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Millions more plunged into delta lockdown
Nearly 16m Australians are in lockdown tonight after Victoria, Newcastle and the Hunter in NSW joined Brisbane and Sydney in shutting down. Victorians have five reasons to leave home from 8pm; a 34-year-old NSW woman has died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Follow updates here.
High Court ruling used against Macquarie Bank in underpayment case
A far-reaching High Court decision upholding freedom of contract could see Macquarie Bank on the hook for millions of dollars in minimum wages.
ASX hits new record despite lagging miners
Real estate shares led among blue chips, while gains for technology shares sent the sector to a 11.4 per cent advance for the week so far.
Sydney ring fence needed to protect country: experts
Sydneysiders breaching lockdown to meet at a beach near Newcastle may have sparked an outbreak in the state’s regions, prompting a lockdown across the Hunter.
- Analysis
- Coronavirus pandemic
Vaccine targets at risk as Queensland falls behind
The country should meet national cabinet’s vaccination targets by December, but Australians may be forced to wait for more Queenslanders to get the jab.
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
McEwan: time for business to roll up its sleeves to get Australia vaccinated
Getting employees jabbed at work to end lockdowns will be about helping the five million people whose livelihoods depend on small businesses, writes NAB’s Ross McEwan.
Fees for no service refunds top $1.6b
The remediation bill for fees charged by the banks with no service provided has jumped by almost $600 million in six months.
How to negotiate the new world of work. Expert advice in your inbox every Thursday.
Tokyo Olympics
NAB employee cuts salary to train for Olympic marathon
High-level sport commitment may or may not bring glory, but it’s usually athletes themselves who pay for it, at the cost of their future economic wellbeing.
Aussie gold for kayakers, skateboarding
Australian paddlers Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen have won gold in the Olympic K2 1000 metres canoe sprint.
Aussies to play for beach volleyball gold
Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy defeated Latvia and are set to play Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman in the final.
What’s on at the Olympics on Thursday
Here’s what’s coming up today in Tokyo for Thursday, August 5. (All times AEST.)
Facebook backs down from blocking Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter
The social media giant said it had mistakenly suspended Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, the fastest woman in the world, from Instagram.
Companies
- Exclusive
- Media & marketing
LG wants consumers to ‘rediscover good’ after rough year
LG Electronics is asking consumers to “rediscover good” in its first brand campaign in more than a decade as it seeks to regain control of what its brand means to consumers.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Profit season already posing inflation questions
The August earnings season doesn’t really get under way in earnest until next week, but there are already fascinating signs of cost pressures and inflation.
- Exclusive
- Aged care
Loan couldn’t save Queensland’s Presbyterian church
The church, which runs aged care operator PresCare, was placed into receivership in May after several years of losses.
Fortescue breathing easier over virus scare
No new cases uncovered after testing blitz at Fortescue Metals Group’s Cloudbreak iron ore mine.
Xplor acquires NZ’s Discovery, after $3.8b global merger
Defence force veteran Mark Woodland has bought New Zealand’s largest childcare platform, after last year merging his software start-up with US’s Clearent.
Battery developers on high alert after fire
Big battery developers are scrambling to ease concerns following a fire at Neoen’s Victorian Big Battery project near Geelong.
TechOne’s record $5.2m court loss sent to retrial
The decision, which TechOne told the ASX was “pleasing”, further drags out a long-running employment law dispute.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Unease over US recovery triggers market turbulence
Violent moves in US equities and bond yields pervaded Wall Street overnight as markets tried to comprehend contradictory data.
ASX closes at record high; Pinnacle rises 9pc
The Australian sharemarket has closed at a record high; Nick Scali beats guidance as profit doubles; Resolute to sell Bibiani gold mine for $US90m. Follow the latest here.
Robinhood soars after retail traders flock to shares
This week’s reversal reflects the embrace of the stock by retail investors on social media and the new availability of options contracts tied to the company’s shares, traders and analysts say.
‘Get ready for more growth’ Pinnacle boss targets acquisitions
The investment group revealed a five-year compound profit growth rate of 63.1pc, dividends doubled and boss Ian Macoun spoke of ambitious plans.
Robinhood surges more than 50pc as day traders pile in
Shares in the zero-fee trading platform rose as much as 82 per cent, before easing, as retail traders poured into the stock.
Opinion
Business takes up the slack on mandatory vaccination
A regional food manufacturer is the first Australian company to mandate vaccination for staff and visitors. It won’t be the last.
Columnist
Big business is rolling up sleeves to get Australia vaccinated
Getting employees jabbed at work to end lockdowns will be about helping the five million people whose livelihoods depend on small businesses, writes NAB’s Ross McEwan.
Contributor
Capacity market will speed energy transition
Clean energy investors fear the Energy Security Board’s capacity market plan will deter investment in renewable power. The argument is just overdone.
Editorial
How London traders made twice as much on Afterpay
Traders have been eyeing a London-listed penny stock as the best way to play Afterpay’s success. On Monday they got most, but perhaps not all, of their reward, writes Jonathan Shapiro.
Senior reporter
Swallow hard reality pill on virus deaths
Each life saved by the Sydney lockdown costs $330 million. It’s an unjustifiable expense that imposes large and disproportionate burdens on small business and the less well off, writes Matt Canavan.
Contributor
Berejiklian can’t bear to say the obvious: lockdown isn’t ending soon
There is no way the NSW lockdown can end or restrictions significantly be eased by August 28 unless authorities are willing for those case numbers to jump.
Columnist
Politics
Industry super sector slams ‘backward step’ on performance test
The industry super sector accused the Morrison government of ‘re-writing history for poorly performing retail funds by artificially inflating their past performance.’
Tudge waiting for 80pc vaccinations to allow overseas students return
International student commencements are down by 33 per cent, but Alan Tudge is refusing to provide any signals of when they might return.
Lockdown end in sight as Qld does ‘really, really, really’ well
The state recorded 16 new local cases of coronavirus on Thursday, but all barring four were in home isolation.
Businesses demand approval for rapid antigen tests
Big businesses are keen for rapid COVID-19 tests, including home-testing kits, to be used to detect cases in the workplace.
Hospitality, tourism jobs plummet in Sydney
Payroll jobs in the first two weeks of July fell 5 per cent in Greater Sydney but the worst is still to come, according to economists.
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World
Bank of England set to take steps toward tightening
Officials led by BoE governor Andrew Bailey have signalled that they want interest rates higher than their current level before selling off some government bonds.
US plans to require foreign arrivals to be vaccinated
The plan will be part of a new system to be put in place after the current restrictions on travel into the US are lifted, but officials have yet to determine when that might be done.
Biden arms sale to Taiwan likely to further inflame China tensions
Although the new proposed deal isn’t especially large in scope or ambitious in the weaponry provided, it is certain to be denounced by Beijing.
Uber’s recovery accelerates, but costs of keeping drivers soar
The results announced for the April-June period included a rare profit that investors glossed over to focus on losses in the ride-share company’s operations.
- Opinion
- Tragedy
One year on, still no accountability for the Beirut blast
An FBI report says only a fraction of the ammonium nitrate stored at the port detonated – so what happened to the rest, and why have investigations gone nowhere?
Property
Makris exits Adelaide mall as Gold Coast plans brighten
Rich Lister Con Makris has divested a run of smaller Adelaide malls as he focuses his efforts on the Gold Coast.
Property prices succumb to the virus in Sydney’s west
House prices fell in a number of suburbs in Sydney’s hardest hit areas, while the middle ring and coastal areas enjoyed a surge in prices.
Coombs home sets region record with first $3m-plus sale
A five-bedroom Canberra residence has set a suburb and Molonglo Valley benchmark, fetching $3.25 million after 950 people walked through it.
Former real estate agent narrowly avoids jail
Amit Miglani has been sentenced to a community corrections order after taking nearly $100,000 from MIG Real Estate to pay for luxury cars and school fees.
Melbourne’s rising vacancy a warning for CBDs
Demand for space in the Melbourne CBD dropped by more than twice as much as its previous largest six-monthly fall on record. In every other capital, demand stayed positive
Wealth
- Opinion
- Investing
Why some wealth managers hate wealth
UBS stands out as the biggest beneficiary of extreme wealth. It is also among the most vocal critics.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Star ratings system to shine a light on dodgy developers
When the best developers subject themselves to detailed scrutiny, the worst will be left starless and exposed.
Can my carer daughter inherit my super tax-free?
An interdependent relationship is one way an adult child can inherit a parent’s super with tax concessions.
Technology
How to add a second screen to your computer
There are plenty of ways to gain some extra vision so that, even if your physical workspace is cramped, at least your digital workspace won’t be.
- Exclusive
- Media & marketing
IBM spin-out plans Aussie talent hunt
Marketing tech company Acoustic plans to sign on more companies to use its campaign and behavioural analytics platforms.
Online food marketplace Foodbomb snags $4.5 million
The order management platform, which operates in New South Wales and Victoria, aims to double its workforce and expand into Brisbane.
Work & Careers
Companies will reskill staff better ‘or they won’t exist’: Atlassian
Soft skills are hard to discover. ‘When you find someone with them, you think: “I’m never going to let you go,“’ says the tech company’s futurist, Dom Price.
Legendary newsreader Brian Henderson dies
The veteran Channel 9 broadcaster, who was Australia’s longest serving news presenter, has passed away at the age of 89 following a battle with cancer.
Life & Luxury
Is the digital revolution stifling art – or saving it?
It all began with Pixar’s ‘Toy Story’ 25 years ago but in an era where a digital facsimile can be indistinguishable from the actual artwork, do we still value the original?
Six collectable cars that could fetch world-record prices
The hearts of cashed-up motoring enthusiasts are racing ahead of the auction of collectable Porsches, Maseratis, Ferraris and more at Monterey Car Week.
Meet the execs who landed a global role without leaving home
Promotions are still on the table for some multinational companies, even while borders are shut.
Robots channel Olympians to create Zen-like art in a Tokyo park
Fuelled by athletes’ data and animated by cyborgs, a dynamic installation by UK artist Jason Bruges is delighting locals and visitors.
When it comes to bras, Gen Z wants to show them off
The granddaughter of pioneering lingerie maker Simone Pérèle, Stéphanie, is ready to outfit a new generation who have a decidedly relaxed approach to underwear.
