Team Albo steps up as leader vows ‘I’ll be back’
Senior shadow ministers will fan out across the country over the next week to cover for Anthony Albanese as Labor scrambles to keep its campaign on track.
How to prepare for interest rate rises
With the RBA tipped to start increasing the cash rate from June, this is what homeowners and credit cardholders need to do now to get ahead.
UBS banker allegedly pressured PNG official over mandate
A PNG royal commission’s final report into the 2014 UBS loan reveals tensions between PNG officials and bankers working on the deal.
Shares and $A succumb to rate rise anxiety
The ASX sunk 1.6 per cent on Friday as a surprisingly hawkish ECB and signs of a more aggressive Federal Reserve intensified the sell-off in bond markets, and whacked growth stocks.
- Opinion
- Defence
Australia faces massive existential threat from China
With China militarising the Solomon Islands, we need decisive leadership to protect our way of life.
Westpac tips double rate rise in June
The forecast by the bank’s chief economist, Bill Evans, would take the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate to 0.5 per cent in just seven weeks.
Hung parliament would create ‘deal by deal’ chaos: PM
Voters will go the polls on May 21 in the dark about who independents will back in a hung parliament.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox every Saturday morning.
election 2022
The women who could control the next federal parliament
The large independent movement in the 2022 election represents a return to a pre-World War II tradition in Australian politics.
- Analysis
- Federal election
Meet the economics star trying to win Parramatta for Labor
Andrew Charlton’s experience suggests he has the potential to be a modern Hawke-Keating reformer – if he can win the seat held by 3.5 per cent by Labor.
‘Chaos and instability’: PM pivots as independents loom
Labor and the Coalition have four weeks to win over more than 800,000 voters each, and a hung parliament is possible as support grows for a new crop of independent candidates.
Why China’s Solomon Islands security deal is just the start
China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands is a strategic coup that caught Australia off guard and will have military and trading consequences for decades to come.
Frydenberg rival scores ballot top spot
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s main rival for the blue-ribbon seat of Kooyong has drawn first place on the ballot paper.
weekend reads
The Aussie high school dropout building boats for the US military
Winning a share of $US2.4 billion in army contracts has not been easy for Jamie Bruce, a high school dropout who played hooker for the Port Macquarie Sharks.
- Investigation
- Corruption
Inside the downfall of Qld’s corruption watchdog
Queensland’s top anti-corruption boss quit in January in the state’s biggest integrity crisis since Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Now there are concerns the inquiry that toppled him was lopsided.
- Opinion
- Review
You may never drive a VW after reading this book
After reading this book, you will never again buy a Volkswagen, a Dr Oetker pizza or Allianz insurance without a twinge of unease.
This Bondi gallery looks like a regular art show until you go inside
Non-fungible tokens are still a novelty among artists. But here’s what your next trip to such a venue could look like.
- Investigation
- Investment banking
Inside the falling out between the rock-star banker and eco-warrior
Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron and her adviser, Jon Adgemis, were one of Australia’s oddest friendships. After a decade, they had a vicious falling out. Why?
Companies
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Sir Clive Cowdery warns sharemarkets shouldn’t ‘die out accidentally’
The global life insurance entrepreneur and philanthropist is worried about the trend of major ASX listed companies being taken private.
Billionaire investor loses more than $583m on three-month Netflix bet
Bill Ackman ditched his stake in Netflix after losing more than $583 million on his investment in less than three months.
Westpac fined $113m after charging fees to deceased clients
Westpac has been hit with $113 million in penalties and will issue $80 million in remediation after it was found to have made widespread compliance failures.
CFMEU taken to court over entry blitz targeting Melbourne builder
John Setka’s CFMEU branch has been accused of ‘unconscionable’ conduct in issuing 400 entry notices against a builder in just three months, disrupting projects.
- Investigation
- Corruption
Inside the downfall of Qld’s corruption watchdog
Queensland’s top anti-corruption boss quit in January in the state’s biggest integrity crisis since Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Now there are concerns the inquiry that toppled him was lopsided.
More construction companies to go under: Hutchinson Builders
Supply chain delays and rising construction costs are putting pressure on builders and subcontractors, with more companies expected to hit the wall.
More work needed for aviation’s hydrogen conversion: start-up
Urgent action is needed for the aviation sector to make sustainable fuels work, a new hydrogen conversion outfit says
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
ASX ends 5-day winning streak as rate fears intensify
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.6 per cent on Friday, its worst session since February, dragged lower by heavy losses across the technology and materials sectors.
Crypto influencer blames drugs for losing millions of investor money
Embattled cryptocurrency social media influencer Alex Saunders has blamed drug addiction for the loss of millions of dollars in investor funds he collected last year.
Study finds traders are useless, so what drives returns?
Portfolios run by investment managers with demonstrable research skills add more than 3 per cent of alpha, study finds.
‘Race to the bottom’: SelfWealth says budget broker model unsustainable
As SelfWealth’s rivals embrace loss-leading to acquire more customers, the budget broker says it can defeat a shareholder motion to roll two board members.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Sharemarkets shouldn’t ‘die out accidentally’: Cowdery
The global life insurance entrepreneur and philanthropist is worried about the trend of major ASX listed companies being taken private.
Opinion
Ukraine brings lessons for this Anzac Day
The veterans of the 1940s would be only too familiar with the battles in Ukraine and the tensions in the South Pacific. But what should we do now?
Editorial
Political tribes are busily destroying political parties
In the absence of substantive policy debates, we see dog-whistling about transgender people in sports, as a modern version of John Howard’s claims about how people resented “political correctness”.
Columnist
Australia faces massive existential threat from China
With China militarising the Solomon Islands, we need decisive leadership to protect our way of life.
Columnist
Teal independents pick up where the Democrats left off
The Climate 200 candidates running in rich Liberal seats are new. But in terms of appeal, they are a reheated version of the now-defunct Australian Democrats, writes Phillip Coorey.
Political editor
Why we admire Volodomyr Zelensky
The Ukrainian President’s forthright courage is everything that the insecurity and paranoia of Putin is not. He shows that democracies can elect leaders that inspire, ennoble and even save.
Contributor
Australia is sleepwalking into an economic and strategic mess
Observers might be forgiven for wondering whether the will exists – on either side of Australian politics – to begin a mature discussion about the nation’s strategic direction in Asia, writes Tom Westland.
Contributor
Politics
CFMEU taken to court over entry blitz targeting Melbourne builder
John Setka’s CFMEU branch has been accused of ‘unconscionable’ conduct in issuing 400 entry notices against a builder in just three months, disrupting projects.
Albanese’s isolation frustrating for a campaign gaining momentum
The only upside Albanese could find was that he contracted COVID-19 now, and not closer to election day.
Queensland to ease COVID-19 isolation requirements
The Palaszczuk government has announced that it will ease close contact isolation rules from next week.
How autistic NDIS recipients could solve our cybersecurity skills gap
Employment programs designed for autistic NDIS recipients could solve Australia’s cybersecurity skills shortage and cut the cost of the expanding scheme.
AFP under fire after foreign bribery case fails
The former head of engineering firm Sinclair Knight Metz has taken aim at the AFP after being cleared of foreign bribery charges
SPONSORED
World
US boosts heavy arms for Ukraine as mass grave expands
‘We’re in a critical window’ of time now, President Joe Biden said in announcing he had approved an additional $US800 million ($1 billion) in battlefield aid
- Opinion
- China relations
Australia is sleepwalking into an economic and strategic mess
Observers might be forgiven for wondering whether the will exists – on either side of Australian politics – to begin a mature discussion about the nation’s strategic direction in Asia, writes Tom Westland.
How Australia beat the UK to a trade deal with India
The Australia-India Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement has been well-received in India, a country just emerging from a protectionist view of the world.
Mariupol commander says Ukraine still fighting, vows not to surrender
A leader of the Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal Iron and Steel Works says they have been ‘surrounded’ but are ‘continuing to defend’ themselves.
Powell, IMF split on rates amid fear countries could ‘hit a wall’
The Federal Reserve is about to raise rates by 50 basis points but European central banks and the IMF say that could send countries to the wall.
Property
Return of international students drives $568m GIC housing deal
The investment by a subsidiary of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC comes as global institutional capital pours into the student accommodation sector.
More construction companies to go under: Hutchinson Builders
Supply chain delays and rising construction costs are putting pressure on builders and subcontractors, with more companies expected to hit the wall.
Foreign buyers return to new homes market: NAB
The share of foreign buyers in the new homes market has risen to a near two-year high of 7.9 per cent nationally and accounts for an above-average four-year high of one in 10 sales in NSW.
Rising lot prices offsetting construction cost increases: Stockland
Stockland maintained its forecast of operating profits of more than 18 per cent across its residential business as it reaffirmed earnings guidance.
Hines moves into logistics with $212m portfolio deal
The acquisition of four large warehouse properties in Sydney and Brisbane gives Hines a springboard to grow its logistics platform in Australia.
Wealth
Westpac tips double rate rise in June
The forecast by the bank’s chief economist, Bill Evans, would take the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate to 0.5 per cent in just seven weeks.
Meet the under-45s dubbed the ‘emerging affluent’
New data suggests 1.9 million Australians under 45 have an average portfolio value of $700,000 as the generational wealth transfer gets under way.
How to prepare for interest rate hikes
With the RBA tipped to start increasing the cash rate from June, this is what homeowners and credit cardholders need to do now to get ahead.
Technology
Crypto influencer blames drugs for losing millions of investor money
Embattled cryptocurrency social media influencer Alex Saunders has blamed drug addiction for the loss of millions of dollars in investor funds he collected last year.
- Exclusive
- Fintech
WeMoney signs deal to tap data from local and global banks
The local fintech has struck a landmark deal with a global data provider for the first CDR and non-CDR data flows under Australia’s evolving open banking regime.
- Exclusive
- Courts
Firm linked to under-fire DG Institute sues RP Data
CoreLogic severed ties with DG Institute, cutting off its real estate data platform RP Data. Now an associated firm is suing RP Data.
Work & Careers
Boss ordered to pay $10,000 for buttock-slapping harassment
A tribunal has awarded a female staffer $10,000 after finding she was slapped on the bottom and harassed by her older boss, but rejected the idea of ‘high end’ damages.
Up for promotion? Think again if you are a woman – or leave
A new study has found that female employees are less likely to be promoted than their male counterparts, despite outperforming them and being less likely to quit.
Life & Luxury
Wipeout: Surfing’s spat ahead of Margaret River event
So contentious is the top surfing tour’s new cut after the upcoming Margaret River event, it’s sparked an uprising from surfers calling for it to be dumped.
Why this 87-year-old is getting on board the NFT train
Charles Billich has just minted his first NFT at the age of 87, and he wishes the technology had been available earlier in his career.
Why Paul Holmes à Court likes being bossed by his vines
At Vasse Felix, his Margaret River winery, the vines – and therefore, terroir – are very much in vogue, and in charge.
This 63-year-old marathon runner says you’re never too old to speed up
Record holder Mariko Yugeta didn’t start picking up the pace until she was in her 50s.
Four new watches with dials to surprise you
Luxury brands Chanel, Hermès, Dior and Rolex get creative with colour to conjure up timepieces unlike any before.
