- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why this mega deal is 20 years too late
Alcoa has been tipped to take out joint venture partner Alumina for two decades. Here’s why the $3 billion deal has finally happened.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX flat; Kogan surges over 20pc; TPG slumps
Shares fall flat; oil drops; TPG’s profit slumps; CSR enters into a trading halt; Alcoa in $3.3b bid for Alumina; Kogan brings back dividend but sales slips. Follow here for more.
Four ASX stocks up at least 50pc in the past three months
These ASX-listed companies have ridden months-long relief rallies to near-record highs, and some analysts think they may still have further to run.
Office values plunge as CBD market bottoms
Major CBD office towers are selling at 20 per cent discounts to their peak value, the best evidence yet that the correction in Australia’s office market is nearing the bottom.
ATO probes top construction subbie over ‘$180m tax fraud’
The Tax Office is investigating a suspected 15-year scheme that could prove to be the biggest corporate tax fraud in history.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The trade that shows Buffett’s still got it – and his big worry
Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders reveals the details of the trade Charlie Munger called “awfully easy money”. But the Oracle of Omaha is worried about a key part of his empire.
- Live
- Need to Know
Wage growth drives inflation, average pay tops $100k
Treasury analysis shows that decade high wages growth is now the biggest driver of consumer price inflation; Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has lost 31,000 soldiers. Follow updates here.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
MONDAY MEDIA
The three billionaires backing Kerry Stokes’ new free newspaper
Dominant in Western Australia, Kerry Stokes wants more of the east coast audience. The Nightly has backing from mining, energy, betting and property giants.
Australian media’s $70m lifeline ends in months. Meta isn’t picking up
Australian newsrooms face a $70 million-a-year hole in operations if Meta walks away from news bargaining code deals that start to expire in three months.
PwC, Qantas journalism boosts Financial Review
Editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury says there’s no evidence of news fatigue after a strong end to 2023 and record readership in January and February.
Barnaby Joyce to be diagnosed with a sleep disorder on live TV
The former Nationals leader has insomnia and sleep apnoea; plus: former Oz editor Chris Dore’s first target; Tabcorp open to its own free-to-air TV channel.
‘Scandalous’: free-to-air networks lash TV makers for demanding a cut
Whether TV network apps appear on new TVs is an “existential” threat to broadcasters, CEOs told senators. Tech giants are demanding to clip the ticket.
GENDER PAY GAP
- Exclusive
- Gender pay gap
Emma fuels jets for the overtime, but she’s a gender pay gap exception
Traditionally male-dominated industries such as energy and construction have wider gender pay gaps, CEOs admit ahead of the historic release of national gender pay gap data.
10 easy steps to massage your gender pay gap
The labour of solving a problem that is not caused by them, and directly disadvantages them, again falls to women.
- Opinion
- Gender pay gap
The time for empty promises on women’s pay is over
The release of gender pay gap data for individual companies this week has some limitations, but it will still be a historic moment that can be a force for good.
- Opinion
- Gender pay gap
Why directors need to tackle gender pay gaps
They cannot simply ignore the rear-view data or brush it off as another reporting or compliance obligation.
Hours, travel contribute to Bain’s 31pc gender pay gap
Bain, a consulting firm that heavily promotes itself as being an employer of choice for women, has a gender pay gap of 31 per cent, higher than the industry gap of 26 per cent.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Alcoa in $3.3b bid for Australian partner Alumina
The deal would bring a global portfolio of bauxite mines, alumina refineries and aluminium smelters under one roof.
McGuigan owner Australian Vintage considers merger with Accolade
The ASX-listed group told investors it was in “exploratory discussions” with the Bain-controlled owner of the Hardys, Banrock Station and Petaluma brands.
Kogan.com brings back dividends, shares jump 22pc
Investors cheer the dividend even as the online retailer said its interim revenue fell as households cut back on spending amid cost-of-living pressures.
Dan Murphy’s owner Endeavour off to slower start in second half
The pubs and bottle shops group experienced a softer start to the second half in January, and a recovery in sales in February.
Aussie Broadband moves on Superloop with $466m takeover bid
The telco has scooped up a near 20 per cent stake in the internet broadband provider as it gears up to compete with its bigger rivals Telstra and Optus.
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
Burrowes to stay as head of PwC Australia until 2026
Kevin Burrowes, the senior partner brought in by PwC global to take control of the scandal-hit Australian firm, has had his term extended until 2026.
Adore Beauty shares surge on accelerating revenue
The former takeover target says trading momentum continued in the first six weeks of the new half, with revenue up 8.1 per cent amid a tough consumer backdrop.
Companies in the News
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Markets
This fundie says Domino’s Pizza is a better bet than the big four
Vertium Asset Management’s Jason Teh has an eye for companies in a turnaround phase – and his gaze is now firmly set on Domino’s and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
Buffett admits Berkshire’s days of ‘eye-popping’ gains are over
In his latest letter to shareholders, the legendary investor says there are only a handful of companies capable of moving the needle at Berkshire.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
A powerful mechanism is at play that will propel equities higher
The surprise in the current reporting season is not that earnings are coming in better than expected, but that investors didn’t see it coming.
ASX to open flat, market records to be tested by inflation pulse
Futures point to a flat start to the trading week for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 as investors brace for earnings headlined by Coles, Woodside, Suncorp, and Harvey Norman.
Traders braced for possible surprise NZ interest rate rise
There is a one-in-three chance the RBNZ could lift the cash rate on Wednesday to 5.75 per cent and the world is watching.
Opinion
University success starts with fixing school performance first
The Universities Accord social equity aspiration depends on students being ready to study at a higher level after year 12.
Editorial
The universities accord is like one giant déjà vu
The report has big ambitions. So did the 2008 Bradley review. They are not too dissimilar in scope and intent.
Education editor
Keating’s quaint defence of Australia doesn’t grasp regional power politics
Labor has put aside two absurd features of the Keating era: a defence policy designed to deal with direct invasion and the diminution of our US alliance.
Columnist
Universities accord report highlights funding shortage
If Australia is to have a world-class university system to sustain our standard of living in a highly competitive world, we are going to need to invest far more in it.
Vice-Chancellor
As Ukraine’s stocks fall, stakes get higher
Two years after Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion began, it’s not just about whether Ukraine can avoid defeat but whether Europe can defend itself
Editorial
The sad reality is that Ukraine is outgunned and outmanned
Strategic analysts were adamant either that Ukraine would fall or Russia would buckle. Two years later, neither has happened.
International editor
Reports
Thriving in the AI era
This series looks at how businesses can not just survive the AI era but grasp the opportunity of it and thrive.
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by SalesforcePolitics
- Exclusive
- Inflation
Wage growth drives inflation, average pay tops $100k
Treasury analysis shows that decade high wages growth that has pushed the average fulltime salary above $100,000 is now the biggest driver of consumer price inflation.
Turnbull wins tender to develop hydroelectricity in NSW
A private company owned by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has won a NSW tender to develop hydro schemes in the Hunter Valley.
- Exclusive
- Climate policy
BCA demands 12-month delay in climate reporting
The Albanese government “should be taking the time to get it right”, argues Business Council of Australia boss Bran Black.
- Exclusive
- Political leadership
Libs look to convert, not beat, Spender
The Wentworth MP, chosen as an independent at the last federal election, says she has no interest in joining the party.
Bright, poor students guaranteed a uni spot
Aspiring university students whose families earn less than $54,000 a year will be guaranteed a place in a degree if they meet admission benchmarks.
SPONSORED
World
Zelensky says 31,000 troops killed as counteroffensive looms
The tally that President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed differs sharply from that given by US officials, who have said the number is closer to 70,000.
Why this miner predicts Europe will demand green nickel
Nordic Nickel CEO Todd Ross says an upturn in the cycle is inevitable, and his Finland focus will pay off as the market splits into two markets.
Trump, backed by Rinehart, dispatches Haley in South Carolina
Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart backed Donald Trump to be the next US president as Nikki Haley vowed she would stay in the race despite losing her home state to the former president.
- Analysis
- Trade wars
In the shadow of Trump: how the WTO has reached the last-chance saloon
A summit of up to 164 ministers in Abu Dhabi aims to rebuild confidence and capability at the global trade umpire before a new Trump administration starts another trade war.
- Opinion
- US politics
Donald Trump’s party has become a cult with no coherent platform
The Republican Party has become a cult with no coherent platform other than what side of the bed their likely presidential candidate woke up on.
Property
![The deceased estate home with shed on a site comprising three separate titles at 7 Churchill Street in the Ipswich,] Queensland suburb of Churchill sold at auction for $1,050,000.](http://web.archive.org./web/20240226015553/https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.2303%2C$multiply_3%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_211%2C$y_70/t_crop_custom/c_scale%2Cw_300%2Cq_88%2Cf_auto/39b81c2d0643e507235e8a3548ef8011ec64854f)
First home buyers don’t get a look-in as investors swoop
Rate-sensitive aspiring home owners hoped to buy one of three lots put up for sale by one vendor, but they didn’t even get to bid.
Australia needs $115b to fund new housing, Qualitas says
The pick-up in private funding puts pressure on the federal government to clarify rules around inclusion of affordable rental housing in new developments.
Unrenovated Sydney terrace beats reserve by $1.5m
A Paddington terrace sold for $9m on a weekend when auction clearance rates were weaker amid a surge in listings, indicating more properties on offer than buyers.
ANZ downgrades house price forecast for Sydney, Melbourne
Growth in the country’s biggest housing markets has slowed showing higher interest rates have hit harder than expected.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
How Elwood’s record-breaking $17m house has links with van Gogh
The founder of immersive digital art exhibition juggernaut Grande Experiences, Bruce Peterson, and his wife Karyn are moving from nearby Brighton.
Wealth
10 big ideas in the universities shake-up
From doubling the numbers of students to a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on rich institutions: Here are some of the biggest recommendations in the universities accord and what they mean.
UBS eyes Australia’s richest family offices in latest wealth play
The Swiss wealth manager has welcomed 34 new advisers from Credit Suisse since absorbing its former rival, and its sights are firmly set on family offices.
How high earners can claw back lost stage three tax cuts
Experts explain how to reclaim lost stage three tax cuts via extra superannuation contributions.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Tax disputes
Atlassian pays $92m tax bill after years of ATO talks
The software developer has struck a transfer pricing agreement with the Tax Office and has agreed to retain intellectual property in Australia that it will pay future tax on.
Pro Medicus share price pause ‘a good entry point’
A $2.8 million share buyback has helped restore $1.2 billion of value to Pro Medicus. Despite its sky-high multiple, bulls think it has further to run.
Former Aquamamma CEO says investors should have read fine print
Emma Gibson, the wellness start-up’s co-founder and a former Rich Lister, says backers should have known she had not verified the figures she was pitching.
Work & Careers
Hours, travel contribute to Bain’s 31pc gender pay gap
Bain, a consulting firm that heavily promotes itself as being an employer of choice for women, has a gender pay gap of 31 per cent, higher than the industry gap of 26 per cent.
10 big ideas in the universities shake-up
From doubling the numbers of students to a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on rich institutions: Here are some of the biggest recommendations in the universities accord and what they mean.
Life & Luxury
Sales about to spike for gas-guzzling utes, hybrids under gun
Two big ASX-listed car dealership groups are worried about proposed emissions standards, as the FCAI warns most hybrid vehicles will be hit hard.
The truth about the new 30:30:30 diet
Viral diets have a nasty tendency to combine two of my least favourite things: deprivation and maths.
Think you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
Here’s how to lie flat for less on your next international flight
More frequent flyers are opting for business class on low-cost airlines – slashing their flight costs while enjoying a premium service.
This booze-free spritz is one of Max Allen’s top summer drinks
Brands are no longer trying to recreate the real thing with less alcohol. The newest no-lo options have flavours all of their own.
