Latest
Treasury eyes tax on $60b in family trusts
Federal Treasury has ramped up scrutiny of family trusts, revealing the growing number of people receiving income from the tax-friendly vehicles.
- John Kehoe
Inflation eases but craft beer, French cheese still aren’t popular
The boss of Australia’s largest independent retailer says that while easing inflation will allay rate hike fears, premium products still aren’t selling.
- Gus McCubbing
Why the Future Fund can’t beat costs of privatisations
Readers’ letters on the fund and missed opportunities, the teals’ true colours on tax, financial relief for owner occupiers and why green energy won’t keep the lights on.
- Updated
- Inflation
Rate cut bets spark ASX rally as inflation cools
Money market traders are now fully pricing the first 0.25 of a percentage point cut to the 4.35 per cent cash rate in August.
- Updated
- John Kehoe
Global economy is heading towards ‘soft landing’, IMF says
The brighter outlook is due largely to the strength of the US economy where consumer spending has held strong and businesses have continued to invest.
- Alan Rappeport
- Exclusive
- Russia-Ukraine war
Ukraine to Australia: ‘We don’t want your flying trash’
During two years of war, Australia and Ukraine have struggled to get beyond mutual incomprehension.
- Aaron Patrick
Opinion & Analysis
RBA can’t let up as inflation retreats
The fall in headline inflation is encouraging. But the final rounds of the war on sticky services inflation will be the hardest.
Editorial
Falling inflation boosts Labor’s confidence
The drop in inflation is bolstering Labor’s belief that the economic narrative is turning in its favour and there will be no more interest rate rises.
Columnist
Albanese slams door on Labor’s own tax aspirations
Labor and the Coalition once wanted to cut the top rate of tax to 40 per cent and scrap the 37 per cent bracket. That seems unimaginable now.
Economist
Tax changes are ‘Band-Aids and sticky tape’ on a broken system
Australia is too reliant on slugging workers for income tax – sapping work incentives, deterring international talent and penalising working-age people.
Economics editor
Yesterday
- Opinion
- The AFR View
RBA can’t let up as inflation retreats
The fall in headline inflation is encouraging. But the final rounds of the war on sticky services inflation will be the hardest.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Inflation
Falling inflation boosts Labor’s confidence
The drop in inflation is bolstering Labor’s belief that the economic narrative is turning in its favour and there will be no more interest rate rises.
- Jennifer Hewett
- Opinion
- Tax reform
Albanese slams door on Labor’s own tax aspirations
Labor and the Coalition once wanted to cut the top rate of tax to 40 per cent and scrap the 37 per cent bracket. That seems unimaginable now.
- Robert Carling
- Opinion
- Tax cuts
Tax changes are ‘Band-Aids and sticky tape’ on a broken system
Australia is too reliant on slugging workers for income tax – sapping work incentives, deterring international talent and penalising working-age people.
- John Kehoe
January
Qantas searches for a path out of its mess
Readers’ letters on the World Coal Association’s new name, greenwashing’s evil twin, why success isn’t all about high income, and the Property Council’s ‘self-interested vision’.
- Opinion
- Middle East tensions
Markets and the Middle East on collision course
So far, global markets are shrugging off the risks of escalation in the Middle East, but how quickly the situation can deteriorate has been on show this week.
- Jennifer Hewett
Locals ‘traumatised’ as more heavy rain hits Queensland
Queensland’s south-east has again been saturated by heavy rainfall, causing flash flooding in areas still reeling from severe weather last month.
- Keira Jenkins
Retail sales plunge, Godfreys goes bust
Shoppers slashed retail spending in the run-up to Christmas by the most since the pandemic lockdowns, by cutting back on household goods, clothes and footwear.
- Updated
- John Kehoe
Crackdown seizes $4.5m of disposable vapes
Border Force authorities seized 150,000 disposable vapes worth about $4.5 million after the federal government cracked down on the ‘public health menace’.
- Gus McCubbing
- Opinion
- Australian economy
How to get the truth from economic forecasting
Everybody wants to know if interest rates are going to come down this year. The best way to find out is by challenging economists’ assumptions.
- Cherelle Murphy
- Opinion
- Future Fund
Future Fund critics owe Costello an apology
The former Coalition treasurer had to fend off critics when he set the fund up, and is right to defend it now.
- Tom Switzer
ASX nears record; Teals want tax bravery; Evergrande silver-lining
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
‘Airfares are halved when three competitors fly a route’
Competition minister Andrew Leigh has presented new analysis showing just how significantly airfares fall when more airlines are competing.
- John Kehoe and Ayesha de Kretser
The Houthis: Inside an enigmatic and powerful religious militia
The group has a tight hold on Yemeni society in the areas it controls, providing day-to-day security in which city streets are safe, unlike in government-controlled Aden.
- Roland Oliphant, Nataliya Vasilyeva and Sophia Yan
Why aren’t there solar panels on apartment blocks? This start-up has a fix
Start-up Allume says the roofs of apartment blocks are a huge untapped opportunity for household solar - but obstacles still remain.
- Ben Potter
Earning good money is not something to be ashamed of
Readers’ letters on Labor’s approach to taxation, the Australian Open, Australia Day, Germany and green hydrogen, and dealing with banks and an enduring power of attorney.
New Future Fund boss; Bad news for Woolies; Deadly attack on US troops
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Business urges delay on climate disclosure, warns on litigation wave
The Australian Institute of Company Directors says the regime may backfire, leading companies to pull back on reporting, if the liability settings are not right.
- Patrick Durkin
Inflation tipped to fall to two-year low
The Reserve Bank will be watching services inflation closely when the consumer price index report drops this week.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Carbon challenge
Climate disclosure must not create yet more risk for companies
There are gaps in the proposed legislation which leave corporates exposed to activist legal actions over a complex and unpredictable long-term transition.
- Mark Rigotti
