Debt cost spike puts all eyes on the RBA
Government interest costs are on track to blow out by $15 billion over the next two years because of a sudden jump in bond yields, putting pressure on the Reserve Bank to consider more aggressive interventions.
Karst Peak says Australia is rich for short-selling
Hedge fund manager Adam Leitzes says Australia is rich pickings for short sellers as he launches his tiger cub Shearwater Karst Peak fund for investors.
- Exclusive
- The Sure Thing
ABS insider trader was ‘susceptible to blackmail’
Chris Hill failed an Australian government psychological evaluation before he began passing confidential information to his university friend, Lukas Kamay.
Collapse of crypto platform a cautionary tale
The mysterious collapse of a cryptocurrency trading platform highlights the risks of the speculative and effectively unregulated currency.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
Joyce wins premiers’ support for border ceasefire
The Qantas chief executive has been meeting state leaders to push for a national standard on domestic borders by April
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The other bad news about bond yields
Rob Almeida says equity markets should be more worried about the tepid growth rates implied by bond markets than the recent sharp jump in yields.
- Opinion
- Investment banking
AMP shareholders want more detail on Ares deal
Investors gave a tentative cheer when the wealth manager announced a spin-off its private markets business, but there are still some big questions to be answered.
The untold story of how two university friends hatched the perfect crime only to be undone by the desire for more.
Companies
- Exclusive
- Earnings season
Invest big to ‘break away from the pack’: top CEOs
Companies must reinvest in their operations and reinvent their companies more aggressively or risk squandering the advantage handed to them by Australia’s adroit management of the pandemic.
Investors back Fortescue’s clean energy moonshot
Having built the world’s fourth biggest iron ore business and eliminated its debts, investors say Fortescue has earned the right to take a punt on clean energy
Coles, Woolies drive IPO-bound flowers group
The supermarket channel makes up about 19 per cent of the cut flower market, but in the UK it is 55 per cent.
The battle over Arrium’s demise kicks off
The downfall of the one-time BHP Billiton division is to be forensically examined in three separate, but interlinked, legal actions getting under way on Monday.
Neobank Volt cuts price again to raise funds
It is in the midst of finishing a fundraising round that will top up its coffers by almost $33 million.
- Opinion
- Investment banking
AMP shareholders want more detail on Ares deal
Investors gave a tentative cheer when the wealth manager announced a spin-off its private markets business, but there are still some big questions to be answered.
Mesoblast needs capital raising, auditors say
In their review of Mesoblast’s interim results – released at 7pm on Friday night – the auditors say “material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
Markets
- Opinion
- Bonds
Bond market’s bull run faces a triple threat
The three key players seem to be pulling in the same direction – selling bonds – and the long-anticipated multi-year bear market for bonds may finally be here.
- Opinion
- Inflation
Return of the bond vigilantes: will inflation fears spoil the post-pandemic party?
The sell-off last week in government bonds reflects concerns an economic boom will reignite inflationary pressures. Central banks, however, are staying the stimulatory course.
Aussie dollar’s rally has further to run
The currency’s aggressive run shows no signs of easing despite a sharp reversal on Friday, and the surge in commodity prices is driving it higher.
- Opinion
- Bonds
Worst bond bloodbath since 1994
A critical question is why Australians are being battered by interest rate movements more than anyone else, writes Christopher Joye.
Tech stocks rebound, bond yields reverse
A tech stock rally, albeit one that faded into the close, helped the Nasdaq end the week on a positive note, as panic selling in US bonds abated, and yields fell.
Opinion
AMP shareholders want more detail on Ares deal
Investors gave a tentative cheer when the wealth manager announced a spin-off its private markets business, but there are still some big questions to be answered.
Columnist
Vaccine means states should see reason on borders
As the vaccine rollout proceeds, so too must the national retreat from eliminationist state or city-wide lockdowns and border closures at the first sign of the virus.
Editorial
China’s reality check on universities
Australian universities have become overly dependent on money from international students, particularly Chinese students. Now that game is up. So what’s the alternative?
Columnist
Reforms to start budget repair should begin at homes
The federal government could make houses more affordable and save millions by cutting grants to state governments that price gouge on residential land sales.
Trade war forces universities to go global
China’s economic coercion of Australian higher education could be severe and sustained. The long-term response must be to find new international student markets in Asia, India and Africa.
End the condescension to start new era with Indonesia
Canberra either ignores or needlessly provokes Jakarta. This must stop if our vital near north neighbour is to play a bigger role in countering China in the region.
Columnist
Politics
- Exclusive
- Workplace disputes
Down $300m, Filipino port operator calls time on MUA
The company that created one of the world’s most efficient container terminals in Victoria says union demands would prevent it ever becoming profitable.
Chinese investment plunges to $1b in 2020
COVID-19, political tensions and greater scrutiny of applications are turning off Chinese investors, new data shows.
AFP to side-step historic rape claim
The Australian Federal Police is unlikely to do much regarding an alleged rape 33 years ago by someone who is now a federal minister because it is outside its jurisdiction.
Companies need an ‘experimental’ budget to get tech-savvy
Companies need to experiment more and take more risk, says Preeti Bajaj, CEO of Adecco in Australia and New Zealand and a former BOSS Young Executive.
- Exclusive
- China relations
Business must wake up to China’s ‘victimisation’ game
China is trying to drag Australia into it’s broader ‘victimisation’ narrative and business must be careful not to aid that, says the government’s top China expert.
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World
New Zealand business leaders surprised but not against snap Auckland lockdown
Kiwis say the mood on the ground is predominantly in support of how their political leadership is handling the pandemic.
- Analysis
- World politics
Trump’s still golden for Republicans at CPAC
In recent years, CPAC has evolved from a family reunion of Republican libertarians, social conservatives and a hawkish foreign policy establishment into Trump-chella.
Myanmar police crack down on protests for second day
Myanmar has been in chaos for a month since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership.
Biden says he will make announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday
The Biden administration has faced some criticism, notably an editorial in the Washington Post, that the President should have been tougher on the Crown Prince.
China revamps credit rating rules for corporate borrowers
The move reflects regulators’ efforts to shore up market confidence following a series of high-profile defaults by highly rated state-owned enterprises.
Property
Hot property market smashes reserves ‘out of the park’
Buyers are taking advantage of ultra-cheap money to spend more on dwellings - such as for a Sydney home that went $800,000 over reserve. “The market is just out of control,” said one buyers’ agent. “Reserves are being smashed out of the park.”
NorthWest presses for Australian Unity fund
Partnered by Singapore’s GIC, Canada’s acquisitive NorthWest Healthcare Properties is at loggerheads with the manager of the Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust after lobbing a $2.3b bid for the unlisted fund.
Builders, architects, insurers await Lacrosse cladding appeal ruling
A legal challenge to the 2019 judgment that hit the consultants - but not builder LU Simon - for use of combustible panels has just wound up.
Macquarie under pressure to sweeten offer for Vitalharvest
The investment bank’s real estate arm faces pressure from a rival bid – and other shareholders – to lift its bid for the agricultural property trust.
Developers get diplomatic over apartment rules
Victoria’s developers need the government more than ever right now if they are to clear their decks of unsold apartment stock.
Wealth
How to make a knock-out bid before auction
A big spike in pre-auction sales means buyers need to be ready to make an offer the vendor can’t refuse. Experts give their tips on how to seal a deal.
- 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”.
Technology
Facebook deals stall over ‘poison pill’ as it hints at News tab launch
Facebook is expected to launch its news product in Australia once it secures deals with publishers - but agreements are stalling over the ‘poison pill’ clause.
Call to regulate ‘cowboy’ digital marketers with code of conduct
The Small Business Ombudsman says there are too many in the digital marketing industry who are taking advantage of small businesses trying to diversify their operations online.
Made in Melbourne customer data platform raises $33.5m
Lexer’s clients include Optus and Billabong, but it’s eyeing offshore growth.
Work & Careers
Union, business deal means retailers avoid part-time penalties
More than a million part-time retail workers will be able to work extra shifts without the business incurring penalty rates, under a historic deal between business and the unions.
Young workers flock to apprenticeships with 100,000 new starters
The government’s Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements measure has reached its target of 100,000 commencements and there are now calls for its continuation.
Life & Luxury
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.
‘Someone who looks like me should be on screen’: Netflix’s local content boss
Que Minh Luu’s appointment is a sign of the streamer’s desire for more Australian content – and her lunch request for a specific type of journalist signals an intent to shake up a white-bread media.
Could there be life under the seas of Saturn’s largest moon?
The eyes of humanity might be focused on Mars right now, but many scientists believe that life could exist beneath the methane oceans of Titan.
Final secret of Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ revealed
A barely legible phrase scribbled on a modern masterpiece gives new insight into the private thoughts of one of the world’s great painters.
Car makers obsess over detail for top 1pc
The attention to detail at the top of the car market can be astounding, as technicians chase that last edge in refinement, style or personalisation.
