- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to fall; Fortescue acquires WAE for $310m
Australian shares are set to extend their decline; Fortescue acquires Williams Advanced Engineering; bitcoin crashes; iron ore eyes $US140 a tonne. Follow the latest here.
Latest Posts
Telix launches $25m share purchase plan
Adairs margins hit by higher costs
South32 supply chains still being hit
West African Resources meets annual production guidance
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- Live
- Need to Know
Victoria and NSW report 41 COVID-19 deaths
Hospitalisations are up in NSW as they drop slightly in Victoria; Omicron has arrived in WA and ‘can’t be eliminated’; Developing antivirals ‘next big COVID-19 mission’, says Greg Hunt; NSW, Victorian students to be tested twice a week.. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
It’s the way markets are falling that’s really worrying
Consecutive days of losses, savage selling in the final hour of trade, and the reversal of intraday gains are all worrying signs on global markets.
‘Prince of Perth’: Joyce slams McGowan over border ban
The Deputy Prime Minister slammed the WA Premier for failing to prepare WA’s hospitals, while a health expert said the state was “on the tip of an outbreak”.
- Analysis
- Australian economy
Two years in, the pandemic economy no one predicted
More jobs, surging house prices, record stock values, rising inflation and a trillion dollar debt bill. Two years since COVID-19 arrived, Australia’s economic report card is far from what was predicted.
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
Is bitcoin the canary in the financial coal mine?
Some investors see bitcoin’s price plunge as an omen for global sharemarkets, but others are hopeful that this week’s Fed meeting can restore the market’s mojo.
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
Japanese property investment is back after three decades
Japanese capital investment in Australian property is set to boom – after retreating nearly three decades ago – as travel restrictions ease and the next wave of institutional investors arrives chasing higher-yielding assets.
Need to know: The biggest stories in business, markets and politics, and why they matter. In your inbox daily at 8pm.
SUMMER REVIEW
- Analysis
- Stress management
What if we just stopped being so available?
Today’s norms of responsiveness are ridiculous. We shouldn’t apologise for failing to meet them.
How connected fitness became our new obsession
Investors may be cooling on the at-home exercise business, but it has changed the way millions work out.
- From The Archives
- Platinum Year
When Ronald Reagan met Alan Bond in the White House
AFR Classic | In September 1983, Glenda Korporaal captured Alan Bond’s meeting with Ronald Reagan. The article’s headline read: The short fat guy from Perth in a friendly chat with Ron.
- 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
- Opinion
- Food & drink
Why non-alcoholic booze is taking off in a big way
Mocktails are having their moment, and binge boozing, a trend that dominated earlier COVID-19 waves, is on the decline.
Companies
Dixon downfall spells ‘danger’ for rival wealth firms
The conflicted business model operated by collapsed wealth manager Dixon Advisory may still be rife, say industry leaders, presenting a fresh regulatory risk.
Revenge of the independents in supermarket supply squeeze
Localised supply chains have helped many small, independent supermarkets remain better stocked than Woolworths and Coles.
- Exclusive
- Managed funds
ASX accused of delaying crypto ETFs on rival Chi-X
Exchange traded fund pioneer Graham Tuckwell has hit out at the Australian Securities Exchange, accusing it of “dragging its feet” on cryptocurrency funds.
McDonald’s seeks pioneers for its regional push
The fast food giant has 100 new restaurants in the pipeline over the next three years, many in regional areas. But finding franchisees is proving difficult.
- Analysis
- Due diligence
Sydney Airport’s board would ‘starve’ in real estate
A week out from the takeover vote, many investors have taken the cash while others reckon the board still sold the company too cheap. “If the board members are considering a future career in real estate they would starve,” one long-time investor said.
Blackmores in slow rebuild but predators may be circling
Swiss giant Nestle’s takeover of a global vitamins player last year would equate to $105 per share for Blackmores using the same multiple.
Retailers set to win as food inflation forecast to hit 6.8pc
A survey of grocery suppliers say they plan to increase prices as costs bite, but dominant retailers hold the upper hand.
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Markets
Investors brace for further pain as sell-off intensifies
Australian shares face further losses on Monday after heavy selling of US stocks and cryptocurrencies continued into the weekend.
- Opinion
- Bonds
Searching for a North star in uncertain markets
There are no decision-making frameworks for rare moments when history is no guide. The affirmation of values will serve investors well when uncertainty arises, writes QIC’s Katrina King.
- Q&a
- Investing
Like a ‘brontosaurus’s brain’: have stocks finally got the message?
In the past week, we’ve seen remarkable top-down shifts in the Nasdaq going into the close, day after day. Is the market finally catching up to reality?
- Opinion
- World markets
Bund blip shows just how fast the market mood is changing
This year opened with growing certainty that the Fed would raise rates three times this year. Now, markets are tilting heavily towards the view that it could be four.
- Explainer
- Interest rates
Why ditching Libor is vexing the financial world
Lenders are scrambling to adjust to the demise of the benchmark that has determined the cost of a wide range of borrowing for half a century.
Opinion
Hydrogen injects reality into gas-fired energy transition
The first shipment of liquid hydrogen from Australia shows fossil fuels have a crucial transition role to ensure the world has affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy.
Editorial
Living with COVID doesn’t mean living with incompetence
Every country is struggling with omicron, but there’s no excuse for the failure of Australian governments to order enough rapid antigen tests, leading to too many crippled businesses over a hard summer.
Columnist
Don’t tune out of Netflix stocks just yet
The focus on subscriber growth ignores the fact that Netflix has become a much more profitable company. Nor should investors underestimate the utility-like nature of the company.
Contributor
Pool PCR tests to keep teachers and children at school and safe
Australia should immediately adopt the way US authorities have managed to maintain in-person learning amid high case numbers.
Contributor
AUKMIN hype is dreaming a British Australia never ended
The rhetoric of the recent Australia-UK ministerial meeting showed how an assertive China is generating a nostalgic model of Australian foreign policy.
Columnist
Government’s virus mistakes cruel the recovery, again
The worst consumer confidence since 1992 and the supply chain crisis amid the shortage of RATs shows that mismanaging the pandemic is mismanaging the economy.
Contributor
Politics
- Exclusive
- Coronavirus pandemic
Developing antivirals ‘next big COVID-19 mission’: Hunt
Australia could take a leading role in the development of antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19 and influenza, with more research funding to help combat future pandemics.
Omicron has arrived in WA and ‘can’t be eliminated’
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan’s decision to slam the border shut indefinitely might have been futile after 24 new coronavirus infections were announced.
NSW, Victorian students to be tested twice a week
Children will be required to have rapid antigen tests twice a week when school returns. Another 58 virus-related deaths were recorded across three states on Sunday.
How COVID forced this business to become a better version of itself
Patrick Holmes has been framing fine art for more than three decades, but the pandemic forced him to ‘leap into the 21st century’.
- Exclusive
- Corruption
Bureaucrat’s letter reignites Leppington Triangle scandal
A senior public servant at the centre of the $30 million Leppington Triangle land scandal has claimed his accuser didn’t understand what it was investigating.
SPONSORED
World
Jacinda Ardern cancels her wedding amid new omicron restrictions
Asked by reporters how she felt about the cancellation of her wedding to longtime partner and fishing-show host Clarke Gayford, Ms Ardern replied: ‘Such is life.’
Biden to visit Japan for Quad leaders summit
Joe Biden has accepted an invitation to visit Japan for a meeting of Quad leaders, likely to take place shortly after the Australian election.
Is gas a green energy source? The Europeans can’t agree
Brussels hopes its ‘taxonomy’ will set a global standard for what counts as a sustainable investment – but domestic energy politics have intervened.
German navy chief resigns following Ukraine comments
Vice-Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach said it was important to have Russia on the same side against China, and suggested that President Vladimir Putin deserved ‘respect’.
US sanctions would hit rouble, force Russian bank bailout, say experts
US dollar sanctions on Russian banks would not only damage the Russian economy, they could also affect outside investors.
Property
Listings surge as property FOMO fades
The auction market has swung into gear earlier than usual as sellers look to get out before the boom eases, with rising rates and the lack of affordability expected to dampen buyer appetite as the year progresses.
Kajima’s local Icon brings $500m pipeline to new year
Backed by one of Japan’s biggest builders, local developer Icon is riding the decentralisation theme, with a pipeline of smaller, fringe and suburban office and residential projects.
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
Japanese property investment is back after three decades
Japanese capital investment in Australian property is set to boom – after retreating nearly three decades ago – as travel restrictions ease and the next wave of institutional investors arrives chasing higher-yielding assets.
Golden Age adds lustre to Queen Vic market renewal
Development is taking off around the market, after the council took over a 6500-square-metre property directly opposite eight years ago, kick-starting a series of initiatives to revitalise the historic site.
Owners rush to sell in crowded home auction market
Hundreds of vendors rushed in to sell their properties under the hammer this week, to take advantage of buyer demand and get ahead of their competition.
Wealth
- Exclusive
- Managed funds
Australians pour $36b pandemic savings into managed funds
Australian investors deployed a record $35.7 billion to managed funds across all asset classes in 2021 amid a “flood of capital” into equities, fixed income and real estate products.
Warren Buffett closes in on Cathie Wood as tech stocks tumble
Cathie Wood’s flagship Ark fund is on the cusp of being overtaken by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, reflecting a big shift in fortunes between the two.
Wealthy investors, SMSFs buy the crypto dip
Cryptocurrency trading platforms are reporting a spike in activity from rich wholesale investors even as the value of global digital assets tanks by $1.4 trillion.
Technology
How tech firms are tackling the omicron supply chain crunch
Tech executive Ashik Ahmed hears stories every day from major retail, hospitality and healthcare customers about the struggle to manage this latest outbreak
Has the ‘CEO of bitcoin’ backed the wrong horse?
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey had quit the social media company to push further into his love of cryptocurrency, but was it a bad decision?
- Opinion
- Fitness
After stock price collapse, Peloton faces questions about its future
The market pummelling is just the latest setback encountered by the one-time hit of the pandemic.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
Building watchdog takes on wharfies in new waterfront ‘frontier’
The first-time investigation of a waterfront dispute has the potential to bring higher fines and strict laws to one of the most militant sectors of the economy.
Businessman and philanthropist ‘Bails’ Myer dies at 96
Baillieu (Bails) Myer, the only surviving son of the founder of the Myer retailing dynasty, Sidney Myer, has died at the age of 96.
Life & Luxury
The independent watch brands threatening Patek Philippe, IWC
The makers we’ve known for decades are under a fresh assault – and it’s not from smart watches.
- Opinion
- Style
How the brilliant André Leon Talley got sidelined
As much as Vogue’s only black creative director was a luminary and an inspiration, his was also a cautionary tale about being black, gay and talented in a white, elite fashion world.
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.
This hot(ish) hatch is a wonderful all-rounder
The Skoda Octavia RS is bigger than its VW sister – but its move upmarket comes at a price.
Ralph Lauren’s got a new yarn to spin
The company, which is outfitting the Australian Open for the second year running, is debuting a new, better-for-the-planet fabric that it says is a world first.
