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- Need to Know
No change to isolation period for positive COVID-19 cases, says PM
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says keeping schools open is a “high priority” as states finalise their back-to-school plans; SA records 11 COVID-19 deaths; TGA grants provisional approval to Novavax; More than 71,000 cases nationally. Follow updates here.
Latest Posts
SA finally passes 90 per cent double-vaxxed
COVID19 infection could sway voters: analyst
ATAGI considering defining ‘fully vaccinated’ as three doses
PM concedes it’s a frustrating time
Last updated 1 min ago
Plunge in jobless rate could force RBA to raise rates sooner
Josh Frydenberg says the 4.2 per cent jobless rate is the equal-fourth lowest in records dating back to 1978.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX dips; omicron hit less than feared, says NAB
Australian blue chip fall; Santos, Woodside hit quarterly revenue records; Block debuts on ASX.
Medical regulator approves first two COVID-19 treatments
About 800,000 courses of Merck’s Lagevrio and Pfizer’s Paxlovid are headed to Australia.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Goodbye Afterpay, hello Block: Where to for the ASX’s new giant
Block (formerly Square) is making an unusually quiet entry to the ASX. Its big slide since its Afterpay takeover raises questions about its outlook.
- Updated
- Industrial relations
Qantas seeks to terminate flight attendant pay deal
Qantas will seek to axe its existing pay and conditions agreement with long-haul cabin crew, choosing the nuclear option to shatter a deadlock with the union.
New home sales show builders face a tough 2022
Even though the home-building boom is coming off its stimulus-induced high, activity is likely to remain high and that is creating risks for builders.
How to negotiate the new world of work. Expert advice in your inbox every Thursday.
SUMMER REVIEW
Kuwait is fast becoming unlivable as global warming takes its toll
Temperature records are being smashed all over the world, but Kuwait breached 50 degrees Celsius in June, weeks ahead of its usual peak weather.
- Opinion
- Climate policy
Netflix’s Don’t Look Up is a lesson in climate messaging
This film has got millions talking about global warming and is now the most-watched Netflix film in dozens of countries.
- Review
- Monetary policy
A fascinating page-turner made from an unlikely subject
The Lords of Easy Money is a fascinating and propulsive story about the Federal Reserve — yes, you read that right
Why it’s time to listen with your nose
Of the human senses, smell is perhaps the most elusive, yet powerful. At any given moment, it can be a time capsule, jerking us back to a half-forgotten past.
How Gerry Harvey started again after Alan Bond
AFR Classic | After Alan Bond booted Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman out of appliance retailer Norman Ross, Gerry had the idea to start up again under the banner of Harvey Norman, as Vickie Smiles reported on July 28, 1982.
Companies
CapVest lobs rival $650m offer for Virtus
Private equity firm CapVest has launched a competing $650 million bid for fertility services play Virtus Health, topping a bid from local suitor BGH Capital.
Woodside basks in improved gas market
Write-downs on gas assets have been reversed or cut, while quarterly sales surged to a record of almost $4 billion due to the soaring international gas market.
Netwealth tipping strong finish to 2022
Wealth management company Netwealth produces a bumper December quarter, continues strong growth trajectory.
Coal price hits fresh record as China ban likely to persist
Despite a few stranded Australian coal shipments entering China last year, Queensland miner Coronado expects bans on Australian coal will persist.
Beacon Lighting buoyed by home renovations
Solid spending on new lights, lamps and ceiling fans by people sprucing up the home caused Beacon shares to jump.
Soaring LNG prices, record output boosts Santos
Full-year sales for 2021 were buoyed by a surge in international gas prices, as well as the addition of Oil Search’s assets.
- Updated
- Industrial relations
Qantas seeks to terminate flight attendant pay deal
Qantas will seek to axe its existing pay and conditions agreement with long-haul cabin crew, choosing the nuclear option to shatter a deadlock with the union.
Companies in the News
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Markets
- Exclusive
- Regulation
ASIC boss warns of ‘risky’ crypto investments
In an exclusive interview with The Australian Financial Review, Joseph Longo says Australians deserve better financial advice and protection from volatility in crypto assets.
How investors are preparing for a unified BHP
BHP shareholders will vote on the miner’s proposed unification on Thursday, which, if approved, will have ramifications for investors everywhere.
ASX to rise, Wall St rebound proves fleeting
The Nasdaq Composite reversed early gains to close lower, confirming a correction from its November record high.
Morgan Stanley ekes out stock-trading gain as fixed-income slumps
Morgan Stanley raised its target for return on tangible common equity, saying it now expects the metric to reach more than 20 per cent over the long term.
BP, Shell replenish carbon-trading desks after mass departures
As the cost of emissions rise, trading houses have looked to the two energy firms to hire experienced hands in the world of carbon credits and offsets.
Opinion
PM seeks the credit, so cops the blame
The inevitable result of putting himself front and centre of the COVID-19 response is that Scott Morrison is being blamed for things that aren’t his fault.
Columnist
50 years on, the Tent Embassy struggles remains urgent
Following this month’s fire on the steps of Old Parliament House, alt-right infiltration of the long-running protest site could cause indigenous advancement to be pushed down the agenda.
Political reporter
Sympathy but no ‘sorry’ from Morrison
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he understands voters’ frustration, but he is not to be blamed.
Political correspondent
Why the US Fed must deal with the inflation bogey
The best thing for the world economy, China, and developing economies is for the US Federal Reserve to get on top of the inflation outbreak and start normalising monetary policy.
Editorial
Inflation will end RBA’s QE. Now comes the wage test
Even as inflation firms, one revealing statistic will give the RBA confidence about the outlook for prices and, crucially, wages, writes John Kehoe.
Economics editor
As a nation of investors, we need transparency around proxy advice
Proxy advisers exist to demand accountability. But their operations are the most opaque part of the governance system.
Contributor
Politics
- Exclusive
- Regulation
Why ASIC’s Longo sees AI and machine learning as the new frontier
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, predictive coding and cyber protection tools are high on the agenda for ASIC boss Joseph Longo.
Class action reforms would leave most cases unviable, lawyer warns
Attorney-General is trying to override courts with the proposed changes, and is ‘interfering in an already regulated industry’
- Exclusive
- Federal election
‘Voices of’ independents competitive in three Liberal seats
The election is close enough in Goldstein, Wentworth and North Sydney for the seats to change hands, according to the first dedicated poll of the inner-city seats.
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
Rapid test retailers accuse government of diverting supplies
The statements by vendors contradict Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s vehement denial that rapid tests are being sent to government stockpiles.
A 70-year-old drug may be the answer to treating COVID-19
Heparin is the only drug that has anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant effects in the lungs, and is promising as a treatment for COVID-19.
SPONSORED
World
Putin won’t go to ‘full-blown’ war in Ukraine, Biden says
The US President says his Russian counterpart is looking to reassert his place in the new world order.
Beleaguered Biden concedes partial defeat on economic recovery plan
Facing sagging poll numbers and a stalled legislative agenda, the US President admitted he would likely have to pare back his “build back better” recovery package and instead settle for “big chunks” of his signature economic plan.
Boris Johnson clings to office as mutiny gathers pace
One MP has defected to Labour, others are plotting openly, and a senior Tory yelled across the Commons at him: ‘In the name of God, go’.
- Opinion
- Medicine
Should researchers deliberately infect people with COVID-19?
Experiments that involve deliberate infection of human subjects are known as “challenge trials” - and they raise a host of complicated ethical questions.
- Opinion
- World politics
Boris Johnson’s fall would not change the Conservative agenda
The British PM’s lockdown breaches and failings may leave him terminally discredited but few in his party are questioning the manifesto on which he won.
Property
New home sales show builders face a tough 2022
Even though the home-building boom is coming off its stimulus-induced high, activity is likely to remain high and that is creating risks for builders.
Southerners and shortages send land prices soaring in south-east QLD
In a classic case of low supply meeting high demand, agents and developers say there are now twice the number of buyers bidding for fewer major land parcels.
In these 220 suburbs, each house sells for more than $1m
Every house sold across 220 suburbs during 2021 settled at or above $1million as demand for freestanding homes continues to surge.
Lockdowns cloud pace of decline in home building
Third-quarter lockdowns in Victoria, NSW and ACT slowed housing rollout, as has the recent omicron wave. But with immigration likely to hit demand, that may be positive.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Building standards no guide to what is a well-constructed apartment
Australian building codes are the bare minimum and you should be demanding better.
Wealth
Can I pay an SMSF pension from an accumulation account?
John Wasiliev gives answers to a reader enjoying good investment earnings and wanting to withdraw as little as possible from his fund’s pension mode.
How to avoid ATO crackdown on SMSF early withdrawal scam
Tax specialists provide a checklist of strategies to ensure compliance as the tax office steps up surveillance.
Top school zone property prices outpace capital city growth
Parents are driving up prices by competing for homes close to top-performing government and private schools.
Technology
- Breaking
- Start-ups
Uber buys Aussie start-up Car Next Door
Uber said by adding Car Next Door, it will be able to give riders another option for trips less suited to rideshare, such as running errands.
Tech sell-off claims another scalp in Whispir
Shares in the communications software company were off almost 4 per cent by lunchtime on Thursday despite a positive trading update.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Young Rich Lister Dany Milham scores $75m for Milkrun from Tiger
Eight months after starting the business, Koala’s Dany Milham has raised a $75 million round for his grocery delivery business Milkrun.
Work & Careers
College of experts says minister is no expert on research grants
Stuart Robert’s inbox must be overflowing with letters of disapproval following his vetoing of six research grants.
- Opinion
- Workplace
Militant HR departments have become the new trade unions
Working from home has blurred the lines across which powerful HR teams can operate. Bosses need to step in and take a more active role.
Life & Luxury
50 great ways to travel in Australia this year
With many of us not yet ready to forsake our shores for adventures abroad, here’s our guide to what’s new, refurbished or just plain hot across this country in 2022.
- Opinion
- Home entertainment
This Sony TV will floor you (and not only in a good way)
Sony A90J has allowed us to just sit back and enjoy the show for the first time in years and years.
Because we can-can: Australian film costumes in the spotlight
Muriel’s wedding dress and a borrowed 1920s couture gown are just part of the story of Australian cinema, on display now at a dazzling new exhibition.
Influential fashion journalist André Leon Talley dies at 73
The toweringly tall Talley cut an imposing figure wherever he went, with his considerable influence on the fashion world, and his bold looks.
- Exclusive
- Australian Open
The Nick Kyrgios show reignites Australian Open
Love him or loathe him, Nick Kyrgios is bringing some much-needed excitement back to the Australian Open.
