From doughnuts to fines in the race to vaccinate
The US is taking a harder approach to reaching vaccination targets, with some states handing out fines for not wearing a mask and demanding frequent testing for the unvaccinated.
NSW cases to worsen after 291 new cases
NSW has reported another record day for new cases with 291 local infections mostly in the Canterbury-Bankstown area after 12 KFC workers tested positive to the virus.
- Live
- Markets Live
RBA cuts GDP forecast; Domain, REA Group sink
RBA cuts Dec 21 GDP forecast to 4pc, Afterpay up 5pc, ResMed hikes dividend 8pc, REA Group profit up 18pc, Morgan Stanley tips more NAB buybacks. Iron ore -6.6pc.
- Live
- Need to Know
Vaccination rates hit a record
NSW has sent out alerts for new exposure sites north of Sydney; expat travel rules tightened; cases are “escalating” in Canterbury-Bankstown; Victorian authorities say the situation is “precarious”; good news in Qld. Follow updates here.
Stranded Aussies eye ‘asylum seeker’ style boat charters
As COVID-19 cases rise to alarming levels across Indonesia, some stranded Australians are taking matters into their own hands to get home.
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
The RBA’s subtle trick you’ve rarely heard of
Although some think Martin Place has its head buried in the sand, it may have a much more nuanced plan.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Don’t let emotion obscure Afterpay lesson
Not many stocks have divided investors the way Afterpay does. But beyond the emotional responses is a lesson about keeping an open mind to new ways of doing business.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
Tokyo Olympics
Aussie volleyballers take silver against US
Australian beach volleyballers Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar have suffered a straight-sets loss to April Ross and Alix Klineman.
- Opinion
- Postcard from Tokyo
Japan should be congratulated for the games
One of the strangest games in history is nearing a close and the successful delivery of the world’s major sporting event through the pandemic is a remarkable achievement.
Rugby Australia sanctions drunk Olympians
Some of Australia’s rugby sevens squad will be sent for alcohol counselling after their drunken return flight from the Tokyo Olympics.
It paid $1.3b, now NBC seeks to salvage a difficult Olympics
NBCUniversal paid a large sum to run 7000 hours of Games coverage only for the ratings to prove a disappointment, but ‘you can only play the hand you’ve been dealt’.
What’s on at the Olympics on Friday
Here’s what’s coming up today in Tokyo for Friday, August 6. (All times AEST.)
Companies
‘We have work to do’ on big tech payments: Lowe
The RBA governor says the payments act needs an update and a special licensing regime should be considered to give the central bank more power over Apple.
Strong property market recovery drives growth at REA Group
REA group posted a net profit of $313 million, driven by strong recovery in residential property, but that didn’t stop shares plummeting more than 6 per cent.
Goldman Sachs collects Harris Farm bids, ball in family’s court
Indicative offers are in for the grocer and private equity firms are dominating the field of potential investors.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
China’s gift to Glencore
The global energy trading system has adjusted seamlessly to Beijing’s ban on Australian coal and helped underpin record profits at the big fossil fuel producer.
Rich Lister’s plant-based ‘meat’ expands to Europe, China
Hungry Jack’s founder, Jack Cowin, is a big shareholder in v2foods, now valued at $500 million-plus after a fresh $72 million capital raising.
AFR profit season calendar and results
Here is a list of the Australian companies reporting their full-year results in the August reporting season.
ResMed gains on competitor recall but supply chain squeeze remains
The company’s sleep devices sales surged 12 per cent in the June quarter because of a major competitor’s product recall seven weeks ago.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Buy, hold, sell: Westpac, Aurizon, BHP, Telstra, Fortescue
Six ASX 200 stocks set to supercharge their dividends over the months to come.
Goldman Sachs says earnings growth to power S&P 500 higher
The S&P 500 is poised to rise another 7 per cent by the end of this year, and extend its rally into 2022, Goldman Sachs said.
What happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to open modestly higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reset record highs. US listed shares of BHP, Rio fall with iron ore. RBA tops agenda.
- Opinion
- Hedge funds
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.
Bukalapak’s $2b IPO puts Indonesia on e-commerce map
The online marketplace will list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on Friday, giving the nation’s growing tech sector something to cheer about.
Opinion
The RBA’s subtle trick you’ve rarely heard of
Although some think Martin Place has its head buried in the sand, it may have a much more nuanced plan.
Columnist
Japan should be congratulated for the games
One of the strangest games in history is nearing a close and the successful delivery of the world’s major sporting event through the pandemic is a remarkable achievement.
Contributor
‘Cash for jabs’ risks reigniting concern about Labor waste
Since the 2019 election, the party has done well to address the perception it’s the weaker economic manager, so its $6 billion proposal is a little strange.
Political editor
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
Politics
Qld moving closer to end of lockdown
The state recorded 10 new coronavirus cases on Friday, with all but two in home isolation, boosting hopes the eight-day lockdown will lift on Sunday.
- Exclusive
- Paris Agreement
World to hit crisis point 10 years faster than forecast
A major report by the world’s scientists will predict global temperatures could rise beyond 1.5 degrees by early in the 2030s, a decade earlier than expected.
Delta locks down 16 million in three states
Victoria has joined Greater Sydney and south-east Queensland in lockdown, disrupting the lives of almost 16 million people, shutting down the nation’s three economic engine rooms.
Cash or lottery? The most effective way to get the masses jabbed
A unit of behavioural economists is helping the government work out how to drive vaccinations once supply surges next month.
- 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.
SPONSORED
World
Bernard Arnault supplants Jeff Bezos as world’s richest person
The luxury goods tycoon has taken over the Amazon founder, based on the current stock price of Louis Vuitton, which has surged during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tesla shunned as Biden announces 50pc electric vehicle target
Joe Biden wants 50 per cent of US car sales to be electronic vehicles by 2030, and most to be made by a unionised workforce. Elon Musk’s Tesla wasn’t invited.
- Opinion
- Culture wars
How to conserve the spirit of 1776
The modern right has a choice between 19th-century European-style reaction and holding on to the virtues enshrined in the American Revolution.
Bank of England takes step toward lifting interest rates
While UK policymakers signalled a shift in their view on the outlook for interest rates, they also signalled they’re in no rush to act soon.
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.
Property
Sydneysiders move to ‘northern beaches of the Central Coast’
There’s plenty to please swimmers, surfers and those wanting good food around Terrigal, while prices are still below the surfside suburbs south of Palm Beach.
Workers essential to reboot Sydney’s struggling construction industry
Developers are calling on the NSW government to help all Sydney construction staff get back to work again as one-third of city sites are closed and jobs at risk.
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.
Wealth
The real cost of renovating your property
Legal and financial checks at the outset of a home revamp can prevent cost blowouts and lengthy legal rows.
Why it’s worth playing the long investment game
Analysis of global bond and equity markets since 1991 reveals some secrets to successful investing during good times and bad.
Why it’s easier for borrowers to be green
A renovation boom and growing support for sustainable homes is boosting green loan demand and availability. But borrowers need to shop around for the best deal.
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
One expert’s top five predictions for the future of work
Climate literacy could become a core part of how everyone does their work and how everyone understands the work they may be doing, says futurist Reanna Browne.
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.
Life & Luxury
Why an Aussie gay rights campaigner is defending homophobes
A new film about Footscray-born activist Peter Tatchell follows his journey from scourge of Britain’s mainstream to almost establishment status.
Rediscovering an Australian literary titan
Joyce Morgan had no idea what she would uncover when she began researching the life of a favourite author.
Health secrets that keep the Stones rolling
Cancer, falls and heart operations won’t stop iconic rock band The Rolling Stones from preparing to tour this year. How do they do it?
Doco shows staggering success is no paradise
But the three-part Netflix series, which looks at the brief but stellar career of a champion tennis player, only scratches the surface.
Women artists challenge preconceptions about Islam
Exhibition showcases the longstanding art practices and perspectives of a diverse group of women, many challenging dominant misconceptions and stereotypes.
