- Live
- Need to Know
AstraZeneca minimum age raised from 50 to 60
Health Minister Greg Hunt will lift the minimum age for the AstraZeneca vaccine, declaring the Pfizer vaccine safe for under-60s. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the jobs figures debunk Labor’s claims the ‘sky would fall in’ post-JobKeeper. Sydney cluster grows to three. Follow updates here.
AstraZeneca minimum age to rise to 60
Australia’s sluggish vaccine rollout will be further delayed by the decision, which puts more pressure on Pfizer deliveries from overseas.
Jobless rate plummets to 5.1pc in May
Unemployment plummeted to 5.1 per cent in May, its seventh consecutive monthly decline, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX slides; Coles shares sink, miners hammered
The ASX is off early lows after an impressive jobs report in May but remains weak after FOMC rate hike expectations converged around 2023. Challenger and Whitehaven sink along with Coles.
Super shake-up assured as reforms pass Senate
The government gained enough support in the Senate to pass the biggest shake-up of the $3 trillion superannuation sector in years.
APRA scrutinises home lending standards
The prudential regulator has asked the banks for assurances they are managing the risks from a booming property market.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Coles spends up to slim down and grow
Steve Cain’s plan is to lift capital investment by 30 per cent to catch up to, and get ahead of, the big shifts in retail. But investors will take convincing.
How to negotiate the new world of work. Expert advice in your inbox every Thursday.
SPECIAL REPORT: FINTECHS
- Analysis
- Fintech
Financial system fundamentals in a state of flux
The death of cash, adoption of e-commerce, embedded payments and decentralised tech infrastructure are driving more fintechs to chase the success of Afterpay.
Fintech capital funding goes mainstream
KPMG expects record investment flows into Australian fintech to continue after the hot sector brushed off the virus to rake in $US1.4 billion.
Clock ticking for conventional banking as fintechs step on accelerator
Tic:Toc and Butn are both part of the new trend of financial transactions shifting away from bricks and mortar banks.
Cryptocurrencies chasing a licence to thrill
Cryptocrurrency’s time among the big movers and shakers of finance will arrive as soon as regulatory certainty is in place.
Australia in a strong position on regtech
Global spending on regtech products and services is estimated to increase to $US127 billion by 2024.
Companies
Regulators want challengers to PEXA monopoly
The peak regulatory body’s concerns raise questions about the trading environment IPO-bound PEXA says it will face.
Flooding hits Yallourn coal power as Callide unit returns
Disruptions to coal power stations in Victoria and Queensland have made wholesale prices much more volatile than normal in the June quarter.
Focus on costs is holding back jobs, wages growth: Lowe
The Treasurer’s comments came after the RBA governor said an entrenched cost-cutting mindset was holding back fiscal and monetary policies aimed at boosting wages.
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Amber Infrastructure buys majority stake in iseek Communications
Amber Infrastructure Group has bought a majority stake in Brisbane’s iseek Communications, expected to be worth upwards of $110 million.
- Updated
- Retail
Coles returns to be hit by rising capex
Coles Group boss Steven Cain is facing pressure to explain its higher than expected capital expenditure bill after a strategy update failed to impress investors.
Afterpay, Zip founders back insurance disruptor
Honey Insurance has secured $15.5 million from a host of well-known backers to jazz up home contents coverage by sending new customers smart home sensors.
Challenger flags third downgrade this year
Challenger has committed to holding more regulatory capital and a lowers profit target as it awaits approval from the prudential watchdog for its purchase of a small deposit-taking bank.
Companies in the News
Fortescue Metals Group
National Australia Bank
ASX Limited
Macquarie Group
Updated: Jun 17, 2021 – 1.40pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
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Markets
The little Engine that could, and what it means for corporate activism
Are financial activists disguising themselves as environmental activists, or vice versa? Either way, the combination is powerful and effective.
Peak regulators monitoring emergence of stablecoins
Officials from the RBA, ASIC, APRA, ACCC, ATO and AUSTRAC are examining ‘regulatory arrangements’ and ‘risks and benefits’ of private stablecoins like diem.
Fed signals two rate rises in 2023
Federal Reserve officials expect to start raising interest rates in 2023, earlier than previously forecast, due to faster economic growth and rising inflation.
JPMorgan turns to its Hong Kong biz for two new hires
US investment bank JPMorgan has looked to Hong Kong for two new signings in its local equities business.
Secrets of a top crypto fund
One managed in Melbourne is shooting the lights out and likely to top the Morningstar performance tables this financial year.
Opinion
Default super dented but far from dead
The government’s superannuation reforms make good on long-held dreams of anti-union warriors, but the $800 billion industry fund movement will still reign supreme.
Wealth editor
An aspirin a day’s more risky than the AstraZeneca jab
Why are so many unduly worried about this vaccine that has minimal risk and significant benefits?
Contributor
Full circle on trade after Britain left Australia ‘in the cold’
From the archives: as part of our Platinum 70 Year, we take a look back at AFR Views on significant domestic and international events over the past seven decades.
Editorial
Biden politely reads riot act to Putin
After more than two decades in power, this Russian bear was unlikely to change its habits. Biden’s aim is to coax and cajole Putin into a moderately less dangerous stance. That goal is more difficult than it sounds.
Columnist
Gas will fuel energy transition to net zero
Blanket opposition to fossil fuels won’t help speed the energy transition that Australia must now make.
Editorial
There’s nothing like a CEO humblebragger
The head of the ABS and David Koch’s son are among those who deflect credit for altruism while drawing attention to it.
Senior correspondent
Politics
Government’s super reforms likely to pass Senate
The government appears to have the support of Centre Alliance and One Nation, heralding the biggest shake-up of the $3 trillion superannuation sector in years.
The day Julie Bishop met China’s chief wolf warrior
China’s diplomatic corps is not afraid to break historical rules of polite engagement in pursuit of Xi Jinping’s global agenda.
Young Aussies put London back on their maps
Twenty-somethings put working in London back on their agendas after the British-Australia trade deal extended the age limit for working holiday visas.
British government contracts open to Australian firms
The free trade agreement between Australian and Britain opens up government procurement for firms from both countries, presenting a $470 billion opportunity at home.
Bondi case detected as Victoria restrictions to ease
A driver who transports international flight crews is NSW’s first local case in 40 days, reported shortly after Victoria announced a fresh easing of restrictions from Friday.
SPONSORED
World
- Opinion
- Middle East tensions
Israel’s new government is more stable than it looks
Opposition to Netanyahu was the primary catalyst in forming the country’s unprecedented new coalition government, and it may well be the strongest glue holding it together.
- Opinion
- UEFA Euro 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo may have discovered his most powerful voice yet
The soccer megastar is a corporate creation - but it would now be more valuable for him to back a social cause.
‘No friendship’ but Putin and Biden agree to resume arms talks
The Russian and US leaders held a ‘pragmatic’ meeting that lasted just four hours but said they had agreed on a number of topics.
Apple Daily executives arrested under Hong Kong security law
The government said in a statement that Hong Kong’s National Security Department had arrested five directors of a company for ‘suspected contravention’ of the national security law.
The paradoxes and platitudes of Salman Rushdie
In a new collection of essays, the author reveals the difficulty of reconciling his belief in the multiple and ambiguous, with a kind of rational, at times literal absolutism.
Property
Sirius penthouse sells for $35m
Another of the brutalist landmark’s top units sold for $19 million, setting a high for the city’s luxury apartment market of more than $118,012 a square metre.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
New commissioner to target sins of property omission
Is this new role a sign that things are really bad in NSW real estate, or actually comparatively good?
Apartment sales pick up, but new projects haven’t – yet
Investors are showing renewed interest in the high-rise dwelling sector they largely deserted. But significant risks to the crucial sector still remain.
Menegazzo to lead Investa
Peter Menegazzo takes over as chief executive at a time when Investa’s momentum is building as its Canadian partner, Oxford Properties, ramps up its exposure to the local market.
David Devine plans $340m luxury Gold Coast tower
The high-end project by architects DKO, to be called Royale Gold Coast, will offer 108 luxury apartments with an average price of $3 million.
Wealth
Can I put business proceeds into super if it pushes me over $1.6m?
Yes you can thanks to generous contribution concessions. John Wasliev outlines how they work.
Buy now, pay later plan for downsizers purchasing off the plan
Empty nesters are being targeted with a finance scheme that postpones any payments until settlement.
Property fund for long-term investors seeking to boost income
Leases to state and federal government departments aim to provide reliable yields.
Technology
Sotheby’s to auction the beginning of the internet as an NFT
The founder of the world wide web made nothing from his creation, but is hoping origins of the web will prove a valuable artefact in as the NFT market stalls.
- Exclusive
- Publishing
Former Young Rich Lister launches adtech venture Linkby
Pedestrian co-founder Chris Wirasinha is back, this time helping direct-to-consumer businesses connect with publishers and form ‘cost-per-click’ arrangements.
Call for state QR regimes to block police access
States should enact strict privacy controls to limit access to their QR check-in data and have penalties similar to the federal COVIDsafe app, a privacy expert says.
Work & Careers
Why this CEO declines to check emails first thing
Sally-Ann Williams, the chief executive officer of tech start-up incubator Cicada, talks about focusing on the things that matter before her work day begins.
Protesters dig in against coal appointee as Newcastle chancellor
Rage continues unabated over the appointment of Mark Vaile as the next chancellor of Newcastle University.
Life & Luxury
These ‘crazy’ winemakers win by ‘doing almost nothing’
In their quest for constant improvement, Richard and Malcolm Leask of the adventurous McLaren Vale wine label Hither & Yon are aiming not to do anything.
The hottest colour in watches this year is ...
Right now, it seems a brand without a green-dialled watch is a brand not worth accommodating on your wrist.
For God’s sake, don’t write about Rotto!
West Australians may have successfully kept Rottnest Island to themselves, but the pandemic is bringing it to the attention of all Australians.
They won Eurovision. Can they conquer the world?
The Italian rock band Maneskin is a hit on the charts, and its members want to become a rare long-term Eurovision success story.
- Opinion
- Style
What’s new in fashion? Making amends with your old clothes
A rip in your jeans, a frayed hem, a pilled jumper – these are not reasons to part with pieces you love.
