- Analysis
- RBA
Why does the RBA even bother forecasting interest rates?
While Tuesday’s RBA move looks messy, forward guidance is one of the central bank’s most powerful tools in a world where interest rates are already at zero.
RBA’s new messaging has ‘bought it more time’
The RBA’s decision to scrap its forward guidance has given it more flexibility, economists say, and an ability to stay dovish in the face of a rowdy bond market.
Mystery Westpac sacking not unfair
Westpac’s firing of a 63-year-old manager without telling her why has been upheld by the workplace tribunal in what could be a test case on procedural fairness.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
RBA signals end of easy money
Interest rates will rise sooner than expected, but that isn’t reflected in equity markets that are yet to include the less bullish scenarios in the bond market.
PM puts carbon capture on menu in Glasgow
Scott Morrison met a dozen of Australia’s mining and clean energy executives on the sidelines of the COP26 summit to discuss emissions technologies.
Australian dollar eases after RBA fights back hawks
The Australian dollar fell back after the Reserve Bank warned hawkish markets that a cash rate increase in 2022 was unlikely.
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Morrison leaves Macron looking like a sore loser
The French have seen only their interests, not their customer’s, right to the bitter end.
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Glasgow Summit
India’s 2070 climate pledge divides opinion
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s importance to the fate of COP26 meant that many seemed willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
- Opinion
- Glasgow summit
Just how clean can two billionaires really be?
Two of the world’s richest businessmen are furiously writing billion-dollar checks in their race to shape the climate future.
Climate promises ‘nothing but blah blah blah’ without action
Western leaders used the opening of the COP26 summit in Glasgow to try to salvage support for concerted global action on climate change.
- Analysis
- Paris Agreement
Biden left bare in Glasgow after progressives’ bluff fails
Powerful US senator Joe Manchin didn’t blink when his Democrat colleagues tried to pressure him into voting for a bill with bigger climate change investments.
PM takes his technology sales pitch to the world
Scott Morrison believes technological advances will heal the climate policy divide between developed and developing nations.
start-ups
- Exclusive
- Funding
Investors pile in as ex-strategy consultant banks $29m for start-up
Blackbird Ventures has led a $28.7m round in First AML, after using its software to make sure it doesn’t back companies that facilitate money laundering.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Byron Bay-based $50m climate tech fund seeks to save the world
A new VC fund run from Byron Bay by a former Macquarie investment banker and hedge fund manager will target a boom in ‘nature-based’ climate tech solutions.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Meet the former consultant turning influencers into entrepreneurs
Behind every great social media influencer is a man who knows how to make and source a kick ass niche product for them to on sell to their followers.
- Exclusive
- Business IT
Atlassian’s $4b rival plans Aussie assault after big money funding
ClickUp, a fast-growing rival of Australian software giant Atlassian, is poised to make an aggressive push into the Australian market after raising $US400m.
- Exclusive
- Skills shortage
Shorter weeks and free travel aimed at stopping ‘great resignation’
Australian tech companies are becoming creative in their bid to source and retain talent, as a new report shows one in four Australians plans to soon quit their job.
Podcast | How Australia’s top entrepreneurs built their fortunes and what they learnt along the way.
Companies
Year of the commercial ‘megadeal’ in full steam
While industrial transactions have dominated the year so far, office and retail assets – even big ones – are back in investors’ sights.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Wealth platforms yet to crack mass market
A flurry of takeover activity among the insurgents in the wealth platform space shows a market reaching maturity, the declining relevance of established players and the enormous unmet demand in the mass market advice.
Travel insurance costs to rise nearly 10pc
Holidaymakers heading overseas should expect higher travel insurance bills and to pay for costly PCR tests.
- Exclusive
- Streaming
Disney+ beating out Amazon Prime in race to second place
The arrival of the Star brand in February is helping Disney+ inch ahead of rival Amazon Prime Video.
How Spanish Mission cost Macquarie its chance at Cup glory
The best mare in the country, Very Elleegant, proved herself to be the best stayer today when she ran down the heavily backed favourite Incentivise to win.
Barclays counts the cost of Epstein probe as CEO Staley departs
The abrupt exit of Barclays CEO Jes Staley in the wake of a regulatory probe into his past ties with Jeffrey Epstein shines a spotlight on the bank’s culture.
Betty’s Burgers sales jump as takeaway soars
Parent company Retail Zoo has opened new stores throughout the pandemic and plans more in Australia and overseas.
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Markets
RBA flip-flop weighs on shares in volatile session
Australian shares edged lower on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank scrapped its prior guidance and commodity prices weighed on materials companies.
- Breaking
- Monetary policy
RBA edges closer to rate hike
Governor Philip Lowe has acknowledged underlying inflation had picked up quicker than expected and signalled rate rises could begin earlier than forecast.
Lowe: rates could rise in 2023 or 2024
RBA says rate hike “entirely plausible” in 2023, drops yield curve control on earlier-than-expected progress towards inflation, holds cash rate at 0.1pc.
- Analysis
- Inflation
Bond traders ramp up bets on ‘big shift’ in global monetary policy
Investors are increasingly testing central bankers’ insistence that elevated inflation will be fleeting.
Inflation expectations point to accelerating wages growth
Evidence of elevated inflation expectations highlights that wages growth is climbing, while consumer confidence rebounded to its highest level since July 2021.
Opinion
Great carbon transition must commit to leaving no one behind
The market sees carbon neutrality as a profitable opportunity. But the greatest costs will be borne by those least able to make the transition.
Columnist
Australia’s vaccine-led escape from the gilded cage has begun
NSW and Victoria are now showing how other states - including WA - can safely start to rejoin the world as soon as their vaccination rates catch up.
Editorial
Big bets are coming due for Westpac and the RBA
Peter King is yet to convince investors he has the right approach and Philip Lowe is struggling to make the market have faith in his 2024 timetable for rate rises.
Columnist
Why Meta should have been Facebook’s name from the beginning
There’s a lot to joke about in Facebook’s laughable attempt to escape its reputation as the internet’s most toxic company.
Columnist
The road to net zero passes through nuclear power
Opposition to nuclear power is on par with unscientific anti-vax conspiracy theories, and just encourages reliance on coal.
Contributor
Education establishment fails the curriculum reform test
Bureaucrats and academics stubbornly hang on to education practices and pet ideas that have no basis in evidence.
Contributor
Politics
ICAC findings on Berejiklian unlikely until 2022
ICAC ruling expected in 2022; NSW brings forward freedoms for fully vaccinated people, but unvaccinated people will have to wait until December 15; Victoria’s cases drop below 1000. Follow updates here.
Health experts mixed on early freedoms for NSW
Medical experts have differing views on NSW’s plan to open up completely when 95 per cent of the population over 16 has been double vaccinated.
Dancing is back: what you can do in NSW from Monday
Fully vaccinated Sydneysiders will have most of their freedoms back from Monday, November 8 after the state government brought forward its reopening road map.
Macron has slurred all Australians: PM
An unapologetic Scott Morrison says Emmanuel Macron has slurred all Australians by calling him a liar.
‘I don’t like losing’: Macron ‘knew’ the subs contract was in peril
Relations between Australia and France have hit a new low after French President Emmanuel Macron branded Prime Minister Scott Morrison a liar.
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World
US business chiefs warn of expat exodus from China
With no exit strategy articulated, and just as the rest of the world reopens, US business leaders have warned Beijing that it risks accelerating the outflow of foreigners from China.
Jes Staley exits abruptly as Barclays CEO amid Epstein probe
Staley’s surprise departure caps a tumultuous six years as boss of the British lender amid the shadow of the investigation into sex offender and socialite Jeffrey Epstein.
Now for the kids: FDA kicks off rush to vaccinate under-12s
The sign-off on Pfizer is the first green light for a Western-developed vaccine to be used in children younger than 12.
Biden hails EU-US steel deal as chance to curb ‘dirty’ Chinese imports
Washington and Brussels have set aside a long-running dispute to aim for a global arrangement to encourage low-carbon production.
- Analysis
- Japan
Kishida, a former foreign minister, will prioritise Australia ties
Japan’s new prime minister is expected to make Australia a foreign relations priority as he continues his predecessor’s work bolstering security alliances in the region.
Property
Desperate home buyers risk ending up with lemons
Home buyers are being warned they risk purchasing properties with hundreds of thousands of dollars of defects unless they do proper due diligence.
Dexus seeds first opportunity fund with $245m in investments
The newly-seeded fund will range across investments in value-add, development and credit plays, delivering typically higher returns that accompany greater risk.
$8m penthouse on cards for Adelaide apartment project
Melbourne-based Pelligra will redesign the failed project with a focus on high-end finishes to appeal to local downsizers and returning expats.
Build it and they will come: $1b office tower above Pitt Street metro
In a sign of confidence in the city’s office market, work will start on the 39-storey tower even before any leasing pre-commitments have been struck.
Winim Funds Management snaps up Lane Cove site for $25m
An amalgamated site in Sydney’s lower north shore has been sold to the business and property fund manager amid rising demand for development sites within premium locations.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Energy
What to consider before investing in hydrogen
Pricing estimates, its place in the global energy mix and where to find opportunities should be on the checklist.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Healthcare cloud solutions to watch
How to invest in technology companies that help manage patient and healthcare outcomes.
Check the Young Rich Lister horoscope
Our resident astrologer examines Australia’s wealthiest Millennials by zodiac sign.
Technology
Facebook’s Meta morph not enough to please 20-somethings
Rebranding or not, young Australians who have been using Facebook since high school have mixed feelings about the social media giant.
- Exclusive
- Skills shortage
Shorter weeks and free travel aimed at stopping ‘great resignation’
Australian tech companies are becoming creative in their bid to source and retain talent, as a new report shows one in four Australians plans to soon quit their job.
Why Facebook has become Meta
Critics see the move as a timely attempt by Mark Zuckerberg to distance the company from its latest wave of scandals, but he says the shift has been planned for months.
Work & Careers
Toorak finance broker taken to court over suspected underpayments
The businessman was “an intentional participant” in the alleged underpayments of staff, who the workplace watchdog claims were paid below minimum wage.
Wharfies sacked for refusing COVID-19 jab
The maritime union will defend the jobs of almost two dozen wharfies who were fired for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Life & Luxury
Fashions fizzle but frills abound at Melbourne Cup
The throng of celebrities was missing and high fashion was a low-key affair this year, but the celebratory mood was unmistakable.
How skiing benefits this executive’s career, seriously
ServiceNow’s Eric Swift takes the same approach to planning and teamwork, whether he’s skiing back country or performing his executive role.
Travelling close to home is here to stay
Slow days connecting with the Australian landscape were not only a balm during the pandemic, they reinforced that we might not need so many overseas escapes.
Inside Incentivise’s old-school tilt at Melbourne Cup glory
Incentivise has emerged from nowhere to be the shortest-priced Melbourne Cup favourite since Phar Lap.
Why finding a holiday stay in NSW will be twice as hard
Online accommodation platforms have suspended thousands of short-term rental listings following the launch of compulsory registration in NSW on November 1.
