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- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Get out of the way, the market’s bulls are running
The market is so strong that fund managers are interrupting their holidays to throw cash at it. But this rally is about the macroeconomy.
- Exclusive
- Rich List
Tech rally, iron ore, crypto buoy Rich List fortunes
The boom in IT stocks burnished the fortunes of Australia’s top tech entrepreneurs, while the crypto millionaires made a comeback.
Why $30b in business innovation support is not working
Australia has a scale-up and not a start-up problem, a new report has found, with few medium-sized firms hungry to innovate and grow globally.
- Opinion
- AI
Media and tech war over generative AI reaches new level
News groups risk surrendering their audience to AI companies. They could also see the value of their brands diluted if ChatGPT and its like become the new oracles.
‘We turn everything on we can’: households cash in on solar boom
Bumper rooftop solar has cut demand on Victoria’s grid to a new low, providing a boon for some households but troubling the market operator.
Three Airwallex executives exit Tencent-backed payments group
The departures include the payment giant’s most senior Australian public relations officer, according to internal Slack messages sent to staff.
Surging ASX creating overvaluation risks, some strategists worry
ASX records are expected to tumble, but the highest sharemarket will come at the expense of increased volatility, according to fund managers and strategists.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
Chanticleer
EDITOR’S PICKS
SUMMER READING
Why party drinking hits midlifers so hard – and how to recover quicker
It can take 72 hours for brain and body to return to equilibrium. But the good news is there are ways of recovering faster.
What’s next for Ozempic?
Scientists are exploring whether the new diabetes and weight-loss drugs could also treat addiction, kidney disease and more.
10 ways to support your mental health in 2024
We’re paying more attention to our inner lives. Fortunately, there are a number of things that everyone can do to nourish their mental health.
Late-night email to Tim Cook that 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.
How these top CEOs stay fit and healthy
From a returned ballerina, to a marathon-running CEO and an executive yogi, nine leaders tell the BOSS team about their daily routines.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
This is the single most important economic data point for execs
Interest rates and inflation are important, but it is unemployment that the CEOs are watching – and they will like what economists are telling them.
Nickel miner Panoramic saw writing on the wall
Nickel producer Panoramic Resources commissioned a report on shutting its flagship mine or slashing head office costs before its slide into voluntary administration.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Get out of the way, the market’s bulls are running
The market is so strong that fund managers are interrupting their holidays to throw cash at it. But this rally is about the macroeconomy.
Three Airwallex executives exit Tencent-backed payments group
The departures include the payment giant’s most senior Australian public relations officer, according to internal Slack messages sent to staff.
Eagers Auto says outsiders accessed data from IT servers
Australia’s largest car dealership group, with 200 showrooms, is notifying a “small number” of people who may face a risk of serious data misuse.
Investment banking fees slump 31pc in patchy market
The market was marred by a slump in overall transacting, while the inability to close some big-ticket deals left millions of dollars in revenue on the cutting-room floor for bankers who spent months working on M&A.
- Analysis
- Critical minerals
Why nickel could heal BHP’s rift with the Albanese government
Australia’s biggest company and the federal government spent 2023 feuding. Could they find common ground in 2024 around a loss-making, 51-year-old smelter?
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
ASX 200 closes at 7627.8, within points from peak
Shares advance at the closing bell; higher iron ore price buoys mining giants; Bitcoin rises to highest level in 21 months. Follow here for more.
Economists say population surge key to dodging a recession this year
The Australian Financial Review’s survey of 40 economists suggests the local economy will slow to about 1 per cent this year before rebounding in 2025.
RBA rate relief arriving in September: economist survey
A tight jobs market and stubborn inflation prompt economists to pencil in a September rate cut. But nine economists say the RBA may raise rates again next month.
The RBA will be ‘reluctant’ interest rate cutters
Bank of America economist Micaela Fuchila says the RBA will be reluctant to cut rates until 2025, given how long it will take to return inflation to target.
Hedge funds stockpile uranium as price surges
As many as 50 funds are believed to have bought and stored uranium concentrate, as investors bet on a price spike.
Opinion
Cowardice and populism must not mark politics in 2024
This will be an election year in all but name. Anthony Albanese has to finally live up to the economic reform challenges
Editorial
Labor must hush the leadership chat
The government should respond to narrowing polls by taking the economic reform debate up to the opposition.
Researcher
Australia needs banks to invest in businesses, not houses
This country doesn’t need more luck to drive productivity, it needs strategies to help finance SMEs, and to make better use of existing energy infrastructure.
Economist
The unknown unknowns of a global year of elections
The electoral choices that Indonesia makes this year should be at least as important to Australians as the primary vote in Iowa.
Columnist
The psychological welfare state is another front in the culture wars
Workers’ compensation and disability claims systems built for physical injuries are now driven by subjective and costly troubles of the mind.
Columnist
Why home is better than hospital
Patients can often be treated at home just as well as in expensive hospitals. But private health insurers have too little incentive to fund it.
Health care leader
Politics
Coal request a matter of survival: Ukraine ambassador
DFAT is still considering Ukraine’s call for more Australian coal as Russian attacks intensify.
Economists say population surge key to dodging a recession this year
The Australian Financial Review’s survey of 40 economists suggests the local economy will slow to about 1 per cent this year before rebounding in 2025.
Motorists and RBA cheer 14pc fall in oil prices
A 14 per cent fall in oil prices since November is tipped to push inflation to its lowest level since late 2021 and deliver relief to motorists at the bowser.
ADF to help with clean-up as floods keep rescuers busy
Fifty ADF personnel will head to the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan from Thursday to help with recovery as storms and heavy rain batter southeast Queensland.
Hacked testimony could be released after Victoria stares down ransom demand
Cybercriminals breached Victoria’s courts late last year, gaining access to a system that holds recordings of hearings the media may be barred from covering.
SPONSORED
World
South Korea opposition chief stabbed
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed in the neck in the city of Busan.
Japan reels after massive earthquake hits west coast
More than 50,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Japan after a series of powerful earthquakes triggered the country’s first major tsunami warning since 2011.
- Updated
- Israel
Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul law
Israeli justices reject the polarising law to limit the court’s power, increasing the potential for the wartime country to face a constitutional crisis.
Iran sends warship to Red Sea as tensions escalate
Iran’s foray into the Red Sea a day after the US action compounds a highly volatile situation in the channel that handles about 12 per cent of the world’s commerce.
- Updated
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israel pulls thousands of troops from Gaza
It is the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began and could signal that fighting is being scaled back in some areas of Gaza.
Property
Property values surged 8.1pc in 2023
The rise in home values was a sharp turnaround from the 5 per cent drop the previous year and defied forecasts of double-digit declines, data from CoreLogic shows.
- Exclusive
- Construction
Non-bank lending worth $74b, could double in five years
Non-bank lenders could account for almost a quarter of the commercial real estate debt market by 2028, Foresight Analytics says.
- Opinion
- Property development
Victorian land vendors face significant risk from new contract laws
Land owners are prohibited from entering into some sale of land contracts with provisions for the purchaser to pay land tax or windfall gains tax. There are significant financial risks for vendors and advisers who unwittingly get it wrong.
Prospects brighten for property stocks as 2024 rate cuts loom
With hopes rising globally that central banks will begin cutting rates this year, the recent rebound in the real estate investment trust sector could crank higher.
City bosses warned against office beehives over eco concerns
City of London corporates have been introducing hives to their rooftops, but many have not planted the flowers that the bees need.
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
- Opinion
- AI
Media and tech war over generative AI reaches new level
News groups risk surrendering their audience to AI companies. They could also see the value of their brands diluted if ChatGPT and its like become the new oracles.
- 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.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Chanticleer CEO poll
The 53 risks top CEOs say you’re not paying enough attention to
From the ageing population to housing, healthcare and cybersecurity, there’s plenty keeping our top bosses awake at night.
Women outnumber men at all but two Aussie universities
A lack of other post-school study options, and the rise of qualifications in female dominated fields, mean women are dominant on almost every campus.
Life & Luxury
The TV shows these CEOs couldn’t stop streaming in 2023
The Bear, Beckham, Beef and a gay coming of age series were among business leaders’ favourite streaming shows of 2023.
10 ways to support your mental health in 2024
We’re paying more attention to our inner lives. Fortunately, there are a number of things that everyone can do to nourish their mental health.
Elite chess players keep accusing each other of cheating
Top chess players cannot seem to stop getting into disputes about the integrity of the game.
How these top CEOs stay fit and healthy
From a returned ballerina, to a marathon-running CEO and an executive yogi, nine leaders tell the BOSS team about their daily routines.
- Opinion
- Motoring
VW Australian boss reveals the road map for car buyers Down Under
Karsten Seifert admits the company hasn’t moved fast enough on delivering EVs here. But a renewed focus on markets outside of Europe will change that for the better.