The Financial Review Wine Club is the home for seasoned collectors and wine enthusiasts.
Three-stage plan for peace offers hope to end Gaza war
A new peace talks plan has revived hopes of a truce with a proposal to bring together leaders in the West Bank and Gaza for a permanent ceasefire.
Giant hail, thunderstorms forecast for New Year’s Eve
Emergency crews will be on standby on New Year’s Eve with heavy rain, thunderstorms and giant hail forecast for parts of northern NSW and Queensland.
Israel seeks full control of Gaza-Egypt border
If accomplished, such a move would mark a de facto reversal of Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, placing the enclave under exclusive Israeli control.
- Opinion
- Global economy
Three lessons from my 50 years of forecasting
Confession: my crystal ball has been cracked countless times by purportedly unprecedented developments.
What happened to the $170m record sale of Sydney’s The Oaks Hotel?
Ten months after the sale to a local family was announced, the famous North Shore pub remains in the hands of the Thomas family.
- Analysis
- US election
How the US Supreme Court may rule on Trump’s presidential run
The legal issues are novel and tangled, experts say, and the justices may be wary of knocking a leading presidential candidate off the ballot.
Melbourne-Sydney among world’s busiest flight paths in 2023
There were more than 9.3 million seats flown between Melbourne and Sydney over the past 12 months, new data reveals.
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Chanticleer
EDITOR’S PICKS
weekend READS
Four leaders with four tough challenges in 2024
For Treasury Wines CEO Tim Ford, Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson, Liontown’s Tony Ottaviano and Housing Australia’s Nathan Dal Bon the stakes have rarely been higher.
Chasing the ‘big mo’: An epic US election race starts in Iowa
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the frontrunners for the presidency. But it’s a long road to November and early momentum will be crucial.
Meet the man who conned the world
Long before Nigerian princes became a fixture of email inboxes, John Ackah Blay-Miezah spun a web of lies that promised untold riches from Ghana’s colonial past.
This film will polarise viewers, some will walk out
Emma Stone plays a female Frankenstein’s monster in this tale about an infant in a woman’s body.
Why corporate Australia keeps asking for court secrecy
Federal Court judges say corporate litigants are seeking restrictive non-publication orders, but the court is giving them help.
SMART INVESTOR
- Opinion
- Portfolio diversification
The best five assets to buy in 2024, and three to dump
With inflation remaining high and markets fluctuating wildly, active investors stand to gain the most.
Can this investment help avoid the new $3m super tax?
A reader is trying to find ways to dodge an extra 15 per cent tax from July 1, 2025.
- Opinion
- Charity
These three steps would help you leave some of your super to charity
Policy settings need to be changed to help SMSFs – and other super fund members – be more active philanthropists.
- Opinion
- Investing
Five adjustments for a better performing portfolio in 2024
The No 1 task for investors embarking on a new year portfolio reset should be to check their allocation to Aussie bonds.
Seven ways to cope with school fees set to rise by up to 18pc
Many parents are making big sacrifices to put their children through private schools. These strategies can ease the financial burden.
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Companies
Melbourne-Sydney among world’s busiest flight paths in 2023
There were more than 9.3 million seats flown between Melbourne and Sydney over the past 12 months, new data reveals.
Hermès created Europe’s biggest family fortune after spurning LVMH
The luxury brand has thrived in large part due to its controlling family’s penchant for doing things in quaint ways that hark back to its nearly two-century heritage.
- Exclusive
- Payments
Audits found flaws in Airwallex’s staff screening
PwC and Grant Thornton said the $US5.6 billion payments giant was not adequately identifying if staff had a criminal history or were subject to international sanctions.
Regulators raise the bar on companies’ green claims
The ACCC has released details of what it expects companies to do to avoid fines of up to $50 million for claiming environmental improvements.
Judge slams law firm for class action it should’ve known would fail
Justice Bernard Murphy slashed the fees Levitt Robinson can charge plaintiffs, which soaked up the entire $11 million settlement with retirement village provider Aveo.
The best discount airfares, and how to get double Qantas points
Virgin Australia and Qantas joined the post-Christmas sales, but there are conditions on cheap deals.
Goldman tops M&A advisory ranking as rivals manoeuvre for rebound
Goldman Sachs is ending the year with a 31 per cent share of the global take for merger advice, edging past JPMorgan.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
S&P 500 record reset delayed, at least, until January
Shares slipped in New York, with the S&P 500 failing for now to reset its record high. Still, the index rallied 24pc in 2023; the Nasdaq 100 leapt 54pc.
ASX 200 seals the best annual return since 2021
The benchmark slipped 0.3 per cent, or 23.5 points, to 7590.8 at the closing bell on Friday. The index is within 50 points of the record set in August 2021.
This sizzling retail stock surged 300pc, beating even Nvidia
The fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch, which peaked with Millennials in the 90s and 2000s, has had its best annual performance since going public.
RBC says US stocks vulnerable with recession still likely
“The risk of recession has gone down modestly, but the market’s pricing suggests it’s gone down remarkably,” RBC economist Eric Lascelles said.
Summers says investors probably underestimating inflation risk
The Federal Reserve simply may not be able to be as aggressive with rate cuts as markets are betting, the former US Treasury secretary said.
Opinion
The West must avoid populist backsliding on Ukraine in 2024
The West instinctively grasped what was at stake by backing the heroic Ukrainian resistance. The danger now is the message that would be sent by any weakening of Western will to stay the course.
Editorial
Australia needs a formal national security strategy
The government has reached a point where it can no longer avoid open discussion of fundamental questions about unpreparedness for strategic trouble ahead.
Geopolitical analyst
The West may now have no option but to attack Iran
Tehran does not feel pressured enough to restrain its expendable surrogates, proving that the West has not established conditions for deterrence.
Contributor
Odds for 2024 point to another close Labor win in 2025
A growing number of Australian voters are looking for genuine leadership in both major parties, but find them wanting.
Election analyst
Future for house prices hinges on what the RBA does next
As we move into the new year, the bellwether markets of Melbourne and Sydney are falling.
Columnist
Three lessons from my 50 years of forecasting
Confession: my crystal ball has been cracked countless times by purportedly unprecedented developments, writes Stephen Roach.
Asia watcher
Politics
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
Revealed: St Vincent’s hackers got in with compromised accounts
The method of the breach suggests the healthcare organisation was specifically targeted by sophisticated criminals.
YouTuber ordered before court over Lehrmann, Higgins trial videos
A Federal Court judge has ordered a man behind a YouTube account attacking feminism to appear – in person – before him over alleged contempt of court.
- Analysis
- Carbon challenge
‘Blackout’ Bowen: the man conservatives love to hate
The energy minister has been a top performer for Labor, winning blockbuster carbon and energy battles against all odds. But he has plenty of fights ahead.
Australia’s most expensive cities for petrol revealed
Motorists are copping the cost of volatile world oil prices, but relief could be in sight as upward pressure on prices begins to ease.
Thousands in Qld without power as heatwave replaces storms
Parts of the Gold Coast will be without electricity for days longer as Brisbane and Australia’s north are about to be scored by high temperatures.
SPONSORED
World
Tens of thousands of Palestinians stream into Rafah
The Israeli-Hamas war has already driven around 85 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes.
FTX founder won’t face second trial on remaining charges
Fallen cryptocurrency king Sam Bankman-Fried won’t face another trial after the co-founder of FTX was convicted of a massive fraud last month.
- Graphic Content
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
‘Screams without words’: How Hamas weaponised sexual violence
An investigation uncovered new details showing a pattern of rape, mutilation and extreme brutality against women in the attacks on Israel.
Massive Russian missile attack kills 31 across Ukraine
Russia has unleashed one of its biggest missile attacks of the war, at a time when uncertainty hangs over the future of vital Western support for Kyiv.
China names naval commander as defence minister
The appointment of Admiral Dong Jun as defence minister was finalised by China’s Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping.
Property
Fraser Short’s former hospitality business in administration
The Sydney Collective, which operated Frasers Short’s once booming hospitality empire of pubs and restaurants, owes creditors almost $6 million.
What happened to the $170m record sale of Sydney’s The Oaks Hotel?
Ten months after the sale to a local family was announced, the famous North Shore pub remains in the hands of the Thomas family.
The suburbs where house vendors are amassing $1m profits
Vendors in Sydney’s sought-after suburbs reaped more than $1 million gross profits on average amid tight supply and strong demand according to CoreLogic.
Where house prices are going in 2024, and the best time to buy or sell
Homebuyers could have a rare chance to snag a good deal in early 2024 across Sydney and Melbourne, but the opportunity won’t last, property experts say.
Rising costs add burden to weak new home construction
The hunt for a replacement product to the engineered stone that has been a standard feature of newly built Australian homes is only adding to the challenge of rising costs.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Investing
Four banks went bust this year and I made money betting against all of them
There are few economic ailments for which the cure is not a healthy dose of scepticism, writes Argonaut Capital founder Barry Norris.
- Opinion
- Investing
Five adjustments for a better performing portfolio in 2024
The No 1 task for investors embarking on a new year portfolio reset should be to check their allocation to Aussie bonds.
How do I convince my future wife a prenup won’t kill the romance?
Family lawyers set out why it’s important, and how to do it without ruffling feathers.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
Revealed: St Vincent’s hackers got in with compromised accounts
The method of the breach suggests the healthcare organisation was specifically targeted by sophisticated criminals.
A late-night email set the Apple Watch saga in motion
The tech giant’s decision to hire a Stanford engineering PhD named Marcelo Lamego is seen as the spark that sent lawyers after it.
Apple wins appeal court bid to pause US watch ban
The ruling allows Apple to resume selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the US at least until another review in about two weeks time.
Work & Careers
The 10 best read Lunches with the AFR for 2023
From fitness influencer Kayla Itsines to an Estonian billionaire. From a pub king to a top surgeon. These are our best-read lunches of 2023.
Clifford Chance poaches Herbert Smith Freehills partner
Smythe joined Freehills as a graduate trainee and worked out of its Sydney office.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Feminism
You may not be a Swiftie … but be glad your daughter is
It’s rare to see a woman unapologetically owning her power, on such a grand and global scale.
Brilliant Australia claim another Test victory
Pat Cummins’ Australian cricket team has had an all-conquering six months, climaxing with Friday’s second test victory against Pakistan.
- Exclusive
- Australian TV
‘I’m the gravitas, she’s the bling’: An unlikely power couple
John Denton is the first Australian to run the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce. He still gets recognised as the real-life husband of Kath from Kath & Kim.
Last gasp for the old guard? Tennis veterans arrive for Open
The prize pool for next month’s Australian Open has risen to $86 million, and stars including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray want a big piece of it.
Is a $3745 app-controlled mattress topper a sound sleeping investment?
The Eight Sleep Pod Cover is great at collecting data but is missing a trick on helping you make sense of it all.
