Celebrate the companies that are making progress in tackling sustainability challenges.
RBA dual mandate tweak could mean higher rates for longer
Jim Chalmers has axed a proposal requiring the RBA to give “equal consideration” to employment and inflation, in an agreement that may mean rates are higher for longer.
NDIS reforms may throw up $3.7b in new autism costs
Governments may have to find $3.7 billion a year to support people with mild autism and less severe disabilities once Labor changes how to access the disability scheme.
Slug fossil fuel companies for $100b IRA response, say Greens
The Inflation Reduction Act shows what’s possible when a country seeks to let loose investment in clean energy, says Adam Bandt.
- Analysis
- Aussie dollar
‘Bleeding sore’: Why the $A float 40 years ago was such a big deal
It took a lot of nerve to cut the Australian dollar loose, but former PM and treasurer Paul Keating says it was the moment the Australian economy grew up.
One in 50 borrowers facing ‘severe financial stress’, says RBA
The bank’s analysis of almost 2 million loans, covering about one-third of all mortgages, suggests that severe financial stress is limited to a small group of borrowers.
Why China can’t give up its addiction to coal
The Asian giant in pumping massive amounts of money into renewables, but that hasn’t halted a huge – and seemingly contradictory – fossil fuel investment plan.
‘The moment they come in’: Unions line up targets of IR changes
Qantas, BHP, warehouses, manufacturing and food and beverage processing will be the first to be targeted under Labor’s new labour hire laws, according to unions and employers.
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Edition
AFR Magazine summer issue
Travel insiders reveal their favourite destinations, Jill Dupleix shares Josh Niland’s Christmas feast, Max Allen’s sparkling wine taste test plus Watch special
Weekend Reads
- Analysis
- China relations
Why Australia can’t rely on the US to save it from China
Former foreign minister Gareth Evans looks at the country’s options in relation to the dominant force in the region.
Deepfake TikTok videos reanimate Hamas’ victims
‘Digital resurrections’ are becoming commonplace using AI technology.
Labor limps to the end of a miserable year
It may have salvaged a win with its NDIS deal, but the government has deep structural problems that will be tested sooner than the next election.
Urban farmer makes use of vacant CBD space
Short-term leases are not an issue for this modular agriculture start-up.
Author Anna Funder takes on her critics
Sydney Grammar School used Funder’s take on George Orwell’s wife to help its HSC students understand the author and his book,1984. Others are not so pleased.
smart investor
How to get (nearly) 10 per cent with the least risk
Amid a push to open up private markets to smaller and less sophisticated investors, fixed income-type opportunities are being advertised with returns north of 10 per cent. Here’s what investors need to know.
Three generations of this family are wealthier by living together
Adding a second dwelling can improve re-sale value, and there are more than half-a-million properties with granny flat potential in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
- Opinion
- Investing
This CIO to the rich reckons small caps are the next big thing
Small and mid-cap stocks have potential to grow and therefore add alpha to portfolios.
- Opinion
- Managed funds
The ‘alpha’ edge: three fund management success stories
With the advent of the $3.5 trillion in compulsory savings via superannuation, Australia has become a breeding ground for some of the best investment talent on the planet.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
How to respond if the ATO contacts you about super contributions
It should be easy but many taxpayers are befuddled by the process of making personal deductible contributions to super.
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Companies
Santos investors demand premium in Woodside mega-merger
Creating an $80 billion Australian “champion” with real clout on the global LNG stage faces a big challenge as Santos investors demand a decent premium.
Soul Patts leaves door open to more M&A after $3b Perpetual bid
The investment manager, with $900 million in cash, wants to pounce on “undervalued companies” that will fall victim to higher rates and weakened valuations.
Woodside hits back at Forrest over attack on CEO
Federal resources minister Madeleine King and Woodside have blasted mining billionaire and green energy advocate Andrew Forrest over an attack on Meg O’Neill.
Guzman y Gomez appoints Kmart and Target executive as new CFO
Backed by TDM Growth Partners, Barrenjoey and Aware Super, the company is attempting to end a period of leadership instability ahead of an ASX listing.
Banks warn of mortgage rises from deposit rate intervention
MyState CEO Brett Morgan says, “in any intervention, there is a benefit and there is a cost”.
How Australia’s ‘massive traffic muck-up’ stalled Sydney
The NSW government says it has “no intention” to change how lanes are configured on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge despite fury from residents stuck in traffic.
Industry super fund sanctioned over ‘significant cybersecurity deficiencies’
APRA ordered the fund to bring in external advisers to help improve its cyber defences after a hack and multiple reviews found issues.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Wall Street rises despite enduring labour market strength
All three US benchmarks closed the week higher as strong jobs data did little to dent hopes for a 2024 pivot to rate cuts.
Petrol prices drop 30¢ at the bowser as oil slumps
It is good news for motorists as NRMA says petrol prices are expected to fall further across the country, unless you live in Sydney.
Bitcoin surge stokes huge volumes for Aussie crypto exchanges
Trading volumes at Independent Reserve jumped 50 per cent in November to more than $500 million as traders piled into the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
$A predicted to sink below US60¢ next year
The Australian dollar is forecast to drop below to levels not seen since the pandemic, before rebounding next year once the Fed starts cuts rates aggressively.
Oil’s brief relief rally fades as bearish sentiment settles in
US oil retreated below $US70 a barrel after slumping 11 per cent over the previous five sessions, the longest run of daily losses since February.
Opinion
Labor has no grasp of Australia’s need to compete
Everything Anthony Albanese has done since the election betrays an utter indifference to sharpening the ability of a high-cost economy to compete in the global marketplace.
Editorial
The prime minister needs his mojo back
Voters want their prime minister to be of them, not like them. At the moment, they feel he is neither.
Political editor
What happens to the kids the NDIS can’t help any more?
The NDIS was overwhelmed by autism cases with nowhere else to go. Creating new services for them is one of the pointiest issues in the review.
Columnist
Labor’s bid to fix the NDIS rests on hope
A review of the NDIS has outlined the problems making it unsustainable. Bill Shorten says its recommendations is not about cutting support for those who need it but will improve results.
Columnist
I’m ashamed of Harvard, a university I loved
University administrators and academics have allowed a cult of anti-Jewish activism to flourish under the banner of anti-colonialism.
Senior correspondent
The $92b disability services question is still unanswered
The NDIS minister failed to drive home the real political message: as harsh as it may sound, expectations of what the NDIS can do, and for whom, have to be wound back.
Editorial
Reports
Wealth: The 2024 outlook
The special report looks at top fund managers’ picks, from unloved assets including small caps to bitcoin and beaten-down REITs, as well as the macro risks.
Politics
Heat ‘blob’ to test green-era energy grid
Heatwave conditions along parts of the east coast are the opening volley of a summer that will test the energy market’s resilience for the first time in four years.
- Exclusive
- Russia-Ukraine war
Lapsed contract could deliver Aussie fighter jets to Ukraine
Plans to transfer old RAAF jets could be revived while Canberra will consider Ukraine’s request for year-round supply of Australian coal.
- Exclusive
- AUKUS
First two AUKUS suppliers picked as Congress breakthrough reached
Steel producers Bisalloy and BlueScope are poised to become the first local firms to become an AUKUS supplier as a breakthrough emerges on a key US vote.
‘No point being a mouse’: Keating 40 years after floating the dollar
The float of the Australian dollar in1983 should be an example for political leaders to realise there are “long-term gains for some short-term pain” from tough economic reforms, says one of the players involved.
Labor limps to the end of a miserable year
It may have salvaged a win with its NDIS deal, but the government has deep structural problems that will be tested sooner than the next election.
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World
China Politburo raises expectations for ambitious GDP goal
Economic targets for 2024 will be set at the Communist Party’s annual economic work conference, expected to be held later this month.
US job growth accelerates in November, denting rate cut bets
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 jobs last month, the jobless rate slipped to 3.7 per cent and wages increased 0.4 per cent.
US vetoes Israel-Hamas ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council
The vote was 13-1, with Britain abstaining and some US allies such as France voting for a ceasefire.
Six French teenagers convicted in connection to beheading of teacher
The court found the adolescents guilty of a range of charges related to the 2020 beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty.
Israel presses forward with campaign to destroy Hamas
Furious urban fighting has continued in the north, underscoring Hamas’ heavy resistance as the war entered its third month.
Property
Woolworths’ new Mosman store a triumph over nimbyism
The popularity of the wealthy suburb’s new supermarket demonstrates how the outlets benefit local shopping districts.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Mystery buyers of $16m ‘Starship Enterprise’ mansion revealed
Construction industry bosses are behind a series of pricey property trades across Sydney, including the purchase of a futuristic northern beaches estate.
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
Australia’s first venue for exclusive UK wine club is about to open
Developer Ross Pelligra is counting on the country’s inaugural 67 Pall Mall to invigorate his closed 85 Spring Street office building in Melbourne’s CBD.
Fahour to lead Rich Lister Gurner’s $15b property empire
The former Latitude Financial and NAB chief executive’s latest gig is to drive the expansion of the luxury apartments and wellness platform, Gurner Group.
- Exclusive
- Property investment
Trilogy $700m fund races to restart work on Gosford apartment project
The Trilogy Monthly Income Trust says it will finish the 35-unit NSW project despite a three-month delay caused by liquidation of its contractor.
Wealth
Three generations of this family are wealthier by living together
Adding a second dwelling can improve re-sale value, and there are more than half-a-million properties with granny flat potential in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
- Opinion
- Managed funds
The ‘alpha’ edge: three fund management success stories
With the advent of the $3.5 trillion in compulsory savings via superannuation, Australia has become a breeding ground for some of the best investment talent on the planet, writes Christopher Joye.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
The latest twist in Mascot Towers saga means more heartbreak
There’s one last option for unit owners caught in the Mascot Towers mess. It may be that a government buy-out and repair program is the only viable answer.
Technology
TikTok’s anti-Israel bias exposed by Aussie tech entrepreneur
Anthony Goldbloom says he is shocked that US-based users of TikTok are seeing 54 times more pro-Palestine posts than pro-Israel content.
- Opinion
- Tech Observed
Recreating dead actors with AI does not make for a wonderful life
It may seem harmless to recreate Jimmy Stewart’s voice for a wellness app, but it is the start of a slippery slope that doesn’t end well for humanity.
- Exclusive
- AI
Australian AI image firm sparks fears as it raises $47m
Leonardo Ai is staring down doubts about whether its business is truly unique, or just a layer atop open-source tools, as it races to stay ahead of US rivals.
Work & Careers
I went to Newington and want my son to learn with girls. Here’s why
Witnesses say opponents of Newington College’s plan to admit girls blew raspberries at supporters during a heated meeting of parents at the school this week.
This $6b firm’s CEO was told he ‘could do better’ at school
Whitehaven chief Paul Flynn may not have been an enthusiastic student, but he learnt to debate around the kitchen table with his parents and eight siblings.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Champagne & sparkling wine
Champagne or sparkling: Max Allen’s taste test results revealed
Our expert takes a bunch of champagnes and a bunch of top Australian sparkling wines, pops the corks and puts them to a blind taste test.
The NRL takes its biggest gamble yet
Documents obtained by AFR Weekend provide the clearest insight yet about what exactly the league is planning in its big push into the lucrative US market.
The best $150m the Mandarin Oriental Singapore ever spent
A Moët & Chandon vending machine, a cake shop in the lobby and views over Marina Bay are the cherries on top of the hotel’s sparkling refresh.
These 24 top watches are sure to be envied on your wrist in 2024
From Bulgari to Bremont, Patek Philippe to Panerai and Girard-Perregaux to Grand Seiko: what would you like to wrap around your arm next year?
Why billionaire David Marriott goes strictly off grid for holidays
Three travel industry families reveal where they’re planning to get away from it all next year and what’s in store for their global businesses.
