Labor to pay super on paid parental leave
From July 1, 2025, new parents will have 12 per cent superannuation paid on the 20 weeks of government-funded paid parental leave.
Nikki Haley to quit Republican race, leaving field to Trump
Haley will exit the race for the Republican nomination for president after being beaten by Trump, leaving him the clear nominee in a rematch with President Joe Biden.
ASEAN pulls punches on China, Russia, Taiwan
South East Asian leaders watered down strident criticisms of China, omitted any reference to Taiwan, and stripped out a demand for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine in their final statement.
Cettire struggles to convince sceptical markets as shares fall 14pc
The luxury retailer – in an investor call and statement – said it had a direct arrangement to pay duties after questions were raised about its practices.
- Breaking
- Big four
CBA to close Bankwest branch network in all-digital push
Commonwealth Bank will shut 45 Bankwest branches and convert another 15 to the mainstream CBA brand.
Greens plan for public housing developer an expensive ‘lottery’
Housing experts and industry figures say government should focus on streamlining housing supply, not the creation of new government agencies.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Cettire should learn from its reality check
The luxury retailer needs to learn that a rapidly rising share price attracts rising scrutiny and rising scepticism.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
ASEAN SUMMIT
Thai PM wants Australia to slow car emissions plan
The Thai government says Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin urged Anthony Albanese to slow rollout of new emissions standards, but Australia insists the issue was not raised at ASEAN in Melbourne.
- Updated
- Foreign relations
Singapore backs AUKUS subs as Keating rocks summit
Singapore has backed the Albanese government over the AUKUS deal, undercutting former prime minister Paul Keating’s claim Australia was at odds with the region.
- Opinion
- ASEAN
Why the real ASEAN action happens on the sidelines
Peripheral conversations and persona; connections, rather than grand speeches and grandstanding, are what drive real change, the Asia Pacific CEO of Fujitsu says.
New measures will help business assess sovereign risk in SE Asia: PM
Anthony Albanese says it is no longer a “one size fits all” approach to investing in a region, parts of which have a history of political volatility and corruption.
- Analysis
- ASEAN
South-East Asia signals it won’t be picked off by China
A tick of approval from one of Asia’s most respected statesmen for AUKUS was just one positive sign from the ASEAN summit.
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Companies
- Investigation
- Retail
We spent $1300 shopping at Cettire. Here’s what happened
It’s the buzziest stock on the ASX, thanks to “eye-watering” sales and wide margins. Customer reviews aren’t all so glowing. What’s behind the success?
Amazon books losses on $6b Aussie sales as retail and cloud boom
The US tech giant’s local online retail and cloud computing businesses are both printing money, with 20 per cent year-on-year growth, but it is still booking losses, newly published accounts show.
- Analysis
- Mergers & acquisitions
How banking’s billion-dollar tech arms race sunk the ACCC
Analysis of the Australian Competition Tribunal decision to unblock the $4.9b deal shows it was convinced more scale would help ANZ be a better competitor.
32nd storey deemed ‘flood risk’ in insurance farce
A Melbourne apartment 120m above street level, with no ground storage, was denied contents cover because of a “heightened flood risk”.
Not even 100,000 Americans watched the NRL’s Las Vegas matches
Rugby League boss Peter V’landys says the key to success in the US is TV audiences, but the sport’s big splash in Las Vegas struggled to attract viewers.
Ballarat bombshell as mine liquidator queries director transactions
Liquidators have identified millions of dollars worth of director-related transactions as they probe the former owners of the Ballarat gold mine.
Hemmes’ Merivale to pay out $18m in underpayment class action
The billion-dollar hospitality empire has settled a massive underpayment class action without admissions, but almost half that amount will go to lawyers.
Companies in the News
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Markets
ASX edges higher; Cettire tumbles 14pc; CBA up
Shares advance at the closing bell; GDP expands 0.2pc in Q4, missing forecasts; gold miners jump as price climbs to record; Magellan books net outflows. Follow updates here.
Crypto mania and speculation drive bitcoin higher
The speculative frenzy in digital currencies has doubled the value of some memecoins as retail traders bet on blockchain’s future use.
Markets wobble as China’s growth target fails to impress
The widely expected 5 per cent growth goal has halted a month-long rally in Asian equities as investors’ hopes of stronger market measures were dashed.
Lithium, nickel bear market ‘far from over’: Goldman
The broker now sees lithium prices crashing a further 25 per cent, and nickel slumping 15 per cent over the next 12 months.
London exchange rejects bid to have ‘green’ nickel recognised
The London Metal Exchange says there is not yet a place for a separate clean nickel contract, saying any premium placed on it will be calculated separately.
Opinion
ASEAN summit a worthwhile investment of Australia’s soft power
But the optics of forging stronger links with the nations of South-East Asia were undercut by the unprecedented and unedifying intervention by Paul Keating.
Editorial
The economy is weak, but it’s not all doom and gloom
Beneath the talk of a “per capita recession” and mortgage stress, there are pockets of resilience and cause for optimism.
Economics editor
Why it’s time to end single-sex schooling
All forms of segregation have been systematically rooted out of society except the gender divide in our most elite schools.
Columnist
Bitcoin mania is in full swing – with no end in sight
The cryptocurrency was trading at just $US16,000 at the depths of a crisis brought on by the FTX collapse. It set a fresh high early on Wednesday morning, writes Karen Maley.
Columnist
Shaky China is not a long-term bet for investors
The world’s second-largest economy faces a clear and present danger of falling into the middle-income trap.
Global financial commentator
The housing crisis won’t be fixed by pretend policies
Our housing availability and affordability problem is having perverse effects on work, intergenerational mobility, entrepreneurship, fertility and family formation.
Economics editor
Reports
Wealth: Turbocharging your retirement
This series of articles looks at the options for retirement income, the best asset mix heading into retirement, and what you need to know to retire overseas.
Sponsored
by Australian Retirement TrustPolitics
Keating slammed by Labor, Libs over Wong, ASIO attack
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who considers Paul Keating a mentor, says the ex-PM is wrong about Penny Wong and spy boss Mike Burgess.
- Updated
- GDP
Australia faces another year of weak GDP growth
Weak economic conditions will squeeze company profits, push up unemployment and potentially send the budget into deficit, economists have warned.
Greens plan for public housing developer an expensive ‘lottery’
Housing experts and industry figures say government should focus on streamlining housing supply, not the creation of new government agencies.
Sofronoff findings against me ‘tainted’: Drumgold
Former ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold wants the record corrected after his legal victory over the Sofronoff inquiry.
Dirty money reforms loom as Russians charged over $2m deposits
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is consulting on changes expected to add real estate agents, accountants and lawyers to anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing rules.
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World
- Updated
- US election
Super Tuesday blitz sets up Trump, Biden rematch
Polls suggests Americans would prefer to see two new, younger candidates, but Trump and Biden have sailed through the primary selection process with rare ease.
- Analysis
- US election
Not even Democrats could save Nikki Haley from Trump
Some Democrats voted for Republican candidate Nikki Haley in a failed and last-ditch bid to halt Donald Trump’s domination of Super Tuesday’s primary contest.
Ukraine hits Russia’s Black Sea fleet with high-tech drones
Ukraine is focusing on developing and deploying lethal, advanced sea drones against Russian warships in a new chapter of the war.
Trump storms to Biden rematch in ‘conclusive’ Super Tuesday win
Donald Trump and President Joe Biden won early Republican primaries in Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee, while the latter also took Iowa.
Lex Greensill sues UK government over ‘misuse of private information’
The details of the Australian businessman’s claim against the UK’s Department for Business and Trade have not yet been made public.
Property
- Exclusive
- Build-to-rent
Rich List family fires up $3b build-to-rent program
Plans to build and own large-scale rental housing by the Tarascios’ Salta Properties are coming to fruition just as the housing crisis bites.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Kaftan queen buys Barrenjoey partner’s Bondi mansion
The Australian fashion designer said her new Federation house Gnal Loa on Bondi’s biggest landholding “just felt right”.
Sydney, Perth and Adelaide housing markets tipped to outperform
Valuers are predicting house prices to increase nationwide over the next 12 months, led by Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.
House-and-land sales dive as investors sell up
Developer Nigel Satterley says Victorians selling second homes or investment properties to escape new state taxes is subduing demand for new houses.
- Exclusive
- Property investment
Soaring rents put 800,000 tenants at risk of being displaced
Vulnerable renters face the prospect of being displaced from their current suburbs by wealthier tenants as rents soar to new peaks, a new report shows.
Wealth
How do I protect my elderly mother from scammers?
The trick to discussing scams is to avoid pointing the finger or suggesting your mother is naive.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
How to prevent your super going to the wrong people
“Absolute discretion” can mean anything but when it comes to distributing superannuation death benefits.
Downsizers are selling homes at big discounts – to their kids
A nurse was struggling to find a first home, so her retired parents offered to sell her theirs at a heavy discount. Real estate agents say it’s a trend.
Technology
Facebook, Instagram back online after global outage
A more than two-hour outage was caused by a technical issue and affected hundreds of thousands of users globally.
Apple fined $3b by EU for using app store to thwart competition
The penalty, announced by the bloc’s antitrust regulator, is the culmination of a five-year investigation set in motion by one of Apple’s biggest rivals, Spotify.
TikTok dragged into Albanese’s Facebook fight
The government has told the video social network with 8.5 million Australian users to strike deals with media companies for the value of their content on its site.
Work & Careers
Hemmes’ Merivale to pay out $18m in underpayment class action
The billion-dollar hospitality empire has settled a massive underpayment class action without admissions, but almost half that amount will go to lawyers.
Not ‘one of the boys’: Fundies with a different leadership style
Up-and-coming and leading fund managers share their journeys through the wealth sector and impart their best lessons.
Life & Luxury
- Opinion
- Highflyer
I just flew from Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Here’s what I learnt.
Fares from Melbourne to Istanbul come with free nights in five- and four-star hotels.
Illicit drugs bought online often adulterated, study warns
Researchers say the high rate of adulteration of drugs sold online highlights the urgent need for more local pill testing facilities.
Menzies Indigenous collection goes for knockdown prices
Paintings from Rodney Menzies’ estate sold at big discounts to previous prices as buyers prove hard to please in early season art sales.
Hiking is great for strategising about work, says this founder
Sydney-based ethical clothing brand founder Sophie Taylor loves hiking – in the Blue Mountains, New Zealand or on a high-altitude trek in Peru. But there’s one place on her ultimate wish list.
![Espagnole (Buste) [The Spanish Woman], 1922, by Henri Matisse. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Julian and Josie Robertson.](http://web.archive.org./web/20240306115944/https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.3682%2C$multiply_3%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_121/t_crop_custom/c_scale%2Cw_220%2Cq_88%2Cf_auto/5ad35ebc1f92f38ae36e52b88d39e125016ba8bc)
How Auckland Art Gallery suddenly scored 15 modern masterpieces
One of America’s wealthiest investors has left $167m worth of famous artworks to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. The question on everyone’s lips: why New Zealand?
