Woodside heads for fresh clash on climate as profits slide
The oil and gas producer’s pursuit of growth projects met with criticism from activist shareholder groups as benchmark profit dropped 37 per cent.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
What we learnt from Altium, Reece, Helia and G8 Education’s results
Altium’s lucky cushion, Reece’s big run, Helia keeps rising and G8 Education pumps up prices.
Cbus could invest more than $500m in affordable housing: Wayne Swan
The boss of the industry super fund says it is comfortable with the risks of a new asset class and wants to play a role in resolving Australia’s housing crisis.
- Updated
- Earnings season
Coles has a better start to the year than Woolworths as sales grow
The supermarket chain’s CEO, Leah Weckert, says competition is “very robust” as the retailing giants face intense political scrutiny over rising prices.
Western troops in Ukraine not ruled out, Macron says
The French president also dropped opposition to purchasing artillery supplies for Kyiv from outside the EU, as the war enters its third year.
More pain for nickel, lithium as supply deluge bites
Of the three key critical minerals, nickel has the darkest outlook because of cheap supply from Indonesia, but investors are backing copper as demand picks up.
Maguire a ‘special kind of pest’ who had a hold over Berejiklian
The former premier’s secret relationship with the disgraced regional MP dominated proceedings in the second day of her attempt to appeal corruption findings.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
EARNINGS SEASON
Appen shares surge 15pc as new chief outlines AI strategy
The incoming boss of troubled data services business is hoping to catch the next wave after revenue collapsed 30 per cent over the last 12 months.
Alumina may need to raise capital if Alcoa deal fails
The takeover target slumped after it disclosed a $US150 million ($229 million) annual loss and Alcoa shares tumbled in New York.
G8 raises childcare fees as chief executive collects $3m in pay
The Gold Coast-based group, which has more than 400 centres, said the price rise was linked to higher wage and supply costs – although margins could increase.
Healius flags asset sales and plans to shut some operations
But the country’s second-largest pathology group cannot say what assets are being considered for sale after it recorded a collapse in margins since June 30.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Prospa started ASX life with a bang. It’s ending with a whimper
Six years after Prospa’s bizarre IPO, it is being taken private at a bargain price. Some companies just shouldn’t list.
GENDER PAY GAP
A ‘cultural shift’ is needed to shrink banker gender pay gap
Morgan Stanley is seeking to increase the numbers of high-earning women at the bank. One fund manager says that will rely on men being more family oriented.
Revealed: The gender pay gaps at Australia’s top 250 companies
The Australian Financial Review has dug through calculations of pay disparity at more than 5000 companies to zero in on the ASX200 and the largest private firms.
Bonuses, overtime drive 19pc gender pay gap
The median pay gap at businesses with 100-plus employees has been revealed for the first time and professional services and banks recorded some of the worst disparities.
Corrs lags top law firms on gender pay gap
Firms with a higher proportion of women partners tended to have a smaller median pay gap among staff, new data from WGEA shows.
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Companies
Chinese technicians parachuted in to fix ailing WA lithium plant
Battery chemical giant Albemarle’s problems with its $2.3 billion lithium hydroxide plant in WA will be tackled by an expert team from China.
Start-up that delivered Australian founder $250m goes into liquidation
Video-calling company Hopin was a pandemic darling that has since sold off its signature software and is now relocating to the US.
WA borrowers struggling the most with home loan repayments: S&P
S&P Global Ratings says mortgagees in the West are 20pc more likely to be behind on repayments.
Irish giant CRH’s $2.1b bid wins over Adbri
The independent directors of cement maker Adbri have agreed to the $3.20-per-share offer from NY-listed Irish group CRH.
Tabcorp to pull form guide sponsorship from three News Corp papers
After decades as a cash cow of capital city newspapers, racing form guides in Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart may disappear after their major sponsor pulled out.
Tesla chairwoman tackles Canberra on tax breaks for nickel, lithium miners
Robyn Denholm will help spearhead the fight for tax breaks in critical minerals just days after Andrew Forrest calls out Elon Musk for buying Indonesian nickel.
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.
Companies in the News
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Markets
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX bounces as Coles, CSR jump
Shares bounce but miners fall with iron ore; Appen trims losses; Tyro lifts profit fivefold; Chorus reaffirms guidance; Coles sales up; Woodside profit 37pc down.
BlackRock tips Japanese stock rally to power ahead
The world’s biggest asset managers say the rally in Japan’s sharemarket has more room to run as foreign investors continue to invest.
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
AI mania tells a tale of two bull markets
While the US rise in share prices is all about tech, India’s boom is more broad-based.
Bitcoin tops $US57,000 for first time since 2021
Investors have poured around $8.6 billion into a batch of exchange-traded funds that began trading last month.
What happened overnight? US stocks trade in a narrow range as focus shifts back to rates
The rally that took the S&P 500 above 5100 last week stalled to start the week in New York with key inflation data set for later this week. Apple extends slump. Nvidia extends advance.
Opinion
Super seeking board seats points to governance issues
Paul Keating’s 80th birthday interview raises the under-discussed issue of the impact of the $3.6 trillion union-influenced superannuation funds on the nation’s capital markets.
Editorial
Gender pay gap calls for proper explanation to maximise opportunity
While business is not entirely to blame, there is clearly room for innovative thinking about how corporates can tackle the cultural barriers to women working different jobs at different times in different places for more pay.
Editorial
Digital giants harm consumers and competition
New mandatory codes of conduct are needed to regulate the dominant market power of companies like Apple, Google and Meta.
ACCC Chair
Optimists about China bouncing back are just hoping
The problem is that China isn’t just another member of the global community and bad economic policy is not punished at the ballot box.
Economist
Reality check for critical minerals, and for Canberra
Australia’s critical minerals ambitions have hit the ground as prices collapse. As nickel and lithium miners head to Canberra seeking help, the Albanese government is trying to figure out what, if anything, it should do.
Columnist
Forrest is right: don’t swallow the Coalition’s nuclear and rooftop fairytales
It’s just more disrupt and delay tactics from the incorrigible climate denialists who brought us a devastating decade of energy policy failure.
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.
Sponsored
by SalesforcePolitics
Negative gearing change could help housing deal, Greens tell Labor
Despite Anthony Albanese ruling out negotiations with the Greens to win support for Labor’s Help to Buy scheme, the minor party could still come to the table.
Maguire a ‘special kind of pest’ who had a hold over Berejiklian
The former premier’s secret relationship with the disgraced regional MP dominated proceedings in the second day of her attempt to appeal corruption findings.
Victorian DPP makes formal complaints against two judges
DPP Kerri Judd, KC, wants the Judicial Commission to investigate two judges after they ordered that criminal trials be stayed.
Why Kennett thinks Dunkley can change politics
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett rates the Liberals a 50-50 chance of upsetting Labor in Saturday’s byelection in Dunkley and predicts the result will have massive reverberations for both sides of politics.
Morrison farewells Liberal colleagues
Scott Morrison addresses the Coalition party room for the last time; Catherine King calls on the opposition to “rebuke” Matt Canavan for his remarks about the gender pay gap. Here’s how the day unfolded.
SPONSORED
World
Western troops in Ukraine not ruled out, Macron says
The French president also dropped opposition to purchasing artillery supplies for Kyiv from outside the EU, as the war enters its third year.
Hunted Hamas leader using hostages as human shields: Israel
Officials say they are closing in on Yahya Sinwar, the accused architect of the October 7 attacks. Whether his death would help end the war is up for debate.
Chinese ‘research ships’ stalk Taiwan’s coast
Beijing’s incursions demonstrate their capabilities for surveillance and collecting data crucial to warfare.
Boeing’s safety culture deeply flawed: experts
Boeing’s safety culture contains serious problems, despite improvements after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, a Federal Aviation Administration report found.
Nikki Haley loses billionaire donors in major blow
The Republican presidential candidate has lost another key financial donor, even as she vows to continue running against frontrunner Donald Trump.
Property
Cbus could invest more than $500m in affordable housing: Wayne Swan
The boss of the industry super fund says it is comfortable with the risks of a new asset class and wants to play a role in resolving Australia’s housing crisis.
Ex-rental listings jump as more investors bail out
Higher mortgage costs and increasing regulation could spur more landlords to sell their investment properties, reducing the number of homes for rent.
- Exclusive
- Construction
Sydney’s office-to-housing conversions that can’t get started
Plans to redevelop some Sydney office towers into much-needed apartments have stalled, as rising finance and construction costs stymie developers’ ambitions.
- Opinion
- Commercial real estate
Why WFH won’t be the death knell for CBD offices
The impact of WFH will vary across different business sectors. Premium office towers will prosper, older buildings will empty and be redeveloped.
Regional housing markets outpace the capitals as rates rise
Home values in regional markets are rising faster than in the cities as higher interest rates hurt and migration away from built up areas escalates, CoreLogic says.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Trader’s tale
I bought Nvidia at $US200 and I’m not selling
My US equities portfolio, dominated as it is by Nvidia, returned over 100 per cent, a handsome gain.
Sisters take on extended family to win $13.5m inheritance dispute
A sharp rise in blended families is creating complex legal issues, particularly for inheritance claims.
- Opinion
- Investing
Why private credit is redefining fixed income
There’s a lot to like about investing in private credit but beware the shonks.
Technology
Atlassian paid $284m tax before ATO deal
Over the past six years Atlassian’s Australian entity paid $283.8 million of tax locally before reaching an agreement to pay more tax.
Blackbird tours US hunting for Aussie deals abroad
Blackbird Ventures investment partners have picked up their search for the next Aussie-founded tech unicorns abroad, as bigger local deals dry up.
‘Make peace’: 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?
Work & Careers
Poor university teaching ‘a drag on productivity’
The Productivity Commissioner says there are no incentives inside universities to lift their game and no way for students to know what they are signing up to.
Diversity advocates McKinsey, BCG, Bain land pay gaps over 30pc
Strategy firms that advise clients to increase the diversity of their workforces and leadership teams have gender pay gaps that are up to double the national gap.
Life & Luxury
- Edition
- Style
AFR Magazine -innovation issue
How the $8.8b Chemist Warehouse deal was done | Crypto investor reveals his rare car collection | Why a Rolex is about to get easier to buy
- Analysis
- Digital Life
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring will tell you when you should stay in bed
The phone maker has revealed details about its mysterious health tracker ring that looks like a wedding ring and signals your commitment to a good night’s sleep.
How eating cold rice, pasta can help you lose weight
Adding “resistant starch” such as cooked but cold leftover rice or pasta to your diet can facilitate weight loss, according to a new study in Nature Metabolism.
New player in market set to spark fare wars to Europe
Turkish Airlines will start flying direct into Melbourne (via Singapore) two weeks sooner than previously announced - igniting consumer hopes of better prices.
The least amount of exercise you can get away with
What’s the solution if you don’t have time for exercise or find it boring?
