Today
- Opinion
- Opinion
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.
- 3 mins ago
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
ASX quietly restructures as outage report looms
ASX chief executive Dominic Stevens is shaking up the responsibilities of his direct reports ahead of the release of an IBM report into last year’s trading outage.
- Updated
- Tony Boyd
- Opinion
- Opinion
Douglass, Dalio and the Chinese share conundrum
The gyrations in Tencent shares shows the challenge investors such as Magellan face in Chinese stocks. But Ray Dalio urges a look at the bigger picture.
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- ANZ Bank
Time for a change of mindset on company boards
Australia’s male-dominated boards have struggled to cope with the idea of women being at the top of the corporate governance tree.
- Tony Boyd
Yesterday
- Opinion
- Opinion
Top M&A lawyers on the deal boom’s new phase
The $60 billion of all-scrip deals at Afterpay and Santos this week speak to broader trends fuelling a historic M&A boom.
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
‘Fink’ deflects Crown’s plea for mercy
The royal commission is coming down to a question of how big the casino operator’s punishment for past sins should be – and the nuclear option is on the table.Â
- James Thomson
This Month
- Opinion
- Opinion
Afterpay’s future in the hands of a part-time CEO
Afterpay investors have always been true believers. Now they need to buy into Square’s big vision and Jack Dorsey, its founder, visionary and part-time CEO.
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
Afterpay’s Square deal is a perfectly-timed triumph
Afterpay’s Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar have taken the group from zero to $39 billion in just six years. The Square takeover is the perfect exclamation point.
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Mergers & acquisitions
Gloom then Zoom: Logic seals Santos and Oil Search deal
Oil Search always saw the reason, but wanted a better price. A video call and a weekend of talks sealed an agreement that lets both sides save face.
- James Thomson
July
- Opinion
- Opinion
Inside Seven’s classic corporate raid on Boral
The appointment of Ryan Stokes as chairman of Boral brings to an end a corporate raid that was like a glorious throwback to the 1980s, and delivered Seven Group a memorable coup.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
NAB buyback shows banks don’t fear lockdown
A year ago, NAB was raising capital to survive the COVID-19 storm. Now it’s handing capital back to investors, suggesting Sydney’s lockdown holds few concerns.Â
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Managed funds
Macquarie looks past COVID-19 in tilt to growth
Change happens slowly when it comes to Macquarie Group’s strategy, but a shift in its dividend policy suggests a bigger appetite for size.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
Fortescue’s iron ore records come with a warning
Fortescue finished the 2021 financial year with a bang, but rising expectations around costs and capital spending gives the market food for thought.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
Victoria opens new front in the rent wars
Scentre boss Peter Allen says the state government’s decision to extend rent relief measures until next year transfers wealth from his investors to retailers.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Iron ore
Rio’s big profit can’t hide iron ore issues
Rio Tinto’s investors may bask in the reflected glory of the commodity’s price, but it still faces challenges – two of which stood out in its interim earnings.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
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.Â
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
The lesson from Apple, Google and Microsoft’s profit boom
The combined $68 billion Apple, Microsoft and Google earned during the June quarter suggest they’ve emerged from the pandemic with even more power.Â
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
What Tesla and Temple & Webster have in common
Similar to Tesla, online retailer Temple & Webster is growing quickly. Similar to Tesla, this growth has created decidedly old-school problems. Â
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
BlueScope rides America’s dream recovery
The incredible strength of the US economic recovery is perfectly illustrated by BlueScope Steel’s bumper profit upgrade.Â
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Investing
Why this market veteran believes 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 AFIC’s boss.
- James Thomson
