Investors extend lead over first home buyers
Investment borrowing levels are not back to the highs that last prompted macroprudential action, but economists say regulators are watching closely.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX touches 7300, hits record high
The Australian sharemarket hits a new record high; gold miners retreat; Aussie dollar drops over 1pc; US data stronger than expected. Follow the latest here.
- Live
- Need to Know
Report finds 76 misconduct complaints inside Parliament
A major report into workplace behaviour at Parliament House has found 76 complaints about misconduct since July 2017. National cabinet has agrees to expand the vaccine rollout. Victoria finds a new variant. Follow the latest here.
- Opinion
- Federal politics
A government that isn’t really in control of anything
The past two weeks of Parliament are not consistent with the Morrison government’s strategy of winning an election based on its excellent management of the pandemic, writes Laura Tingle.
Australia’s economy overtakes Brazil, nears Russia’s
Australia’s economy is now larger than Brazil’s and could overtake Russia after surging iron ore prices helped lift the nominal national output of goods and services to a six-year high.
- Analysis
- Australian economy
Why this economic recovery is different
Incredibly, during the COVID-19 recession, household incomes rose and business profits increased, leaving consumers and companies well placed to drive the next phase of the economic recovery, writes John Kehoe.
The secret stoushes of a machinist-turned-millionaire
Mining chairman Craig Ransley has made millions and fought off criminal charges. But one little-known fight saw his own board hire PwC to investigate.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
Companies
Directors’ club whacks proxy ‘oligopoly’
The Australian Institute of Company Directors hits out at the ‘high market concentration’ of proxy advisers but knocks back Treasury’s proposal to ban ACSI.
The Reject Shop stores hit by CBD exodus
The Reject Shop has only a minimal e-commerce offering but CEO Andre Reich says it is bringing a younger demographic.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Investors should Reject back-to-normal narrative
The Reject Shop’s profit downgrade is a warning to investors who believe we are through the fog of the pandemic.
Coles to pilot BYO container system
Coles, Woolworths and most of their big suppliers have set ambitious sustainability goals, but are these merely aspirational or achievable?
Ben Wyatt to become Rio’s first Aboriginal director
Former WA treasurer Ben Wyatt will join Rio Tinto board as it heeds calls for indigenous representation in the state where it makes the lion’s share of earnings and is in damage control a year on from the destruction of Juukan Gorge.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Wesfarmers CEO proves his worth
Just over three years since Rob Scott took the reins, his track record is best in class. Now all eyes are on how he uses the company’s pristine balance sheet.
Banks, big super urged to lead digital advice
Fintech Ignition Advice said it was down to big banks, insurers and superannuation funds to develop a profitable model of financial advice.
Companies in the News
Commonwealth Bank
National Australia Bank
Westpac Banking Corporation
Updated: Jun 4, 2021 – 3.34pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
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View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Australian dollar drops as greenback gets green light
Stronger than expected US economic data bolstered the currency and knocked the wind out of commodity currencies including the Aussie.
Barrenjoey adds another senior UBS banker to its roster
There’s something of a reunion going on in Barrenjoey Capital’s infrastructure and utilities investment banking team.
Buy, hold, sell: Brainchip, EML Payments, Tesserent, Maxitrans
Fund managers discuss three fan favourites and two stocks on the rise.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to edge higher at the open, though gains could be further checked amid a retreat on Wall Street. Copper, gold and oil lower.
Crypto-crash aftershocks hit traders with 50pc premiums vanishing
Hedging activity is on the rise and bullish bets are finding limited demand - rare times of restraint among day traders.
Opinion
Frustration builds as Melbourne kept in the dark
Melbourne’s lockdown muscle memory has kicked in quickly this time around, but there’s a growing sense of frustration about what the city is trying to achieve.
Columnist
RBA’s ‘flexible’ QE may be coming
When the RBA unveils its highly anticipated monetary policy decision next month, governor Philip Lowe may be wise to give himself flexibility.
Economics editor
Funding offer hands lockdown control back to the feds
In a wonderful piece of passive-aggressive politics, the Commonwealth has gained an element of control over the states it has long been seeking.
Political editor
Speed up, take ownership, and hit vaccine target
Vaccination has been slowed for lack of a national plan, a target, and a face to front up the effort. All of them are needed to bring public urgency.
Editorial
As the region unites on China, cracks appear at home
When Labor blames the government for the mouse plague, almost everything is political fair game. Including bipartisanship on China.
Political editor
Victorian lockdown could eliminate PM
Scott Morrison has ignored what’s gone on under Daniel Andrews, but the ludicrous narrative that the federal government is to blame for the fourth shutdown could harm the Prime Minister’s re-election chances.
Columnist
Politics
- Analysis
- Coronavirus pandemic
Australia’s blind spot is putting its pandemic performance at risk
Malta has seaside villas while Vietnam uses military installations, but experts say Australia’s Howard Springs is among the world’s best quarantine facilities. So why not build more?
Minns to lead NSW Labor after Daley bows out
Chris Minns’ elevation comes after Jodi McKay resigned her leadership following a 7 per cent swing against Labor in the Upper Hunter byelection.
No penalties or overtime for well-paid chefs
Restaurants and cafes could exclude senior managers and chefs from the award if they earn more than $82,000 a year, in a significant step towards the Morrison government’s bid for award flexibility.
Lockdown relief comes with a catch
The federal government will back a national scheme to pay workers $500 if they’re affected by a shutdown – but only if it agrees the shuttering is warranted.
Five books that reveal Australians’ awkward relationship with China
The expulsion of Michael Smith and Bill Birtles has left Antipodeans blind about life on the streets of the Asian nation, as the authors’ tomes demonstrate.
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World
Lessons for Australia from Asia’s COVID-19 horror show
Singapore has learnt how to hold the line but its close neighbour Malaysia is getting crushed.
US investors banned from investing in 59 Chinese companies
The Biden administration has extended Donald Trump’s blacklist on Chinese companies that it says threaten security and human rights.
- Opinion
- China relations
Why China needs a free Taiwan
Without its historic pockets of liberalism and autonomy, China would not have had the reforms to deliver it from poverty and political suffocation.
Drone attack might have been powered by AI, says UN
A drone warfare analyst says the report suggests, for the first time, that a weapons system with artificial intelligence operated on its own to find and attack humans.
Hong Kong police clamp down on Tiananmen anniversary
Activists have called on citizens to defy a ban on events commemorating the Tiananmen massacre.
Property
Ex-banker buys $9m house next door for Sydney compound
David Di Pilla, who is chairman of ASX-listed property investment group Home Consortium, has purchased his neighbour’s property in Bellevue Hill.
Hong Kong parking spot sells for record $1.7m
The sale at the luxury Mount Nicholson residential project overlooking the city shows buyers’ confidence is returning to the prestige homes market.
- Breaking
- Commercial real estate
Australian Unity rejects $2.7b bid for healthcare fund
Australian Unity called the Canadian suitor’s efforts to highlight the increases in its offers ‘meaningless’.
Employment, prices surge in Australia’s building industry
There are fears the boom fuelled by HomeBuilder and low rates is setting up Australian construction – a notoriously cyclical industry – for another bust.
Worst is over for CBD apartment landlords as vacancies fall
Vacant rental listings have fallen sharply in the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs as more landlords sell up to cut their losses, even as people move back in to take advantage of cheaper rents.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Green means go for well-run unit blocks
How investing in sustainability can make perfect sense for your property portfolio.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Barclays has further to go in post-pandemic revival
Further reserves releases will lift profits and allow the prospect of higher capital returns from dividends and share repurchases.
How to stop a property seller from tricking you into paying more
Just because you’ve signed the paperwork doesn’t mean the deal is sealed.
Technology
Twitter chooses Australia to try out new paid service
The social media platform wants users to pay $4.49 a month to access special features and perks.
Optus Sport secures FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup
The telco will stream all 64 World Cup matches live and wants to partner with a free-to-air network to co-broadcast all Matildas matches.
Electronic nose inches closer to sniffing out COVID-19
Researchers have provided proof of concept that electronic noses can detect COVID-19
Work & Careers
KPMG appoints new partner as Sayers partner departs
Sayers Group partner Nikhil de Silva has moved to Amazon Web Services, while Kathleen Conner has joined KPMG as a Sydney-based partner.
- Exclusive
- Minimum wage
Employers use lockdown to justify low wage rise
Employers say because Victoria’s shutdown is a risk to economic recovery, anything above a 1.1 per cent minimum pay increase would be ‘completely unreasonable’.
Life & Luxury
John Olsen’s vision blazes brightly in new exhibition
Works not seen in public for decades will be on show at a major exhibition by the 93-year-old artist.
Archie 100 paints alternative portrait of the Archibald Prize
A new exhibition argues the most interesting Archibald Prize entries weren’t always the winners.
Richard Bell’s tent embassy sets up in Sydney
The Queenslander uses humour and satire to address issues around representation, place, identity politics and perceptions of Aboriginal art.
The secrets Kate Winslet had to keep for three years
Mare of Easttown is the hottest show on streaming TV, thanks to a performance that captures a ‘wildly flawed, messy, broken, fragmented, difficult woman’.
Meet the architects building luxury into green homes
Clever sustainability features are becoming must-haves at the top of the market as homeowners seek creature comforts that don’t harm the planet.
