McGowan holds off on another WA lockdown
WA Premier Mark McGowan has held off on another lockdown after the latest COVID-19 community outbreak stemming from failure in hotel quarantine.
Liberals claim historic third-term win in Tasmania
Premier Peter Gutwein is one seat short of a majority with three seats in the 25-seat Parliament undecided.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Australia must escape the dystopian closed shop of COVID-19
If we want our country to once more be outward looking and engaged with the world, we must start thinking about how to reopen international borders, writes Alexander Downer.
Female minister beaten in preselection
LNP numbers man James McGrath has thrashed fellow Senator Amanda Stoker to win top spot on the party’s ticket for the next election.
Fine, jail time for those who travel from India
Australia is closing its door to travellers from India as of Monday, and those who fail to comply face a fine of $66,600, five years in prison, or both.
How to invest in residential property - without buying a house
With property prices rising again, some investors are seeking a slice of residential real estate via new-age crowdfunding and investment funds.
- Exclusive
- Federal budget
Revenue surge vindicates budget pivot: Birmingham
A $30 billion improvement to the bottom line in three months has vindicated the decision to shift gears on budget strategy, Simon Birmingham says.
Companies
Chevron sees light at end of $70b tunnel at Gorgon
The oil and gas giant expects its Gorgon LNG operations off the WA coast to be all fired up in second half of 2021 after the latest repairs to weld faults.
GFG Alliance confident ahead of Credit Suisse court hearing
Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance still believes it can secure financing to keep its Australian steelmaking operations open.
Push to kneecap super proxy advisers
Government reforms will aim to reduce the influence of proxy firms out of concerns about the growing power of the super sector, with a focus on the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors.
APRA targets risk takers in executive pay rules
The prudential regulator has responded to feedback its proposal was too vague just six months after reacting to earlier criticism it was too rigid.
Users clash with Taylor over price of energy reliability
Some energy users are worried that power market reforms to ensure supply remains reliable through the transition to clean power will “gold plate” reliability at huge cost to consumers.
Oil Search board pay condemned by investors
Investors soundly rejected Oil Search’s remuneration report at the AGM where 10 per cent of shareholders also voted to wind up the company on climate grounds.
Weary investors reprieve AMP on executive pay
AMP shareholders have handed the board led by chairman Debra Hazelton a rare win, just passing the troubled wealth manager’s remuneration plan in the hope dividends finally resume.
Markets
Wall Street ends lower; mega techs fade post earnings
All three major US benchmarks lost ground to end their week as investors sold shares in the wake of mostly banner mega tech results earlier in the week.
Fund managers hunt for growth bargains
The change in fortune for growth stocks compared to their value counterparts has opened up opportunities for fund managers to target winners.
Coinbase backer parlays ‘fantasy’ bet into billions
Fred Wilson turned a $3.2 million investment in Coinbase in 2013 into $U6 billion by the end of the cryptocurrency exchange’s first trading day.
US dollar rises most in two months on short-covering, data rebound
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot index climbed as much as 0.7 per cent; the Australian dollar fell by a similar percentage.
ASX caps seventh consecutive monthly gain
The Australian sharemarket fell away from a 14-month high on Friday but still capped its seventh straight monthly gain in a row for the first time since 2019.
Opinion
Labor gets room to pursue an agenda on its turf
After dumping its decade-long “debt and deficit” warfare, the government has given Labor the opening to pursue an agenda on its traditional turf.
Columnist
The long shadow of COVID-19 will demand agility
Australia may face a semi-shuttered world for some time. That puts an enormous premium on sharp policy making at home.
Editorial
Sorry doesn’t come easy at AMP
AMP chairman Debra Hazelton didn’t shy away from tough questions at the company’s annual general meeting, but her attempt to paint AMP as a victim of circumstances jarred.
Columnist
Hermit Australia risks never opening up at all
The Indian crisis is making Australia even more cautious about opening up, when actually it should finally make us acknowledge that COVID-19 risk is inevitable.
Europe correspondent
Rewriting the rules of regional power
Western governments set great store by a ‘rules-based order’. But rules won’t work unless Asian nations can concur with them as well.
Contributor
How to prepare for war with China
While the wider community is mostly oblivious to the possibility of conflict, there is a very real chance that the Australian homeland could be in the cross hairs.
Columnist
Politics
May 11 budget may not be the final word
The May 11 budget will naturally be seen through the prism of the next federal election, but there’s a good chance it won’t be the final word.
Brittany Higgins’ push for new watchdog on staffer complaints
High-profile former staffer Brittany Higgins has met Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese in Sydney.
- Exclusive
- Defence
Upgrade looms for submarines, frigates amid rising regional tensions
A major review is expected to result in recommendations Australia improves its anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Hempton lashes Deutsche link to new ASIC chair
Bronte Capital founder John Hempton has lashed the appointment of ex-Deutsche Bank general counsel Joseph Longo as Australia’s top corporate cop.
The art of war talk: Pezzullo’s mixed message has some on edge
Amid tensions between Canberra and Beijing, the wisdom of comments by the Home Affairs Department Secretary that the drums of war are beating is fiercely contested.
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World
EU cops international fire over carbon border tax plan
Australia appears less isolated after a gamut of developing countries rounded on Brussels during a World Trade Organisation meeting in Geneva.
Biden bans most travel from India as COVID-19 cases surge
The ban, which will not apply to US citizens or permanent residents, is to take effect early next week, the White House said.
US consumer spending spurred by stimulus cheques
The White House’s massive $US1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus and rapidly improving public health are unleashing pent-up demand.
Crush at Israeli religious festival kills 45
Witnesses spoke of seeing a “pyramid” of people who were asphyxiated or trampled in a passageway around 3 metres wide at the crowded event in the Galilee.
Less than 20 years after independence, Timor-Leste is running on fumes
When Timor-Leste won independence in 2002 the belief was it had petroleum reserves to last generations, but the money is running out much earlier than expected.
Property
Profits rise at Bell brothers’ NSW farming empire
Australian Food & Agriculture reported a 66 per cent in revenues from its portfolio of 18 grazing and cropping properties in central and southern NSW.
Wingate appoints receivers to sell $80m Darwin mall
Coolalinga Central was put up for sale in 2019 for $90 million by Gwelo Investments, but is now being sold by Deloitte with price expectations around $80m.
Battered US office market perks up as workers trickle back
Companies that postponed searches for space last year are back in market, looking to take advantage of cheaper rents and concessions from landlords.
Michael Gordon, Singh family in $30m-plus poultry deal
Peacefield Poultry was divided up and sold as two properties, one of which was purchased by an investment group that includes former rich lister Michael Gordon.
Macquarie back on top in Vitalharvest takeover tussle
It is the seventh time that Macquarie has bounced back to better Roc Partners in a drawn-out battle for control of Vitalharvest.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Space
Elon Musk is seizing power in space with satellites
Governments ruled the skies in the days of Sputnik and the Apollo missions, but the closest thing to a space dictator these days is the SpaceX founder.
$65b renovation boom drives up prices and slows completion
Home renovators are being warned to expect even bigger price hikes and more shortages.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Baidu in the driver’s seat
Despite regulatory concerns, the Chinese tech company is a leader in AI and commercialising technology in cars and public transport.
Technology
- Opinion
- Electric cars
Tesla can’t just keep preaching to the converted
Tesla is priced for simultaneously changing the world and conquering it - profitably.
Atlassian’s Q3 revenue soars 38pc, pushing shares higher
Atlassian’s third-quarter results beat market expectations as it’s set for a strong finish to financial 2021. Its shares jumped 5.7 per cent on the news.
Google is saving more than $US1b a year as employees work from home
The search engine giant is notorious for office perks such as free food, but most staff members are now remote and not travelling as much on the company dime.
Work & Careers
Zero in on young people to address skills crisis: Ai Group
Looming chronic skill shortages require a rethink about getting people into work and then upskilling and reskilling them, a new survey of CEOs has found.
Swinburne Uni’s new strategy shoots for the moon
Pascale Quester has lofty ambitions to send Swinburne University’s fortunes into the stratosphere.
Life & Luxury
How gender politics became a hot potato for this playwright
A campaign to close a pay gap between men and women left a country town spitting chips, but provided rich pickings for Melanie Tait.
Tilden transforms everyday materials into the refined
The first major survey of the artist Blanche Tilden’s working of glass and metal into conceptually rich jewellery opens in Geelong next month.
How Indomie instant noodles came to dominate the world
From hunger-solver to YouTube foodie hit, Japan’s humble snack took over Indonesia – and then the globe.
Aston Martin joins the SUV party with its long-awaited DBX
The British carmaker’s entry to the top-end SUV brigade melds sports coupe and off-road aesthetics, all with that definite Aston Martin flavour.
Talking with the voices in your head
A movement of people who hear voices is reshaping the understanding of mental illness – and consciousness itself.
