An insightful look at the week’s biggest tech stories, deals and trends delivered to your inbox.
Inside the secret Accenture team trying to hack the banks
Jason Ford and his “red teams” have been breaking into banks by fooling workers with the latest psychological tricks targeting the human foibles that leave IT defences vulnerable.
- Analysis
- World politics
Albanese’s visit settles some US doubts
The prime minister held his nerve in Washington on his state visit this week amid the usual hot talk of “warnings” about China.
Experts who say rates won’t rise next month can be counted on one hand
The cohort of economists tipping a November rate pause has shrunk to just five. They say slowing growth will stop Michele Bullock from raising rates.
Futile, desperate search for safe ground in Gaza
As the territory’s deadliest war grinds on, the search for safety feels increasingly futile for many Palestinians, who also face dwindling reserves of water, food and fuel.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
The RBA has a home-grown inflation problem
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is blaming the oil price spike for inflation but local factors are increasingly driving inflation, writes John Kehoe.
Cromwell, Australian Unity plan for $1b property fund falls apart
Weakening conditions – along with a squeeze on redemptions – have combined to blow up an ambitious plan to combine two unlisted funds.
Year of reckoning: how sexual assault caught up with Australia’s universities
The departure of Catriona Jackson, chief executive of Universities Australia, could provide a circuit breaker for the under-fire sector. But will it be enough?
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
Edition
Young Rich List 2023
The hotly anticipated annual list of Australia’s 100 wealthiest people aged under 40.
smart investor
Why now is the time to be buying bonds
They’ve experienced a brutal adjustment as yields have lurched to decade highs. Now they’re offering a compelling option to protect and even grow wealth.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
Will the RBA bow to political pressure?
The big question is whether the RBA can resist political interference to lift the cash rate in November.
The secret to building a $1m-plus super fund as a woman
Taking calculated risks and making small extra contributions can boost your balance by $800,000.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
What happens if you make an illegal raid on super to ease tough times
More SMSF trustees are being caught out by the ATO illegally accessing their retirement savings – this is how they’re dealt with.
Can I give my money to kids and still get the age pension?
Questions from parents asking about gifting money to children have been quite common this year, say advisers.
weekend reads
PM charms the US but shadow of China looms large
On the surface, Anthony Albanese’s official visit to Washington was a smashing success. But there was a none-too-subtle reminder about who Australia’s friends really are.
Hockey reveals what it was really like to play golf with Trump
Former federal treasurer and ex-US ambassador Joe Hockey reflects on Donald Trump, the state of United States politics and the future of Australian businesses.
- Analysis
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The dice are loaded against a Middle East solution
Every player in the Israel-Hamas conflict has their own interests and agendas. Nothing can happen without everything happening.
How Michael Lewis made a fortune writing about money
The author’s nose for a story has made him a figure as influential in finance as most of the people in his books – and probably as rich.
The favourite lunch spots of Sydney’s top bankers
End-of-deal lunches are thinner on the ground these days, but still, bankers have to eat. Here are their top lunch spots in Sydney.
Carbon Challenge | Essential news and analysis for business and investors about Australia’s critical economic transition.
Companies
- Updated
- Mining
Roy Hill boosts Rinehart war chest as billionaire confirms lithium raid
The Pilbara iron ore mine has paid the country’s richest person $2.14 billion at the same time as management considers life after operations come to an end.
- Exclusive
- Carbon challenge
Brisbane-based charging company Tritium loses its spark
Electric vehicle fast-charging company Tritium has long been championed by politicians, but is facing a battle to keep its operations in Australia amid a major capital shortfall.
The five wizards of OZ Minerals storm the C-suite
The former members of the senior leadership team have won CEO roles elsewhere since the BHP takeover, as rivals try to tap into the former copper miner’s unique culture.
Judo plots Europe jaunt to drum up investor interest
CEO Joseph Healy admits he is frustrated with the weakness in the challenger bank’s share price, and hopes a more long-term focus can help arrest the slide.
Inside the secret Accenture team trying to hack the banks
Jason Ford and his “red teams” have been breaking into banks by fooling workers with the latest psychological tricks targeting the human foibles that leave IT defences vulnerable.
- Exclusive
- Investment banking
Singapore billionaire emerges as hurdle for TPG’s $1.8b InvoCare deal
The funeral provider’s second-largest shareholder has moved his stake against the transaction, sources said.
Tolga Kumova joins Pilbara lithium frenzy
The resources investor is the biggest backer of micro-cap Industrial Minerals, which has stuck a deal allowing it to extract lithium from Pilbara tenements.
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Markets
Pengana CEO urges business leaders to speak up for Jewish community
Russel Pillemer, who co-founded the homegrown investment management firm with Malcolm Turnbull, pleaded for ‘people in power’ to be vocal in their support of the Jewish community.
Traders say AI theme has longer to run despite $600b tech sell-off
Better-than-expected results from Google, Microsoft and Meta were not enough to stop a sharp fall in values. Investors are blaming short-term profit-taking.
ASX’s last-day gains fail to offset a second week of declines
ASX closes its second weekly in the red. Tech stocks hit after Nasdaq rout. Producer prices jump on oil and energy costs Follow here for more
Future Fund prepares for more inflation, Middle East conflict
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund said its assets dipped by $900 million in the three months to the end of September, but are up 6.3 per cent over 12 months.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Time for investors to rethink Buffett’s advice
The big banks and giant iron ore miners dominate the Australian stock exchange. But both sectors face structural headwinds that should have shareholders thinking hard about the future.
Opinion
The middle-power mission is to revive free trade
Economic growth and security are stalling around the world. Mr Albanese must remind Beijing that it was economic openness that made everyone great.
Editorial
Inflation is now a home-grown problem for the RBA
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is blaming the oil price spike for inflation but local factors are increasingly driving inflation.
Economics editor
Bipartisanship comes to grief on the Middle East
Conflating immigration with terrorism is just a quick way of importing the tensions of the Middle East into Australia.
Columnist
Will the RBA bow to political pressure?
The big question is whether the RBA can resist political interference to lift the cash rate in November.
Columnist
Albanese’s twin trips a balancing act on US and China
Anthony Albanese’s visits to Washington and Beijing will inevitably make the Australian PM a conduit and sounding board for both Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
Editorial
How Albanese won over Washington
The prime minister achieved none of his public objectives in America, but the alignment between the US and Australia was clearer than ever.
Strategist
Reports
The circular economy
This special report on sustainability looks at the repair and recycling movement to cut waste, changes in farming techniques and hybrid timber skyscrapers.
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by AccenturePolitics
- Analysis
- Foreign relations
Albanese’s US trip reminds China what it will never have
Submarines, cybersecurity and the US security alliance were top of the agenda during Anthony Albanese’s visit to Washington. Behind it all is the challenge of Beijing.
Experts who say rates won’t rise next month can be counted on one hand
The cohort of economists tipping a November rate pause has shrunk to just five. They say slowing growth will stop Michele Bullock from raising rates.
- Analysis
- AUKUS
The tennis match that may get AUKUS over the line
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to the US this week has coincided with the solving of two major problems holding back the AUKUS submarine deal.
Australians urged to leave Lebanon; domestic security risk rises
Security officials in Canberra are worried low-level fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could dramatically escalate, shifting the security calculation at home.
Pay back clause could have undermined JobKeeper
Requiring profitable companies to pay back JobKeeper could have damaged confidence, but the program should only be revived in a severe economic crisis.
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World
Futile, desperate search for safe ground in Gaza
As the territory’s deadliest war grinds on, the search for safety feels increasingly futile for many Palestinians, who also face dwindling reserves of water, food and fuel.
US strikes Iran-linked targets in Syria
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the “narrowly tailored” action was retaliation for attacks on American forces in the region.
China’s former premier, sidelined by Xi Jinping, dies
Once viewed as a top Communist Party leadership contender, Li Keqiang was sidelined in recent years by China’s president. He died of a heart attack on Friday.
- Analysis
- AUKUS
The tennis match that may get AUKUS over the line
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to the US this week has coincided with the solving of two major problems holding back the AUKUS submarine deal.
China puts world’s biggest Apple supplier in its crosshairs
Foxconn founder Terry Gou is testing his long relationship with Beijing as geopolitics reshape supply chains.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Jewellers Keith and Deirdre Beville to sell $25m Toorak gem
The home of Melbourne’s Bevilles Jewellers family on Whernside Avenue joins Toorak’s prestige market with a price of up to $25 million
Cromwell, Australian Unity plan for $1b property fund falls apart
Weakening conditions – along with a squeeze on redemptions – have combined to blow up an ambitious plan to combine two unlisted funds.
- Exclusive
- Property prices
Chinese property player swoops on Elias Jreissati penthouse for $16m
Developer and winemaker Elias Jreissati and wife Colleen have sold their Port Melbourne penthouse for $16 million,
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Former Rich Lister Charles Curran to sell $29m Woollahra home
Media baron Charles Curran listed his Woollahra home for $29 million, while philanthropists Fiona Martin-Weber and Tom Hayward sell nearby for $19.7 million.
Engineered stone alternatives will double benchtop cost, industry says
With a ban on engineered stone increasingly likely, a cloud also sits over alternatives as they contain silica too, the country’s largest manufacturer warns.
Wealth
The secret to building a $1m-plus super fund as a woman
Taking calculated risks and making small extra contributions can boost your balance by $800,000.
Why now is the time to be buying bonds
They’ve experienced a brutal adjustment as yields have lurched to decade highs. Now they’re offering a compelling option to protect and even grow wealth.
‘What the eff?’: Jack Zhang on Airwallex’s near-death experience
A close call with Silicon Valley Bank could have wiped out half a billion of capital. The swiftness of Airwallex’s response demonstrates why it’s a company to watch.
Technology
The Adelaide bus driver’s son unravelling FTX’s web of fraud
Peter Easton has been involved in litigation related to 33 major financial scandals and disputes in the US and Australia over more than 20 years.
$1.2m for start-up that helps brands ditch plastic cards
The Funded blog is the new home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
Is Amazon running out of worlds to conquer?
Huge job cuts have boosted profits across the big technology companies, but there’s a limit to how deep they can go. Amazon’s results show its longer-term problem.
Work & Careers
Aldi accused of ‘deliberate’ wage theft worth $150m
The supermarket group is facing a class action for allegedly underpaying more than 20,000 current and former workers more than $150 million.
Year of reckoning: how sexual assault caught up with Australia’s universities
The departure of Catriona Jackson, chief executive of Universities Australia, could provide a circuit breaker for the under-fire sector. But will it be enough?
Life & Luxury
Albo’s $28k drinks list: Sydney gins, Canberra rieslings and his radical self
The choices of former PMs John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison were found wanting. So how does Anthony Albanese stack up on the drinks trolley?
This Alligator could deliver Gerry Harvey’s racing dream
Gerry Harvey has never won a Cox Plate. But a horse with a reptilian name and one of the country’s greatest ever trainers could change that on Saturday.
Hockey reveals what it was really like to play golf with Trump
Former federal treasurer and ex-US ambassador Joe Hockey reflects on Donald Trump, the state of United States politics and the future of Australian businesses.
IMAX reopens in Sydney with a promise for more
CEO Rich Gelfond wants to build another 37 screens in Australia, which he says his company is chronically under-serving.
Welcome to rugby union’s burning platform
Australia just had its worst World Cup campaign in history. Everyone knows what the sport needs to do but making those changes is another matter entirely.
