The search is on for Australia’s fastest growing companies.
Missing ministers, policy backflips: Xi Jinping’s challenges mount
A missing foreign minister shines an unwelcome spotlight on a secretive and autocratic regime as questions grow about management of the world’s second-largest economy.
Double dissolution move leaves open 2024 election
Labor could pick up an extra three Senate spots while, at worst, not go backwards, if it held a double dissolution election.
- Analysis
- World markets
The Bank of Japan has financial markets on edge
It’s not often the central bank’s actions move global markets. But Friday’s statement has bond, foreign exchange and sharemarket traders scrambling.
Rate rise less likely after spending plunges
An unexpected fall in spending has given the RBA more reason to pause next week, as consumers cut back on purchases amid cost of living pressures.
How (not) to sack a PwC partner in 35 days
Senior partner Richard Gregg’s outrage over his treatment by PwC led him to become the first partner being ousted from the firm to take legal action.
ASX tumbles as Bank of Japan jolts markets
Australian shares dropped 0.7 per cent on Friday, but still managed to post a weekly gain of 1.2 per cent.
Where big super will invest as real estate plunges
Big super wants to keep building its unlisted asset exposure, but is looking to redirect their mammoth savings pools as commercial real estate values plummet.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
Edition
AFR Magazine, Design issue
Mercenary or miracle worker? Eddie Jones back in charge | Alessi takes a new seat at the design table | Watch special: new luxury timepieces for your wish list
review
To become president, Zelensky had to learn Ukrainian
How Ukraine’s Russian-speaking leader went from television provocateur to wartime president.
- Opinion
- Index funds
Big tech is becoming dangerously successful for passive investors
Index providers are cutting back on Apple and other large tech companies, which are concentrating risk in a small number of stocks.
- Opinion
- Social media
What the hell is Elon Musk doing with X (Twitter)?
The billionaire didn’t want the micro-blogging platform’s employees, code, brand or its most dedicated users. So why did he spend $65 billion on it?
- Opinion
- Psychology
Why men lose all their friends in midlife
What happens to male friendship in middle age? I’m both envious of those who appear to have lots of companions and suspicious of how they’ve acquired them.
- Opinion
- Leadership lessons
As a young army officer I broke rules – and now, I do it in business
I breached orders prohibiting warning shots being fired at civilians when I was a lieutenant with an armoured troop in Baghdad in 2004. It was a useful lesson.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR app. Now available for Android and iOS.
Companies
‘Bloody crazy’ policies slowing critical minerals projects
Developers of South Australian copper projects say its getting harder to bring mines to life as BHP and unions brawl over productivity.
- Analysis
- Big four
Meet the executives next in line to run the big banks
It’s fast becoming the industry’s favourite guessing game – who will make up the next generation of big bank bosses?
- Exclusive
- Australia
Trouble at the top as two execs ditch NRL players board
Former insurance executive, Stuart Nelson, and former Ampol executive, Joanne Taylor, departed the RLPA in the past eight days.
PointsBet tells shareholders it will break even by April
The ASX-listed wagering group has already agreed to sell its US business to Jay Z-backed sports merchandise company Fanatics for $333 million.
PwC wins $700m from big banks since 2017, five times its nearest rival
PwC has lifted its take of audit and non-audit work from the five largest banks from $98.4 million in the 2017 financial year to $136.6 million in 2022.
- Exclusive
- Mining
The Pilbara’s forgotten man stakes a claim to Hancock millions
Don Rhodes was a key figure in the development of WA’s Pilbara but has been largely forgotten by history, the CEO of his company believes. It now wants a share of Gina Rinehart’s mining royalties.
ASX told to bolster policies to avoid conflicts of interest over CHESS
Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has made 13 recommendations for ASX to improve management of conflicts of interest, as the CHESS fallout continues.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Strategists split on equities, commodities as rate rise cycle nears end
Traders are divided on whether the cash rate increase cycle has topped out and whether allocations to equities and the Australian dollar should be lifted.
Turning point or false dawn? Australia’s big economic puzzle
This week’s softer inflation data is lifting optimism for a smooth path to an economic soft landing but there are plenty of headwinds ahead.
‘No recession in sight’: US economic growth surges
The economy grew 2.4 per cent last quarter, beating forecasts and suggesting that America is steering clear of recession.
ASX falls 0.7pc, weighed by miners, REITs
BoJ adjusts yield curve control; banks divided on RBA rate call; retail sales fall more than expected. Follow updates here.
ECB lifts interest rates for ninth time to combat inflation
Echoing the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank says inflation is still too high and rates will stay high enough to restrict economic activity “for as long as necessary”.
Opinion
Albanese is putting the No-alition on election notice
The prime minister says that there will be no election this year. But he has a double dissolution trigger at a time when the Labor is in an exceptionally strong position.
Columnist
Down but not out, the Voice could still be heard
Tony Abbott says the Yes campaign could yet “buy” the referendum with a short, well-funded campaign. Strip away the pejoratives, and he’s not far off.
Political editor
Cash reserves still a problem after 12 rate rises
With Australia’s consumer buffers among the largest in the world, interest rates are likely to be higher for longer.
Columnist
Russia plays Hunger Games with the world
Australia helped to build a rules-based order in trade. Vladimir Putin now wants to wreck it for his own ends.
Ukraine's Ambassador
Albanese has no plan B to get the Voice across the line
The Yes campaign is losing the race to persuade more Australians to support the Voice, even thought it started in front.
Columnist
China’s troubles run deeper than post-pandemic slump
China has been warned for years that the investment-led model which it turbocharged after the global financial crisis – naming a GDP target then piling on credit until it was met – was not sustainable.
Editorial
Politics
How online disinformation is hijacking the Voice
Voice advocates are facing a barrage of incorrect and malicious claims about the proposed body’s powers being spread on social media.
Victoria bans new homes from connecting to gas
The state, which has the highest use of residential gas in Australia, will ban all new homes that require a planning permit from connecting to gas.
The maths that will decide the fate of the Voice
As little as 10 weeks out from the polls, the public meetings, letters to editors, and door knocking are intensifying, and both sides are running the numbers.
PM ‘confident’ on nuclear subs as US pressure mounts
Twenty-five US Republican lawmakers told Joe Biden the plan to sell submarines to Australia under the AUKUS pact would “unacceptably weaken” the US fleet.
Chris Jordan to step down as Tax Commissioner
The boss of the Australian Taxation Office says he will not seek reappointment to the role next year.
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World
The perils of the great age of global incoherence
Inconsistencies are currently rife in global foreign policy, especially between the US and China, and real agendas are hard to discern.
A complex brew: why heatwaves are hitting records
After a sweltering July in many parts of the world, the odds are rising that 2023 will end up displacing 2016 as the hottest year on record.
Trump charged over ‘asking staffer to delete footage’
The former president faces new charges in the classified documents case even as prosecutors pursue an indictment over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
‘Era of global boiling’ has arrived, scientists warn
July is set to become the world’s hottest month on record, as fossil fuel emissions drive climate change and heat waves intensify across the northern hemisphere.
Zelensky hails gains in fierce Ukrainian counteroffensive
Ukraine pressed its counteroffensive through the Russian-occupied south-east, capturing a key village as they try to drive a wedge through Russia’s defences.
Property
This is where investors are selling (and where you could find bargains)
Landlords are getting out because costs are rising almost nine faster than rent increases, creating opportunities for cashed-up buyers.
Metricon hikes prices for up to 10pc of customers
The surge of new home orders, triggered by record-low borrowing costs and incentive payments, has created a world of pain for builders – and their customers.
UK architects WilkinsonEyre look to muscle up Down Under
Director Ed Daines is relocating to Sydney, as the elite firm looks for fresh Australian opportunities in high-rise, transport infrastructure and beyond.
Sydney house prices jump 5.3pc in three months
Sydney’s house prices rose by the sharpest quarterly increase since late 2021, fuelled by strong demand outpacing listings.
- Exclusive
- Property development
Chinese property developers are now fleeing Australia in droves
The decision by China’s biggest housing developer, Country Garden, to sell its remaining Melbourne estate follows the exit of Dalian Wanda, Yuhu and Greenland.
Wealth
Where to get the best ‘ethical’ super returns
Large industry super funds delivered the highest returns of all ethical funds over several investment periods, exceeding those from ESG-specific funds by as much as five percentage points.
Keep your wits about AI’s heady possibilities
Analysts are falling over themselves trying to work out AI’s productivity and earnings implications, but at this stage anything they say just an educated guess.
At $250k a day, battle of Perth billionaires is ultimate lawyers’ picnic
The top silk in the court fight between Gina Rinehart’s company and a family that is trying to claim billions of dollars in mining revenue is earning about $35,000 a day. And that’s just the start.
Technology
SiteMinder surges 20pc as profit is in sight
The company expects to enter the black in the second half of this financial year, following strong revenue growth and a cut in spending.
The pleasure and the perils of loving an AI partner
Is artificial intelligence a potential solution to a loneliness epidemic that, in part, has been driven by digital technology – or is it the thin end of a dangerous wedge?
- Analysis
- Tech Observed
Bye bye bank fees as tech cuts out foreign exchange pain
Banks will hate it, but tourists and expat workers will be cheering as new tech lowers FX fees across SE Asia, while fintechs compete to transform the world’s largest financial market.
Work & Careers
CFMEU Qld boss fined over ‘blatant’ breaches at Cross River Rail
The CFMEU Queensland branch has been fined $225,000 for unauthorised entries, with a judge fining its boss personally to give the penalty the “necessary sting”.
- Exclusive
- Governance
Boards pull back on investment amid slowing economy
BOSS this week met with boardroom heavyweights from some of our largest companies around the country who warned the economy is in “very mixed” shape.
Life & Luxury
How this Wallabies star is planning a ‘soft exit’
Wallabies co-captain Michael Hooper has had his fair share of ice baths and saunas. Now he’s buying into them.
Pickleball is the biggest sport you’ve never heard of
Pickleball is booming with major backing from the likes of LeBron James, Nick Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka, and Michael Phelps.
Take a look at our photos of the week
The best images from the past seven days include portfolio manager Neil Margolis from Merlon.
Menacing English bowling attack could strike early on day two
Led by a ripping performance from Mitchell Starc, Australia has taken the honours after day one of the Oval Test, but was let down by poor fielding.
Disastrous loss to Nigeria leaves Matildas in peril
In front of a massive home crowd, Australia went down 3-2 against a strong Nigeria side and must now win without superstar Sam Kerr to stay in the World Cup.
From the gallery
The Australian Financial Review Magazine
Eddie Jones: Union to take on league in rugby heartland
- Jonathan Shapiro and Zoe Samios
BOSS Financial Review
Boards pull back on investment amid slowing economy
- Patrick Durkin and Anthony Macdonald
