China fuels record $US9b Rio dividend
Shareholders will receive $US5.61 a share after the mining giant announced the epic dividend was built on record prices for Australian iron ore.
NSW’s rescue bill is $1b a week and rising
Financial support for workers and businesses has been increased for the fourth time in two months, in response to NSW’s worsening COVID-19 crisis.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
NSW faces months in lockdown, not weeks
The state is going to take a long, long time to recover from its current crisis. It’s just no one wants to concede that publicly yet, writes Jennifer Hewett.
Greensill Capital ‘flew too close to the sun’
Preliminary parliamentary hearings into supply chain finance heard that some of Greensill Capital’s lending schemes were “risky”.
Scene set for APRA housing market intervention: Westpac
House prices will increase 18 per cent across the country in 2021, according to Westpac, and tighter lending criteria are just around the corner.
‘He needs money’ Papas pleads for cash to fly to Australia
Alleged fraudster Bill Papas has told his lawyer he intends to return to Australia but needs more money for living expenses and to book a flight.
Miners, banks drag ASX 0.7pc lower as lockdown extended
Australian shares fell away from a record high on Wednesday following a heavy fall in US tech stocks, as Sydney’s lockdown was extended by four more weeks.
How to negotiate the new world of work. Expert advice in your inbox every Thursday.
Tokyo Olympics
Titmus takes 200m freestyle gold in Olympic record
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus has won the women’s 200-metres freestyle at the Olympics to claim her second gold medal of the Tokyo Games.
Australian rowers win gold twice
Australia have smashed Great Britain’s Olympic dominance in the men’s coxless four, winning gold in Tokyo, while the women topped the podium in the same event in the previous race.
- Analysis
- Tokyo Olympics
Osaka defeat ignites harsh online comments by Japanese critics
The tennis champion took a drubbing on Japanese social media, with some questioning her identity or right to represent the country at all.
- Opinion
- Olympics
Go for Olympic host city gold - and go for broke too
The Olympic business model means that host cities invariably lose out. Brisbane will need a heroic effort to avoid that fate.
What’s on at the Olympics on Thursday
Here’s what’s coming up today in Tokyo for Thursday, July 29. (All times AEST.)
Companies
Forrest weighs next move in BHP nickel takeover tussle
The billionaire could opt to remain on the register as a big shareholder after the miner trumped his bid for Canada’s Noront Resources.
MPs irate as regulators duck and weave on Apple Pay
Labor MP Julian Hill described a farcical display of bureaucratic buck-passing by payments regulators at a parliamentary committee as “a Sir Humphrey moment”.
Sam Walsh joins traditional owners with huge power in Pilbara
Former Rio Tinto boss Sam Walsh has joined the board of the Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation representing traditional owners with a big say in the future of the iron ore industry.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
BHP and Forrest may be better together on nickel play
BHP might have trumped Andrew Forrest’s bid for a Canadian nickel miner, but there’s no reason the pair can’t form a partnership on this project.
Lockdowns could delay earnings rebound
Australian companies will be reluctant to provide guidance amid an uncertain earnings outlook, with the lockdown in Sydney to continue for at least another month.
Qantas raises mandatory jabs for staff
Qantas is exploring a mandate that would require aviation workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine and is surveying staff about introducing the requirement.
KKR, Ontario’s $5.2b bid hard to beat at Spark
Shut the gate, Spark Infrastructure has just about bolted.
Companies in the News
Westpac Banking Corporation
Crown Resorts
Commonwealth Bank
Japara Healthcare Limited
National Australia Bank
Updated: Jul 28, 2021 – 4.30pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.
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Markets
Rio Tinto dividend up 262pc; tech drags shares lower
CBA push out rate rise to May 2023; reports Rio declares $US5.61 in dividends, including $US1.85 special, Apple lifts iPhone sales 50pc, US Fed meets.
Capital discipline rules for materials stocks
Commodities producers are staying disciplined in this cycle of high prices, atoning for the errors of the past, Airlie portfolio manager Emma Fisher says.
- Opinion
- Inside China
The China discount widens again
The scope of the CCP’s desire to control is wider than we thought: now add social stability to financial stability and control over personal data.
Wall Street is paying young bankers more than ever
As their staff quit to join tech firms and leave behind a brutal lifestyle, investment banks are trying to turn the tide with raises, bonuses and even holidays in the Caribbean.
Spaceship now manages more than $1b as micro-investing booms
CEO Andrew Moore says the growth of the passive platform to almost 200,000 active users reflects a changing appetite among younger investors.
Opinion
NSW locks in delta hotspots
NSW had little alternative to the longer, harder, more targeted lockdown that will remain the primary protection against COVID-19 until more jabs are in arms.
Editorial
China threatens its own future by stifling its tech giants
The tension between state control and the animal spirits of China’s private sector raises serious doubts about the economy’s ability to keep thriving.
Contributor
Why Xi Jinping is making investors very nervous
Shareholders fear being caught in the crosshairs as Beijing ramps up its regulatory crackdown and analysts warn Chinese companies are ‘simply not investable’.
Columnist
ACTU sends wages backwards
Unions now complain that Coles is refusing enterprise bargaining. But that anger should be directed towards the ACTU, which vetoed simplifying the system.
Editorial
Small target strategy doesn’t add up to reform
Labor has decided attacking the aspirational class won’t get it back into power. But it means both sides of politics now share a mediocre policy middle ground.
Editorial
Will lockdown curb Sydney’s property boom?
Could an extended lockdown in Sydney, possibly one months more, derail the trajectory of ever-rising property prices, temporarily or otherwise and with potential spillover effects?
Columnist
Politics
Power market reforms to ‘chill’ green investment
Confidential recommendations to overhaul the power market have worried renewable energy generators, who say their views have been ignored.
Top cop says more foreign meddling arrests are coming
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw also says an “ingenious plan” is underway to bring down more crime bosses.
Year 12 students in Sydney hotspots to get jabs ahead of the bush
Pfizer vaccines will be redirected from other parts of the state to year 12 students in eight hotspots so they can return to face-to-face teaching.
Building watchdog extends reach into manufacturing
The ABCC secured $177,000 in fines and compensation over steelworkers who downed tools when they were interrogated for attending a union rally.
‘Hell of a wake-up call’: Abbott warns on China
The former prime minister says Australian business must cut its reliance on Chinese goods and raises the alarm on President Xi Jinping’s increasing aggression.
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World
North and South Korea in talks to restore relations, hold summit
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been exploring ways to improve strained ties by exchanging letters since April.
- Analysis
- Education
China’s private sector clampdown spreads to education
China is targeting private tutors in its latest crackdown on data-rich companies listed overseas – but parents are not happy.
Sluggish return to office could take shine off US recovery
Many consumer-facing, service-heavy businesses have been wiped out during the pandemic. Their recovery will mean a lot for US GDP.
SoftBank’s bet on Didi falls $5.4b into the red
Softbank’s Vision Fund paid $US11.8 billion for its stake in the ride-share app in 2019. It is now worth $US7.8 billion after Chinese regulatory pressure hit Didi’s business prospects.
- Opinion
- Inside China
China threatens its own future by stifling its tech giants
The tension between state control and the animal spirits of China’s private sector raises serious doubts about the economy’s ability to keep thriving.
Property
Property boom drives record stamp duty receipts of $9.7b in NSW
Revenue from the tax came in at almost $10 billion but economists expect the surge to be short-lived, with the property market to slow as a result of the Greater Sydney lockdown.
Desire for isolation: Serviced apartment giant bets on strong recovery
Serviced apartment group Oakwood and developer Yarra Hotel Group are confident a 392-room hotel will cater to new demands in the post-COVID age.
Gateway Capital snaps up Sydney life sciences hub
The three-hectare property on Sydney’s upper north shore includes an existing life sciences hub and 1.5 hectares of vacant land to develop additional facilities.
Anthony Albanese doubles his money on Sydney house
A day after Labor dumped its negative gearing policy, its leader scored his own property bonus as he sold his Marrickville investment home for $2.35 million.
Delta interrupts sale of luxury apartments atop David Jones
One-bedroom units are on offer for $1.9 million, four-bedders for $13.5 million at the audacious development carved out of Sydney’s famous department store.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Inheritance
When greedy family members diminish quality of life
The attitude people have towards mum’s or dad’s money can get in the way of older Australians receiving the care they need in their last years.
How to profit from niche Australian REITs
Investors can’t get enough of Australian real estate investment trusts and property companies that own niche or alternative assets.
- Opinion
- Property downsizing
When downsizing is more about ‘right sizing’
What to take into account when it’s time to sell the family home.
Technology
Google and Apple warn delta variant could prove disruptive
In many ways, the global pandemic has been a boon to large technology companies. But it also battered the advertising industry, strained supply chains, spurred a chip shortage and disrupted shipping.
Apple beats sales expectations on iPhone, services, China
Apple’s latest quarterly revenue blew through analysts expectations with the strongest sales growth coming from China.
Alphabet tops analysts’ estimates on rebound of digital ads
Google’s advertising business rebounded, buoyed by marketers spending more on search to convince consumers to travel and shop in stores again.
Work & Careers
What CEOs can learn from Olympic swimmers
At such a level, most athletes have reached the peak of their fitness and physical skill. It is their mental state that determines success.
Coles abandons enterprise bargaining for its stores
The Retail and Fast Food Workers’ Union has pledged to take the supermarket giant to the Federal Court to force it to the negotiating table.
Life & Luxury
Aston Martin’s new CEO made electric cars way before Musk
Tobias Moers is taking the wheel of a portfolio of petrol vehicles as the world turns its back on them, but his past bodes well for the brand’s green future.
Artvisory takes fire over rhino horn sale
Paul Sumner says a blanket ban won’t solve the problem as his new auction house brings three rhino horn artefacts to a market rivals have abandoned.
The brilliant reasons your watch can’t be replaced by a phone
High-end and jewellery timepieces can bring something no mobile has achieved, a fact seemingly not lost amid increased personal wealth and spending power.
The pandemic pivot creates unique travel paths
The Louise moves on with new owners, Coral Expeditions grows more familiar with Western and South Australia, and summer ski jumping is televised from France.
Cult designer Phoebe Philo is back, and women everywhere are cheering
The former creative director of Celine, who amassed an adoring following designing clothes for “real life”, has long harboured ambitions to run her own label.
