Bring it on: PM taunts Labor to fight election over climate action
Scott Morrison has challenged Labor to an election fought over climate change after unveiling a net zero plan that relies largely on unproven technologies.
‘Disgraceful’ Crown will face unprecedented scrutiny
Although Crown Resorts will retain its licence to run its Melbourne casino, it will be overseen by a state-appointed ‘special manager’ and will not ‘control its own destiny’.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Crown’s profit without purpose a losing bet
Those wondering why society is losing faith in capitalism, need only read the Finkelstein report into Crown Resorts. Putting profit ahead of all else is a recipe for disaster.
- Live
- Need to Know
Millions wait as WHO considers approval for Covaxin
The World Health Organisation is set to make a decision on an Indian vaccine that has been administered to millions. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- Crown royal commission
Why Finkelstein’s Crown solution won’t work
Commissioner Ray Finkelstein, QC, has come up with a deeply flawed plan for monitoring Crown Melbourne as it undertakes its corporate makeover.
Patrick push to wipe out union control of the wharfs
Patrick Terminals has sought to end decades of union conditions and controls over its workforce by applying to axe its MUA agreement in the face of a two-year bargaining stand-off.
Bring it on: PM taunts Labor to fight election over climate action
Scott Morrison has challenged Labor to an election fought over climate change after unveiling a net zero plan that relies largely on unproven technologies.
Find out why Deloitte is spending big on pay bumps and bonuses and what it all means for partner profits. In your inbox Wednesday morning.
smart investor
How property investors can halve their monthly repayments
As the pandemic eases, competition among lenders means canny mortgage holders can search out cheaper than average rates.
- Opinion
- Investing
Specialist ETFs can spice up your index fund portfolio
If you have a strong belief in a sector, investing via a fund removes the problem of having to decide on which companies will win or lose.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Investing in companies with strong brands is crucial after the virus
Consumer attitudes and spending patterns are expected to be very different after the pandemic and competition will be intense.
- Opinion
- Investing
Four reasons not to be too worried about stagflation
Recent declines in some commodity prices and surging saving rates provide hope that the exceptional events that have created the severe supply pressures will ease.
- Opinion
- Investing
For a blue-chip retirement consider these 4 factors
The pandemic has created more uncertainty, so extra care needs to be taken with asset allocation and handling volatility.
How Australia’s top entrepreneurs built their fortunes and what they learnt along the way.
Companies
Special manager is the price of Crown’s survival
The company’s directors will be under the control of legal blue-blood Stephen O’Bryan, SC.
Harker quits Westpac board, blaming lung transplant
The departure comes after questions about his ties to a controversial trust-fund business. Sources said health reasons only were behind the resignation.
Crown CEO says flagship Melbourne casino doesn’t disadvantage Perth
Appearing before the WA royal commission, Steve McCann cited scale, shared expertise and greater investment potential as benefits of the practice.
How Crown Melbourne became too big to fail
Commission of inquiry head Ray Finkelstein gave Crown one last chance because of the ‘real risk of significant harm to the Victorian economy and to innocent third parties’.
NAB is a top-10 global fossil fuel lender: Dutch group
A report by NGO BankTrak found NAB in the top 10 banks providing financing to fossil fuel projects, despite its Equator Principle commitments.
Telstra curries political favour in Digicel deal
Telstra’s deal to buy Digicel Pacific will strengthen its relations with the government for future regulatory decisions, such as the NBN privatisation.
Bergin paused Sydney casino but Finkelstein saves Melbourne
Unlike the stalled Barangaroo venture, Victoria’s commissioner believed Crown’s Melbourne business must stay open due to its economic contribution to the state.
Companies in the News
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Markets
GQG-led IPO boom leaves investors ‘swamped’
GQG Partners is the first of a number of floats worth more than $1 billion to list on the ASX before the year is out. It closed 5 cents below its $2 offer price.
Crown Resorts shares rally in flat day for benchmark
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose just 2 points to 7443.4. Crown Resorts gained 8.7 per cent to $10.50 on news it can retain its Melbourne casino licence.
Tumbling bonds push market to worst year in decades
Inflation concerns have triggered a repricing of debt and pressure on central banks to weaken monetary support. That’s bad news for bond investors.
Wall St powers through inflation concerns to reclaim record
Investors are riding the wave of corporate profit growth, despite growing evidence of inflationary pressures that would hurt equity valuations.
Tesla’s market value tops $US1trn on Hertz order
CEO Elon Musk’s net worth surged near $50 billion alone after the car hire company placed an order for 100,000 of the electric car maker’s vehicles.
Opinion
Morrison’s ‘magic pudding’ climate plan plays bluff with Labor
Scott Morrison believes he now has the plan he needs to sell to the electorate on climate change, trusting in his own political instincts to find the Opposition’s jugular.
Columnist
A prayer, not a plan, for net zero
A road map without a single new policy leaves us to wonder what exactly has been going on behind closed doors in Canberra amid the 2050 target machinations, writes Steven Hamilton.
Contributor
Labor says bring on an election about the economy’s future
The opposition is happy to make the next poll about economic management. The Liberal Party’s philosophy doesn’t suit the 21st century.
Contributor
Why China’s new property tax is bad news for Australia
Beijing’s latest decision to expand levy trials will deal a further blow to Australian exporters already suffering fall-out from the country’s real estate woes.
Columnist
Investing in companies with strong brands is crucial after the virus
Consumer attitudes and spending patterns are expected to be very different after the pandemic and competition will be intense.
Contributor
Media Watch should back off Pru Goward pile-on
The role of Media Watch should be to push back against social media-framed outrage pile-ons, not encourage it.
Editorial
Politics
Moderna’s miracle and why mRNA is the new powerhouse of medicine
The world’s most cited engineer, biotech star and co-founder of Moderna, Bob Langer, will share his expertise at the Sohn Hearts & Minds conference in December.
Don’t pay your tax until a court says so: parliamentary report
A parliamentary committee wants a taxpayers’ bill of rights created and the independent watchdog handed new powers.
Daniel Andrews’ pandemic power grab condemned
Unprecedented pandemic laws are set to pass the Victorian Parliament despite trenchant criticism they are a dangerous overreach in the powers of the premier.
Queensland coal-fired power station still on the table
The Morrison government says a feasibility study into a new coal-fired power station in Collinsville in North Queensland will be due in mid-2022.
Taylor adds ‘ultra low cost’ solar to energy winners’ list
Taxpayer funds and private sector investment will attempt to drive down the cost of solar power to less than $15 per megawatt hour, less than half the current price.
SPONSORED
World
World ‘way off track’ in halting warming, UN warns ahead of COP26
A report by the UN World Meteorological Organisation shows carbon dioxide levels rising at more than the average rate over the past decade.
Donald Trump Jr’s T-shirts mock Alec Baldwin’s shooting
Ones that read ‘Guns Don’t Kill People, Alec Baldwin Kills People’ are selling for $US27.99 on a merchandise site linked to the former US president’s son.
Climate talks could fail, Boris Johnson tells schoolchildren
The British Prime Minister has staked his global political standing on the Glasgow COP26 summit and is now trying to manage expectations.
Team USA talks a big away game at COP26 in Glasgow, despite injuries
President Biden and his crew have a week to sort their emissions game plan for COP26. However, Congress has weakened the team’s secret weapon.
Solar’s growth stumbles just as the world needs it most
The industry is being slammed by a barrage of obstacles, with rising materials costs, forced labour accusations and a worsening trade war all hitting at once.
Property
Industrial land values up 60 per cent in a year
The biggest increases in land values have occurred in Melbourne’s south-east and western industrial precincts, according to real-estate firm JLL.
Oversupply looms as thousands of apartments added to the market
Thousands of new units are set to come into the market in the next two years, potentially dampening price growth particularly in oversupplied areas.
Build-to-rent pipeline gushing Melbourne
The heavy weighting of the sector so far to Melbourne is the result of simple real estate economics. The southern capital has a higher number of larger, scalable, permit-approved sites available, especially in the inner-city areas.
- Exclusive
- Cladding crisis
Victoria gives itself more time to take cladding builders to court
Tying up funds in legal battles with builders and consultants would be costly and slow the state process of rectifying combustible cladding on buildings.
GPT’s refurbished Melbourne office tower hits 45pc occupancy
Tenants in the former ANZ Bank building on the corner of Queen and Collins Streets include Afterpay, Elmo Software and Robert Walters.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Investing
Specialist ETFs can spice up your index fund portfolio
If you have a strong belief in a sector, investing via a fund removes the problem of having to decide on which companies will win or lose.
- Opinion
- Investing
Four reasons not to be too worried about stagflation
Recent declines in some commodity prices and surging saving rates provide hope that the exceptional events that have created the severe supply pressures will ease.
How the nation’s newest billionaire built a software giant
Tony Walls, the founder of software company Objective Corp, has quietly added $20 million a week to his wealth pile over the past five months.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Funding
Westpac-backed quantum security firm banks $25m
QuintessenceLabs is using the emerging power of quantum computing to help defend organisations against cyber threats, the CSIRO’s VC fund has joined Westpac among its backers.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin plans ‘business park’ in space
The move to create the Orbital Reef project is one of several efforts to capitalise on the emerging commercial space sector.
Facebook, under universal fire, focuses on metaverse
CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to paint a rosier picture of the social network’s future, outlining new efforts to attract young users and build immersive digital experiences.
Work & Careers
Remote working to stay at accounting firms but with a warning
Leaders at Australia’s largest accounting firms are open to allowing staff to continue to work from home now that the lockdowns have ended, but warn that serving clients is still best done in person.
Commerce out, nursing in as students do their own thing
University students have ignored government incentives to study STEM disciplines, instead opting for nursing and allied health courses.
Life & Luxury
Michael Jordan’s Nikes set an auction record of $1.96m
The basketballer’s earliest known regular season game-worn shoes have been sold by Sotheby’s, breaking the high for sneakers sold under the hammer.
- Opinion
- Streaming
What Succession gets right about the super-rich
From narcissistic children to third wives, here’s what the series gets right and wrong about billionaires.
Meet Google’s idiot-proof phone, the Pixel 6
This is the first phone in Australia to support mmWave 5G, which is much, much faster than regular 5G – and it also erases photobombers.
A rare British car that disappeared in the 60s is reborn
Alvis has subtly modernised the Graber with air-conditioning and fuel-injection, but the styling, engine block and chassis parts are post-war originals.
How an Australian artist is pushing the boundaries for Cartier
Known for his fantastical scenes, Paul Milinski is creating vast, alluring landscapes to adorn the luxury jeweller’s new flagship store in Sydney.
