- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Forget nickel, BHP’s next big call is a test for Australia
BHP CEO Mike Henry’s next big call is on how to grow its copper business. He says Australia’s IR, tax and approvals policies could turn it away from Australia.
Reputation needs bigger role in Woolworths executive pay: ISS
The proxy advisory group’s comments come as the supermarket giant faces intense scrutiny over its profit margins as household budgets are crunched.
- Opinion
- Defence
Awakening of a maritime nation 50 years in the making
It is a historic day when the government has finally agreed to support an enhanced surface combatant fleet capability for the Royal Australian Navy, writes Jennifer Parker.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Hrdlicka departure reminds us who’s really flying Virgin
Jayne Hrdlicka ran a good race at Virgin Australia. But it turns out this is a marathon, not a sprint.
- Exclusive
- Carbon challenge
‘Breakthrough moment’: Littleproud backs rooftop solar
The Nationals leader is mulling a plan to divert billions of dollars into putting panels on roofs in the bush to solve the NIMBY transmission problem.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
What we learnt from ARB, Ansell, Netwealth and McMillan’s results
ARB enhances its market darling status, Ansell gets a poor hearing, wealth platforms please investors and McMillan Shakespeare watches the EV boom.
Distressed listings to surge if interest rates stay on hold this year
The proportion of vendors desperate to offload properties jumped to 20 per cent in some mortgage belt areas as owners struggle to meet higher mortgage repayments.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
ANZ-SUNCORP DEAL
Banking and business lobby blast 583-day wait for ANZ’s Suncorp deal
The ACCC’s former chairman Graeme Samuel was also critical of the decision to block the deal, saying it was clear to him that it was wrong from the outset.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How Macquarie helped ANZ win Suncorp
After more than 18 months, ANZ finally has its prize and can buy Suncorp’s banking division. Sorting out the winners and losers isn’t as clear-cut as it seems.
Unpacking the ANZ/Suncorp decision
Reporters James Eyers and Liam Walsh discuss the court appeal that waved through ANZ's purchase of Suncorp.
ACCC’s Bendigo/Suncorp theory had ‘significant challenges’: court
A takeover of Suncorp’s bank from its fellow regional lender Bendigo & Adelaide Bank would face material execution risks, the Australian Competition Tribunal said.
- Updated
- Mergers & acquisitions
‘Maverick’ Macquarie paves way for ANZ’s Suncorp buy
The decision paves the way for the biggest merger in banking since CBA took out Bankwest in 2008 and could mean more consolidation in the sector.
EARNINGS SEASON
Ansell cuts almost 1300 jobs as profits keep sliding
The cut represents some 9 per cent of its global workforce. The company has also sliced its dividend payout after profits slumped by 70 per cent.
Coronado Coal profits fall 80pc as costs and taxes bite
Revenues at the miner, which operates in Queensland and in the United States, also slid as coking coal prices fell from highs seen after Russia invaded Ukraine.
KMD shares crumble to all-time low as weather wreaks havoc on sales
Unseasonably warm weather hurt sales of puffer jackets at Kathmandu, compounding an already weak consumer environment.
- 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.
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.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
- Updated
- Earnings season
Labor told to fix IR policies before handouts: BHP
Mike Henry says a tax credit may not be enough to save the company’s nickel division from closure, saying wage inflation in Australia was “especially problematic”.
Fund manager Centuria’s move into alternate assets pays off
The diversification strategy had been vindicated by the market disruption caused by recent global events including the pandemic, according to joint CEO John McBain.
Origin acquires two projects in NSW Renewable Energy Zone
Origin is pressing on with plans to bulk out its green energy portfolio following the collapse of its Brookfield deal last year.
Lombardo’s next key challenge to rebuild Lendlease
After a painful earnings announcement burned his company’s shares, the CEO has a big task to keep investors on side.
ASIC polices only a ‘sliver’ of big four firm activities
The frank description of ASIC’s limited powers comes as outgoing Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan recommends the big four partnerships be brought under federal corporate laws.
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
VC fund pulls $2.5m from firm of former PwC boss Luke Sayers
US-based venture capital fund McLaren Strategic Ventures will reduce its investment in the consultancy set up by the former PwC chief Luke Sayers by $2.5 million.
Air New Zealand warns of profit slide
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.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Investors back copper as Metals Acquisition jumps on ASX debut
The copper miner’s oversubscribed initial public offering could augur “green shoots” for the struggling IPO market.
ASX closes lower as miners weigh
Shares ease, led by mining and energy. Investors sell Star shares on second inquiry, BHP earnings hit 8-year low. RBA considered raising rates in February. Follow updates here.
Di Pilla plots to double funds under management to $20b
IPO king David Di Pilla’ aims to double HMC’s platform to $20 billion with plays in clean energy, digital infrastructure and global healthcare.
Fund managers eye up 20pc returns from hurricanes
Catastrophe bond portfolios ranked among the best performing funds last year as insurance companies paid hefty premiums to protect against disaster risks.
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.
Opinion
Merger ruling, miner cut through the populist policy madness
Amid the stew of populist hysteria around banks, miners, supermarkets and stevedores, two clear voices have blasted through the policy incoherence.
Editorial
Awakening of a maritime nation 50 years in the making
It is a historic day when the government has finally agreed to support an enhanced surface combatant fleet capability for the Royal Australian Navy.
Naval expert
Corporates should focus on being on the right side of customers
Any social licence credits supposedly built up by supporting the Voice have counted for nothing, as Coles and Woolworths are now portrayed as profiteering pariahs at the eye of the cost-of-living political storm.
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
I predicted NDIS disaster. Here’s how to make it sustainable
Instead of a demand-led and open-ended scheme, it is perfectly ethical and practical to calculate the total level of funding needed and then distribute it fairly.
Social Policy Expert
Putin’s global fan club is only getting stronger
Admirers of the Russian leader may soon lead the world’s largest democracies of India and the US, after Indonesia also elected a Putin fan this month.
Columnist
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
Navy to shrink then get bigger, deadlier under $80b revamp
The Albanese government will slash its frigate order from nine to six but add ships bristling with missiles in a revamp that adds $11 billion to naval spending.
- Exclusive
- Cost of living
Household income pain to last until 2027. These three charts prove it
After eight quarters in a row of falling real household incomes, Australians will have to wait until 2027 for living standards to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
- Analysis
- Defence
Navy shambles is now Labor’s to fix, or own
The new naval shipbuilding plan contains some sensible decisions. But there are still risks and failure will be on the Albanese government, writes Andrew Tillett.
‘My decision’: Qld top cop to leave early amid youth crime furore
Commissioner Katarina Carroll says she is no scapegoat and that she is standing down early of her own volition.
More than 3000 still without power a week after Victoria storms
Premier Jacinta Allan says her government will review last week’s mass outages which saw 530,000 homes and businesses lose power.
SPONSORED
World
‘Social stability’: Chinese firms form Mao Zedong-era militias
The People’s Liberation Army mobilisation units reflect Xi Jinping’s focus on security as the economy slows.
Buffett-backed lender to buy Discover Financial for $53.5b
US bank Capital One has agreed to buy Discover Financial, in an all-stock tie-up that is set to unite two of America’s largest credit card companies.
Messi apologises again after China’s wrath over no show
The Inter Miami star said his decision to sit on the sidelines rather than play in a match in Hong Kong this month was not political.
US moves to block Israel from launching Rafah attack
The US is circulating a UN Security Council resolution warning Israel against a “major ground offensive” into Rafah, in rare criticism of its ally at the global body.
Houthi missiles force crew to abandon ship in worst strike so far
The rebels have mounted a damaging attack on a commercial vessel after the group struck a bulk carrier and forced the crew to abandon ship.
Property
Lendlease tax dispute exposes Aware Super
Superannuation fund Aware is set to become entangled in Lendlease’s $260 million dispute with the Tax Office over a portfolio of retirement village assets.
Ingenia settlement revenue jumps as home-building constraints ease
The developer of affordable housing for downsizing over-55s could not avoid higher building costs, which have narrowed its new-home profit margin.
Investors swap term deposits for healthcare and industrial property
Top sales at the first commercial property portfolio auction of the year were a medical facility in Port Macquarie and a distribution warehouse in Penrith.
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.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Investing
This is the way to get better total portfolio returns
Don’t let the Magnificent Seven divert you from the basics of investing – everyone focuses on 2023 but ignores weakness in 2022.
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.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Insolvency
Aussie tech firms under most distress globally
A growing number of larger technology companies are scrambling to restructure their operations to avoid insolvency, with many Australian businesses under threat.
- 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.
Work & Careers
The podcasts this top CEO always goes back to
When Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart was offered the chance to run a business in the early 2000s in New York, she broke down and said, “No, I can’t do it.”
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.
Life & Luxury
The physio’s guide to injury recovery when you’re over 65
Our ageing population is more active, which is good, but they are more likely to hurt themselves. There are some simple ways to avoid and recover from injury.
The best airlines to fly business class to the US
Here’s our guide to the major airlines that fly between Australia and the US, and what you’ll find in first class, business or premium economy.
Four ways to work your frequent flyer and airline loyalty points harder
The more you fly, the more you need to care about the selecting the right program.
- 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.
Forget the 5am club; this famous author is up at 3am – even on Sundays
Edinburgh-based Sir Alexander McCall Smith writes in the wee hours, and then goes back to bed and starts the weekends again later, with fried eggs and bacon.
