- Live
- Need to Know
NSW to ‘rejoin the world’, axe quarantine
Watch live as Victoria and Queensland deliver updates; NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced the state will end quarantine for fully vaccinated return travellers and tourists and more restrictions will be eased from Monday. Follow updates here.
Latest Posts
Border opening should be up to National Cabinet, says Qld
Qld records no new COVID-19 cases
Watch: Qld, Victorian COVID-19 updates
NSW: ‘Alternative is staying closed to the world,’ Perrottet says
Last updated 8 mins ago
Perrottet throws open NSW to the world
The end of quarantine will be celebrated by Australians desperate to get home by the start of summer, and NSW residents who want to travel overseas.
- Live
- Markets Live
Miners lift shares; travel stocks fly; Macquarie hits record high
IAG sued by ASIC. Rio flags “difficult” quarter. Qantas in $802m land sale. Morgan Stanley hikes Macquarie valuation 37pc. The dollar buys US74.2¢.
Rio Tinto downgrades iron ore again
Rio Tinto has made it a hat-trick of iron ore export downgrades after lowering its target for the third successive year.
NZ reports biggest rise in COVID-19 cases in six weeks
The government has warned that cases could overtake contract tracing and quarantine capacity.
Blakely urges pandemic modelling overhaul
Australia would be better served if it had a diversity of pandemic models at the national level.
ATO plans will stop foreign workers, harm growth, business says
Business groups in Hong Kong and Singapore are lobbying the Morrison government to wind back proposed tax changes which they say are at odds with the plan to attract overseas workers to kick-start the post-pandemic skills shortage.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
review
Why replicating the ‘Singapore model’ is impossible
The city-state’s transformation from colonial backwater to one of the richest countries in the world has had an outsized impact on the global imagination. People see what they want to see.
The $94b crypto mystery
Tether was dreamt up by a former Mighty Ducks child actor. It is also supposed to be backed by real US dollars. So where is the money?
Safety v freedom: setting the boundaries for Australia’s security laws
In the 20 years since 9/11, more than 130 new national security laws have been enacted, introducing serious challenges for the courts.
Taiwan takes centre stage in great power rivalry
Whether the defence of Taiwan should be a red line for the United States is emerging as one of the dominant foreign policy debates in Washington.
- Opinion
- Brexit
Hipster, evangelical, nerd: Why labels don’t work
There is a danger in seeing people not as individuals but as groups. The stereotypes we use are increasingly detached from the complexities of reality.
australia’s most innovative companies
Athena Home Loans is the most innovative company of 2021
Athena Home Loans, the overall winner of the 2021 AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies awards, focuses squarely on the homeowners’ key problem.
- Analysis
- BOSS Most Innovative Companies
Athena, Ellume, Deloitte stars among 700 nominations
Organisations that ranked in the 2021 Most Innovative Companies lists focused on creating a culture where innovation could thrive.
Let’s be open to possibilities, says Aurecon CEO William Cox
It’s a mindset. It’s a process of looking at problems differently, and reframing them as opportunities.
Minister Victor Dominello shares digital watershed moments
How do we understand what people need, want and even dream about? This is the beating heart of innovation.
Accenture says we need to become a nation of ideas
Australia must get better at conceiving, building, scaling and selling our inventiveness to the world.
Companies
Rio Tinto downgrades iron ore again
Rio Tinto has made it a hat-trick of iron ore export downgrades after lowering its target for the third successive year.
Qantas books $800m windfall from land sale
The airline has booked an $802 million windfall by selling 13.8 hectares of land near its Sydney Mascot headquarters to a consortium led by LOGOS Property Group.
Dixon Advisory sued over alleged poor super advice
A married couple is suing Dixon Advisory, claiming the financial advice it paid for has left them almost $900,000 worse off.
IAG sued over fake discount rort
The corporate watchdog is suing the insurance giant for pushing up the prices of premiums before applying a discount on 1.785 million occasions.
Cinema banks on blockbusters to woo back movie attendees
The cinema industry is banking on a strong pipeline of blockbuster films to help woo the public back to the movies after COVID-19 lockdowns sent screens dark.
Whitehaven says Asia will fund coal for decades
Whitehaven Coal will step into Asian bond markets in the belief the region’s lenders will provide support while carbon-conscious Australian banks withdraw.
Treasury Wines says rebound slower than expected in US
Chief executive Tim Ford says lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne are hurting and in the US, restaurant spending is cautious.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Analysts grapple with figuring out what ESG is really worth
Equity valuation models need to be rethought if ESG factors are to be taken seriously. The CFA Society is sharpening its tools for the ultimate sunset moment.
Judith Neilson drops $292m Platinum Asset stake; Jarden on trade
Judith Nelson has sold a $292 million stake in Platinum Asset Management on Thursday, in a block trade via Jarden.
Bitcoin could top $US500,000, says ARK’s Cathie Wood
ARK’s boss told CFA Society members bitcoin could top $US500,000 as professional investors buy it as the ‘Holy Grail’ of low correlation assets.
ASX to rise as Wall St rallies on better-than-expected earnings
Australian shares are poised to open higher as three major US banks beat estimates with third-quarter earnings. S&P 500 records biggest gain in seven months.
Citi’s stock traders extend hot streak as bank sees sale hit
Citigroup’s results show just how much Wall St banks benefited from wild markets in September, which saw volatility soar and major equity indexes touch records.
Opinion
Risk of conflict between China and US ‘at almost 50pc’
While lots of people talk about the risk of war without actually understanding the odds, new research sheds light on the probability of major power conflict.
Columnist
PM won’t entertain a ‘big Australia’ on cusp of net zero
Scott Morrison is not about to inflame the anti-immigration right while wrangling the Nationals to achieve the meaningful climate policy no Liberal leader has.
Political editor
Morrison forced to fight the last war on climate change
Rebel Nationals are complicating Scott Morrison’s ability to sell a climate change policy that will keep the lights on, costs down and jobs and investment up just in time for Glasgow.
Columnist
CBA’s climate pushback follows the science on energy transition
Activists exploiting shareholder democracy have, correctly, changed the conversation on climate. But Catherine Livingstone has helped stop them from disastrously taking it over.
Editorial
The big office return is under way – and it’s filled with uncertainty
The future of the workplace is a big unknown for business and real estate investors as well as financiers. Not surprisingly, everyone is looking for guideposts, writes Robert Harley.
Contributor
Things just got tougher for China’s private firms
Analysts warn that the looming credit crunch to the nation’s companies could trigger an even sharper slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
Columnist
Politics
Michaelia Cash intervenes to end Fremantle port strikes
The Attorney-General will apply to terminate the maritime unions’ three-month strike after the McGowan government requested her assistance due to the damage to the economy.
Nationals could draw out net zero talks
The junior Coalition partner is not guaranteeing a decision on emissions before the Glasgow conference.
Labour demand spans low to high-end jobs, say CEOs fearing brain drain
‘Big’ migration could help offset a brain drain set to worsen when international borders reopen as Australia battles a global race for high-end talent.
Explosive migration boom ‘unfounded pie in the sky’ plan
Experts say the country’s closed borders and complex migration program has deterred skilled migrants from coming to Australia.
Australia’s $1.25b skilled migration ‘mismatch’
The Morrison government announced assistance measures to help resettled Afghans find work more quickly on Thursday
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World
Wall Street bosses see windfall lasting, fuelling pay and hiring
Fve of America’s largest lenders reported revenue hauls from investment banking that were at or near record levels, and dramatic surges in equities trading.
Shredded Banksy artwork sells for $34m at auction
Love is in the Bin, which sensationally self-shredded just after it sold at auction three years ago, fetched a record for the artist and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price.
John Kerry says COP26 climate talks may miss target
The US climate envoy and others early on billed the Glasgow summit as “the last, best chance” to drum up momentum for the emissions cuts
Japanese PM dissolves lower house to make way for election
Fumio Kishida says he is seeking a mandate for his policies after being elected Prime Minister by parliament only 10 days ago.
Biden tries to tame inflation by having LA port open 24/7
Prices are jumping in large part because container ships are stranded at ports and because unloaded goods are waiting for trucks, leading to mass shortages and delays.
Property
Sydney house prices to rise 27pc: Westpac
Westpac is expecting Sydney dwelling prices to rise by 27 per cent this year, 5 percentage points higher than its previous forecast as the lockdown failed to slow strong market momentum.
Sustainability wins for listed property trusts
Listed property players have polled well in the annual GRESB rankings, a globally recognised green rating system for the sector, as Australia prepares for the international climate summit in Glasgow next month.
Office demand strongest among expanding government departments
Government departments are growing and dominate interest in new, large leasing deals, according to one of Australia’s biggest landlords.
HomeCo ditches $1b healthcare fund as it bulks up new REIT instead
HomeCo will look to funnel investor equity into its listed healthcare REIT, rather than into an unlisted trust after acquiring another $200m of assets.
ISPT sells Brisbane office tower to Cromwell for $185m
In another big office transaction in Brisbane, Cromwell Property Group has bought a tower with rental upside.
Wealth
Why being ‘sophisticated’ isn’t always smart for investors
More than 3 million Australians meet the so-called wholesale investor test, opening up a world of lucrative opportunities. But that freedom comes with a big catch.
Find your way through the bridging loan maze
Worried about being priced out of the market before your property sells? Here’s what you need to know about finances to tide you over.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
How landlords are protected when levy bills land
While strata schemes can impose penalty interest on unpaid levies, a lack of cash in the kitty can have serious consequences when the building’s bills roll in.
Technology
New Sydney factory to build malware-free computers
The first component-level computer manufacturing facility on Australian soil is set to commence building “clean” secure data-centre computers early next year in Sydney.
Citi’s top crypto picks in Web 3.0
Web 3.0 means people will own, control and monetise their data. Crypto will form a big part of that, says Citi.
New service allows governments to block malicious web traffic
The cyber protection layer checks incoming and outgoing network traffic against a list of known websites and email services considered to be suspicious.
Work & Careers
- Opinion
- Workplace
What prestige TV can teach you about your career
Shows like ‘Succession’ help us understand how offices work and how they can be improved through good leadership.
Why coming out made Hub24’s CEO a better leader
Andrew Alcock has presided over the investment administrator’s transformation from an obscure micro-cap to a sharemarket darling.
Life & Luxury
The best new luxury London hotels for your next trip
Aussies heading to the British capital have a clutch of new luxury lodgings to choose from, including the urbane The Londoner - and Claridge’s ‘super suite penthouse’ is soon to come.
What international arts festivals can teach Australia
Adelaide Festival co-artistic directors Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy have returned from Europe with a swag of shows and lessons for how to restart festivals in Australia.
Tony Wheeler on travelling in the time of COVID-19
Since arriving in London in July, Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler have been getting out and about, and have some advice for Australian travellers.
Party time: Sydney’s Everest is the hottest ticket in town
After four months of lockdown, the city’s first major event, the Everest Cup, is hotly anticipated by fashionistas and fillies alike.
Rediscover a remote cattle station on the edge of a volcano
Australian travellers have probably never heard of Kinrara Station - the remote camp perched by a lake created by the country’s youngest volcano. It’s time for that to change.
