- Live
- Markets Live
Wall Street reverses again; Apple, ResMed post record results
Wall Street closes lower, ASX futures 1.5 per cent higher. The Australian dollar slips to US70.3c near a 52-week low. ResMed lifts profit 12pc. Follow the latest here.
Latest Posts
Apple sales and profit top estimates, iPhone dodges supply chain hits
Pointsbet posts $51.8m operating loss
ResMed lifts Q4 profit 12 per cent
ASX to rebound, Tesla slump derails Wall Street rally
Last updated 10 mins ago
US economy expands at 6.9pc annual rate in fourth quarter
Annual US economic growth hit a 38-year-high, spurred by consumer spending – the highest since 1946.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why tech stocks got hammered
Australian tech stocks that trade in excess of 10 times revenue are being smashed as we enter an interest rate tightening cycle.
Moscow downplays prospects for US talks but signs of thaw emerge
Kremlin figures say they’re not optimistic for their dialogue with the West, but the door is left open for de-escalation.
- Live
- Need to Know
PM’s message for Grace Tame
The PM has responded to the Grace Tame controversy; the TGA has given provisional approval for booster shots for 16 and 17-year-olds; Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck under pressure and three jabs may be required to reach fully vaccinated status. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
Pandemic probe must look at the states too
A COVID-19 royal commission should go beyond what the Morrison government’s got right and wrong, and assess the track records of the premiers, medical bodies and their lobbyists.
- Opinion
- Inside China
Australian miners won’t be spared the Chinese property pain
Mining investors rejoiced that iron ore prices have scarcely been affected by China’s property markets – but the jubilation is likely to prove premature.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox every Saturday morning.
platinum year | the decades
The 1980s: ‘When things actually happened’
It was the transformative decade: radical economic reform, takeover splurges, spectacular busts, the rapid acceleration of Australia’s Asian engagement, and emergence of more companies ready to take on the world.
Why Australia’s best companies were built in the 1980s
Some mark the ’80s as the era of the corporate cowboys, but it also heralded the arrival of Australia’s most successful global finance house, major hi-tech success stories, and ‘ocker’ advertising.
The boardroom battles that shocked Australia
The business establishment watched in horror as corporate raiders made a play for Australia’s biggest company, BHP, and prominent newspaper empire, Fairfax, in the 1980s.
How the takeover king of the 1980s came undone
John Spalvins controlled the biggest industrial group in Australia at the end of the decade but it all came crashing down.
- From The Archives
- Platinum Year
Financial Review wannabe was a punt that did not come off
AFR Classic | There were three failed attempts to take on the Financial Review, the last was in August 1987, and even its backers doubted whether their punt would succeed, as Elisabeth Sterel reported.
AFR MAGAZINE
Now you can cook Nomad Sydney’s most popular dish
Chef Jacqui Challinor is overseeing the expansion of the popular Surry Hills diner, with a bar and deli, and a second restaurant in Melbourne.
Inside the new home of the Australian Chamber Orchestra
The Australian Chamber Orchestra has a beautiful new space, and a new program of performances to fill it with.
New to Net-a-Porter: limited-edition art delivered to your door
As collectors are increasingly comfortable buying artworks online, players big and small are capturing a lucrative new market.
Heading overseas in 2022? These galleries and museums are must-see
While Australia was isolating, the cultural landscape beyond our borders has changed for the better. Here are some openings to note, from Scotland to Scandinavia.
Private donors fund anarchy at Venice Biennale Australian pavilion
Australia’s presence at this year’s global contemporary art biennale will show what can happen when capitalism, democracy and anarchy come together.
Companies
Unified BHP could get $US41b for M&A: MS
Morgan Stanley analysts reckon if BHP wanted, the mining giant could easily raise $US41 billion to put towards M&A.
It’s the $1.1b question for OZ Minerals: when will WA’s border open?
The miner says this year’s decision on whether to commit $1.1 billion to the construction of a new mine in WA will be influenced by the state’s border policy.
Gas buyers fear impact of global LNG quest
East coast manufacturers are worried they will come off second-best to international requests for Australian LNG, despite assurances from federal ministers.
Power records fall on solar surge, cool weather
The Australian Energy Market Operator said average demand for power from the central grid fell to its lowest for a December quarter since 2005.
Tritium targets US operations before Q3 after Nasdaq listing
The US expansion marks a rapid rise for the high-tech start-up, which only sold its first system in 2014.
Australian Open should prepare for China backlash
Beijing-based sports industry analyst Mark Dreyer says allowing grand slam spectators to wear ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts could have revenue ramifications.
‘Glimmer of hope’: Australian Open brings small lift to Melbourne CBD
Melbourne hotels and restaurants are feeling the absence of international visitors to the Australian Open but say the tournament has breathed a bit of life into the CBD.
Companies in the News
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Markets
What Powell said that spooked the market
The sharemarket was surging until Fed chairman Jerome Powell spoke; then it changed direction violently.
Apple sales and profit top estimates, iPhone dodges supply chain hits
Apple reported record sales in the holiday quarter, beating estimates as it benefited from high iPhone demand in China.
ASX to rebound, Tesla slump derails Wall Street rally
Australian shares are set to surge 1.5p at the open, though Tesla’s stunning 11pc drop highlighted another wild session in New York. Apple’s results ahead.
Fed hawks unleash terror on stocks, bonds
The Federal Reserve laid the ground for an interest rate increase in March, tipping the S&P/ASX 200 Index into correction territory. Wall Street futures sold off.
Jeremy Grantham has an even scarier warning
The US value investor wants to get an even more alarming and urgent message out, one his critics might find harder to accept.
Opinion
Pandemic probe must look at the states too
A COVID-19 royal commission should go beyond what the Morrison government’s got right and wrong, and assess the track records of the premiers, medical bodies and their lobbyists.
Political editor
The ’80s: the pivotal decade for Australia’s prosperity
The resounding lesson of the 1980s is that, with enough ambition and resolve, Australia can remain one of the world’s most prosperous and successful nations.
Editorial
Morrison and Albanese are both hostage to COVID
Scott Morrison’s political summer did not go according to plan but few voters are sure what Labor’s plan is or who Anthony Albanese is.
Columnist
Labor will tackle wage stagnation
The idea that pay rises cost jobs is a lazy cop-out from a Coalition government that has no program to boost the productivity of Australia’s workplaces.
Contributor
The US Federal Reserve is still playing with fire on interest rates
A huge stimulus added to the longest period of negative interest rates in modern times could be the riskiest experiment in the Fed’s history. The exit will rock the markets.
Contributor
Resilient farms swing back from drought
Two years after the end of the severe drought in south-eastern Australia, the nation’s farms continue to bounce back ahead of a third bumper season in a row.
Editorial
Politics
Bottom line improving but cost of living bites
The budget bottom line continues to improve a0due to strong jobs growth with the deficit $8.5 billion lower than the most recent forecast.
Three jabs may be required to reach fully vaccinated status
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is among state leaders pushing for the tougher three-dose standard to be applied in Australia.
- Exclusive
- Class action
WA anger over Frydenberg class action reforms
The West Australian attorney-general has raised a long list of concerns with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, but so far has received no reply.
Repeat offenders account for half of prison costs
Over half of Australian prisoners return to jail within two years, creating a “churn” of increasing sentences, court delays and driving 50 per cent the cost of the prison system according to the Productivity Commission.
Labor faces an uphill battle to overturn proxy advice shake-up
Disallowance motions in the House of Representatives and the Senate both appear unlikely to pass.
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World
Brussels takes China to the WTO over Lithuania trade ban
Beijing’s attempts to slap down Vilnius on Taiwan have now drawn the EU into the fray, taking another leaf from Australia’s playbook.
Ex-Deutsche Bank traders get Libor convictions tossed
A US appeals court judge threw out the 2018 wire fraud convictions of Matthew Connolly and Gavin Black.
China considering breaking up Evergrande to contain crisis
Chinese authorities are considering a proposal to dismantle China Evergrande Group by selling the bulk of its assets, according to people familiar with the matter.
China accepts stranded Australian coal as shortages bite
China cleared almost 12 million tonnes of Australian coal stranded at its ports in the fourth quarter, but an unofficial ban on new orders remains in force.
Blackstone dealmakers double pay to $2.3b
The good times keep rolling for executives at the world’s biggest alternative asset manager, which is ahead of schedule in hitting its target of $US1 trillion under management.
Property
Apartment rents jump 10 pc in inner Melbourne
Asking rents for Melbourne’s inner-city apartments have enjoyed a sharp reversal from the steep drops suffered during the pandemic.
Smoking on the balcony of an apartment declared a ‘hazard’
The Queensland regulator’s decision kicks back into play a national conversation about rights and responsibilities of people living in strata communities.
Singaporean powerhouse partners up to secure $202m retail deal
Investor appetite for essential retail properties shows no sign of slowing with the sale of another major asset, this time in inner-Brisbane.
Premium suburbs feel the first bite of the housing slowdown
Prices in Sydney’s east, Melbourne’s Brighton and Perth’s Applecross dropped in the December quarter, an early sign of what is to come for the broader market.
Continuing boom in agricultural land market depends on the weather
A key swing factor underpinning the demand for land and price growth is what the weather does.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
The Fed policy error that should worry investors
By abandoning a systemic framework for monetary policy, the central bank has spawned an all-asset speculative bubble.
Billionaire Leon Black accuses Josh Harris of trying to destroy him
Leon Black has escalated his fight against former business partner Josh Harris, naming him as a defendant in a lawsuit that lays bare the bitter battle for control of Apollo Global Management last year.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
Common SMSF trustee mistakes that will trigger ATO action
The Australian Taxation Office takes a dim view of non-compliance: penalties range from fines to freezing the fund’s assets.
Technology
Apple to let iPhones accept credit cards without extra hardware
Apple is believed to be planning a new service that will let small businesses accept payments directly on their iPhones without any extra hardware.
Tax breaks spark video gaming bonanza, as Aussie start-ups cash in
Government tax breaks have turbocharged Australia’s gaming industry, with video game developers eyeing the much-hyped metaverse raking in venture capital.
- Exclusive
- Funding
PE fund Potentia makes first minority investment, backing EstimateOne
Andy Gray and Tim Reed have joined forces with Leigh Jasper to back the construction tech company in a $35 million round.
Work & Careers
New apprentices jumped 60pc, but thousands of jobs remain unfilled
Demand for apprentices and trainees is outstripping supply, another sign that skill shortages are biting deeply.
Look beyond a pay rise: How to choose between multiple job offers
Professionals need to look beyond the potential pay bump before jumping into a new work relationship, recruiters say.
Life & Luxury
Neil Young wasn’t bluffing. And now Spotify is taking down his songs
Young’s challenge to Spotify has become a high-profile, if unexpected, flashpoint in the battle over misinformation and free speech online.
- Opinion
- Motoring
The Maserati MC20 is a route to uncomplicated joy
Maserati’s first supercar in more than a decade contains the first engine made in-house in more than 20 years.
New to Net-a-Porter: limited-edition art delivered to your door
As collectors are increasingly comfortable buying artworks online, players big and small are capturing a lucrative new market.
New on the foodie scene this year
A restaurant rebirth, a clever trick, an interesting dish and a must-have sauce: Here are four excellent developments in dining.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Fender’s future is beginners, not rock gods
Hendrix and Springsteen might sell dreams, but for the CEO of iconic guitar maker Fender, beginners drive growth. Now he needs to keep them playing.
