- Updated
- Casinos
Star Sydney casino licence at risk again
The NSW regulator has launched a fresh inquiry into whether the $1.6 billion company had fixed major cultural failures at its Sydney casino.
- Updated
- Earnings season
‘It’s a mess’: Investors punish Lendlease for huge profit miss
“It’s an asset-rich company that is just generating paltry returns,” says Simon Mawhinney, the managing director of Allan Gray, which holds a 6.2 per cent stake.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
‘Broken business model’: Wylie slams Lendlease
While CEO Tony Lombardo pleads for patience, a veteran investor wants to see more radical change after Monday’s big fall.
Stokes’ Seven Group bids to take full control of Boral
Boral shares climbed 4.6 per cent as Seven Group, which owns 71.6 per cent of the concrete company, returned with a scrip and cash offer.
- Opinion
- Live Music
Taylor Swift is about to rule Sydney. Here’s what to expect
Hotels rooms are hard to get, and tour T-shirts cost $70 a pop. But Melbourne is buzzing after Taylor Swift’s visit and Sydney can expect to catch the wonderful fever too.
Right to disconnect? We’re already doing it, say bosses
Australian HR Institute CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett says employers will be uncertain about the right to disconnect until test cases bed it down.
McKinsey consultant, ANZ exec vie for ScoMo’s seat
A banker, McKinsey partner and a veterans’ commissioner are among five Liberals vying to replace former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
AFR POLITICS POLL
Voters warn Labor on crime and social order
The latest poll shows an 8-percentage point increase in the proportion of voters selecting crime as a top concern.
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Voters indifferent to tax cuts, worried about crime
The spring put in Anthony Albanese’s step by the redesigned stage three personal income tax cuts has not produced a big leap in Labor’s standing.
Barnaby Joyce’s approval rating among voters sinks like a stone
Voter perception of former Nationals’ leader has plunged following the release of video showing him lying in a Canberra street, affected by alcohol and prescription drugs.
Labor unscathed but unrewarded for tax U-turn
Just one-third of polled voters feel they will be better off under the revamped tax cuts, although 84 per cent of taxpayers will receive more on July 1.
- Opinion
- AFR Freshwater poll
Tax cut U-turn didn’t spark a recovery. But it did stop the slide
Both parties have a hard slog between now and the next election if they are going to shift voters mired in indifference.
EARNINGS SEASON
A2 Milk shares surge on upgraded outlook
The infant formula player reliant on the China market has topped profit expectations, but pushed out its goal of reaching $NZ2 billion in sales by 2026.
Westpac boss says RBA will be easing ‘within’ a year
Westpac stood back from aggressive mortgage market growth to protect its NIM over the past quarter, a similar strategy to its biggest rival, CBA.
Interest rate cuts could increase housing prices by 5pc: McGrath
More homebuyers entering the market in hopes of cheaper loans and reduced immigration could lift prices, real estate agent John McGrath says.
ANZ-Suncorp deal ‘not good for competition or consumers’: Bendigo
The Australian Competition Tribunal will on Tuesday deliver its verdict on the $4.9 billion takeover, with the deal hanging in limbo for close to two years.
Cochlear’s big first half delivers record earnings and dividend
The company reported its best interim sales and underlying net profit thanks to strong growth for its core hearing implants and services.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
No leaks: Inside Project Brightside’s $9.1b Valentine’s Day tie-up
JPMorgan’s technology banker with deep ties to Silicon Valley brokered an introduction between the companies that set the stage for last week’s mega deal.
Nickel tax breaks a coup for ‘the other minerals council’
The government’s consideration of tax credits for critical minerals producers is emblematic of a Perth lobby group’s rise from obscurity to influence.
CBA’s business boss describes Macquarie as a ‘formidable’ competitor
Macquarie’s assault on major banks will force CBA to lift investment, as Mike Vacy-Lyle confirms it will target real estate agents with a new software product.
Air New Zealand warns of profit slide ahead of Qantas results
The carrier will break even or turn only a small profit in the second half of the financial year as competition returns and corporate bookings soften.
Seven Group bids to take full control of Boral
Boral shares climbed 4.6 per cent as Seven Group, which owns 71.6 per cent of the concrete company, returned with a scrip and cash offer.
EnergyAustralia’s big gas bet arrives
EnergyAustralia has started up its Tallawarra B gas plant south of Sydney, with CEO Mark Collette saying gas will play a vital role to keep power supply secure.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
From Sydney Girls to the big time, meet Macquarie’s new star
Verena Lim has been relatively unknown in Australia’s investment banking scene. Now running its Asia operations, her name is up in lights inside Macquarie.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Beaten up Chinese equities worth a punt in 2024: Lazard
Investors should sell US stocks and re-allocate to emerging markets, including China, according to the $303 billion manager’s top market strategist.
ASX edges higher as Lendlease leads property plunge
ASX retraces early gains to end slightly higher. A2 Milk rallies as revenue inches higher on China growth. BlueScope warns of weaker outlook. Follow for more.
Why short sellers could be wrong on Pilbara and IDP
Short sellers are not always right, but investors need to understand their thinking, say the experts.
ASX 200 may test record as earnings season ramps up
If profit results from Australia’s biggest companies continue to beat expectations, the S&P/ASX 200 could forge a fresh all-time high this week, writes Jonathan Shapiro.
- Opinion
- Australian economy
There’s a new monetary order – will it be cruel or kind to our banks?
Much has changed since the global financial crisis and after a decade of low interest rates. Major lenders won’t be able to rely on what worked in the past.
Opinion
Corporates should focus on being on the right side of customers
The real political issue facing Coles and Woolworths is that companies will ultimately be judged on whether they are doing the right thing by customers.
Editorial
Why it’s vital that the RBA cuts rates at mid-year
The central bank is at great risk of overshooting its policy settings into higher unemployment and it is workers and small business who will cop it.
Former Labor minister and economist
Garnaut-Sims power plan is big on ambition, short on logic
The $100 billion carbon tax proposal would penalise Australians, deter greener energy switches in Asia, and would be impossible to implement.
Economics professor
Once a KGB thug…
During the Cold War, many on the political left in Western countries looked through the repression of the Russian people. Today, the moral equivalence of Russia’s “useful idiots” is on the populist political right.
Editorial
Europe or UK could leapfrog the Fed on rate cuts
Cooling inflation and sluggish economies give the European Central Bank and the Bank of England leeway to start cutting interest rates. But when will they jump?
Europe correspondent
Working women swing to Labor – and to private schools
As soon as families can afford it, they have been switching to independent schools. No amount of public money is likely to reverse that soon.
Election analyst
Reports
The Critical Minerals dilemma
This report looks at the disconnect between ESG ambitions and market pricing; new biofuels; and alternatives to lithium batteries.
Politics
Fix supply before changing negative gearing: builders
Changes to negative gearing rules or capital gains tax concessions would further slow badly needed housing supply and hurt residential construction, builders say.
Labor holds to US vehicle emissions goal despite Biden ‘doubts’
Labor’s pressing ahead with a plan to encourage EVs by penalising fossil fuel-burning vehicles, even through the US is watering down the model it’s based on.
McKinsey consultant, ANZ exec vie for ScoMo’s seat
A banker, McKinsey partner and a veterans’ commissioner are among five Liberals vying to replace former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Dutton aiding people smugglers with overblown claims: PM
Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of acting as a cheer squad for people smugglers by over-egging the seriousness of the latest arrival.
$20b blowout forces navy rethink, but number of warships could double
A review of Australia’s fighting warships exposed another blowout in the frigate project, and will force the government to go smaller, faster.
SPONSORED
World
The death throes of a Ukrainian city
Avdiivka fell to the Russians after some of the most horrific and destructive fighting of the two-year-old war.
- Analysis
- Monetary policy
Europe or UK could leapfrog the Fed on rate cuts
Cooling inflation and sluggish economies give the European Central Bank and the Bank of England leeway to start cutting interest rates. But when will they jump?
Inside Polar Wolf, the sadistic centrepiece of Putin’s gulag archipelago
The prison where Alexei Navalny, Russia’s top opposition leader, died in mysterious circumstances is part of a network of about 700 penal colonies and has a reputation for cruelty.
The brutal reality of plunging office values is here
Deals are starting to pick up, revealing just how far real estate prices have fallen, spurring widespread fears about losses that can ripple across the global financial system.
Russian victories shake global leaders’ faith in Ukraine war prospects
Statespeople, diplomats, military brass and spies fear war is tilting in Moscow’s favour.
Property
Lendlease reveals liability risk from PwC-advised $260m tax scheme
Three years after it dismissed a Financial Review story on a potential tax liability as “speculative”, Lendlease has for the first time disclosed it in its results.
Interest rate cuts could increase housing prices by 5pc: McGrath
More homebuyers entering the market in hopes of cheaper loans and reduced immigration could lift prices, real estate agent John McGrath says.
GPT trims 2024 payout as headwinds hit office towers
GPT has forecast a reduction in its shareholder distribution in 2024, partly as a result of paying higher incentives to woo tenants for its office portfolio.
The $2.9m sale that shows first home buyers are back
In one part of Sydney, the market has turned and higher-priced properties have become harder to sell while more affordable ones are booming again.
How much would you pay for a Yarra Valley farm with airstrip?
After nearly 100 years, the family owners are putting up for sale a large holding in the cool-climate wine and tourism region outside Melbourne.
Wealth
Why super funds are having a bad start to 2024
January’s returns this year are significantly less than in 2023 and also lag December’s performance.
- Opinion
- Property investment
The little-known property investment that is about to explode
Blackstone, Goodman Group and Brookfield have identified this as an area to target and are increasing asset allocations to the fast-growing sector.
Why short sellers could be wrong on Pilbara and IDP
Short sellers are not always right, but investors need to understand their thinking, say the experts.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
Revealed: The respectable life of the suspected Medibank hacker
The Russian hacker accused of stealing the medical records of millions of Australians in the Medibank attack lives in a Soviet era block of flats and once worked in social welfare.
- Exclusive
- Funding
The Gold Coast’s answer to SpaceX is now worth $605m
Gold Coast-based rocket company Gilmour Space has closed a $55m funding round, which will give it enough cash to make its first four launch attempts.
Founder takes a $500,000 gamble to land a $236m deal
Ansarada chief executive Sam Riley will return to the start-up trenches if a deal to buy the company goes ahead.
Work & Careers
Disconnect laws will harm flexibility, productivity: AFR readers
A majority of readers polled believe workers have a right to switch off, but many believe it should be up to them and their employers to decide.
ACTU push to raise loading for casuals
Unions are using a Labor-prompted review of awards to question whether casuals’ higher pay fully compensates them for the permanent benefits they trade away.
Life & Luxury
Joe Aston’s guide to surviving LA
Rear Window’s incomparable former editor shares his guide to surviving the long haul to LAX – and where to hang out while you’re in the City of Angels.
How to fly to the US and avoid LAX
Here’s a route map with a range of options to help you avoid (or at least limit) the horror of LAX using alternative pathways into the United States.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- New car snapshot
Why the Lexus UX300e Sports Luxury will woo fans of the brand
This fully electric, lavish SUV comes with a great owner benefit program, but there are other makes out there with better range and performance.
This doctor relishes the thrill of racing her Porsche at 250 km/h
Inspiring others, testing her skills, and a love of fast cars drives medical director of The Centre for Medical Aesthetics, Dr Amy Chahal, “to be the best I can be”.
- Edition
- Arts
Inside the February arts issue
Australian director who wowed the critics is now set to cash in, the art treasure troves of judges and barristers, how the charity ball is becoming big business
