- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why shares won’t be locked down
The sharemarket’s rise in the face of pandemic lockdowns might look odd, but the composition of the ASX is very different to the real economy, says this market’s veteran.
- Live
- Need to Know
Victoria’s lockdown expected to end
Sports training to resume, matches not for another week in SA; an apartment building in greater Sydney is in lockdown. Follow updates here.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to rise; Rio union woes; BlueScope profit bump
S&P/ASX 200 futures point to gains; Rio Tinto cuts aluminum production after organised labour talks falter; OZ Minerals increases copper production.
- Opinion
- Property prices
Inflation figures ignore soaring cost of housing
As the property bubble goes global, there’s growing concern official data fails to capture the steep rise in home prices consumers now have to contend with.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
PM mulls more cash, but no return to JobKeeper
The Morrison government will examine ways to boost income subsidies and business payments, including expanding those to 1 million welfare recipients.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Top Aussie VC targets the ‘next Facebooks’
Square Peg has become one of the biggest names in Aussie start-up investments. Now it’s set to take on traditional fund managers with a global listed tech fund.
Mesoblast boss won’t answer share deal questions
The biotech’s chief executive will not be fielding queries over a reconciliation gap of up to 27.7 million stocks in a previous contract.
Find out what’s happening inside the big consulting firms, including EY, KPMG and PwC. In your inbox every Wednesday.
Tokyo Olympics
Tokyo storm blows surf finals to Tuesday
Australian surfing stars Sally Fitzgibbons and Owen Wright revelled in the messy conditions on Monday to book quarter-final berths.
Titmus wins Games’ hottest race
The race between the two national heroes was one of the most anticipated contests of the Games. The Australian captured the gold medal with the second-fastest time in history.
‘Wolf warrior’ diplomats take issue with Olympics coverage of China
Despite its strong medal tally, hyper-sensitive China is unhappy with international media coverage of its athletes or references to Taiwan.
Meet the Matildas star with a consulting career on the side
Midfielder and MBA graduate Tameka Yallop works from hotels, her home and the Olympic Village doing remote project management work to set up her post-sport career.
Gilmore wipes out in shock surfing loss to South African
Few expected Bianca Buitendag to have any chance at all against the decorated Australian, but the lack of expectations allowed her to perform at her best.
Companies
AMP casts off shackles of pre-Hayne wealth model
AMP has dumped the tarnished business model that made it Australia’s largest provider of financial advice, granting its advisers ownership of their own clients.
Poynton comes out swinging at Helen Coonan at Crown Perth inquiry
Perth businessman John Poynton maintains he should not have been pressured to quit the Crown Resorts board as the WA royal commission shifts it focus to the company’s fitness to hold a licence.
Crown directors’ bonuses in doubt as BEAR considered for casino execs
The banking executive accountability regime should apply to gaming executives to ensure Crown’s lawbreaking is not repeated, royal commission lawyers say.
Best & Less chief calls for disaster clause in leases
Best & Less CEO Rod Orrock not only supports calls for rent relief during lockdown, he says there shoud be disaster relief clause in the national leasing code.
Endeavour Group acquisitions on ACCC radar
The competition watchdog is eyeing Endeavour’s purchase of the Terrey Hills Tavern and other potential deals as ‘creeping acquisitions’ make a come-back.
Westpac says $420m Pacific bank sale knocked back by PNG regulator
Kina Securities, which agreed to pay $420m for Westpac’s Pacific assets, said it will make new submissions to the PNG competition regulator.
Santos oil result could be catalyst for deal
A record production rate at an oil well at the Van Gogh venture may give a lift to Santos’s efforts to bring in a partner at its $2.7 billion Dorado project.
Companies in the News
Oil Search
Crown Resorts
Westpac Banking Corporation
Updated: Jul 26, 2021 – 3.58pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
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Markets
Tesla tops analysts’ profit forecasts, lifts delivery outlook
Profit at Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle and clean-energy company soared to $US1.45 a share on an adjusted basis, the Palo Alto, California-based auto maker said.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares to rise, US stocks edge higher, mining stocks rally, bitcoin briefly tops $US40,000. And your flat white is going to cost more.
Bitcoin nears $US40,000 as shorts fuel rally on Amazon speculation
A job posting by Amazon sparked speculation about whether the online retailing behemoth may sooner than later start accepting bitcoin as a method of payment.
AQR bond quant’s ‘sacrilegious’ view
What Jordan Brooks found is that investors tend to overemphasise policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and other central banks.
Coffee surges to seven-year highs with more cold headed for Brazil
Prices for the high-end beans favoured by Starbucks and other cafe chains have surged more than 30 per cent in a week.
Opinion
Inflation figures ignore soaring cost of housing
As the property bubble goes global, there’s growing concern official data fails to capture the steep rise in home prices consumers now have to contend with.
Columnist
Hostile climate ahead of Glasgow at G20 talks
Rather than Australia’s net zero target, the international climate divisions exposed by the Naples G20 talks will be the focus of attention at the Glasgow summit.
Editorial
Commercial devastation is spreading faster than delta
The Morrison government is resisting a return to JobKeeper as it gambles the existing arrangements will eventually deliver results for NSW. But it won’t be soon enough for many businesses and jobs.
Columnist
Roar for medal success at silent Olympics
The atmosphere has been sterile. But now focus is on the athletes, the roar of excitement generated by Australia’s first gold medals was the real thing.
Editorial
The reason NSW isn’t defeating delta
Too many Sydneysiders, especially in the city’s south-western suburbs, are disobeying a ban on family socialising.
Senior correspondent
As JobKeeper calls get louder, PM must be cautious
The circumstances of 2020 were unique, and should not be used as a model for handling every future setback.
Contributor
Politics
Disaster payments fairer than return to JobKeeper: hospitality group
One of Australia’s biggest pub groups which operates across state borders highlights the limitations of a return to JobKeeper.
Pharmacies ‘overwhelmed’ by AstraZeneca interest
Pharmacies believe they’re witnessing a turning point in community perceptions of AstraZeneca on their first day of delivering the vaccine in west and south-west Sydney.
- Exclusive
- Paris Agreement
Tech-driven approach best way to avoid climate talks collapse: Taylor
Energy minister Angus Taylor told a summit of G20 ministers that technology was a way to break the historic divide between rich and poor countries.
Two more dead in NSW outbreak
NSW Health confirmed a woman and man both aged in their 80s have died, bringing the total number of deaths from the current outbreak to 10; South Australia is now out of lockdown. Follow updates here.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
COVID-19 payments to keep lid on unemployment
More locked down workers in Greater Sydney are claiming the Morrison government’s COVID-19 disaster payment than they did for JobKeeper and JobSeeker at the height of the first wave of closures last year.
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World
Canberra scrambles to get Aussies out of Indonesia
There is only one Jakarta-to-Sydney flight a week, it’s booked out until Christmas, and transit bans have cut off other options.
US accused of ‘demonising’ China for political gain
China’s Vice-Foreign Minister Xie Feng told US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman Washington needed to correct its “very dangerous China policy”.
‘Wolf warrior’ diplomats take issue with Olympics coverage of China
Despite its strong medal tally, hyper-sensitive China is unhappy with international media coverage of its athletes or references to Taiwan.
China says EU’s planned carbon border tax violates trade principles
As the world’s top manufacturer of industrial raw materials such as steel and cement, China could suffer the most from the border tariffs scheme.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
Britain has thrown away its vaccine advantage
Internationally, the so-called English experiment in opening up even as infections rise is regarded with horror.
Property
Sydney house prices to soar 21pc: NAB
The bank has upgraded its house price forecast across all capitals but warns growth rates will plunge in 2022.
AXA IM logs into biggest forestry deal in more than a decade
The $775 million acquisition is the first investment into Australian timber for the company, which manages plantations across France, Ireland and Finland.
Auction volumes surge 81pc in Sydney
Sydney’s residential auction volumes surged 81 per cent in the June quarter, while Melbourne’s tally jumped 51 per cent as sellers rushed to take advantage of strong buyer demand.
Malls landlord GPT pulls guidance amid lockdowns
The ASX-listed landlord and fund manager says it was appropriate to withdraw guidance, given the uncertainty over the Sydney and Melbourne lockdowns.
Loan limits cool the property market but help the big banks
The largest lenders won mortgage customers at the expense of smaller competitors when restrictions applied between 2014 and 2018.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Property downsizing
When downsizing is more about ‘right sizing’
What to take into account when it’s time to sell the family home.
- Opinion
- Aged care
When the NDIS and aged care intersect
When support is needed with funding disability needs, which way do you go – NDIS or aged care? The answer comes down to the timing of changes in your life.
- Opinion
- Aged care
Traps in enduring power of attorney and super
Be certain that your EPOA sets out clearly and fully what you want or don’t want your attorney to be able to do with your retirement nest egg.
Technology
Gadget makers don’t want you to be able to fix them
With the consumer electronics industry resisting efforts to make their products more repairable, it falls on large corporate buyers to force a change, experts say.
Facebook woos God with a business proposition
With a market capitalisation of $1.3 trillion and more adherents than Christianity or Islam, the social media giant is testing the frontier of religion.
- Exclusive
- Funding
NAB Ventures, Grok Ventures and Perennial tip $35m into Spriggy
Children’s pocket money app Spriggy has raised $35m, doubling down on its mission to help parents combat the slide in financial literacy in Australian kids.
Work & Careers
Meet the Matildas star building a consulting career on the side
Midfielder and MBA graduate Tameka Yallop works from hotels, her home and the Olympic Village doing remote project management work to set up her post-sport career.
Bad hires a bigger cost to the bottom line
A tight talent market has made the cost of a bad hire more significant than 12 months ago, according to new research.
Life & Luxury
Mazda delivers jolt to electric car market with its first EV
The company’s quality matches several much more premium brands, but will buyers pay more for a green vehicle that looks just like its petrol predecessor?
Something For Kate’s Echolalia was something for women in music
Ahead of a tour reviving Melbourne band Something For Kate’s 2001 album Echolalia, frontman Paul Dempsey recalls its feminine dynamic as a blow against sexism.
‘Woman packs’ welcome, says farmer-hotelier
Wilga Station might evoke the era in which the nation rode on the sheep’s back, but these days it’s after new markets rather than sweaty shearers.
Fashion brands seize the moment with watches that break the mould
If ever there was any doubt such companies are sparkling with horological creativity, this year is bringing further proof with high-jewellery timepieces.
Virtual wine tastings get a bit too popular during lockdown
Wine makers are milking the surge in popularity for online tastings of up to 100 people at a time. “The thing we didn’t quite count on was how successful this format would be.”
