Celebrate the companies that are making progress in tackling sustainability challenges.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The 100-year dream that powers Chemist Warehouse
The company is on the verge of achieving a 50-year dream with the $8.8 billion Sigma merger. It insists there’s plenty of growth to come.
100,000 foreign ‘students’ won’t come or will go home under reforms
Over the next year, an estimated 100,000 ‘students’ will either not arrive under new migration rules, or will be pushed to return home.
- Updated
- Political leadership
Queensland Labor faces messy brawl for new premier
Deputy Premier Steven Miles and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman will nominate to replace Annastacia Palaszczuk as leader of the Labor Party and premier of Queensland.
Chemist Warehouse boss targets growth of ‘infinity and beyond’
Mario Verrocchi, one of the billionaire founders of the pharmacy chain, says international expansion will be a key focus for the company as it joins the ASX.
Ex-Nuix chair was in ‘state of shock’ after share price slump
Jeffrey Bleich said he was convinced by management that the firm could turn itself around and that is why they did not disclose its poor performance to investors.
Roberts-Smith emails to stay secret after Stokes agrees to cover Nine’s costs
Kerry Stokes has agreed to pay the costs of Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation case, meaning a cache of emails between the billionaire, his corporate fixer and the disgraced soldier’s legal team will stay secret.
No visa fast track for foreign tradies despite housing shortage
Business groups, the property industry and housing advocates are warning the carve out will undermine the government’s target of building 1.2 million homes.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
MONDAY MEDIA
Morry Schwartz steps back as publisher of The Monthly, Quarterly Essay
The wealthy publisher and property developer has told staff he will step down as Schwartz Media chairman to give his publications space to grow.
Major retailers threaten to siphon away $1.1b in advertising spend
Morgan Stanley says Coles, Woolworths and Amazon are taking market share from media groups. But publishers and broadcasters are fighting back.
Lachlan Murdoch cancels Christmas bash
The Murdochs aren’t having a Christmas party at their Bellevue Hill estate this year; Nine cuts jobs; ABC political editor’s questionable job ad placement.
Morrow Sodali shakes up corporate PR with Citadel-Domestique merger
Christian Sealey, the firm’s international boss, said it worked with almost all the country’s largest listed companies and there was plenty of room for growth.
Seven boss James Warburton succeeded by CFO Jeff Howard
Chairman Kerry Stokes has announced the CEO will hand the reins to his deputy before June 30.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
- Updated
- Retail
Chemist Warehouse, Sigma to create $9b retail giant
After the merger, Chemist Warehouse investors – including its two billionaire founders, Jack Gance and Mario Verrocchi – will own 85.75 per cent of the group.
ACCC warns that home loan competition is just a short-term phenomenon
The competition watchdog is arguing to uphold its rejection of ANZ’s purchase of Suncorp’s bank. It warned major lenders were already acting in lock-step.
New Platinum CEO Jeff Peters confident of turnaround
Platinum has bet against the US sharemarket, but is now backing a US funds management executive to turn it around.
Virgin staff offered free cruise trip, up to 32pc above award pay
The airline will try to win agreement for a pay deal it says is worth $50 million, as it attempts to avoid industrial action over Christmas.
PNG says it wants priority in Woodside Energy-Santos merger
The comments from Kerenga Kua, the country’s petroleum minister, came as the companies opened virtual data rooms ahead of several weeks of due diligence.
SkyCity pays Macquarie $188m to settle car-park fire stoush
The company, which is facing regulatory action over anti-money-laundering failures, agreed to sell the concession in Auckland to the investment giant in 2019.
Raphael Geminder lobs higher offer in bid to take Pact Group private
The packaging company’s board has recommended shareholders accept the billionaire’s new proposal after previously urging them to reject a lower offer.
Companies in the News
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Markets
ASX closes flat; Pact Group, Woodside shares climb as miners fall
ASX ends Monday largely unchanged. Sigma agrees Chemist Warehouse merger; Kin Group ups Pact bid to 84¢.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Five ways a soft landing could become a hard landing
The momentum in markets right now is strong, but investors are highly leveraged to a Goldilocks outcome of falling interest rates and a gently softening economy. But what if consensus is wrong?
Powell under pressure to reveal rate cut plan
The Federal Reserve chairman faces a communication challenge this week as investors think a cooling economy means that tightening is over.
Why this Pendal fundie says now is the sweet spot to buy bonds
Amy Xie Patrick has pulled money from stocks and high-grade credit, as history shows the best returns for bonds are made just after central banks stop raising rates.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Why investors were right to ignore the warnings of 2023
If the past year taught investors anything, it’s that being selective and diversified is key to riding the economic cycle. And timing the market is a fool’s game.
Opinion
Energy transition needs gas not nuclear
A rational decarbonising energy policy offers a middle path between the absolutists and the denialists.
Former Labor minister and economist
Upbeat predictions for global economy are not cause for optimism
The main concern is that too many policymakers seem more focused on reinvigorating inefficient growth engines than shifting towards more sustainable, forward-looking models.
Global financial commentator
Fiscal policy must belatedly step up to inflation fight
Australia’s treasurers could do more to help the Reserve Bank to navigate the narrow path to a soft landing and reduce the need for further interest rate increases.
Economist
Super performance test review must set a high returns bar
It’s reasonable to ask the question about constraining clean energy investments. But the hurdle must ultimately be whether Australians will retire with more income in retirement than would otherwise be the case.
Financial Services Council
Migration strategy is to turn around the backwards system
Immigration returning to normal after the catch-up is an opportunity to rebalance the program towards the skills we need to tackle Australia’s challenges.
Minister
US and EU bickering leaves Ukraine adrift
Political bickering in Washington and European capitals over ongoing support for Kyiv appears to presage an even bleaker winter for President Zelensky.
International editor
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
Clare O’Neil unveils 10-year migration strategy
Clare O’Neil says the 10-year plan will improve productivity, service an ageing population and help the country transition to a low-carbon economy. Here’s how the day unfolded.
Labor resists making big cuts to overall migrant intake
Labor has resisted political pressure to slash Australia’s immigration intake, and instead tightened the screws on foreign students in a bid to drive migration down to “normal” levels.
- Updated
- Government
Palaszczuk goes before she was pushed as polls slump
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has resigned after nearly nine years as leader, amid fears her government was headed for a defeat at next October’s election.
- Exclusive
- Voice to parliament
‘Hatred of politicians’ killed the Voice: Megan Davis
A key architect of the Voice referendum says racism played a role but was not as decisive as the public’s “hatred for politicians” and rejected claims symbolic recognition would have won Coalition support.
Super should go green but not for lower returns, say AFR readers
Financial Review readers want to maintain performance testing, and for super funds to invest in the energy transition, but not if it hurts their own returns.
SPONSORED
World
Hong Kong voter turnout slumps to record low after Beijing purge
Only 27.5 per cent of the 4.3 million eligible voters cast ballots on Sunday in the local elections, David Lok, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission said on Monday.
US slams China’s ‘reckless’ moves in South China Sea
Chinese and Philippine vessels faced off in multiple clashes in the South China Sea over the weekend as tensions continued to escalate.
Dozens of Hamas fighters surrendering, Israel says
Israel made the claim as its military targeted the city of Khan Younis, which is now crowded with Palestinians who fled the fighting in northern Gaza.
- Opinion
- University
The Ivy League’s Bill Clinton moment
Not since the former president was asked about having sex with Monica Lewinsky and replied, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,” has there been such parsing.
‘Buying quiet’: Inside the Israeli plan that propped up Hamas
For years, Qatar sent millions of dollars a month into Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only tolerated those payments, he encouraged them.
Property
Dexus taps Du Vernet to replace long-serving CEO
The ASX-listed landlord’s chief investment officer has been appointed to lead the company amid generational change across the sector.
House straight under flight path sells for $50,000 over reserve
You know demand is strong when purchasers overlook downsides in a property. Flaws don’t get louder than this – but that didn’t deter first home buyers.
How to collect a 10pc investment yield from a Brisbane office tower
With office markets battered by falling values and weaker sentiment, fund manager Elanor has seized on a counter-cyclical opportunity for its investors.
Three Sydney apartments sell at their reserves as auctions falter
Even with interest rates likely to stay on hold, a third of homes failed to sell last week, and agents say vendors need to meet the market.
‘Populist’ property tax changes won’t boost rental stock: experts
Higher charges for offshore buyers and a cut in application fees for build-to-rent projects aren’t the main measures Australia’s troubled rental market needs.
Wealth
- Exclusive
- Gambling
Rich lister’s online casino empire feels heat of US lawsuits
The wildly profitable business operated by the Perth billionaire is facing legal challenges in US two states, and a crackdown on digital gambling in a third.
- 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.
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.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Funding
New fund targets companies battered by market doubts
Record low biotech valuations have prompted a new VC investor to start shopping with a planned $200 million fund.
- Opinion
- Social media
Metaverse a black hole, but Zuckerberg had a surprisingly good year
He renamed Facebook and committed billions of dollars, but he cannot force us to care about the metaverse. Meta’s AI experiment proved more successful.
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
Social media is dead, long live messaging
Facebook has announced major upgrades to its messaging apps, which could help it avoid having to moderate content and reduce some of social media’s negative impacts.
Work & Careers
Why regional higher education is so difficult to tackle
After 12 years at the helm of La Trobe University, John Dewar maintains that regional education is still the most complex policy nut to crack.
BHP strike threat could shut down five Qld mines
Critical BHP overseers are preparing to take industrial action that could shut down 70 per cent of the mining giant’s Queensland mines.
Life & Luxury
How Lamborghini plans to make EVs sportier
Electric sports cars are just at the beginning of their development and will eventually obliterate lap records with new levels of control and precision.
The most exciting cars of the year… and what’s next
From plug-in hybrids to all-electric, these models from Bentley, Ferrari and Porsche stand out from the crowd.
- Opinion
- Motoring
Is this the ultimate stocking filler for motorcycle fanatics?
They’re among the world’s fiercest and most courageous competitors. Veteran race correspondent Darryl Flack has compiled a winning tribute.
Forget Phuket. Stuff Bali. Vietnam wins for the flop and drop
I’m checked in and ready for dinner all within an hour of touching down on the tarmac. Am I dreaming?
This Japanese baseballer could be more valuable than Taylor Swift
Japanese star Shohei Ohtani has signed a ten-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, believed to be the largest individual sports deal in the world.
