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- Analysis
- Australian economy
Reality check: Why we need to brace for higher for longer rates
We’re in a mid-cycle economic slowdown that is “not too cold, nor too hot” and the stimulatory power of $20 billion of annual income tax cuts is making economists wary.
- Analysis
- Royal family
Princess Kate’s cancer diagnosis puts royals on even more uncertain terrain
First King Charles and now Catherine, Princess of Wales, are facing grave health concerns, stretching an already slimmed-down monarchy.
- Updated
- Putin's Russia
Islamic State claims responsibility for Moscow attack, at least 40 dead
At least five gunmen were shown in unverified videos repeatedly firing automatic weapons on people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.
- Exclusive
- Rich women
Women overwhelming winners in $5trn Baby Boomer wealth transfer
Women will receive 65 per cent of the nearly $5 trillion due to pass from Baby Boomers and their parents to the next generation in the next decade, a new report finds.
- Updated
- Royal family
Princess Kate reveals she has cancer and is getting treatment
In a personalised video message, the Princess of Wales said she was undergoing preventative treatment, hoped to make a full recover and asked for privacy.
- Opinion
- Carbon challenge
Green policy car crash complicates Labor’s election outlook
A series of competing and interlinked priorities are colliding in Labor’s Senate, where all eyes are turning to the next election, writes Jacob Greber.
Tasmanians head to the polls, hung parliament tipped
Major party leaders have cast their ballots in a state poll where voters appear set to snub the Liberals and Labor and deliver a hung parliament.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
Edition
AFR Magazine – fashion issue
Jimmy Choo’s sneaker move | Lululemon, a company with stretch goals | Dior relaunches a classic watch | The brand so hot it banned phones from its Paris show
WEEKEND READS
Defining legacy: Brisbane’s messy path to the Olympics
It will be a long haul to transform the QEII stadium to Olympic standard. That’s just one of the hurdles for Queensland.
- Analysis
- Interest rates
The week the world’s central bankers started smiling
They faced widespread criticism and ridicule for failing to predict the worst inflationary outbreak in a generation but the tables are now turning.
CBA’s business bank boss explains why ‘saffers’ can be good CEOs
Mike Vacy-Lyle says his South African upbringing has instilled a can-do attitude and the confidence to take on any competition.
Rudd’s backroom strategy for Trump
In behind the scenes meetings, the former prime minister is working on an unlikely plan to make himself indispensable to the former president if he wins again.
How our era of plenty could lead to human extinction
Our success in creating a more prosperous, informed, and secure world has, unexpectedly, generated a whole new set of planetary challenges.
SMART INVESTOR
What to do with a big inheritance
Around $10 billion worth of shares, cash and property is bequeathed every month in Australia. Experts weight in on how to manage a windfall.
- Opinion
- Interest rates
Central banks may be repeating their pandemic errors
Central banks delayed rate increases after the pandemic on the basis they could not forecast the future, but now use rubbery projections to rationalise rate cuts.
How much should I spend on an engagement ring?
In a stroke of 1930s marketing genius, De Beers convinced men they needed to spend at least a month’s salary on a diamond engagement ring. But is that really a good rule of thumb?
How investors get risk wrong
Contrary to popular wisdom, more volatile stocks do not outperform.
- Opinion
- Super Q&A
Why super isn’t supposed to make you super rich
There were opportunities in the past to make exceptionally large contributions to tax-advantaged super accounts, but those days are over.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Star CEO departs as embattled casino owner cleans out exec team
Staff were informed of the departures of CEO Robbie Cooke and other top execs on Friday afternoon after the market closed.
ASIC bans Dubber CEO from leaving Australia
The corporate watchdog has banned Dubber boss Stephen McGovern and lawyer Mark Madafferi from leaving Australia.
- Exclusive
- Supermarket wars
Rebel union splits with labour movement on Coles and Woolies break-up
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union says a Greens-led plan to break up firms abusing market power should be made law.
How loyalty saved Myer from the retail graveyard
In 2019 Myer’s loyalty scheme was terminal. Five years later, it is central to driving sales at the recharged department store.
Brisbane-based Tritium receives delisting notice from the Nasdaq
Fast charger company Tritium has received a second delisting notice from the Nasdaq after the underperformance of its stock.
Glencore abandons coal production cap as another climate pledge fails
Five years after it promised to cap annual coal production at 150 million tonnes, Glencore has withdrawn the policy.
From scandals to Team Australia: a decade of the AFR Banking Summit
The Summit is in its 10th year. We’ve had a courtside seat to the drama as a tarnished sector recovered during COVID.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
US rally stalls as strategists debate correction potential
Wall Street closed mixed with signs that some investors are starting to pocket profits from the stunning rally to start 2024.
Trump Media merger wins investor approval
The approval clears a near-final hurdle for Trump Media & Technology Group and a potential windfall for the former president.
Rally in global stocks kick up a gear after surprise rate cut
The Swiss National Bank overnight has potentially started a much anticipated global rate easing cycle, sparking hope that its major central bank peers will soon follow suit.
Reddit IPO leaps on AI pitch, but not everyone believes the hype
The stock ended its first day of trading up 48 per cent, but investors say it’s more Snapchat than Meta, despite its deal to provide AI data to Google.
BoE keeps interest rate unchanged despite ebbing inflation
Echoing the US and Australia, the Bank of England says “things are moving in the right direction” but rate-setters “need to be sure” before making cuts.
Opinion
Penny Wong’s week of new foreign policy reality
The foreign minister is repairing relations with China while unsentimentally hedging against its military might. Eruptions from Paul Keating and Donald Trump are simply part of that reality.
Editorial
Green policy car crash complicates Labor’s election outlook
A series of competing and interlinked priorities are colliding in Labor’s Senate, where all eyes are turning to the next election.
Senior correspondent
The Wang-Wong doctrine: embrace and fight at the same time
China and Australia’s foreign ministers are both adept at the art of making frenemies. It’s working for now, but for how long?
Columnist
Cleaner cars a politically charged driving test for Chris Bowen
The climate change and energy minister should be cut some slack. He is in the minority attempting hard and unpopular reform, such as the new clean fuel policy.
Political editor
Central banks may be repeating their pandemic errors
Central banks delayed rate increases after the pandemic on the basis they could not forecast the future, but now use rubbery projections to rationalise rate cuts.
Columnist
Why good news for jobs is bad news for rates
The government is celebrating robust jobs figures and a fall in unemployment. But Labor and the Reserve Bank will be quietly worried that this is only going to delay any cut in interest rates this year.
Columnist
Reports
Women to Watch 2024
Meet the next generation of leaders across five key sectors of the economy.
Politics
Borrowers can cope with higher interest rates: RBA
Borrowers and businesses are defying gloomy predictions and are servicing their debts, giving the Reserve Bank more cover to fight inflation.
‘Dangerous world’: AUKMIN talks call out Chinese coercion
Security in the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic regions are inseparable, Australian and British ministers say.
‘Within a whisker’: Tasmania looks headed for minority government
Premier Jeremy Rockliff says he will deliver more cost-of-living relief to households in the first 100 days of a re-elected Liberal government, as candidates chase votes for Saturday’s state election.
- Exclusive
- Supermarket wars
Rebel union splits with labour movement on Coles and Woolies break-up
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union says a Greens-led plan to break up firms abusing market power should be made law.
- Analysis
- AUKUS
Rule Britannia: How Australia’s military future relies on one UK firm
In naming BAE Systems as the builder of Australia’s submarines, the Albanese government is putting its major shipbuilding eggs in the British defence giant’s basket.
SPONSORED
World
Russia and China veto US-led ceasefire resolution
Three of the UN Security Council’s 14 members voted against the resolution, which had called for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.
UK’s new tax slug could force expat Aussies home
Australians living in the UK for more than four years will lose the benefits of negative gearing and franking credits on their property and shares.
China scrutinises PwC role in $118b Evergrande fraud case
Authorities are examining the role of PwC in China Evergrande Group’s accounting practices after the developer was accused of fraud.
China turns on the charm with Australia. What’s behind the change?
Whether the new “balance” is truly bipartisan remains to be seen, as Canberra and Beijing still have serious questions to discuss.
US drafts tough UN ceasefire demand in Israel showdown
A resolution for the UN that American diplomats are circulating is notable for its strong language in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
Property
Singo sells famed Paddington complex for more than $30m
Annie Todd, the estranged wife of Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, will take ownership of The Bonython office complex in Paddington.
- Exclusive
- Retail property
Woolworths pays $51m for suburban mall in supermarket turf war
The supermarket giant’s property arm quietly snapped up the Niddrie Central mall in Melbourne’s north to maintain control of a key suburban site.
Mascot Towers sale set to proceed after threshold achieved
A minimum 75 per cent of unitholders in the Mascot Towers strata scheme have signed sales contract with purchaser Dowco Property Group.
We need land-less mortgages, Mirvac CEO Campbell Hanan says
Australia’s crippling housing affordability problem is shaking up postwar norms about ownership. It’s also prompting a rethink about financing.
- Opinion
- Property Observed
‘Get in at the right time, you’ll outperform’: Steinberg exits Dexus
The chief executive is stepping down from one of the country’s biggest firms, bringing to a close two decades of high-profile commercial property leadership.
Wealth
What to do with a big inheritance
Around $10 billion worth of shares, cash and property is bequeathed every month in Australia. Experts weight in on how to manage a windfall.
How investors get risk wrong
Contrary to popular wisdom, more volatile stocks do not outperform.
- Exclusive
- Governance
Australia’s highest-paid directors revealed
Women now account for more than 30 per cent of directors on ASX 200 companies – but they still don’t perform as well as their male colleagues in the money stakes.
Technology
US accuses Apple of exploiting smartphone market
The iPhone maker is being accused of violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features on its popular devices.
There’s an AI funding boom - but Australia’s being left out
Venture capitalists are going all-in trying to back big winners, rather than spreading their funds around.
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
$300m to ‘zero’: Blackbird-backed start-up stalls
VC backers of Baraja have written down their investment on the polarising LiDAR technology for autonomous vehicles to nil.
Work & Careers
How missing AFL’s top job drove the F1 Grand Prix CEO
Travis Auld, the former AFL chief financial officer-turned F1 GP chief executive, has big plans for the race to go more female and family friendly, to help attract record crowds.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Macquarie infrastructure bigwig retires
Grant Smith, who heads up Macquarie’s infrastructure and assets investment activities, is retiring after a hugely successful 28 years.
Life & Luxury
Restaurant cancellation fees are everywhere. Here’s why
Fine dining venues in Sydney and Melbourne are charging between $50 to nearly $200 a head for last-minute cancellations amid sustained cost pressures.
West Side Story makes a splash on Sydney Harbour
Leonard Bernstein never really liked his 1961 smash hit musical - Friday’s Opera Australia production at the Fleet Steps proved his misgivings misplaced.
Roast chicken and a knockout sauce: a chef’s best Sunday lunch recipe
Any random assortment of people can sit down around a roast chook and instantly become a temporary family, says Dave Verheul of Embla.
Is he ever ‘just a personal trainer’?
Male fitness instructors have had a reputation for being flirts and girlfriend stealers. How true is it?
Stormy Daniels doco reveals a woman destroyed by Trump
The film looks at how the adult entertainer has repeatedly broken free from men trying to control her.
