- Exclusive
- Online trading
Macquarie picks up $20b as big banks exit wealth
The global investing banking powerhouse has just surpassed $100 billion in funds on its Macquarie Wrap platform and will unveil the milestone in its annual report on Friday.
Funding plan ready to build gas-fired power station
Provision will be made in next week’s budget for the construction of a gas-fired power station in NSW, amid a growing view the project will go ahead.
Westpac bets big on economic recovery
CEO Peter King has removed the handbrakes on the bank’s growth and is spending up after revising its economic base case, with shareholders set to reap $2 billion in dividends.
- Exclusive
- Funding
SafetyCulture cracks $2b valuation with huge funding round
The Aussie workplace safety and operations software scale-up has more than doubled its valuation following one of the year’s biggest local investments.
India travel ban may be lifted sooner
Facing claims the ban on Australian citizens and permanent residents returning from India was motivated by racism, Scott Morrison said the two-week restrictions would be reviewed regularly.
Dumping Darwin Port lease could cost taxpayers $500m
Chinese company Landbridge promises to work with a federal review into whether it should continue operating strategically located port.
- Analysis
- China relations
Darwin review could be final blow to Chinese investment in Australia
The Morrison government’s review of the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin will further inflame tensions with Beijing at a time when Chinese investors are already heading for the hills, writes Michael Smith.
Companies
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Westpac’s new operating model
Westpac chief executive Peter King is proud of the fact his bank is back in the mortgage game. But the interim profit result shows it came at great expense.
Green-tinged miners say it’s too early to dump diesel rebate billions
Experiments with hydrogen and battery-powered trucks are gathering pace, but big miners say it is too early to cancel their tax rebate on diesel consumption.
Telstra slapped with record fine from telco regulator
Telstra has paid a $1.5 million fine for not giving landline customers the chance to port their home phone number to a rival network when switching providers.
Coal miner warns Asian lenders won’t fill the void if local banks exit
A major Australian coal miner has warned that Asian banks won’t bankroll the industry if Australian banks withdraw from coal lending entirely.
For-profit super funds in the gun over high admin fees
A review of APRA’s latest superannuation heat map reveals a long tail of mostly for-profit funds charging high administration fees.
Cyber attacks cause insurance premiums to go viral
Insurers are also scaling back how much they will cover for ransomware hits, say brokers Marsh.
Costs in focus as Westpac braces for margin, competition pressures
Westpac’s CEO says ultra-low rates and digital competition is behind the move to take 21 per cent of the costs out of the bank in the next three years.
Markets
RBA poised to upgrade economic outlook
The move comes after a series of healthy economic data including better than expected unemployment figures and job ads at 12-year highs.
Hungry investors dive into record $2b mortgage bond
The Australian residential mortgage-backed securities market is heating up, with a run of deals meeting hot demand from yield-starved investors.
ASX closes flat in mixed session
Australian shares ended the day flat on Monday in a mixed session that included the best day for Westpac shares since November following strong March quarter results.
Historic boom in spending will transform services too
American households have never seen as big a windfall as Joe Biden’s stimulus cheques. That spending will soon hit dining and theatres, predicts Macquarie’s Ric Deverell.
Business push for cloud computing to be tax deductible
Shifting what was a service into the category of an asset could be worth billions to the economy and speed up Australia’s digitisation.
Opinion
Westpac digs in for the long haul in a low-rate world
Westpac boss Peter King is dispensing with the frills as the Sydney-based bank digs in for a long period of ultra-low interest rates and growing margin pressures.
Columnist
Why ‘McMansion’ is no longer a derogatory term
Lifestyle tastes have changed. Now no house in Australia can be considered too large no matter how many bedrooms on whatever size block it is.
Columnist
The West must learn to match China’s weaponised economics
China is using economic heft to create the dependency and appeasement that the empires of old achieved through war. But Beijing is also sensitive to collective push-back.
Contributor
Making Tasmania less healthy, wealthy and educated
The bigger problem with the Tasmanian election result is the Liberal Party’s failure to seek a mandate to undertake the structural reform needed to fix the state’s serious underlying problems.
Editorial
How to get Australia’s borders open again
Australia will have to drop the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to quarantine if it wants to take advantage of rising immunity rates and allow travellers into the country again.
JobKeeper profiteering by big business is fake news
Premier Investments is right to repay JobKeeper. But the idea the big end of town has outrageously profited from the wage subsidy is not true.
Editorial
Politics
Crossbenchers will continue to rule the Senate, whoever wins: poll
Whoever wins the next federal election, it is likely that Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson will have the balance of power in the Senate. And maybe also the Greens.
Holgate delivers Morrison government legal ultimatum
The former Australia Post boss wants an answer on mediation plans by 5pm on Wednesday, with her lawyers preparing to consider legal action.
Dumping Darwin Port lease could cost taxpayers $500m
Chinese company Landbridge promises to work with a federal review into whether it should continue operating strategically located port.
NSW and Qld won’t follow Victoria’s tougher emissions cuts
Victoria will go it alone on its 45 to 50 per cent emissions reduction targets by 2030, with NSW and Queensland saying they won’t follow its lead.
Allies should create treaty against China’s economic warfare: Lib MP
There is a growing view that liberal democracies should be preparing new alliances that combat China’s economic aggression.
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World
Border bribes, testing scams expose Indonesia to virus surge
Public health experts say the chinks in Indonesia’s COVID-19 armour could prove fatal for the world’s fourth-most populous country.
Daily infection peak close as India’s COVID-19 cases near 20 million
The health ministry offered a glimmer of hope, reporting that positive cases relative to the number of tests conducted fell on Monday for the first time since at least April 15.
‘Every time the phone rings, my heart sinks’: Indians abroad despair
The Indian diaspora in Australia is in a state of shock – in constant fear and feeling helpless.
Tesla, under scrutiny in China, steps up engagement with regulators
The company’s change of strategy comes at a time when China is trying to regulate large and powerful private companies, especially in the technology sector.
Japan’s ambitious carbon target sparks bureaucratic panic
Yoshihide Suga has made climate change and the promise of ‘green growth’ a centrepiece of his government since he took office last September. Officials are now rushing to turn the new objective into concrete policy.
Property
Pace of boom eases, but prices to rise for another year
House prices rose at a slower pace in April, a month after hitting a 32-year high, but strong demand is expected to further drive the boom for at least another year.
Dexus pops Parkville deal into $1b healthcare fund
Dexus, the country’s largest office landlord, has been steadily expanding its exposure to healthcare real estate, since seeding an unlisted wholesale fund to invest in the sector four years ago.
Charter Hall ‘heading to $20b’ industrial portfolio, lifts guidance
Property investment and development company Charter Hall loves industrial property and has bought a 25-site portfolio from PFD Food Services for $269 million.
Major build-to-rent players circling inner Melbourne site
Developer UAG is hoping to make a profit of about $20 million on an inner Melbourne development site it bought in 2018, which is being pursed by build-to-rent players.
Build-to-rent ‘a slow burn’, says Frasers boss
Singapore-owned Frasers Property Australia is undertaking its first build-to-rent project in Brisbane, but CEO Anthony Boyd says growth of the sector won’t be exponential.
Wealth
- Opinion
- SMSFs
COVID-19 can kill DIY super funds
If the pandemic is keeping you from Australia, take steps to ensure your SMSF does not lose its tax concessions.
- Opinion
- Aged care
Many definitions of ‘couple’ for aged care rules
Determining whether two people are assessed as a member of a couple is not always straightforward due to varying relationship arrangements.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Retirees should splash on themselves, and save the economy
There is a boost to the economy if cautious retirees could be encouraged to open their savings wallets more often.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Space
Aussie space start-up aims to revolutionise satellite communications
Quasar wants to do for space ‘what Wi-Fi did for earth’ by creating a way for satellite ground stations to communicate with hundreds of satellites at once.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Electric bike maker Zoomo rides away with $15.4m raise
The likes of UberEats, Deliveroo and DoorDash use e-bikes from Zoomo, which set out to raise $US3 million, but ended up with four times that amount.
- Exclusive
- Business IT
SAP Australia back in black despite slump in services revenue
The software giant has returned to profitability in Australia for the first time since 2014, but revenue fell dramatically as projects were delayed by the pandemic.
Work & Careers
Why companies need to become more like soccer teams
The shift away from hierarchies towards networks is the most important cultural shift of the past 50 years, argues renowned author Malcolm Gladwell.
University of Newcastle sues over spoilt blood
Who plugged in – or didn’t plug in – a low-temperature freezer is at the centre of a court case involving Newcastle University.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Review
Lost your keys? There’s finally an app for that
We’re excited to find something that works so well, and at the same time a little concerned Apple’s AirTags might work too well.
Why taking a mini-break is good for your mind
More than ever, you need to remember to stop and smell the roses – preferably while firing up your neurotransmitters with a change of scenery.
This surfing property specialist had a scary encounter
Scott O’Neill, founder of Rethink Investing, says he likes ‘a random little surf on a nice day, somewhere not too crowded’, but it has got hairy in the past.
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.
Oscars shine a light on films often lost to arthouse fringe
Politically and culturally Beijing scored an own goal banning news that Chloé Zhao won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
