- Exclusive
- Federal budget
Budget to expand super-style scheme for home buyers
A superannuation-style scheme to help first home buyers will be bolstered in the federal budget in a test case for allowing the use of super to buy a house.
As property stocks soar, valuation becomes a tricky art
Nobody doubts the property boom could roll into next year. Or that companies selling goods to homeowners have huge tailwinds. The issue is stock valuations.
- Analysis
- Federal budget
For Josh Frydenberg, big is the new black
The Treasurer has a good story to sell on the economic recovery, but is talking less about the reality that ‘big government’ is here to stay for some years.
- Analysis
- Property market
How Australia’s property obsession warps the economy
With mortgagees now leveraged more than they have ever been, Australia is left with little room to move when economic conditions change.
Halifax’s ‘hall of mirrors’ nears final chapter
Investors caught up in the Halifax Investment Services collapse may finally get back at least some of their money.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Australia’s electric vehicle strategy is a mess
Australia lags the world in the adoption of electric vehicles, despite compelling arguments in favour of reducing carbon emissions and weaning the country off imported fuel.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
No spinning around a botched border ban
The Morrison government seems to have misread the consequences of stranding its own citizens, writes Laura Tingle.
Companies
‘Mission curse’ continues on Mayfair 101’s fantasy island
Two years ago, Mayfair touted plans for a $1.6 billion tourism mecca, but now offices are empty and property sellers are picking up the pieces following the investment outfit’s collapse.
Forget flowers, lawyer mums prefer partnerships
Leading lawyers are urging young lawyers to strike while the iron is hot to ensure they’re not left ‘in the proverbial parking lot’ professionally just because they want to start families.
Macquarie executive earns $5m more than CEO
An unprecedented Texan cold snap and the galloping recovery from the pandemic helped deliver the eye-watering pay packet to little-known Macquarie veteran Nick O’Kane.
Volatile markets windfall too good to last: Macquarie
Macquarie Group has warned a bonanza $800 million windfall from market turbulence over the last 12 months is unlikely to be repeated as volatility fades.
News Corp scotches Murdoch-Seven chatter
News Corp Australia boss Michael Miller has denied speculation Lachlan Murdoch had a meeting with Seven West Media.
Tabcorp board plays dead bat in bidding war
Private equity giant Apollo Global Management upped the ante in the battle for Tabcorp but the board still playing dead bat.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Banking’s once-in-a-generation reset
The pandemic allowed the banks to reset their reputation, capital positions and cost base, and created a surge in demand. But COVID-19 also leaves a big problem.
Markets
RBA watching ‘unusually large’ household savings
The extent to which households deploy their savings will determine whether the Reserve Bank is forced into an earlier than expected tightening of monetary policy.
Business leaders reveal recovery’s winners and losers
Insight from chief executives at this week’s Macquarie Australia conference and March quarter updates helped to signal the challenges facing businesses in the recovery.
How APRA could slow the hot property market
Economists are tipping a tightening of macroprudential standards later this year following the return of investors into the hot housing market.
ASX closes higher as travel booking stocks rebound
The Australian sharemarket closed 0.3 per cent higher; travel booking stocks bounce back; iron ore prices have risen above $US200 a tonne for the first time ever. Follow the latest here.
Iron ore windfall at $US200 fuels supercycle profits
The momentum in the iron ore market has blown every analyst forecast away, driven by a seemingly insatiable appetite from China’s steelmaking industry.
Opinion
RBA shoots down inflation hawks
Deputy governor Guy Debelle dismissed talk of spikes in wages and inflation by showing that Australia’s economy remains quagmired by globally weak price pressures.
Columnist
Biden is making a mistake on vaccine patents
An act of apparent generosity could damage the IP system that created these miracle drugs in the first place.
Contributor
Can’t beat the border populists, so the PM has joined them
The India travel ban shows the government has given in to the hardline approach of state premiers. Not because it is necessarily right, but because it is politically popular.
Political editor
Australians need clarity on war or peace
An independent annual threat assessment is better than the shapeless war talk voters are getting at the moment.
Contributor
Make quarantine fit to return the stranded and open border
The India travel ban controversy must put large dedicated quarantine facilities on the table so expat Australians, then students, tourists and skilled labour can be brought back.
Editorial
It’s raining money for banks and budget
Bank CEOs lined up to report vastly improved results thanks to a surging economy ahead of Josh Frydenberg’s budget next week. What else does the Treasurer want to achieve?
Columnist
Politics
Repatriation flights planned as end to India travel ban in sight
Scott Morrison says the travel ban has worked as planned and will not extend past May 15, but no decision has been made on the resumption of commercial flights.
- Analysis
- Industrial relations
NZ goes back to the ’70s with new IR club
Overhauled labour laws aim to provide industry-wide coverage for poorly paid workers, but there is scope for any number of sectors to be captured in future.
Sydney ‘rolling with the punches’ as virus link evades tracers
Sydneysiders have not let the latest snap restrictions ruin their Mother’s Day as venues only report a handful of cancellations.
Hopes sink for Qld quarantine facility
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Commonwealth might back Victoria’s proposed quarantine facility, but not those in other states such as Queensland.
Unions demand ALP return fees as preselection row escalates
Victorian Supreme Court judge Tim Ginnane ordered an injunction late on Friday to freeze Labor’s preselection process, from which unions have been barred.
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World
Boris Johnson gets boost from byelection win in Labour heartland
The result shows Labour leader Keir Starmer struggling to overcome the schisms opened up by Brexit, which have driven battlers towards the Tories.
Second wave could see 2.8pc hit to India’s GDP: analysts
Analysts are adjusting expectations as they wait for India’s devastating second wave of COVID-19 to peak.
We will never know the true extent of India’s pandemic tragedy
Public health experts believe India’s second wave infection numbers could peak in mid-May, but the crisis in hospitals will linger for months.
Ardern supercharges union power in IR overhaul
New Zealand’s Labour government has announced a radical overhaul of labour laws that places centralised wage bargaining back at the heart of industrial relations law.
French fishermen vow vengeance against ‘les rosbifs’ in Jersey row
‘We don’t want war, we just want to maintain our right to fish in these waters as we have done for decades,’ said one French fisherman in the post-Brexit dispute.
Property
Return of property investors turns up heat in hot markets
Tighter rental markets, higher yields and the prospect of strong capital gains is bringing back investors, particularly in Perth and regional centres.
How APRA could slow the hot property market
Economists are tipping a tightening of macroprudential standards later this year following the return of investors into the hot housing market.
Goodman creating a ‘Milestone’ portfolio every six months
Greg Goodman says the $3.8 billion sale of the Blackstone portfolio is a bellwether of the appetite for logistics assets globally, but it doesn’t need to buy assets.
- Exclusive
- 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Returning Olympians may shack up in empty student digs
Olympic authorities are proposing student accommodation be used to quarantine athletes and officials returning from Tokyo to avoid burdening existing quarantine facilities.
Grant Hackett’s luxe villa on ‘Millionaires’ Row’ sells in five days
The former Olympian’s plush beachfront holiday home in the prestigious Gold Coast suburb of Mermaid Beach was snapped up for $2.625 million.
Wealth
Buy, hold, sell: Roku, Deere & Co, CrowdStrike, Twilio, HelloFresh
If FAANG stocks are dead, these stocks might be their replacements.
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
Digital coins have a climate challenge
Whether mining cryptocurrencies or fossil fuels, climate damage must come at a price.
Can we put home inheritance into super?
Simple questions can often have complicated answers when it comes to making contributions to super, writes John Wasiliev.
Technology
My dad the engineer worked on breakthrough tech into his 90s
Owen Potter worked until his early 90s on his last invention, which could improve industrial processes. Now it’s up to his children to carry on his life’s work.
Industry warns government’s AI cash splash is way short
On the surface, a new $124 million investment in AI looks like a lot, but spread over six years, the tech sector says it is at least $126 million short.
US giant set to join streaming wars
A new streaming player will enter the crowded entertainment market in August, when ViacomCBS rebadges 10 All Access as Paramount+.
Work & Careers
The untold story of how Jeff Bezos beat the tabloids
When a gossip rag went after the Amazon CEO, he responded with the brutal efficiency he used to build his business.
How to make the right decision
The vast majority of ethical dilemmas do not relate to large scale fraud or stealing. They are dilemmas we all face daily in the course of our work.
Life & Luxury
Why you’re intrigued when billionaires’ marriages fail
If the Gateses can’t make a marriage work, what hope is there for everyone else? It’s comforting to know relationships are difficult, no matter who you are.
Seduced by the truffles of the Tamar
Launceston’s acclaimed Stillwater Restaurant is offering a new experience for visitors to enjoy the pricey but pungent delicacies.
How lockdown turned author Ian Rankin into a jigsaw fiend
For someone whose day job is crafting intricate plots full of interlocking clues, puzzles seem to be a natural pastime.
Analiese Gregory - leader of the Tasmanian rat pack
The poster child for hunter-gatherers is among the ‘generation next’ chefs and winemakers under 40 cementing Tasmania’s reputation as a foodie’s paradise.
Which cruise is best for you this year?
As people continue to holiday at home, virtually all high-end cruise lines are preparing to sail into Australian waters.
