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- Exclusive
- International students
Indian students, agents game visa system
There is growing concern that students, mainly from India, are rorting a loophole in the visa system to gain entry to cheap courses and the jobs market.
- Exclusive
- Federal budget
Chalmers undecided on lifting deeming rates, cutting pensions
As Treasurer Jim Chalmers seeks to rebuild fiscal buffers, deeming rates are back under the microscope.
Gold bugs storm March quarter with thumping returns
Morningstar data has revealed the best performing fund managers for the year, as of the end of the March quarter, and gold is firmly back in favour.
- Exclusive
- Immigration
Migration system overhaul to save budget billions
Major visa programs designed to lure overseas entrepreneurs, investors and business owners to boost high-tech industries are likely to be axed or overhauled.
MilkRun ‘model can work at an appropriate scale’: Milham
MilkRun founder Dany Milham has argued the collapsed start-up’s business model was better than many outsiders thought.
Employers to face $4m-plus fines for breaking workplace laws
The Albanese government has revealed it is considering a fivefold increase in fines as part of measures that could go well beyond underpayments.
- Analysis
- Earnings season
More questions than answers at BoQ
Cutting the interim dividend has investors wondering how solid BoQ’s capital position is; hanging up on analysts hardly helps bolster the bank’s case.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
review
This is where all the petrodollars are going
The United States is no longer the primary beneficiary of Middle East oil profits and that’s making global finance a murkier system.
- Opinion
- Inflation
We’ve all been way too accepting of inflation
The idea that corporate profit expansion has been a big driver of inflation was once mostly confined to the left, but it’s now taken seriously by central bankers.
There’s almost always an Emily in the room – here’s why
From 1996 to 2007 in the US, the favourite name for girls was – yes, you guessed it. Today they’re all grown up and many are having their moment in the sun.
No fresh towels, no made bed – welcome to your new hotel experience
The pandemic forced changes in the level of service provided but infrequent or no housekeeping is becoming a permanent change.
Companies
Brookfield kicks off ACCC process for $18.7b Origin takeover
The competition regulator is understood to have started a preliminary assessment of the draft takeover application by Brookfield and partner EIG.
Forrest, IGO signal battery metals processing plant
The plan would take Australia further down the battery manufacturing value chain than ever before and is a kick in the shins for BHP.
BoQ cuts interim dividend after $60m provision for compliance failures
CEO Patrick Allaway defends the decision to release the information before next Thursday’s results, saying ‘it is appropriate for the stock to trade’.
- Exclusive
- Sharemarket
AVZ wins embassy support in Congo mine stoush
A DRC source claimed AVZ CEO Nigel Ferguson is in the African country in an attempt to negotiate a resolution of its dispute as the miner seeks Australian government support.
Small gas producers eye expansion as large projects shelved
Small gas developments are looking to capitalise on the fact that they will not face the same pressures as larger developments.
Rex takes big stake in electric air travel start-up
Dovetail, the electric aviation start-up backed by the company behind Sydney Seaplanes, has a new shareholder.
Best & Less poaches new CEO from The Iconic
Erica Berchtold has headed Australia’s largest online-only fashion and lifestyle retailer since 2019. She now will also need to look after 248 stores.
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Markets
Upbeat jobs report puts an RBA rate rise in play
An upbeat jobs report lifted bond yields and the Australian dollar, adding to the case for the RBA to resume its cash rate increase after a pause last month.
US jobless claims rise but remain at historically low levels
The job market seems to be finally showing some signs of softening, more than a year after the Federal Reserve began an aggressive campaign to cool inflation.
ASX closes higher, post 2pc weekly jump
ASX gains; BOQ hit by $260m blow; Karoon flags higher costs in Brazil; Wesfarmers CEO sells $9m worth of shares; GR Engineering wins $312m contracts; IGO gets WA nod for plant.
Exxon chief’s pay jumps 52pc after oil boom
Darren Woods’ pay totalled $53 million as the oil giant’s profits have continued to surge since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Here’s what happened in markets overnight
Australian shares are set to open higher. Shares in New York advanced as two reports bolstered bets the rate peak is near. $A leaps. VIX tumbles.
Opinion
Is the banking crisis over?
As regulators guarantee the safety of banks, risks will shift into the non-bank lending domain.
Columnist
NATO visit should be a slam dunk for Albanese
Turning down the invitation to attend the NATO summit would go against Australia’s deliberate foreign policy thrust to build a web of alliances and partnerships to manage China.
Political correspondent
Labor fails to make the case for IR changes
Having been burned once on Labor’s workplace agenda, business is determined to not get played again, and to achieve a better result the second time around.
Editorial
On Taiwan, Macron is this generation’s Neville Chamberlain
The French president’s vision for so-called European “strategic independence” simply invites Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to continue dividing and conquering democracies.
Columnist
Why the Fed is not ready to pause rate rises
The US inflation rate has reached the same level as the Fed funds rate, but the central bank is not yet comfortable with a pause.
United States correspondent
There are no second chances in this Voice referendum
The No vote sought by Peter Dutton will change the country – and could spell the end of the long reconciliation walk.
Doctor and academic
Politics
Claims Voice will ‘veto’ Anzac Day wrong: Hayne
Witnesses to a parliamentary committee have rejected suggestion the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory body would force a change of Australia Day or Anzac Day.
Three NSW public servants will get $1.5m after being sacked
The NSW Premier unveiled a new-look public service structure including a plan to split the state’s Department of Premier and Cabinet.
- Exclusive
- Australia's China challenge
Chinese officials welcome to inspect Australian abattoirs
Trade Minister Don Farrell says it is one of the options available to the government in its bid to convince Beijing authorities to overturn bans on local goods.
How Beijing welcomed Australia back in from the cold
China was on a charm offensive in Sydney and Canberra this week as it prepares to unwind $20 billion in sanctions. But is Australia permanently out of the deep freeze?
- Updated
- Jobs
May rate rise on the cards after strong jobs numbers
The RBA could increase rates as soon as next month, as employment rises and some economists warn that the central bank has not done enough to cool the economy.
SPONSORED
World
FBI arrests Pentagon papers leaker
The US Attorney General named the low-ranking member of the Air National Guard as Jack Teixeira, who will be charged under the Espionage Act.
High-stakes Fox trial begins with search for unbiased jury
Hundreds of potential jurors will be questioned as voting-machine maker Dominion’s $US1.6 billion case heads to court.
IMF warns of new cold war over China tensions
IMF director Kristalina Georgieva has warned policymakers over the US push to reduce reliance on China for manufacturing and critical supplies.
Australia’s top diplomat in Japan seeks to allay gas concerns
Australia’s ambassador to Japan, Justin Hayhurst, says there are still “bright prospects” for Japanese LNG investment despite energy security fears.
G7 climate ministers challenge Japan’s energy strategy
Tokyo’s climate plan has been criticised by officials and environmental groups because of its bet on ammonia as a low-carbon energy source alongside gas or coal to reduce emissions from existing power plants.
Property
Landlords cash in by leasing $500m of warehousing at record rents
More than $500m of new warehousing has been leased up by the likes of GPT, Centuria and Frasers amid soaring industrial rents and record low vacancy rates.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Macquarie director buys $14.5m Sydney home
Macquarie’s James Hooke purchased a $14.5m Vaucluse abode, while Carla Zampatti’s son and brand CEO Alex Schuman picks up $12.5 million Potts Point penthouse.
Sydney aged care centres to shut due to staff shortages
Changes recommended by a royal commission and adopted by the Albanese government require a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day.
This is the property sector’s top fear
Concerns over the country’s housing crisis have surged across the property sector, and rank as the sector’s most critical issue to be addressed by the federal government.
Housing market recovery ‘has legs’
The housing market recovery in Sydney and Melbourne has legs, but prices are unlikely to surge to boom levels, experts say.
Wealth
Why difficult tenants push landlords into Airbnb
There’s little doubt short-term lets are taking residential rentals out of the market – but do our laws make it too tempting for investors to make the switch?
How to know when property prices will bottom out
Many pundits say the market is turning, but others warn reduced borrowing capacity, high-interest rates and soft lending activity will subdue recovery.
- Opinion
- Hybrids
How to work out if your investments are too risky
The cash rate is a useful starting point when assessing the relative merit of assets as it allows you to judge whether the additional return is adequate.
Technology
Western security agencies tell software developers to up their game
Weaknesses in technology products, particularly software, are often exploited by criminal groups and nation-states to compromises businesses and public infrastructure.
Gilbert + Tobin offers staff $20,000 AI ‘bounty’
The leading law firm says it wants to make the development of AI “fun and rewarding” for staff.
Combative Musk turns tables on BBC interviewer
In a rambling interview with the BBC, Elon Musk said he had slashed Twitter’s workforce by 80 per cent, and that the company is operating at about breakeven.
Work & Careers
From encyclopaedia salesman to Forrest’s top hydrogen guy
Fortescue Future Industries chief executive Mark Hutchinson says he learnt more from selling encyclopaedias than he ever did at university.
JPMorgan calls managing directors to office five days a week
Leaders at the bank have to be visible on the floor, they must meet with clients, they need to teach and advise, the firm’s operating committee told staff.
Life & Luxury
- Analysis
- IVF
The big freeze – single women pay big price to call the shots
Technology is giving professional females a better shot at having children at a time of their choosing, but some are raiding their superannuation to achieve it.
Mother of the miniskirt, Mary Quant, dies
The British revolutionary fashion designer, who has died aged 93, was to clothes what The Beatles were to pop music.
Stressed out? Here’s a first look at Raffles’ new wellness therapy
How much de-stressing can be packed into a weekend? Prepare to have your soul blessed – and grab a bath pillow. Your time starts now.
The light and shade behind John Olsen’s genius
The director of the National Art School got to know the legendary artist on a personal level, gaining insight into his love of Spanish painting, his dog … and rugby league.
- Updated
- Style
Mary Quant – the great liberator
Dame Mary Quant, the fashion designer, known for shortening hemlines in the 1960s, has died aged 93. Here, we republish an interview with the curators of an art gallery where her work was showcased.
