- Live
- Need to Know
Masks inside, gathering limits; one more Vic case
The northern Melbourne cluster has grown to five with a man connected to the existing four cases testing positive. Tightened restrictions come in force from 6pm tonight. SA has closed its border with anyone who has visited exposure sites. Follow the latest here.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX rises; Pepper Money opens below offer price
Banks and miners are pushing the ASX higher; Pepper Money has opened trading below its offer price; iron ore resets below $US200/t; bitcoin rebounds. Follow the latest here.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Architect of QE says markets should be worried
Kevin Warsh helped roll out the Fed’s first quantitative easing round in the GFC. He says leaving ultra-loose financial conditions in place now is a big risk.
- Opinion
- Inflation
Bottlenecks will persist, and so inflation will ‘stick’
Global supply chain disruptions will make it hard for the US Federal Reserve to maintain that “transitory” price increases will just be temporary and reversible, writes Mohamed El-Erian.
Italian bank collapses on exposure to Greensill and GFG
Milan-based Aigis Banca was ordered into liquidation by the Bank of Italy at the weekend, with larger peer Banca Ifis buying its assets and liabilities for the symbolic price of €1.
Parliamentarians answer AFP call with 19 crime tip-offs
Federal police received 19 complaints about potential crimes after asking parliamentarians to refer allegations of sexual assault to police.
- No. 44
- Rich List
The son of Australia’s richest person on forging his own path
After a decade of legal fights with his mother, John Hancock is making his own way in the world. And so far the returns are good.
Out Friday May 28: The definitive list of Australia’s wealthiest people, now in its 39th year.
Companies
TechnologyOne lifts dividend 10pc as profit surges
TechnologyOne told the market not to worry about its negative cash flow generation, saying it will be strong for the full-year.
- Exclusive
- Funding
CBA pours $30m into pre-launch e-commerce site Little Birdie
The site, yet to be launched, bills itself as a new homepage for online shoppers, where there will be more than 70 million products to search, compare, track and share deals.
Lack of perks led to Nuix brain drain
Engineers are quitting in droves because the company does not offer the same incentives as other big tech companies, says ex-staffer.
Rising car sales rev up Plenti loan originations
In its first full-year results as an ASX listed company, the personal lender said it would become profitable in 2022.
Rich Listers back Slattery’s FiberSense
A rolled gold list of Australian telco bigwigs and top-tier dealmakers have piled into AFR Rich List-er Bevan Slattery’s newest fibre play.
James Hardie wants to be the Miele of house exteriors
The building products group is trying to turn James Hardie into a consumer brand as it chases 44 million renovators in the US.
CIMIC resurrects takeover bid for Devine with $15.6m offer
The construction group has made a new cash offer for residential property developer Devine of 24¢ per share after a previous takeover bid in 2015 failed to entice minority shareholders.
Markets
How John Hancock backed the market’s biggest winner
A chat on a chairlift above Canada’s playground for the rich led John Hancock to make an investment in what turned out to be Australia’s best performing stock over the past year.
How the bond market is the economy’s fortune-teller
Since its first edition in 1951 reported the likely £40 million raising, the Financial Review has tracked the highs and lowest lows of a market predicted to top $1 trillion by next year.
Future Fund appoints Patricia Cross as director
The federal government’s $179 billion sovereign wealth fund will have a new board member, with businesswoman Patricia Cross being appointed.
Major banks getting choosy on mortgage customers: Pepper CEO
Ahead of its Tuesday float, Pepper CEO Mario Rehayem says major bank conservatism provides an opportunity to grow.
Musk jolts bitcoin higher with ‘potentially promising’ tweet
Elon Musk is continuing to toy with the price of bitcoin, taking to Twitter overnight to indicate support for what he says is an effort by coin miners to make their operations greener.
Opinion
Crypto is the canary in the financial coal mine
Investors are becoming more risk-averse, reining in speculative bets such as bitcoin and showing a stronger appetite for assets such as gold.
Columnist
Growth agenda needed to win back Labor base
The ALP struggles to retain its traditional heartland because, in a modern economy, blue-collar workers are the aspirational voters.
Editorial
Cryptocurrency policy must catch up
Bitcoin and other digital assets’ innovation is real and ubiquitous. To stay on the pace, Australia needs a proper regulatory framework to protect consumers and prevent pernicious use.
Contributor
Why Labor must not abandon the miners
To do so would send a terrible message to all blue-collar workers struggling to navigate a rapidly changing world.
Contributor
Bracing for the taper tantrum
Financial markets are already bracing for August when US central bank boss Jerome Powell is expected to unveil his road map for tapering bond purchases.
Columnist
Beware the ketchup-bottle economy
An analogy of current supply side bottlenecks is the glass ketchup bottle. You can shake all you want with no result – until suddenly it all comes flooding out.
Contributor
Politics
Labor is split on tax cuts and energy
Federal Labor is sharply divided over income tax and energy policy, while NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has been told to resign or be pushed.
Thousands isolate as Victoria records four new local COVID-19 cases
The four new cases, all of whom are related and live across two households, bring almost three months of no community transmission in Victoria to an end.
Morrison’s domestic ‘vaccine passport’ plan premature: premiers
Next week’s meeting of national cabinet will consider a system to allow fully-vaccinated people to travel across closed state and territory borders.
Leadership spill on the cards for ‘shell-shocked’ NSW Labor
NSW Opposition Leader Jodi McKay’s position is in doubt as her Canberra colleagues weigh up what the party’s state byelection loss means for Labor federally.
Lotteries, discounts and free beers: How to boost the vaccine rollout
The Australian government and private companies could consider offering free burgers and beers, lottery tickets and time off work as part of the plan.
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World
- Opinion
- Terror charges
Belarus kidnapping sets a dangerous global precedent
The disturbing reality is that authoritarian countries are increasingly resorting to what Freedom House, a US-based pro-democracy organisation, calls in a report released in February, ‘transnational repression’, writes Gideon Rachman.
She was supposed to be sworn in as PM. They locked her out
There were dramatic scenes outside Samoa’s Parliament – and the country now has two competing governments and two claimants to the prime ministership.
Belarus hijack poses threat to all civil aviation, UK says
The forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk creates uncertainty for everyone travelling by air, sparking a push for more sanctions on President Lukashenko.
‘Call me stupid’: Malaysia’s PM rules out national lockdown
The country’s in the grip of a COVID crisis but the economy would crumble if he ordered a full scale shut-down, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassan.
China targets ‘speculators and hoarders’ to stop commodity boom
The government will show ‘zero tolerance’ for monopolies in spot and futures markets, and for speculation and hoarding, the National Development and Reform Commission said.
Property
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
Foreign raiders set to push price for EY Centre to pre-pandemic levels
International investors have dominated the bidding for a 50 per cent share in the EY Centre at 200 George Street, Sydney, with a bullish sale price tipped.
Buyers eye suburban off-the-plan projects
Sentiment towards off-the-plan developments is rebounding, lifted by generous government incentives.
Downsizing Patricia Ilhan puts half block on sale with $20m hopes
Large waterfront blocks in Bayside Melbourne hardly ever come to the market, but right now there are two.
Net zero goal for new Sydney CBD buildings from 2026
City of Sydney has announced ambitious new energy targets across office, hotel and shopping centre developments from 2023, with net-zero compliance from 2026.
HPI and Australian Venue Co snap up another six pubs
Pub partners Hotel Property Investments and Australian Venue Co have together bought another six, all regional, properties in Queensland.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Inflation
Why there’s no need to get into an inflation panic
Over time, the economic environment is likely to resemble pre-coronavirus conditions with inflation near 2 per cent, rather than persistently elevated demand.
- Opinion
- Currency wars
How a hedge can counter currency fluctuations in your portfolio
For those investors left wondering why the returns from their global shares failed to keep up with a spectacular recovery, there are three options.
- Exclusive
- Wealth Generation
Millennial podcaster switches on digital investment advice
Social media influencer Victoria Devine will roll out ‘robo-advice’ to her social media community of 170,000 mostly female followers priced out of wealth management.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Leadership lessons
Google’s Aussie star resets for product push
Anil Sabharwal has built or run three of Google’s biggest products. Now he plans to build the next one here in Australia.
- Exclusive
- Funding
CBA pours $30m into pre-launch e-commerce site Little Birdie
The site, yet to be launched, bills itself as a new homepage for online shoppers, where there will be more than 70 million products to search, compare, track and share deals.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Perth company raises $15m for AI software to transform cardiac imaging
Artrya believes it has created the world’s first imaging technology to be able to accurately and quickly detect vulnerable plaque, which causes heart attacks.
Work & Careers
Lack of pre-school learning affecting primary education performance
Too few trained teachers and social disadvantage are undermining Australia’s efforts to improve students’ maths and science outcomes.
The Rich Listers set to profit from saving the climate
A growing number of ultra-wealthy people are investing in ways to make business more sustainable, and therefore more competitive – and profitable.
Life & Luxury
How a virus birthed Queenstown’s newest spa experience
A pandemic pivot by Eichardt’s Private Hotel has reaped big rewards – and it is ready for your return.
- Opinion
- Style
How golf fashion is changing the style game
Fashion loves sport. You don’t have to win an NBA championship to wear a pair of Air Jordans, or live anywhere near the ocean to dress like a surfer.
- No. 199
- Rich List
From housing commission kid to showbiz technology star
The most interesting thing about making this year’s Financial Review Rich List, says Grant Petty, is making certain people shut up and take notice.
Lumi CEO is no middle-aged man in Lycra
If you aren’t scared, you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough, says Yanir Yakutiel, who tends to ride 20 per cent outside his safe zone.
Meet the 20 people making their Rich List debut
Twenty people appear on the Financial Review Rich List for the first time when it’s revealed on Friday, including seven from Australia’s growing tech sector.
