After May jobs bonanza, all eyes on early election
Scott Morrison’s clear and stated preference is to wait until next year but, like all prime ministers, he will go when he has the best chance of victory.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How Accenture’s Sydney AI team of one went global
The fast-growing automation business at leading global consultancy Accenture started out with a tiny team in Sydney five years ago. It now has 800 people.
Pfizer steps up as jab rollout falters
Daily vaccination rates are set to drop after medical advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine changed, adding to pressure on the rollout and prompting an emergency meeting of national cabinet on Monday.
- Opinion
- Federal politics
Scott Morrison has a serious weakness: the Nats
Resources Minister Keith Pitt’s declaration that the Nationals have not committed to net zero by 2050 is effectively a declaration of war, writes Laura Tingle.
Democracies take fight to China in infrastructure cold war
Joe Biden hopes to get the world’s democracies to take on Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road. Much will depend on whether the private sector buys in.
Tech stages June comeback after torrid year
The 13 per cent jump for the month so far marks a dramatic shift in investor sentiment, with Afterpay shares up by more than a fifth.
AFL players, bankers members of underperforming super funds
New figures reveal 21 super funds that could soon be labelled underperformers, a move experts say could be a ‘death sentence’ for these funds.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
Companies
- Analysis
- Emissions
Net zero or bust: gas sector’s critical moment
With funding getting choked off, Australia’s natural gas industry faces a mammoth task to show it is part of a net zero emissions future.
Social licence win in Woolworths’ backdown on Darwin Dan Murphy’s
The supermarket giant’s decision to hand back its controversial liquor licence shows the social responsibility message is finally infiltrating the directors’ club.
Twiggy’s great green energy quest
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest has signed up to develop the world’s biggest hydropower project but there’s a big question mark over whether it can be done after decades of hype and false starts.
AFL players, bankers members of underperforming super funds
New figures reveal 21 super funds that could soon be labelled underperformers, a move experts say could be a ‘death sentence’ for these funds.
UBS preyed on ‘poor country like PNG,’ inquiry told
Former Treasurer Don Polye was sacked for refusing to approve the $1.2 billion loan after being given just 40 minutes to look over the documents.
Woolworths says no handbrake on pub buys from pokies backlash
Shareholders in Woolworths have approved the demerger of the $12 billion Endeavour Group, which Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns says has ‘unlimited’ growth opportunities.
‘Not a merit-based regulator’: ASIC responds to Nuix float fail
ASIC has defended its decision to allow the Nuix float to proceed with the existing prospectus, saying its focus is just on disclosures, not merit.
Companies in the News
National Australia Bank
Fortescue Metals Group
Macquarie Group
Commonwealth Bank
Woolworths
ASX Limited
Updated: Jun 18, 2021 – 4.40pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
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Markets
Tech stages June comeback after torrid year
The 13 per cent jump for the month so far marks a dramatic shift in investor sentiment, with Afterpay shares up by more than a fifth.
Interest rate rise in early 2023: Westpac
Westpac chief economist Bill Evans has brought forward his interest rate rise prediction to early 2023, after the ‘game changer’ fall in the unemployment rate.
- Exclusive
- Jobs
Shutdown anxiety drives shortage of job applications
Government-mandated business shutdowns in response to COVID-19 are making people more hesitant to change jobs, despite online job advertisements surging to a record high.
Tech helps ASX to fifth straight weekly gain
A resurgent tech sector helped the Australian sharemarket to its fifth straight weekly gain on Friday, capping off the best run of form for local shares since December.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
PEP’s ESG revolution is all about returns
PEP will use aggressive incentives to drive better ESG performance in portfolio companies, as ESG success adds a bigger premium to valuations.
Opinion
Stellar economy depends on driving the jabs
Closed borders and bottlenecks could lead to the V-shaped rebound turning into something more tepid. There is no time to lose in vaccinating and lifting restrictions.
Editorial
Jobs figures not quite as strong as they seem
An exodus of non-resident workers from Australia since the pandemic began could have pushed the unemployment rate down by more than two percentage points.
Columnist
The world the G7 forgot about
Australia now has a number on its back in the international game. That’s more reason to live up to promises by the West to the virus-hit developing world.
Contributor
We’re not just saving veterans; we might be saving ourselves
Former soldiers are often traumatised by the loss of tribal identity they suffer. But that is a problem in our wider society as well.
Contributor
RBA, Fair Work and business at odds over wages and costs
There is a confusion between the central bank’s desire to engineer wages growth and the reality that the cost structure is too high, amid lagging productivity and a mandatory 2.5 per cent wage increase.
Editorial
Morrison is hedging on asylum politics. So is Labor
The government is hedging on the politics and still believes the hardline view – that most voters are hostile to boat people – is the dominant one. So is Labor.
Political editor
Politics
Premier wants ‘ambitious’ vaccine rollout as Sydney outbreak grows
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warns Australia risks being left behind if it doesn’t boost its vaccine rollout as a new outbreak in Sydney reaches five cases.
The human cost of Australia’s closed border
While Australia’s tough border policy has managed to keep COVID-19 at bay, about 200 families are still separated from their children.
Former leader John Anderson fails in Senate bid for troubled Nats
John Anderson has failed in his bid to re-enter federal politics after being beaten for Senate preselection by former party director Ross Cadell.
‘Politically brave’ Marshall gets sign-off for international students
South Australia is the first state to receive federal sign-off for its plan to return international students by as early as July.
Super reforms pass after government dumps ‘backdoor’ veto power
The government gained enough support in the Senate after negotiations came down to the wire.
SPONSORED
World
Conspiracy, cover-up or distraction: the lab leak theory is back
Scientists are unwilling to rule out the possibility the virus escaped from a Wuhan lab but fear their race to find answers has been hijacked by politics.
Trade soars in fake vaccination certificates and black market vaccines
Authorities have warned legitimate vaccines cannot be bought online but that hasn’t stopped a roaring trade, as the arrest of four people in Indonesia highlights.
- Opinion
- World politics
Pandemic clears the path for a US economic boom
The pandemic has shaken things up and cleared the way for an economic boom and social revival.
US bets on a pill to treat COVID-19
The US will spend more than $3.9 billion on developing pills to fight early COVID-19 infections, which it hopes might be ready by the end of the year.
Canada says Pfizer, Moderna preferred as second dose after AstraZeneca
In new guidance, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunisation said Pfizer or Moderna are now ‘preferred’ as the second dose.
Property
Commercial buildings, old and new, top Victoria architecture awards
Collins Street’s newest landmark, Monash University and Bendigo’s gold rush-era iconic arcade have taken out some of the top gongs for design.
The real reason house prices keep rising
Tax incentives and low interest rates get most of the blame for surging house prices in Australia but supply is just as important.
Australian Unity rejects latest $2.8b bid for fund
Four months into its campaign to buy out the Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust, Canadian suitor NorthWest this week raised its bid for the third time.
Radio veteran Ray Hadley sells $7.7m estate
The Dural sale is part of the 2GB morning presenter’s downsizing plans with his new wife, as they intend to split their time between Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Nev House switches home sales strategy for new financial year
The company founded by surfboard shaper Nev Hyman is now offering the “Rolls-Royce” of modular homes – a departure from the prior eight years when it was pitching cheaply built kits.
Wealth
‘Low cost’ government loans hit with higher rates
If your deposit is only 5 per cent and you qualify for government help, choose your loan carefully.
SMSF investors snap up commercial and industrial property
The economic bounceback from COVID-19 is boosting demand among company chiefs to buy the office for their self-managed super fund.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Game on for Square Enix
The valuation of 18 times 2021 earnings is undemanding compared with its peer group and the strength of the company’s IP.
Technology
Mandatory login to ABC iview unlawful, say privacy experts
The ABC’s long-awaited move into personalised media is being challenged by privacy experts, who say the national broadcaster has not gained lawful consent.
- Exclusive
- Cyber security
Labor to introduce legislation to require reporting of cyber ransoms
The proposed legislation would require Australian companies that pay ransom to cyber criminals to report it to the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
- Exclusive
- Cyber security
AFP muscles up to go after ransomware gangs
A new ransomware operation will centralise law enforcement efforts against criminal gangs using digital means to extort money out of Australian businesses and organisations.
Work & Careers
The vice-chancellor who negotiated his salary down to $484k
Brian Schmidt, the only Nobel Laureate to head an Australian university, finds the job ‘really hard’, but doesn’t care about being paid as much as his peers.
Deloitte partner profits rise 13pc despite COVID-19
Annual revenue at the big four firm fell slightly but partner pay went up thanks partly to lower travel costs and a strong final quarter.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Review
‘Martin Eden’ tackles sex, politics and idealism
The New York Times called his Italian adaptation of Jack London’s novel about a man desperate to become a writer the best film of 2020. Its ambition sees it take on big themes.
Edward de Bono popularised lateral thinking but mastered self-promotion
The guru of ‘lateral thinking’ spread his quirky ideas with a salesman’s zeal and made a fortune by jetting around the world to explain what it all meant.
NGV’s Goya exhibition will be the biggest ever in Australia
The exhibition will feature the largest group of drawings by the celebrated Spanish artist seen in Australia, and etchings of his renowned print series.
The young team behind Brisbane’s hottest restaurants
Top-quality hospitality staff are heading to Queensland’s capital, where housing is cheaper and eateries aren’t being crippled by constant lockdowns.
The Pentagon’s UFO report will ‘prove’ everyone right
No matter what the Pentagon report concludes, we should be cultivating cognitive humility – and not just about about the existence of aliens.
