Battle over high-income tax cuts
Labor has hardened its position against such reductions while also fighting the planned withdrawal of the temporary rebate for the lower paid.
ASX to fall as US investors rethink interest rate outlook
Australian shares are set to open lower. Dow sheds 682 points or 2 per cent. S&P 500 drops 2.1pc. $A tumbles 1.5pc. US 10-year yield at 1.69pc.
Australia snaps up 25m doses of Moderna vaccine
The deal brings another mRNA jab into the mix, and could help offset delays to Novavax’s product and limitations on the use of AstraZeneca.
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Coalition spends big as border rhetoric shifts
Josh Frydenberg is getting plaudits for spending up to boost jobs growth and investment, but he and Scott Morrison are also sounding worryingly like Mark McGowan on borders.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The missing link in Morrison government’s AI strategy
World leaders in artificial intelligence research are missing from the federal government’s playbook. This must be addressed to attract and keep talent.
- Live
- Need to Know
EU calls for ban on non-essential travel to and from India
The European Union’s executive arm asked the bloc’s 27 member states to limit journeys between it and the Asian nation. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- The AFR View
The Treasurer ought to have put it this way
Here is the budget speech that Josh Frydenberg should have delivered on Tuesday night.
FEDERAL BUDGET
Tax cuts for high earners ‘doubtful’
Entrenched budget deficits will force tax rises, massive spending cuts or revoking income tax cuts for higher earners a few years from now, economists said.
Forget the spin, extension of offset isn’t really a tax cut
Josh Frydenberg’s moves to extend a key tax offset in this week’s budget only defers a likely increase for workers.
Boomers enticed to spend their home equity
Two measures in the budget are nudging seniors to tap into home equity to fund their post-work lifestyles and spend on the economy.
Tourism industry to hold government to mid-2022 border reopening
The $50 billion industry said it was left empty-handed by the federal budget, but would hold the government to its mid-2022 border reopening as Qantas pushed back its international restart plans.
‘They’ve thrown a heap of money at us’: CEOs cheer stimulus
Business leaders gave the budget the thumbs up despite concerns about record deficits and government debt.
Companies
CBA profit surges on higher lending to business
CBA says lending to business is growing at three times the average of the other banks and cash profit almost doubled in the March quarter.
Star offer could be worth $16.45 per Crown share: Macquarie
Analysts are bullish on the proposed tie-up, with JP Morgan, CLSA and E&P viewing The Star’s offer as ‘superior’ to Blackstone’s sweetened bid.
Casino regulator sold boat to Crown Resort manager fishing mate
WA’s former chief casino officer told an inquiry about fishing trips and friendships with Crown staff as a money laundering storm erupted in eastern states.
Coca-Cola Amatil’s COVID-19 lessons for new owner
Amatil’s strategies, including analysing sales postcode by postcode, will be copied by its new parent as Europe emerges from lockdowns.
Lex Greensill says dealings with SoftBank conflicted
Lex Greensill acknowledges conflicts of interest in having Japan’s SoftBank as an investor, but says Sanjeev Gupta was asked to sell his shares in the supply chain finance group.
Boral won’t stop buyback in wake of Seven bid
Boral says it’s full steam ahead with a share buyback for now, but it may change tack if market conditions shift.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
CBA ready for buyback or special dividend
The country’s biggest and best-capitalised bank has an excess of capital that will only grow before the August board meeting to consider capital management initiatives.
Markets
Iron ore extends rally to $US237, Bank of America lifts forecasts
Iron ore rose back through $US230 a tonne, extending a rally that has led Bank of America to lift its forecasts for the material for both 2021 and 2022.
US consumer price index rises 0.8pc in April from March
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core CPI rose 0.9 per cent from March, the most since 1982.
CBA warns AAA rating faces ‘likely’ September downgrade
CBA fixed income strategists say that forecasts for continually rising debt could see Australia lose its AAA credit rating, which it has held since 2003.
Why the budget is already wrong, and why that’s a good thing
The booming iron ore price means the budget figures are probably undercooked and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg should expect a boost to the bottom line.
Regal fund maintains premium after 100pc gain
The Regal Investment Fund is one of the few hedge fund listed investment companies or trusts to trade above its net asset value.
Opinion
Stage three tax cuts on collision course with political reality
The better-off were supposed to get their tax cuts six years after the lower paid got theirs. That’s not how anything is working out.
Contributor
The Treasurer ought to have put it this way
Here is the budget speech that Josh Frydenberg should have delivered on Tuesday night.
Editorial
Where does the budget leave Labor?
The Coalition’s great flip on deficits and spending has also opened the way for Labor to return to its own reforming tradition.
Contributor
Budget starts injecting the power of choice into aged care
If Australians are serious about aged care quality, they’ll have to accept higher taxes, more modest inheritances, or both.
Contributor
Australia is now a hostage to fortune
Australia has gone straight back to its recurring bad habit: the permanent spending of any temporary budgetary gain. It just assumes everything will keep going the government’s way.
Editorial
A fiscal revolution in a zero interest rate world
This big-spending budget exposes a shift in economic policy that turns the old fiscal rules upside down.
Economics editor
Politics
Budget reply to tap into innovation debate
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese will launch a program to mentor 2000 entrepreneurs in his response to what has been labelled a Labor budget because of its big spending.
‘Disconnect’ in job market could thwart Frydenberg’s 250,000 target
Economists say barriers in the labour market could hinder the government’s objective of driving unemployment below 5 per cent.
- Analysis
- Federal budget
The one problem budget cash splash can’t fix
Wages, wages, wages: it’s a problem that Treasury forecasts suggest won’t be addressed for four years – or two federal elections away.
Mental health experts question $280m for ‘abject failure’ Headspace
Funding for youth service provider Headspace will do little to stop Australia’s rising suicide rate in young people, say mental health experts.
Dismay at failure to extend paid parental leave scheme
Female business leaders welcomed much of the “women’s budget” but say paid parental leave should be extended to give both parents equal access.
SPONSORED
World
- Analysis
- Coronavirus pandemic
Questions mount over the Tokyo Olympics
The world is in the middle of a pandemic. What use is an event billed as a symbol of recovery?
WHO panel calls COVID-19 this century’s ‘Chernobyl moment’
A new report says a meeting of world powers should boost preparedness for the next global pandemic.
Boris Johnson served with court judgement over unpaid $968 debt
The court judgement was entered against the British Prime Minister for the sum of $968 - a move that comes in the wake of his use of funds to pay for renovations.
Fears of south-east Asia COVID-19 outbreak as Ramadan ends
More than half of 6000 Indonesians caught trying to travel home to celebrate a Muslim holiday have tested positive to COIVD-19, sparking fears of a regional pandemic emergency.
Cameron’s flattery on show in his lobbying for Greensill
Former British prime minister David Cameron’s relentless lobbying has been exposed in his messages, which have just been released.
Property
AMP Capital’s $7b office fund a merger candidate
The potential exit of the fund would put more pressure on the investment platform, whose private markets business is being readied for an ASX spin-off.
- Exclusive
- Property market
You’ll lose staff: Stockland head warns bosses resisting flexible work
In a post-pandemic world where flexible working no longer carries a stigma, landlords and employers can’t go back to the past, Stockland boss warns.
First-home buyers now less optimistic
The mood of buyers soured in the past three months as house prices surged and stock dwindled.
Fringe suburbs earning best returns for investors
Analysis by CoreLogic has found at least 200 Australian suburbs are now earning above 5 per cent gross rental yields, offering investors positive cash flow from the outset.
Lendlease passes $2b in Barangaroo apartment sales
Demand for luxury apartments is strong says developer Lendlease, which has sold more than $2 billion in high-end stock at its Barangaroo developments.
Wealth
Boomers enticed to spend their home equity
Two measures in the budget are nudging seniors to tap into home equity to fund their post-work lifestyles and spend on the economy.
Think twice before shifting pension to SMSF
Anyone entitled to a government defined benefit super pension should hang on to it for the annual inflation-indexed income, writes John Wasiliev.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Make the most of ‘catch up’ super contribution rules before June 30
Three groups of people stand to get more into their retirement nest egg by taking action before the end of this financial year.
Technology
Taylor backs technology to reduce carbon emissions
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor wants technology to help Australia reach its carbon reduction targets.
- Exclusive
- Cyber security
Engineering firm involved in Nine HQ hit by cyber raid
The Sydney-based company confirmed the attack and said it had engaged external IT and cyber security experts.
New agency to fix supply chain gaps
A new agency will work with business in a $107 million program to bolster critical supplies, starting with medicines and agricultural chemicals.
Work & Careers
Morrison abandons unis in quest to get students back on campus
As the federal government reviews its international education strategy, it has left it to universities to work out how to get students back.
Josh Frydenberg’s apprentice show: ‘You’re hired’
Extensions to the COVID-19-inspired schemes will allow construction businesses to invest in the people and equipment needed to service a strong pipeline of infrastructure work, says an apprentice and his boss.
Life & Luxury
How the Golden Globes went from laughing stock to power player
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gained influence until scrutiny of its practices and its lack of diversity left it without an awards show next year.
Ray Hughes’ Chinese art lands amid political storm
The late Sydney art dealer Ray Hughes was ahead of a cultural curve on contemporary Chinese art. Now son Evan is selling some of the more politically charged works from his estate.
Why it’s time to head to New Zealand’s North Island
It’s often overlooked for its southern cousin’s majestic vistas, but offers its own natural wonders, from epic diving to the country’s highest ski field.
Sculpting an arts hub from an old TAFE
The founding chairman of Collingwood Yards is leading a charge to restore the creative heart of Melbourne’s inner north with a ‘joyous cacophony’ of creative tenants.
For these fashion designers, art is more than a flirtation
It’s a short hop from needle and thread to paintbrush and canvas for creators on the cutting edge.
