenging questions.
Tesla’s electric evolution
Machine editor Tony Davis traces the history of the Tesla from 2008 to today – and beyond.
Health and wellbeing has given golf new focus, says R&A chief
Despite a torrid year Martin Slumbers is optimistic the game could be one of the winners from the pandemic.
Six reasons the new Genesis SUV deserves to succeed
Hyundai’s upmarket new contender pulls out all the stops in the red-hot sports utility vehicle market.
Coffee could lower risk of heart failure, says new analysis
Researchers used machine learning to analyse decades-long data from three large health studies with 21,361 participants. What they found was unexpected.
