The Financial Review Wine Club is the home for seasoned collectors and wine enthusiasts.
DeSantis exit shows Trump’s iron grip
Former US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, is now the last Republican in the race with a shot – albeit a long one – of beating Trump to the nomination.
PM’s urgent reset to ease cost of living and win back voters
Anthony Albanese has decided to bring forward the timing of new measures to well before the May 14 federal budget.
- Exclusive
- Mining
Forrest shuts WA mines as nickel dominoes tumble
Andrew Forrest faces another nickel nightmare as a price plunge triggers the shutdown of WA mines his private company Wyloo acquired for $760 million just six months ago.
Netanyahu rejects Hamas offer to end the war
Hamas says it will release all hostages if Israel withdraws its troops and releases terrorists.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to rise; South32 cuts copper guidance; Liontown reviews plans
Shares to gain; Google dumps $125m Appen contract; Lynas flags output rebound; South32 flags headwinds; Forrest shuts WA nickel mines; $A at US66¢.
- Live
- Need to Know
Trump ‘honoured’ by DeSantis’ endorsement
Trump’s campaign says it’s time for Republicans to rally behind the former president; Nikki Haley needs New Hampshire’s independents to shake Trump’s grip on the nomination. Follow updates here.
- Exclusive
- Australian economy
‘Timidity’ on tax reform taints Chalmers’ good report card
Economists say the Treasurer must confront his reluctance to reform the tax system and rein in Labor’s “radical” industrial relations agenda, to deliver higher living standards.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
SUMMER READING
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Why Netanyahu is turning against Biden
Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than 100 days and still has more than 100 hostages to recover, but Netanyahu’s No. 1 focus is Netanyahu.
The movies set for Oscar noms – and who will do it tough
Australia will wake up on Wednesday to the Academy Award nominations, ahead of the big night in March. Here’s a round-up of what and who is in line to get the nod.
City life is too lonely. Urban planning can help
Casual encounters - with neighbours, your local barista or even a passerby in a park - may not generate deep connections - but they don’t need to.
Can a ‘best of British’ strategy turn Burberry around?
Shares in the iconic UK fashion house have had their steepest decline in the more than a decade, and profit forecasts are down.
- Opinion
- US election
Trump keeps doing appalling things, and the ranks of the disengaged are growing
The reboot of the Donald Trump show would be a lot darker than the original. People who value their equanimity might decide it’s not worth watching.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
‘I want to go to the movies’: Gauff, Djokovic waste no time
Supposed illness didn’t stop Novak Djokovic dismantling his opponent, while Coco Gauff joked about being in a hurry at the Australian Open.
Teenager stuns world No.1 Iga Swiatek to reach fourth round
World No.1 Iga Swiatek has crashed out of the Australian Open, losing to Czech teenager Linda Noskova as her bid for a maiden Melbourne Park title fell apart.
Flooding of Saudi money into tennis is ‘inevitable’, warns Wozniacki
The former women’s No.1 is the second active player to address Rafael Nadal’s move to become an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation.
Meet the Aussie who helped China fall in love with tennis
China is obsessed with tennis as its next generation of stars aim to emulate the nation’s all-time best – Li Na – who was coached by a relatively unknown Australian back in the 1990s.
‘Victorians got the best deal’: Labor defends Open’s $100m bailout
The state government says taxpayers scored the “best deal” through a $100 million bailout for Tennis Australia in exchange for extended hosting rights.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
- Exclusive
- Mining
Nickel glut prompts rethink for South32’s Colombian mine
CEO Graham Kerr says South32 might reshape the mine’s output. He also says his Worsley alumina refinery doesn’t have the issues that shuttered Alcoa’s Kwinana.
ANZ locks in staff offer to swap Australia Day public holiday
ANZ is the last of the big four banks to offer an alternative day off as cultural awareness experts flag growing interest in Indigenous issues post-referendum.
Qantas accused of intimidating LAX engineers
The airline strongly rejects the claims, which come as LAX-based mechanics and maintenance workers push for collective bargaining rights.
NAB moves focus to young savers, insists deposit market is competitive
Deposits strategy executive Paul Riley suggests rival banks were the target of a scathing ACCC report, and his bank was transparent on pricing where others were not.
- Analysis
- Due diligence
Hydrogen’s bubble has burst, so should Twiggy buy rather than build?
Hydrogen share prices have collapsed on the back of rising interest rates and confidence-sapping scandals. Is it time for Fortescue to take advantage?
- Analysis
- Bulls & bears
Travel bulls still buying Webjet’s B2B growth story
Webjet is flying high despite concerns about the economy as it carves out a niche as an intermediary between businesses and hotels.
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Escalating staff costs preceded job cuts at Aussie unicorn Culture Amp
Culture Amp was one of the last major start-ups to cut jobs, having held off until the middle of 2023 despite what financials show were soaring costs.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Fairlight’s newest recruit, Abbey Cook, is betting big on beauty
The fund manager explains why she is so bullish on one US retailer and what she learnt from co-founding homegrown hedge fund VGI Partners with Rob Luciano.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Why the ‘size effect’ doesn’t work for Aussie small caps
Australian investors love small companies, but why do these lag their global counterparts when it comes to sharemarket performance?
How markets were looking before the ASX opening bell
The US tech sector was once again in the driver’s seat, pushing the S&P 500 to a high that was set to help the ASX 200 inch closer to its own peak.
Best short call of 2023 belongs to an amateur sleuth
James Block’s call on Signature Bank topped a list of short bets including Nate Anderson’s Hindenburg Research and Fraser Perring’s Viceroy Research.
The oil market is making plans for Red Sea chaos to last weeks
Charters of tankers to haul fuels, arranged up to a month in advance, reveal the vessels are being hired for routes that will avoid the danger zone.
Opinion
Labor needs to get much bolder on economy
Labor is rushing back to Canberra to salvage their own election prospects from the cost-of-living crisis engulfing them. But it needs to offer something better for the country’s future too.
Editorial
The big question surrounding bitcoin after its ETF approval
The cryptocurrency has dropped more than 10 per cent in less than a fortnight following the excitement surrounding the SEC’s green light, and pockets of hostility remain, writes Karen Maley.
Columnist
The experts trying to find the next Canva
Governments of all political persuasions love picking winners with taxpayer funds. But can the experts and bureaucrats find another Canva?
Contributor
Anxiety and uncertainty dominate CEO outlook
Improving productivity is the key for industry success in an uncertain, supply-constrained and slowing economy.
Contributor
Howard still ducks key Iraq question
Former prime minister John Howard has defended his record on committing Australia to the Iraq war. But we are no closer to fully understanding his reasons.
International editor
Look at DP World to see the damage new IR laws will do
EBAs are no longer an ordinary negotiation between two parties. They are set up to make intractable disputes inevitable.
Politics
- Exclusive
- Australian economy
How Treasurer Jim Chalmers is rated by 10 economists
Leading economists surveyed by The Australian Financial Review were asked to assess the performance of Treasurer Jim Chalmers and rate him out of 10.
‘Akin to a recession’: business braces for slowing economy
An estimated 40 per cent of leaders expect conditions to be weaker this year, thanks to uncertainty, ongoing supply side constraints and weakening demand.
PM must call for ACCC supermarket price gouging probe: AFR readers
Almost 70 per cent of respondents to The Australian Financial Review’s reader poll believe the Albanese government should call on the consumer watchdog to investigate supermarket price gouging.
Bass Strait gas deal struck, amid shortfall fears
The east coast’s biggest domestic gas supplier has agreed to help bridge a potential energy shortfall by locking in new supply agreement with the federal government.
Cost of living pressures mount on first cabinet meeting
Donald Trump’s attack on Nikki Haley put US Senator in favour; tankers are being re-routed for up to a month to avoid Red Sea danger. See how the day unfolded.
SPONSORED
World
DeSantis exit shows Trump’s iron grip
Former US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, is now the last Republican in the race with a shot – albeit a long one – of beating Trump to the nomination.
$100b industry: Saudi Arabia seeks Aussie help to dig up desert
The kingdom wants to ramp up its mining industry at warp speed, and hopes Australian companies will get in on the action.
Doubts mount over China’s steel, GDP data
Surprising statistics deepen scepticism about the official measures of activity in the world’s second-largest economy.
Haley says Trump ‘obsessed with dictators’ as barbs fly
The former president hit back, all but ruling out picking her as his vice president, and targeting her Indian heritage, ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
Iran vows revenge on Israel for Damascus strike that kills guards
Tehran warns that it has the right to retaliate against the “fake Zionist regime at the appropriate time and place” as tensions escalate in the Middle East.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
7-Eleven’s Chris Barlow pays $20.5m in Mornington Peninsula
The sale shows that even prime coastal properties are not immune to the weakness in hit the wider residential market as borrowing costs have soared.
- Exclusive
- Retail property
$3.5b of offshore dry powder looking for shopping centre deals
Foreign investor confidence in Australian malls is rising after more than $3 billion worth of retail assets sold in the December quarter alone.
States stand by ‘discriminatory’ taxes for foreign property buyers
The IMF criticised states for charging overseas buyers higher imposts on housing, saying it does nothing to boost affordability. The states agree – mostly.
City life is too lonely. Urban planning can help
Casual encounters - with neighbours, your local barista or even a passerby in a park - may not generate deep connections - but they don’t need to.
Home loan curbs urged to cool hot property market
Restrictions on home loans should be reintroduced to cool the hot housing market and reduce risky borrowing, the IMF says.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
Three things you should know before buying your coastal retreat
Investing in apartments near the beach has a sustained appeal for a variety of reasons – but be aware, life is different out there.
Can I use my super to invest in or start a business?
A reader with a defined benefit fund needs to weigh up her options extra carefully before giving up a very reliable source of income.
The families who own a home but choose to rent instead
One rentvestor who bought is thrilled with the capital growth and flexible lifestyle, but another says he would do things differently.
Technology
Elon Musk’s AI start-up secures $US500m towards $US1b funding goal
The billionaire’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is discussing a valuation of $US15 billion to $US20 billion, though terms could still change.
Microsoft says it was hacked by Russian state-sponsored group
The Russian group was able to access “a very small percentage” of Microsoft corporate email accounts, including those of members of its senior leadership team.
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
‘Are you serious?’ Male-run ‘girls’ club’ start-up cops flak
Blackbird-backed start-up Kiki has absorbed criticism about its surprise pivot from subletting in New York to a networking club for women.
Work & Careers
Waterfront warrior’s IR warning: Australia is ‘going backwards’
Donald McGauchie critical of industrial relations changes as the dispute between the Maritime Union of Australia and DP World intensifies.
Swimmer who won gold and called Chinese star a drug cheat retires
Mack Horton, who had an intense rivalry with Sun Yang, says he has lost his hunger for the sport and he won’t be competing at the Paris Olympic Games.
Life & Luxury
De Minaur destroyed after believing he could progress
All eyes in Melbourne were on the Australian 10th seed as he aimed to keep home interest in the tennis competition alive. Andrey Rublev put paid to that.
He started exercising at 73, but at 93, he’s as fit as a 40-year-old
Four-time indoor rowing world champion Richard Morgan began a regular fitness routine only very late in life. His body offers lessons on ageing.
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
Five under-the-radar Australian wine regions we recommend you visit
Everybody knows this country does great wine. What many don’t realise is that some of that comes from lesser-known regions that also make for happy travels.
The benefits of sneaking in a short run at lunchtime
Chargefox head of marketing Rob Asselman works mostly from home, which helps him find the time to problem-solve while running.
The movies set for Oscar noms – and who will do it tough
Australia will wake up on Wednesday to the Academy Award nominations, ahead of the big night in March. Here’s a round-up of what and who is in line to get the nod.
