PM to end money for lockdown after 80pc vaccination rate is reached
The Morrison government will pressure the states and territories to stick with the national plan to reopen the economy by turning off emergency financial supports.
Hundreds of documents connected to $660m car park program kept secret
The Infrastructure Department is keeping secret hundreds of documents and emails about the controversial $660 million commuter car park fund.
Young most at risk from regulatory lending curbs
Future first time home buyers could be unduly penalised as regulators consider ways to curb rising household indebtedness. Economists say there is a better way.
- Live
- Need to Know
Melbourne men allegedly used fake licences to enter WA, police say
Two Victorian men will face court after allegedly using fake Darwin driver’s licences to enter WA for the AFL grand final; The city of Latrobe has entered a snap seven-day lockdown. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Google will fight ACCC ad attack
The competition regulator estimates more than 90 per cent of ad impressions traded via the ad tech supply chain passed through at least one Google service in 2020, writes Tony Boyd.
Investors hit the hardest by property debt crackdown
Tightening debt-to-income mortgage rules to cool the property market would mainly hit investors, but some first home buyers in Sydney and Melbourne could be caught.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
‘Over the edge’: Australia Post pauses Melbourne parcels
Retailers are reeling after Australia Post told business customers it was pausing parcel pickups, collections and business lodgements in Melbourne for five days.
All the news in accounting and consulting, in your inbox on Wednesday morning.
AFR Magazine Power Issue
Australia’s top five deal makers in 2021
In a year when big contracts are flying around like confetti, winners and losers are quickly determined and some old names return to the Power list.
Australia’s top five technology leaders in 2021
A number of big deals in the past 12 months reflect the success of a wave of companies in Australia’s maturing tech sector, as Aussie tech leaders become significant global players.
- Exclusive
- Power List
Mathias Cormann at home in Paris after a whirlwind ride
Following a gruelling campaign, Australia’s former finance minister is now in charge of the OECD as it pushes towards a new world order for taxing big tech.
Australia’s most powerful consultants in 2021
The AFR Magazine’s hotly anticipated annual Power issue includes lists of the key players across six different industry sectors. Here are this year’s most powerful people in consulting.
How ATAGI lost its anonymity and political innocence
Medicine and politics collided this year. For the first time, the two men running ATAGI’s response to COVID-19 talk about what happened.
SMART INVESTOR
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
How to invest with ETFs
A low-cost, diversified core portfolio with only a few exciting satellite ETFs is the best way to build your wealth without taking on too much risk.
- Opinion
- RBA
Boost returns without going up the risk curve
Sourcing unlisted assets, some with inflation-linked revenues, will be key to preserving portfolio returns.
Worried about mortgage stress? Here’s what to do
Understand how much of your income should be going towards your home loan without pushing you over the edge?
- Opinion
- SMSFs
What to put in your ‘when I’m dead’ folder
This seven-point checklist will help your loved ones make good decisions when you’re no longer here.
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
Regulators crack down on cryptocurrency
It’s the turn of crypto investors to worry about authorities landing the hammer blow on their investment returns.
Companies
Extend tougher housing rules to non-banks, say major lenders
A power APRA received after the last round of macroprudential intervention in 2017 has come into focus as banks warn of unintended consequences of blunt limits.
Record thermal coal price adds to global energy crunch
Already reeling from soaring gas and oil prices, buyers of Australian thermal coal are now paying record prices and signs suggest the rally has further to run.
‘There was always a gap’: Forum staffer quizzed boss on financing
A former junior accountant told the court he was not surprised to learn of an alleged fraud within the Forum Group.
Watchdog wants new powers to rein in Google
Google uses its online dominance to shield its ad services from competition and is hurting Australian businesses and consumers, the ACCC says.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Breville into third decade of value creation
Solomon Lew says he doesn’t invest in what he doesn’t know, and he’s a big reason for Breville’s success, as it takes its coffee machines to Europe.
Investors urged to snub BHP’s climate plan
Proxy advisor Glass Lewis is not convinced that BHP’s emissions targets are science-based or aligned with the Paris Agreement.
Vic Big Battery fire caused by cooling system leak
Victoria’s safety regulator has hit Neoen and Tesla with additional safety measures for its 300 megawatt Big Battery project near Geelong.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
Lithium-sulphur battery player triples on debut
Li-S Energy shares rocketed higher on Tuesday as the battle for lithium-ion battery alternatives heats up.
ASX falls as health shares suffer worst day in a year
Australian blue chips fall in day of broad declines that only spared energy and tech shares; Jarden sounds alarm on Magellan concentration risk; Geoff Wilson bids for PM Capital LIC.
Retail sales keep getting worse as inflation worries grow
Consumers can expect to pay more for goods and services once they’re free to spend.
Dividends cushion softer sharemarket returns
The $40.5 billion in dividends declared in earnings season is flooding into investors’ bank accounts, which strategists suggest will support a tired sharemarket.
- Opinion
- World markets
Evergrande shows China is just as susceptible to capitalism’s ill effects
China follows the same deformed model of capitalism as most Western countries, only more so, taking on ever-increasing levels of debt to generate less and less growth.
Opinion
NSW and Victoria lead Australia to COVID-normal
The two most populous states will progressively lead the nation out of the pandemic and lockdown nightmare as vaccination rates break through the 70 and 80 per cent levels.
Editorial
Attacking the symptoms of cheap mortgage money
Josh Frydenberg’s flagged resort to limiting how much homebuyers can borrow is just a sign that the Reserve Bank’s 0.25 per cent cash rate is too low.
Editorial
Labor’s alternative plan for Australia
Just as Paul Keating said, here is how a change of government at the next election will change the country.
Contributor
Mental health crisis overblown as liberty is lost in lockdowns
Say you are pyschologically ill and governments will listen. Protest about inalienable rights, and you will be called an extremist.
Contributor
America needs boring elections like Germany’s
For historical reasons, the Germans want leaders who will govern them competently. Americans, by contrast, want to be entertained by politicians.
Contributor
Time to scrape the MUA barnacle off the waterfront
The behaviour of Australia’s maritime union dinosaur to protect its labour monopoly on the docks is surely enough to justify finally dealing with the unfinished business of the 1998 waterfront dispute.
Editorial
Politics
Brisbane fears lockdown after four new COVID-19 cases
As Queensland faces its latest COVID-19 outbreak, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will not back down on her tough approach to the delta variant.
- Live
- Need to Know
Melbourne men allegedly used fake licences to enter WA, police say
Two Victorian men will face court after allegedly using fake Darwin driver’s licences to enter WA for the AFL grand final; The city of Latrobe has entered a snap seven-day lockdown. Follow updates here.
We deserve better on climate: Sharma
Australia’s national interest deserves better than the likes of Bridget McKenzie stoking another country-city climate divide, says Dave Sharma.
At-home COVID-19 tests to be sold at chemists
From November 1, rapid antigen testing kits will be approved for use in private homes.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
‘Amazing’ vaccination rates mean NSW hospitals will cope: McLaws
Even highly cautious health experts are becoming comfortable about ending lockdowns.
SPONSORED
World
Germany’s Laschet under pressure to abandon bid to govern
Conservative leader Armin Laschet’s vow to push ahead with coalition talks after losing Sunday’s election appears to have backfired.
Hong Kong asks banks to report exposure to Evergrande
It’s at least the second time in recent months the authority has taken an interest in how banks are exposed to Evergrande.
China’s power cuts may foreshadow shortages of global goods
The disruption to China’s manufacturing reflects the ruling Communist Party’s struggle to balance economic growth with efforts to rein in emissions.
Regional Fed chiefs step down after securities trading controversy
Robert Kaplan of Dallas and Boston’s Eric Rosengren say they will end their tenure.
New Zealand seeks to cool scorching housing market with new law
Billions of dollars in government stimulus, historically low interest rates and New Zealand’s relative success with COVID-19 have inflated house prices, pushing them far ahead of wage growth.
Property
Syndicator nails Bunnings outlet on record yield
Smaller retail assets with secure income streams have proven attractive to investors looking to pandemic-proof their portfolios. Backed by their blue-chip tenant, Bunnings outlets are particularly popular.
Lending curb threat to spur housing rush
The increasing likelihood of a macro-prudential brake on lending may trigger a fresh surge in house price growth to beat the restrictions.
The devil’s in the macroprudential detail for listed developers
Any controls to rein in risky home loans are likely to affect lower-income borrowers, but it’s still unclear how any rules will be applied.
Office vacancies to rise further in Sydney and Melbourne
There is more pain on the way for big office landlords in Sydney and Melbourne with vacancies tipped to rise further through the remainder of the year.
Retail fund adds petrol stations to the mix
The latest purchases will take the APN Convenience Retail REIT’s portfolio to 111 properties valued at $762 million.
Wealth
Rich lister SMSFs exempted from retirement rules
The Morrison government has quietly exempted self-managed funds from the new obligations designed in response to a growing body of evidence showing retirees are dying with most of their wealth intact.
- Opinion
- RBA
Boost returns without going up the risk curve
Sourcing unlisted assets, some with inflation-linked revenues, will be key to preserving portfolio returns.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
How to invest with ETFs
A low-cost, diversified core portfolio with only a few exciting satellite ETFs is the best way to build your wealth without taking on too much risk.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Funding
Software that solves workplace whinges raises $14.5m
Kiwi-founded Joyous is killing the staff survey, raising capital as organisations take up its software, which enables conversations between employees and management.
- Exclusive
- Science
Marine scientist and M&A lawyer team up to replace plastic with seaweed
An expat Brazilian oceanographer and a former BHP executive and M&A lawyer have raised capital for an ambitious deep tech firm developing a plastic replacement out of seaweed.
- Analysis
- Cryptocurrencies
Why some NFTs are valuable and others aren’t
The world has officially gone nuts for NFTs, with some worth a motza and others ignored ... so what’s the difference?
Work & Careers
Complexity of ATO legal privilege rules could discourage their use: EY
The draft policy targets the big four consultancies over their clients’ use of privilege and could cause further delays in the ATO’s investigations.
Google poaches Deloitte partner for cloud team
Growing M&A tax advisory GreenMount has also been recruiting from leading law and accounting firms.
Life & Luxury
Woollahra’s grandest home quietly sells for record $45m
The Sydney mansion built by a merchant banker sets a new benchmark for houses with no view, doubling the suburb high set last month by Kerri-Anne Kennerley.
Rolling Stones rock on with Watts tribute
The ‘No Filter’ tour, which initially kicked off in 2017 and was delayed in 2020 because of the pandemic, resumed in front of 40,000 fans at The Dome at America’s Centre.
How ATAGI lost its anonymity and political innocence
Medicine and politics collided this year. For the first time, the two men running ATAGI’s response to COVID-19 talk about what happened for the AFR Magazine’s Power issue.
Women follow the lead of Kamala Harris and suit up
Much has been said about the death of formal attire for males – but for females, dressing like you mean business is going strong.
Why people can’t get enough of Ghanaian basket bags
The colourful containers handwoven from elephant grass tap into fashion’s shift to embrace sustainability and ethical production. Plus they just look good.
