Morrison to seal UK trade deal
Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson are poised to sign an in-principle deal today but the Nationals fear it could worsen Australia’s shortage of farm labour.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to climb; S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs
The Australian sharemarket is poised to advance after shares on Wall Street reset record highs overnight; RBA June meeting minutes ahead. Follow the latest here.
What Magellan learnt from Warren Buffett
The most important thing when assessing a stock’s quality is seeing whether it has an economic moat, says the financial group’s head of research, Vihari Ross.
Forrest blasts Santos, Woodside as ‘fossils’
Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest says the Santos LNG project is ‘atrocious’ in terms of emissions and warns Woodside not to go ahead with the Scarborough project.
- Live
- Need to Know
‘Compassion’ to guide Biloela family decision
The family’s circumstances had changed and the government had discretion to use “compassion”, the Finance Minister said; Qantas aid to exceed $1.5 billion; UK delays reopening. Follow updates here.
Man sues BHP for ‘systemic’ sex discrimination
A male executive earmarked by the company as one of its future leaders says its rush to achieve gender balance by 2025 led to prejudice against men when hiring.
- Exclusive
- Investment banking
AMP Capital dodges vote on $1.3b fund
An independent committee is sand-bagging an attempt by Morrison & Co, Plenary Group or Palisade Investment Partners to hijack the Community Infrastructure Fund.
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Companies
Qantas’ government aid to exceed $1.5b
The airline’s taxpayer-funded pandemic help will soon surpass the rejected bailout that its then-teetering rival, Virgin, had sought from the government early last year.
‘Straight shooter’ to clean up AMP Capital’s culture
Former colleagues describe Shawn Johnson as a warm, trusted executive with a knack for settling disputes and avoiding even the hint of poor behaviour.
PEXA says biggest prize is in the UK
Expansion into the UK, where the addressable market is more than 2½ times larger than the Australian market of $280 million, is one of PEXA’s major growth planks.
- Exclusive
- Super wars
Badly behaving industry funds to be punished twice
The prudential regulator has privately warned super funds that charging members to amass reserves for financial penalties will hurt fund performance ratings.
‘Take it to the activists’, Pitt urges gas industry
Keith Pitt has urged gas producers to fight their corner against fossil fuel activists as Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher will issue a stark warning of capital drying up.
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Tri-Star hunts partner for fast-tracked Qld gas play
The chunk of gas available for development could start reaching east coast buyers as early as 2023 and is expected to draw wide interest.
Aurizon confident insurers won’t cut it off over thermal coal link
The rail operator is optimistic about retaining cover, as questions emerge about its forecasting.
Companies in the News
Fortescue Metals Group
National Australia Bank
Crown Resorts
Updated: Jun 11, 2021 – 4.10pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
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Markets
Dimon warns the pandemic trading boom is drawing to an end
Trading revenue at the largest US bank will drop to just north of $US6 billion in the second quarter, Dimon said.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to rise amid good news regarding the Novavax vaccine shot but US markets were subdued before the Fed meeting this week.
- Exclusive
- Bonds
Citi strategist warns of trouble for financial markets
The highly regarded Matt King says global equity markets have reached their peak, ‘at least for this round’, and predicts volatility ahead as stimulus is wound back.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How to fix carbon confusion
A small Australian company is helping to lead the way towards a trusted and standardised approach to trading carbon offsets.
- Exclusive
- Activist shareholders
L1 Capital plots new activist strategy
L1 Catalyst will only take on six to eight ideas to unlock strategic returns with the ear of boards, and a deal maker’s eye led by ex-banker James Hawkins.
Opinion
PM calls for back-up and gets it at G7
Australia may have got the cover it wanted out of the Cornwall summit. But there is still a long way to go in fully tackling the China challenge, including testing the resolve on all sides.
Editorial
Snub or no snub, Morrison got what he came for
Australia, along with India, South Korea and South Africa, was invited to the G7 for one reason – China. And the outcome of the G7 was good for Australia.
Political editor
China defiant, but wary of G7 narrative
China says the days when a ‘small group of countries’ dictates global decisions are long gone. But it also acknowledged the risk of a unified front against it.
China correspondent
Politicians are elected to lead, not hide behind the boffins
Governments have made a mantra out of following expert advice. Their job is to weigh up expertise, not to pick some and ignore the rest.
Contributor
PM must tell the truth on the economy
Unless productivity rises, a re-elected Morrison government will have to break its spending promises. Neither party can shirk micro reform any longer.
Columnist
The message from the G7 is that the West has its limits with China
The G7 summit’s critical message was that the liberal democracies – the West– have finally been stirred into action by a belligerent and hostile Beijing.
Columnist
Politics
‘Watch your back’: Phantom texter splits union
A key Labor Left union is in a blue over the identity of a person who has been texting threats and abuse to successive national leaders for more than a decade.
‘It worked beautifully’: Victoria’s lockdown strategy praised
Leading epidemiologists want detailed analysis of Victoria’s latest lockdown, which could guide the next phase of Australia’s COVID-19 response.
Government told to dump super bill’s ‘backdoor’ veto power
Senator Rex Patrick said he was confident he had the numbers in the Senate to pass a range of amendments to the government’s signature superannuation reforms.
Labor move to overturn clean energy regulations will struggle
Labor argues two clean energy bodies have no business venturing into carbon capture and storage and the production of hydrogen, as the regulations allow.
Pandemic recovery will take years, says Qld Treasurer
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick says Tuesday’s budget will include big spending on health, education and infrastructure.
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World
NATO trains its sights on China
The traditionally Europe-focused trans-Atlantic military alliance has backed up Australia and the G7 with sharper, more specific language on China.
Chinese Australians mark Hong Kong protest anniversary
Hong Kong’s streets are silent as people around the world commemorate the two-year anniversary of the 2019 protests.
G7 delivers for Morrison on China
Scott Morrison’s trip to Britain appears to have paid off after G7 leaders said they would tackle China’s market-distorting practices and authoritarian approach in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
- Analysis
- World politics
It’s good to talk, but can the West follow through with action?
G7 leaders met their make-or-break moment with lots of intent, including on China. But real leadership will need organisation, co-ordination and implementation.
Israel’s new leader a bundle of contradictions
Naftali Bennett is a former ally of Netanyahu who helped unseat him, a Jew who made millions in the mostly secular hi-tech sector and a champion of the settlement movement who lives in a Tel Aviv suburb.
Property
Aussie house prices rise at fourth-fastest rate in OECD over 20 years
The OECD says planning and zoning restrictions are a key contributor to the fact it takes six years longer to afford a home in Australia than in the world’s other advanced economies.
Apartment vendors gain the upper hand
Growing demand from cashed-up investors and first home buyers frustrated in the detached housing market has prompted apartment vendors to lift their asking prices.
High-net-worth investor-backed fund buys Wollongong pub for $21m
The renovated Five Islands Hotel in Cringila was bought by publican Paddy Coughlan’s new venture Ludlow Hospitality, which he established in October last year.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Blundy puts $230m NT cattle station portfolio on the market
The offering includes Walhallow station south-east of Darwin, which the billionaire acquired from Macquarie Group’s Paraway Pastoral for a then record $100 million.
Still a seller’s market on Mornington Peninsula
The $6 million sale of a subdivided block – despite all the buyer’s arguments it was overpriced – shows where the power lies in one part of the market.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Iron ore
Five triggers that will force iron ore price down
All miners’ profits would be affected, but the most exposed would be high-cost producers.
- Opinion
- Retail
Retail not dead but primed for reinvention
The huge shift to online shopping has led to increased demand for warehousing space that is not too far away.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
How investors can play the booming pet trade
The billions of dollars Australians spend on caring for and feeding their ‘fur babies’ is likely to have increased strongly over the past 18 months and is expected to continue.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Business IT
No going back to pre-virus business world: Dell
The US tech titan says COVID-19 has changed corporate life forever and warns an increasing reliance on technology makes the global chip shortage a huge problem.
Atlassian push to make companies back up words with donations
The Atlassian Foundation has created a bespoke deed of equity for founders that makes public pledges to donate money, time, or products for the betterment of society legally enforceable.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Early stage tech start-ups get new $50m fund
Investible has raised the first $35 million tranche of capital from its second VC fund, after its 36 portfolio companies from fund one went on to create 600 jobs.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
Property owners taking ‘cosmetic’ approach on modern slavery
The largest listed property owners are using outdated mechanisms to pick up underpayments and labour abuse in commercial cleaning, raising risks for investors.
Farm workers paid average ‘$9 a day’
A new survey found 78 per cent of horticulture workers were underpaid at some point, with some claiming they earned as little as $1 an hour.
Life & Luxury
Rebellion Brewing rides healthier beer trend
The Ballarat group is a pioneer in gluten-free beer, and raising capital as it marches on buoyed by the spirit of the Eureka Stockade.
The storage boss who never gives up on the court
For Melbourne entrepreneur Ben Cohn, squash is the essence of competition, but that doesn’t mean he won’t let you in on his secret weakness.
Ed Kuepper and Jim White make bold and borderless music
Their respective bands The Saints and The Dirty Three are world-renowned, and these two showed why with a mostly bewitching show at Sydney Opera House.
Djokovic’s win puts him a major short of Nadal, Federer
Not only did the victory make the Serb the first man in the Open era to win all four grand slams on at least two occasions, but it left him just one major behind Nadal and Federer.
Jude Turner expands her Spicers Retreats empire
The pandemic has battered the Flight Centre business of husband Graham Turner, but business is booming for the Spicers Retreats boss.
