China incident sparks AUKUS acceleration
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the latest AUKUS initiatives were crucial in light of the latest incident involving a Chinese navy destroyer.
Fighting stretches into another day after truce collapses
Fighting in Gaza stretched into Saturday after talks to extend a week-old truce with Hamas collapsed and mediators said Israeli bombardments were complicating attempts to again pause hostilities.
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Political debate in Australia is at a dangerous tipping point
In the arts and now politics, claims about the other side are turning to reductionism and wild overreach, writes Laura Tingle.
- Opinion
- Investing
What Charlie Munger taught me about life, love and money
Munger compiled a list of 25 common cognitive biases that afflict us, and it makes for a handy guide of mistakes for investors to avoid, writes Jonathan Shapiro.
Lithium price fall tests anxious investors
Hopes that lithium could one day supplant iron ore as the bedrock of the Australian economy are being tested by a sharp price crash. But we’ve been here before.
States threaten new taxes, jeopardise NDIS reform
Attempts by the Albanese government to put the NDIS on a sustainable footing are in chaos.
What AusPost needs to upgrade its banking services
Hot on the heels of Armaguard, Australia Post says it also needs more investment from banks to upgrade its regional outlets to provide cash where branches have left.
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Edition
Life & Leisure Christmas edition 2023
Your complete guide to nailing the festive season, from original gifts to great foodie ideas and inspired travel options.
smart investor
Vanguard’s biggest bond ETF becomes first to break $151b
The highest yields in years have made fixed-income more appealing, while exchange traded funds have consistently stolen market share from their more expensive mutual fund brethren.
- Opinion
- Investing
What Charlie Munger taught me about life, love and money
Munger compiled a list of 25 common cognitive biases that afflict us, and it makes for a handy guide of mistakes for investors to avoid.
- Opinion
- Inflation
New-look RBA will be a stronger inflation-fighter
Appointing an outsider to the RBA’s second-most important job will help bring about much-needed cultural change at the central bank.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
Accountants the ‘big omission’ from financial advice overhaul
Accountants represent a pool of specialists ideally placed to fill the crucial financial advice gap, but they have been largely ignored.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Up the garden path with dodgy developers
What’s missing from the new strata laws is any reference to the scandal of embedded networks or, indeed, any duty of care by strata managers.
weekend reads
Sydney is No.1 for these accountant arrivals as border stoush heats up
Australia’s migration surge comes at a particularly challenging time for the housing market, and the government is caught in the middle.
LinkedIn is rotting our leaders, says Alan Joyce’s former speechwriter
Lucinda Holdforth reckons executives should focus on delivering results and ditch the bubble talk about authenticity and vulnerability.
The horror of working at the world’s biggest hedge fund
Harvard graduate Katina Stefanova thought Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater would set her up for life. Instead, she found a cult-like culture and ritual humiliation.
- Analysis
- Gen Z
Gen Z could be the most conservative generation ever
They go out less, have less sex, and lose their virginity later. What is up with today’s teenagers?
- Analysis
- Immigration
How immigration became a toxic brew
Migrants have been used to tackle dire demographic trends and shrinking workforces. But anxious voters are telling politicians to find another way.
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Companies
Online shopping hasn’t killed the mall – it just changed it
In 2025, David Jones will hand back plenty of space at Westfield Bondi Junction. The silver lining is an opportunity to find new ways of enticing shoppers.
Lew’s Premier Investments posts record Black Friday sales
The billionaire told Premier’s AGM a review into a possible demerger confirmed “significant” future growth options available to each of its brands.
- Updated
- Mergers & acquisitions
Brookfield flags walking away from Origin pursuit if vote fails
The Canadian investment giant, citing changes to government climate policy, said it would have to consider whether to try again if its original proposal fails.
Bendigo says it can make ‘compelling’ offer for Suncorp Bank
The Australian Competition Tribunal’s hearing, starting on Monday, will reconsider the ACCC’s rejection of ANZ’s takeover of Suncorp Bank.
AusSuper takes on lithium shorts with Pilbara Minerals stake
Australia’s largest superannuation fund has quietly built up a $558.2 million stake in the most shorted stock on the ASX.
United Airlines just overtook Qantas in flights to the US
The airline, which is unveiling new services to Brisbane after increasing flights to Sydney and Melbourne, says international routes have attractive margins.
Allkem-Livent’s $9b lithium merger wins proxy support
The biggest lithium merger of this year has won support from Glass Lewis ahead of a shareholder vote later this month.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Wall Street rallies on Powell rates signal
The S&P 500 closed at 4594 – its highest close of 2023. and the yield on the US 10-year note tumbled to 4.2pc. $A leaped. ASX futures rose 0.9pc.
Powell says it would be ‘premature’ to declare victory over inflation
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell also said it is not the time to “speculate on when policy might ease”.
Oil extends losses amid pessimism over swelling global supplies
Benchmark oil fell back below $US80 a barrel, and US oil tumbled below $US75 as the price outlook turned bleak.
Analysts doubt OPEC and allies’ commitments to oil supply cuts
Oil prices dropped on Friday on traders’ doubts over whether the cartel will take sufficient supply out of the market to boost prices in 2024.
ASX closes lower after bumper November rally, tech sinks
Australian shares start December on the back foot. Oil lower amid scepticism of OPEC+ cuts. Premier Investments jumps.
Opinion
Drawing a line under a toxic surge of prejudice
Turning societies overseas into echo chambers of prejudice and conflict in the Middle East is not helping the cause of a settlement
Editorial
Even dentists are joining the RBA rates pile-on
The Reserve Bank is coming in for some heavy criticism, but we need it to be a straight shooter in our age of spin and social media echo chambers.
Economics editor
Political debate in Australia is at a dangerous tipping point
In the arts and now politics, claims about the other side are turning to reductionism and wild overreach.
Columnist
With friends like the Labor states, who needs enemies
It’s not just the states that are sensing the government’s vulnerability. The opposition’s tone this week has been one of sheer irreverence.
Political editor
Part George Orwell’s 1984, part ChatGPT: Inside Dubai’s COP28
The UAE has spared no expense in making COP28 a success. From wood panelled portaloos, to huge venues and tasty food, it’s a climate summit like no other.
Europe correspondent
Henry Kissinger was an inconsistent opportunist
America’s 20th century foreign policy giant and statesman was driven more by domestic considerations than he would ever have admitted.
Contributor
Reports
The Fast Lists 2023
The AFR Fast 100 and Fast Starters lists include a tech firm with its eye on the moon and consultants with 3500 per cent revenue growth.
Politics
- Exclusive
- Energy
Japanese investors need energy security certainty: ambassador
Kazuhiro Suzuki says a reliable supply of fossil fuels from Australia is essential if Japanese companies are to invest in the next wave of cleaner energy technologies.
- Analysis
- Border security
In a messy week for Albanese, Labor’s ‘cleaner’ emerges
Clare O’Neil is a Labor rising star but risks being sucked into the Home Affairs vortex.
‘Cannot go uncorrected’: Supreme Court’s unusual rebuke of minister
The NSW Supreme Court has made an extraordinary intervention to defend itself against criticism from a state government minister.
States back Commonwealth push for EV tax ‘solution’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he will work with state and territory counterparts on “long-term options” for EV user charges.
Higgins rewore dress from night of alleged assault to ‘reclaim’ it
In her second full day of cross-examination, Brittany Higgins faced questions about re-wearing her dress and about the photo of a big bruise on her leg.
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World
Israel knew of Hamas attack plans more than a year ago
A 40-page blueprint laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings.
Santos is expelled from US Congress after a tumultuous year of lies
The House voted 311-114 to remove George Santos, surpassing the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution.
Sandra Day O’Connor, first woman on US Supreme Court, is dead
Sandra Day O’Connor wielded great power over American law from her seat at the centre of the court’s ideological spectrum. She was 93.
China is losing the battle against iron ore price controls
The latest rally poses a strategic dilemma for Xi Jinping’s policymakers as they seek to support the debt-laden property sector.
When ‘peacenik’ Whitlam met hardline Kissinger
Henry Kissinger was at the very centre of a diplomatic crisis with Australia in the 1970s – one that nearly ended the alliance.
Property
Private equity boss’ $15.2m Mosman mansion sells for a loss
Potentia Capital’s Andy Gray and wife Emma have sold their Federation mansion for almost $2 million less than the $17 million they paid for the Federation mansion last year.
FOMO returns amid high migration and supply shortage
The potential to make strong capital gains due to lack of supply and swelling demand is fuelling fear of missing out among investors.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Change of strategy gets the sale done for furniture boss’ mansion
The Toorak born-and-bred Bill Guest doesn’t come with a log cabin story, once telling a Melbourne radio station he had his “first ensuite when he was two”.
Online shopping hasn’t killed the mall – just changed what’s in it
In 2025, David Jones will hand back plenty of space at Westfield Bondi Junction. The silver lining is an opportunity to find new ways of enticing shoppers.
Sydney house prices headed towards a double-dip downturn
Sydney’s housing market slowed faster than expected in November.
Wealth
Jets, yachts and a $380 steak: this state is booming again
The strong iron ore price is tipping billions into government coffers, and bolstering profits for the big miners, helping the top end of town to continue splashing cash.
How to make your offset account work harder
These everyday transaction accounts can work to reduce your mortgage repayments by tens of thousands of dollars.
Vanguard’s biggest bond ETF becomes first to break $151b
The highest yields in years have made fixed-income more appealing, while exchange traded funds have consistently stolen market share from their more expensive mutual fund brethren.
Technology
What robot dogs, Yoko Ono and a $1m potato reveal about humanity
The theme of artificial intelligence and its impact on art and society runs deeply through the NGV’s Triennial exhibition opening this weekend.
Law start-up survives near-death to build $31m company
The Funded blog is the home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.
Phone calls have become an intergenerational minefield
Younger people don’t like unsolicited ringing – even from their parents. Here’s why.
Work & Careers
For these exceptional uni students, scholarship opens locked doors
The Order of Australia Association Foundation has awarded its 2023 scholarships. For all of them, it opens opportunities they had previously written off.
How to fix Aussie kids’ dire classroom behaviour
Australian children are among the worst-behaved at school. A senate report has come up with some solutions.
Life & Luxury
STC loses subscribers after scarf display
A former STC patron whose open letter to the company went viral estimates that hundreds of people are cancelling or holding off on their 2024 subscriptions.
Nadal to return in Brisbane’s Australian Open warm-up
The Spanish great declared on social media that ‘after a year away from competition it’s time to come back’.
LinkedIn is rotting our leaders, says Alan Joyce’s former speechwriter
Lucinda Holdforth reckons executives should focus on delivering results and ditch the bubble talk about authenticity and vulnerability.
‘The more fun, the better he plays’: Golf’s rising star Min Woo Lee
The golf industry has tried for decades to attract more young people to play. A West Australian-born golfer is helping to move the dial.
The watch dynasty primed for the billion-dollar club
Richard Mille is set for a new era in the hands of the next generation, and you can expect the impact to reach our shores.
