The Financial Review Wine Club is the home for seasoned collectors and wine enthusiasts.
After a brutal year, there’s everything to play for
Peter Dutton is flying high and Anthony Albanese needs his mojo back after the Voice defeat. But, for both, the path to the next election looks perilous.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX set to gain, Synlait flags profit downgrade
Shares to open higher; Wall Street rebounds; a2 Milk affirms 2024 guidance; iron ore tops $US137 a tonne; $A at 5-month highs. Follow updates here.
- Live
- Need to Know
Prague shooter killed father before gunning down 14
A gunman killed at least 14 people and wounded more at a Prague university; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia’s priority is the Indo-Pacific, not the Middle East. Follow updates live.
Allkem’s Peter Coleman says short-selling shouldn’t be banned
The resources executive’s comments come as Chalice Minerals boss Alex Dorsch calls for the government to follow South Korea’s lead and ban the practice.
Will chronic flight delays ever ease up – or is this the new normal?
It’s been more than a year since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, and there are still major delays on domestic services. But that’s not the case in other countries.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Five lessons from an unforgettable year of deals
Raids, leaks, blow-ups and a Christmas scramble: bankers may wish to forget a lot that happened in 2023, but there are some important lessons.
- Opinion
- Political leadership
Albanese’s challenge is to reset the national conversation
Forget the Christmas switch-off. Even if people have been watching or listening, it’s hard to believe they have heard much of the government’s message, writes Laua Tingle.
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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
Tech gifts for those who love the great outdoors
Sometimes, you’ve just got to spend money to save money. Christmas pressies are no exception.
- Christmas Gift Guide 2023
- Style
Goodbye gift anxiety! These tastemakers know exactly what to buy
It’s the time of year when your presence is not always present enough, so read on for tips ranging from the sublime to the ridiculously cheap.
Jewellery for Christmas? Here are eight beautiful ideas
You cannot go wrong adding a little dazzle to a loved one’s present haul.
- Christmas Gift Guide 2023
- Luxury fashion
From fashion to fragrance: Christmas gifts for style lovers
Wondering what to get the beautiful people in your life this Christmas? We’ve done the hard yards for you.
Eight of the best wellness gifts for Christmas
There’s nothing like a new accessory to get someone motivated.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Almost half of Virgin Australia flights delayed
Some 62 per cent of domestic Qantas flights arrived on time, with Transport Minister Catherine King warning the government could act if issues persisted.
Painshare: 8 examples of the year’s most awful jargon
The Eye-roll Awards highlight the words or phrases we hope to never see again.
CBA’s Matt Comyn loses his right-hand man, the meticulous David Cohen
Over 15 years at the bank, David Cohen has seen it all. On his retirement, he provides a potted history of CBA’s numerous troubles and its transformation.
CSIRO’s nuclear cost blowout a ‘shallow’ analysis: O’Brien
Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien slammed CSIRO’s use of a single example to explain its sharply increased cost estimates for SMRs.
Japan, Korea underpin aspiring hydrogen projects
Power utilities from Japan and South Korea are among the major backers of six ammonia and clean fuels projects that will duel it out for $2 billion of federal funds.
Barossa case ‘confected’ by green activists, Santos argues
The assertions came after the Environmental Defenders Office argued Santos’ Barossa gas pipeline would cause “incalculable” cultural harm to generations of Tiwi Islanders.
Billionaire Richard White spends $11m on Rolling Stone’s local owner
The WiseTech founder, worth an estimated $10.5 billion, will bankroll ASX-listed Vinyl Group’s acquisition of The Brag Media.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Fund managers ready for a big year in small caps
Signs of life are returning to the smaller end of the ASX as traders ramp up their bets on interest rate cuts. Here are eight stocks that are tipped to succeed in 2024.
US inflation report to show Fed’s battle all but complete
A monthly report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis is poised to cement the case for lower interest rates in the coming quarters.
Nasdaq paces Wall Street rebound, oil lower
Australian shares are set to open higher as dip buying returns to New York. Iron ore tops $US137 a tonne. $A rises. Angola to leave OPEC.
Wall Street’s economic doomsayers see US recession around corner
Forecasters at Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo Securities are among those reiterating pessimistic predictions.
ASX retreats, Liontown slumps, Pacific Smiles powers up
Shares drop; Pacific Smiles turns down “undervalued” bid; Liontown in royalty dispute; Bubs raises $17m to expand; Transurban secures $800m 10-year debt.
Opinion
Albanese’s challenge is to reset the national conversation
Forget the Christmas switch-off. Even if people have been watching or listening, it’s hard to believe they have heard much of the government’s message.
Columnist
Latest legal trial shows Trump still has to be defeated politically
Democrats need to realise that the pursuit of the former president through the courts only serves to fire up his never-say-never base.
Editorial
Democratic recession could deepen in 2024
At this moment of maximum global peril, democracies have lost the thing they need most: the power of their legitimacy.
Columnist
Retailers hope for clearer skies after ‘perfect storm’ in 2023
The economy managed to avoid a recession this year, but the retail sector was not as fortunate, with real retail spending declining for three consecutive quarters.
Columnist
Beware economists who won’t admit they were wrong
From an economic point of view, 2023 will go down in the record books as one of the best years ever.
Contributor
Labor’s best policy might be admitting Red Sea defence gap
If strategy is Labor’s reason, it raises concerns. If there is no available ship, it raises another set of questions about Australia’s alarming lack of military capabilities.
Editorial
Reports
Motoring - Cars to watch
The special report looks at the most exciting cars of the year, sporty EVs, and car collecting as an investment.
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by BMWPolitics
- Exclusive
- Tourism
Australians spend a record $108b to holiday at home
Revenge travel is real – as are inflation and price rises driven by supply constraint. It seems taking a staycation never hurt so much as it did in 2023.
Shoplifting jumps across the nation amid cost of living crisis
The chief statistician for Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency says cost-of-living pressures may be contributing to increased crime rates.
After her power bill doubled, this grocer had to cut her range
Relief on electricity prices is in sight after deep falls in wholesale prices, but the pain is acute in South Australia and NSW where power bills are highest.
The teals play the long game with integrity
They know the best opportunity for reform may come after the next election – when the major parties could be forced to negotiate for power with crossbench.
Australia will adopt ‘Euro 6’ fuel standard by late 2025
Labor says the move will increase the price of petrol by a modest 1¢ per litre, but allow importers to sell more efficient vehicles already common in Europe and elsewhere.
SPONSORED
World
Gunman kills at least 15 people in Prague university shooting
Czech police responded to the shooting at Charles University’s faculty of arts building in Jan Palach Square, later reporting the shooter had been “eliminated”.
Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy after courtroom loss
Court papers listed debts of as much as $US500 million ($738 million) and assets of up to $US10 million.
Top US, Chinese military officials speak in sign of warming ties
Future steps include plans to hold talks on defence policy in January and a round of maritime consultations several months later.
Half a million people in Gaza are ‘starving’: UN
As diplomatic efforts to secure aid deliveries and another cease-fire in the conflict, Israel carried out more strikes and other operations across Gaza.
Singapore loses its sheen as its first family fights over legacy
Lee Kuan Yew united Singapore, but his death sparked a spectacular unravelling of his family that has left Singaporeans divided and asking questions about the future.
Property
The man who made millions selling Christmas
Tim Clarkson has carried on a 130-year-old family business by being the biggest player in the $50 million-plus Christmas decorations market.
House sellers pocket $300,000 gross profits as prices rise
The sharp increase in prices in the September quarter delivered a windfall for many vendors, but profits are expected to weaken next year as prices are predicted to fall.
Building industry payments firm shelves Aussie ambitions, heads to UK
ProjectPay founder Louise Stewart has won a British grant to get her start-up off the ground there, having felt stymied by the political culture in Australia.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Green Bank, global investors pile into $450m forestry and ag raising
The CEFC has put $75m into a new forestry and landscape fund that intends to generate a chunk of its return from carbon and renewable energy.
Saudis put Western Australia’s largest grain operation up for sale
Spread across a swath of the wheat belt, marketing of the $200 million property caps a busy 12 months for major agriculture transactions in the state.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Inheritance
How to claim your spouse’s super after they die
There’s a way to move their retirement savings to your super – this is how to get things going.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
How to party without being an animal
These are the five things that will drive your neighbours nuts – this is what you can do to avoid them.
How much should I spend on my partner this Christmas?
We found the average spend by gender – and the gap is nearly $100.
Technology
In three weeks, Kim had a child and a merger. Here’s her 2024
If 2022 was the year the music stopped in technology, 2023 was spent trying to find a chair that wasn’t taken in the tech sector.
The little-known problem in using Ozempic replica versions
In the US, poison information hotlines have reported almost 3000 calls from January to November this year about semaglutide overdoses.
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
No one can buy Canva now. Other start-ups beware
Any start-up boss hoping to get rich selling their company to a tech giant should learn from Adobe’s failed $US20 billion attempt to buy design app Figma.
Work & Careers
Why this prestigious boys’ school is not for turning coed
St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill counts rugby great Kurtley Beale, former High Court chief justice Murray Gleeson and the late artist John Olsen as old boys.
Good at tech, bad with people: Is Gen Z getting a bad rap?
They are the cohort profoundly touched by the pandemic and questioning the value of so-so jobs. But are they really that different from other generations?
Life & Luxury
Boxing Day films have something for everyone
From Marvel underwater to mallard ducks and a side trip to Greece, there’s plenty of variety at the cinema for a post-Christmas cinematic escape.
This retail Rich Lister ‘wasn’t good enough to be a waiter’
The avid sailor and head of the Winning retail group rates his chances in the Sydney to Hobart race.
Seven design trends you need to know for 2024
Redecorating or looking for new furnishings? Look no further if chic, on-trend living is your thing.
Hyper-local fiction, BookTok hits and ‘romantasy’ top Christmas books
Richard Flanagan’s “best thing yet”, a graphic novel for teenagers, Trent Dalton’s latest novel and ‘dragons and young love’ are flying off bookshop shelves.
Beyond power and politics in Washington DC, a surprising culinary find
The US capital is buzzing with the traditional restaurants and tantalising aromas of Ethiopia. Here are seven eateries to try.
