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Trump arrives in New York for historic charges
The former president jumped on his private jet to New York where media outnumbered protesters ahead of his historic booking on hush money charges.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to rise, oil surges, RBA rate call ahead
Australian shares are set to edge higher. Wall Street rallies, paced by energy. Consensus divided on rate move. Follow updates here.
- Live
- Need to Know
The Voice is not a vote for politicians, says Andrew Bragg
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg warns the vote on the Voice should not go ahead this year; the former US president arrives in New York to face criminal charges. Follow updates here.
Don’t feel sorry for the banks
The big four, Macquarie and the regional banks are clamouring for customers. But when conditions improve they will only need to dial up rates a notch or two to be back in black.
White House got ‘heads up’ on OPEC+ cut
The US sought to strike a balance between denouncing the decision to cut output and not further sour relations with Saudi Arabia.
- Opinion
- Home loans
CBA and Macquarie will be last left standing in home loan wars
As competition for mortgages rage on, bankers expect many lenders will vacate the battlefield, leaving just Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie, writes Karen Maley.
Liberals pitch Voice overhaul as Dutton calls snap party meeting
The Liberal party has demanded Labor remove a clause for the Voice to advise the executive, as well as the parliament, arguing it was too broad.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
Companies
Big four banks win the refinancing battle
The country’s largest banks are consolidating their lead over smaller rivals, growing their share of the ultra-competitive mortgage refinancing market even though it is damaging returns.
Cement groups warn jobs at risk without local leg-up on carbon
The CEOs of Boral and Adbri say carbon emissions will simply be shifted offshore if local manufacturers don’t have a level-playing field.
Glencore expected to sweeten offer for Canadian miner Teck
Teck Resources rejected the initial $34 billion proposal from Glencore to buy the company for shares and then spin off their combined coal businesses.
EY Germany gets two-year ban after Wirecard audit failure
The decision is the harshest regulatory consequence yet for EY Germany since Wirecard’s demise almost three years ago.
Star should replace Sydney CEO role quickly, regulator urges
It comes as Star Sydney CEO Scott Wharton will part way through its grace period granted by the regulator to clean up its act.
Rig owners spooked by Australia’s gas measures, say industry sources
Anti-gas policies under the Labor government may be unnerving suppliers to the sector, which are diverting resources to more certain markets, industry sources say.
No curbs on LNG exports for next quarter: King
A forecast shortfall in gas for 2023 on the east coast has almost disappeared, removing the immediate risk of LNG exports from Queensland being curbed.
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Markets
Tesla slumps as deliveries data fuels margin questions
Tesla’s shares fell after the company said it produced almost 18,000 more elective vehicles than it sold, casting doubt on its decision to slash prices.
Here’s what happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set for modest opening gains. OPEC+ has jolted the energy sector. Tesla tumbles. Reserve Bank statement at 2.30pm AEST.
US factory activity index falls to lowest since 2020
The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of manufacturing activity decreased to 46.3 in March, below the median estimate of 47.5 in a Bloomberg survey.
OPEC’s surprise output cut reignites inflation anxiety
US oil prices leapt as much as 8 per cent on Monday, fuelling bets that the Fed will need to increase rates again to control resurgent inflation.
Oil buyers reel from OPEC+ cuts
OPEC+’s decision to tighten supplies globally may lead to increased costs to secure barrels, further weighing on the region’s crimped consumption.
Opinion
Why builders aren’t building enough homes
Growing numbers of Australians can’t find or afford homes to rent or to buy. Surging immigration and falling new supply is worsening a housing crisis that few politicians want to discuss.
Columnist
The best way to defeat Trump? Revive the American dream
Using lawfare to try to block the former president’s run in 2024 could prove counterproductive if it just reminds Americans why they supported him in the first place.
Editorial
China’s diplomatic blitz leaves Australia as a bystander
The world’s political and business leaders have been visiting a reopening China. Australians have been left on the outer with a country of key commercial interest.
Columnist
Treasury must think again about the budget and the tax take
With spending exploding, the Treasury might have good reason for understating its revenue outlook. But it’s not conservative any more: it’s silly.
Economist
RBA needs more data and more debate
Monetary policy is as much an art as it is science. But it needs deeper research and the broadest possible debate if it is to work well.
Economist
Business leaders bracing for a tax-the-rich budget
There are growing expectations that Jim Chalmers will be inspired by governments in the US and Canada as he grapples with how to pay for spending increases.
Columnist
Politics
Tax investors to pay working mums, Treasury suggests
Assistance to encourage mothers and the jobless to work more may need to be funded by reducing tax breaks for investors, Treasury boss Steven Kennedy has signalled.
Labor-Greens gas deal tips scales to East Timor on Sunrise project
The deal will make it harder for Woodside to pipe gas from the Timor Sea to Darwin and bolsters Dili’s case to host the potential mega project, say analysts.
Albanese cautions against getting ‘carried away’ as Liberals flounder
Anthony Albanese has cautioned against tax changes that Labor doesn’t have a mandate for as his opponents founder after the Aston byelection.
Albanese bans TikTok on official government devices
Chinese-owned social media app TikTok has reportedly been banned from being installed on any Australian government-issued devices, over concerns about security.
- Exclusive
- AUKUS
Why this tech guru fears China has a military edge
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey believes some of the best minds in the West are not working for military companies.
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World
Trump arrives in New York for historic charges
The former president jumped on his private jet to New York where media outnumbered protesters ahead of his historic booking on hush money charges.
Zelensky thanks Bakhmut defenders as Wagner head claims victory
Yevgeny Prigozhin said his troops, involved in a months-long effort to encircle and capture the bombed-out city, had raised a Russian flag on its administrative building.
- Analysis
- Trump's America
New York City braces for a day of Trump tumult
There will be protests and celebrations, an all-hands-on-deck police presence and a crush of media attention on the first-ever indictment of a US president.
- Asia
- Tourism
Badly behaved Russians have Bali all stirred up
Many Australians have made fools of themselves in Bali over the years, but the locals know it’s a minority. Not so with the Russians.
- Exclusive
- Insolvency
Czech coal power owner undeterred by Callide C upset
Sev.en Global Investments still wants to pursue other coal power investments in Australia, despite its part-owned Genuity falling into administration.
Property
Premium Sydney homes gain $610,000 in just three months
Property values for Sydney’s more expensive homes climbed by as much as 8.4 per cent in just three months as the earlier than expected recovery in the top-end segment gathered pace, new data from CoreLogic shows.
Porter Davis customers to learn fate ‘within the week’
Porter Davis customers should find out this week if liquidator Grant Thornton has secured a new builder to finish their partially completed homes.
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Irongate back in action with $2b in projects
After being taken private, a management buyout brings Irongate back into the property game, with a prestigious workbook and powerful backers, including South Africa’s Investec.
Family offices, small businesses to fill up Melbourne office tower
Developer Time & Place believes a shortage of suitable office space for small companies in the CBD will drive demand for its Hotel Lindrum office tower.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Jan Cameron adds Bruny Island rural gem to huge portfolio
The Kathmandu founder will add the Woodlands estate at the northern tip of Bruny Island to huge swathes of real estate she already owns on Tasmania’s north-east coast.
Wealth
Will my spouse be slugged by new $3m super cap after I die?
John Wasiliev outlines how reversionary pensions and estate planning will be affected by penalty tax for the remaining partner.
- Opinion
- Property downsizing
How to work out whether a downsizer contribution is really worth it
Just because you can do this from 55 doesn’t mean you should. Depending on your circumstances, you could be better off waiting.
Tax superannuation earnings in retirement: Grattan
The Grattan Institute says its proposed super measures would save more than six times as much as the government’s controversial plan to double the tax on earnings in big super accounts.
Technology
Musk strips New York Times of blue tick after paper refuses to pay
Its main Twitter account, which has about 55 million followers, no longer bears a verification check mark after the company angered Elon Musk.
Amazon’s $13b Aussie investment plan revealed
AWS will spend $13.2 billion on its East Coast data centre infrastructure over the next five years to keep pace with customer demand.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
New funding shows the chill of Australian start-up funding winter
The latest figures on Australian tech start-up funding show only $661 million was raised in the first three months of 2023, a huge drop on the previous quarter.
Work & Careers
‘Never be another like him’: Land rights campaigner Yunupingu dies
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to the chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and former Australian of the Year.
Retailers back ‘inflation based’ minimum wage increase of 3.8pc
The retail group representing Coles and Woolworths has called for the highest wage rise of all the employer groups. But unions say more is needed as worker despair surpasses the global financial crisis.
Life & Luxury
From lawyer to international award-winning playwright
Australian Suzie Miller has won a revered Olivier award at an event celebrating the best of London’s West End with her play about a criminal defence specialist.
Why do humble? Here’s where to find high-end Easter feasting
From Good Friday fish to chocolate eggs, cover the traditional culinary bases of the season in style.
Why Sandy Powell is your favourite costume designer (you just didn’t know it)
She’s won three Oscars and made costumes for everyone from Paltrow to Pitt. But she says the real job is simply gaining trust.
- Opinion
- Indigenous
Yunupingu: the man who walked between two worlds
The Yolgnu elder will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to Country and staunch advocacy for Aboriginal self-determination.
- Opinion
- Review
We blind taste test Sonos’ latest speaker, and it sounds yummy
The new breed brings Dolby Atmos music playback to the mix. It’s a feature that’s sometimes great, occasionally terrible, and mostly notable by its absence.
