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Australia not competitive for global investment: CEOs
The Business Council of Australia is pushing the treasurer to make Australia more attractive for investment to boost productivity and economic growth.
Global sharemarket rally could push ASX 200 to new high
Hopes of rate cuts from major central banks in the first half of the year are continuing to buoy equity markets, making this week’s local inflation data pivotal for investor sentiment.
WA’s ‘$1b’ TAB deal in strife as bookie dollars dry up
The WA racing industry wants a bookmaker to run its state-owned wagering operations but attempts to secure a deal have hit a major roadblock.
House prices on the march as buyers get in before rate cuts
House prices are set for another strong rise this month as the busiest auction weekend of the year pointed to strong demand. But investors are getting out.
Spotlight on Adgemis as Bain Capital negotiations drag
Sources told Street Talk the deal is drawn out, but not dead, with the pubs baron dragging his feet on Bain’s requests.
Escala Partners dials up client fees after LGT Crestone snares advisers
Dragging its top revenue-writers to court didn’t work for Escala Partners. Now it is ready to pull another lever in its quest to plug talent (and revenue) leakage to rival LGT Crestone.
How Sun Cable could be a loser, yet a winner
Mike Cannon-Brookes’ company is set to lose the race to lay a 4000-kilometre cable to send solar energy out of the desert and under the oceans.
Breaking news on companies, politics and economics, in your inbox as it happens.
GRAND PRIX
Sainz wins drama-filled F1 as Ferrari storm podium
Carlos Sainz won his first Australian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen suffered a dramatic car fire early in the race.
The bizoids learning to rev at the Grand Prix
Corporate types flocked bright and early to Albert Park’s Paddock Club, which by 2pm on Sunday was full to heaving for Melbourne’s Grand Prix.
Percat wins as Payne’s pain continues at Albert Park
Nick Percat has claimed his first Supercars win in four years in Melbourne as rookie Matt Payne’s nightmare weekend continued.
Good luck finding a table: How F1 gave Melbourne its mojo back
Melbourne’s premium hotels and restaurants are near or at capacity this weekend ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, which is enjoying a boom as women and young people stream in.
Potential and pressure for Australian F1 drivers
Oscar Piastri will join Daniel Ricciardo on the Melbourne grid this year, marking the first time since 2013 that two Australians have raced in the same grand prix.
weekend reads
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.
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.
United in grief Israelis and Palestinians find power in empathy
A Melbourne-based trauma psychologist says her work is more important than ever, amplifying the lived experience of those who choose respect over revenge.
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.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Virgin set to ditch troubled Max 10 for smaller Boeing plane
Virgin Australia is sticking with plans to streamline its fleet, opting for smaller Max 8s over shifting to an Airbus equivalent, and with it, fewer seats.
Mining rock stars Beament and Finlayson face their reinvention tests
The divergent paths taken by Bill Beament and Raleigh Finlayson over the past two years sum up Australian mining’s green transition. Who’s on the right track?
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The $5b whack: why it’s time to come clean to Star’s shareholders
As the sheriff runs Star executives out of town again, things are starting to look like a corporate assassination and the sort of battle investors cannot win.
- Exclusive
- Retail
CEO of Peter Lew’s fashion retailer Brandbank exits
After just nine months in the top at the multi-brand group, which includes Seed womenswear and kidswear and Allkinds skincare, veteran retailer Peter Halkett has left.
ASIC, APRA warn super funds on executive scrutiny
Regulators and lawyers have warned super funds they need to get their houses in order before tough new executive accountability laws come into force next year.
Disarm Meta’s nuclear option for news, indie publishers say
Should Facebook and Instagram be legally required to host news on their sites? A group of small and diverse news outlets believes so.
‘More than mining’: WA med-tech sector message to local investors
WA medical ventures no longer limited to interstate or overseas investors for viability, says OncoRes breast cancer tech innovator Katherine Giles.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
It’s time to look beyond the ASX’s large caps to make money
There’s so much talk of the S&P 500 being dominated by the “magnificent seven”. But Australia has one of the world’s most concentrated benchmarks in its own backyard.
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.
Blowout Reddit debut raises hopes of revival in dormant IPO market
A steady, sustained rise in activity would breathe life into the market for initial public offerings, which has been largely shut down since 2021.
Trump Media merger wins investor approval
The deal 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.
Opinion
A competitive Australia needs more than words
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is now asking the right questions about Australia’s future, even if he needs to find better answers.
Editorial
A British friend with important lessons for Australia
The UK is a good strategic partner for us. It is also a public policy laboratory for what works – and what does not.
Columnist
Stage three tax cuts haven’t blunted the impact of bracket creep
The top brackets will continue to inexorably sweep up a rising number of taxpayers with collateral damage to incentive and ambition.
It’s time to be honest about America’s commercial real estate hangover
Commercial real estate has tumbled into a debilitating pattern of “extend and pretend”: lenders have essentially rolled over troubled loans, hoping for a miraculous future Fed rescue.
Contributor
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
Reports
Women to Watch 2024
Meet the next generation of leaders across five key sectors of the economy.
Politics
New minimum tax laws could fast track reporting
Multinationals and some of Australia’s biggest businesses could be forced to beef up financial reporting if new a corporate minimum tax rate passes parliament before July 1.
COVID-19 inquiry boss vows to find ‘missing piece’
Commonwealth review chief Robyn Kruk says the community should feel confident the nation can deal with the next pandemic.
- Opinion
- Hobart
State polls position Albanese for a second term
Polling booths around the country show Labor’s support base is growing enough for another narrow federal win, writes John Black.
- Analysis
- Federal election
SA byelection could help Albanese avoid minority government
Anthony Albanese will redouble efforts to win the SA seat of Sturt to ward off replicating the unfolding mess in Tasmania.
Rockliff woos Lambie, independents amid Tassie election chaos
Denied a majority, Premier Jeremy Rockliff has begun wooing crossbenchers to try and cobble together a governing deal as Labor concedes.
SPONSORED
World
Royals ‘enormously touched’ by support after cancer announcement
Kate’s statement via a video message, which was filmed at Windsor Castle, triggered an outpouring of support from well-wishers.
- Analysis
- Putin's Russia
‘I pretended to die’: Moscow attack survivors describe miraculous escapes
Russia’s worst terror attack in over a decade has brought a shudder across Europe, where memories of other music venues turned to slaughterhouses have resurfaced
China at ‘fork in the road’ on reforms to boost demand
IMF head Kristalina Georgieva says the world is heading for subdued growth.
Beijing blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers
The stricter government procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favour of domestic options.
Moscow seeks to blame Kyiv for Islamic State attack on concert hall
Russian officials and state media have made little reference to IS’ claim, and Vladimir Putin did not mention it or Islamist terrorism in his first remarks.
Property
Where Australia’s top investment bankers live
Privacy, prestige and access to the best schools in Sydney mean these suburbs are where deal makers call home.
Booming suburbs where house prices surged more than 20pc in 12 months
House prices in hundreds of suburbs nationwide jumped more than 20 per cent in the past 12 months, despite three interest rate rises, surging cost of living and worsening affordability.
Tax uncertainty keeps build-to-rent investors away, developers say
A lack of clarity about new rules for offshore investors is slowing the development of much-needed housing.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Dairy fund on track for 12pc return after buying Tassie farm
Prime Dairy, has acquired another big Tassie farm from struggling Chinese-owned company Van Dairy taking its total portfolio to around 5000 hectares.
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.
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
- Opinion
- Investment banking
Why billable hours could fix investment banking’s gender pay gap
Investment banking has one of the country’s largest gender pay gaps. But why is it so different to law?
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.
Life & Luxury
Winx’s first foal is for sale. She’s expected to make history.
The birth was one of the toughest endurance tests for Australia’s champion mare Winx. Now her filly could break another record.
- Analysis
- Royalty
What Princess Kate’s ‘preventative chemotherapy’ means
With metastatic cancer, chemotherapy is used to make people more comfortable. With earlier stages of cancer, like Princess Kate’s, it aims to increase the chances of cure, writes Jill Margo.
Celebrities who mocked Princess of Wales called on to apologise
The princess’s cancer revelation sparked an outpouring of support and has prompted an outcry at some of the nasty conspiracy theories propagated recently.
West Side Story makes a splash on Sydney Harbour
The new production proves Leonard Bernstein’s doubts over his legendary musical were misplaced.
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.
