Suncorp pushes big premium increase in bid to grow profit margins
The Brisbane-based group says it has not seen an impact on customer numbers from the increased prices.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX edges up; TPG sinks 8pc; Alumina shares jump on takeover bid
Shares gain at the close; 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.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Billionaire Greg Goodman not scared to give the market what it wants
On M&A Monday, the deal that caught our eye was Goodman’s decision to set a listed fund free and try to make money as a shareholder.
Trump revival would not threaten US green subsidies: Forrest
Andrew Forrest believes America’s $600 billion green energy scheme, the Inflation Reduction Act, would survive a second Donald Trump presidency.
- 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.
- Exclusive
- University
Unis that would pay the most – and the least – under ‘envy tax’ plan
Just six of the country’s 41 universities would bankroll half of the annual contributions to the higher education future fund proposed in the Albanese government’s universities accord.
Hedge funds sell Magnificent Seven in ‘frothy’ markets
Investors trimmed their positions in the US megacap stocks heading into the new year, while insiders have also been lowering their stakes.
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.
Superloop rejects Aussie Broadband’s $466m takeover bid
Superloop investors have backed the broadband internet group’s decision to turn down a $466 million approach from rival upstart telco Aussie Broadband.
Westpac to sell RAMS Home Loans, 16 years after saving it from GFC
Morgan Stanley has been appointed to sell what was once an iconic mortgage brand, but is now a small network of around 40 Westpac franchisees.
Dan Murphy’s owner Endeavour off to slower start in second half
Trading at its bottle shops in January softened, pinning hopes on a February turnaround and an outsized performance from Endeavour’s pubs.
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.
CommSec MD Richard Burns quits, CBA exec James Fowle to takeover
The managing director of the country’s largest stockbroker, Commonwealth Bank’s CommSec platform, has told the company that he will resign at the end of June.
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.
Companies in the News
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Markets
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.
- 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.
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.
Opinion
The real reason Nikki Haley is still running
The former South Carolina governor is boosting her brand by standing alone against Donald Trump in the Republican Party, writes Edward Luce.
Columnist
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
As budget bonanza flows, fiscal caution is the first casualty
The rivers of resources gold coming into the government’s coffers are turning into most expensive marginal seat strategy in the nation’s history.
Economist
Keating’s strategic illusion dies hard
The former prime minister’s timid isolationism, leaving others to do the heavy lifting, has its roots deep in Labor’s history.
Historian
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
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
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.
- 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.
AI auditors let the ATO find millions in unpaid tax and super
Natural language AI models have helped the ATO find hundreds of millions of liabilities and pinpoint organisations that may not be paying employees enough super.
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
- 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.
SPONSORED
World
Netanyahu defiant amid Ramadan attacks warning
Amid signs of progress toward a pause in the fighting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces planned to keep pushing into Gaza.
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.
Call to ban McKinsey from US government contracts for China work
Top Republicans have called for McKinsey to be banned from securing US federal contracts after a think tank led by the firm gave policy recommendations to Beijing.
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.
Property
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.
![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 $1,050,000.](http://web.archive.org./web/20240226053712/https://static.ffx.io/images/$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_140%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.
House prices rebound in global turning point
Across the 37 industrialised OECD countries, nominal house prices grew 2.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2023.
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.
Wealth
Wealthy families are trying something new – ditching the secrecy
There’s a new breed of private investment vehicle for the super rich. And they’re less interested in managing money out of view than making more of it.
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.
Technology
How Microsoft remade its ruthless corporate image
Can Microsoft, on many days the most valuable company in the world, and with a history of squeezing competitors, truly claim to be more evolved than most?
- 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.
Work & Careers
- Opinion
- Workplace
The rising menace of absurd job titles
From “global general counsel” to “chief growth officer”, terrible epithets confuse and infuriate, but they are also increasing.
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.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Why this new Samsung phone can help you be your best self
Samsung’s latest Galaxy S Ultra maintains its position as the most useful phone you can buy. So what if sometimes it gives you more than you bargained for?
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
Wine history comes alive in this definitive magnum opus
For this author, Australia’s wine history is personal – so he wrote a lavishly illustrated, three-volume work on it that’s just come out in paperback.
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.
What it was like at Taylor Swift’s show on Sunday
The billionaire songstress put in the hard work to maintain a deep connection to her 83,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
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.
