Bridge collapse sends firms scrambling to re-route cargo
Baltimore’s port has become increasingly important to US retailers and manufacturers seeking to diversify their supply networks and bring goods closer to customers.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to lower after selling on Wall Street; Trump Media jumps 16pc
Shares are set to fall; Nvidia slides; February monthly CPI at 11.30am AEDT; Trump Media rallies in first day of trading; iron ore near $US105 a tonne. Follow updates here.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The shocking data that stopped Larry Fink cold
“I’ve seen a lot of numbers. But no single data point has ever concerned me more than this one,” the CEO of BlackRock says.
New sustainable NDIS scheme within five years: Shorten
NDIS participants will be moved to a revamped scheme over the next five years to weed out waste and fraud and return it to its original purpose.
Tough visa rules would ban entire countries
Foreigners would be banned from coming to Australia, even as tourists, if their home country refused to accept the return of failed asylum seekers.
- Updated
- Banking Summit
Banks warn growing risk aversion pushing borrowers into worse loans
National Australia Bank’s Ross McEwan says some prospective customers are being pushed toward riskier loans as the rules make lending more expensive.
- Live
- Need to Know
Tehan slams Labor’s ‘botched’ immigration laws
Dan Tehan says it’s “extraordinary” that Labor is yet to deliver a press conference on its sweeping changes; the collapse of a Baltimore bridge could block the port’s coal exports for six weeks. Follow updates here.
The five partners with ultimate power over PwC’s global network | Client alleges ex-EY partner took secret payments | 34yo gets $116m tax bill
BANKING SUMMIT
- Updated
- Banking Summit
Banks warn growing risk aversion pushing borrowers into worse loans
National Australia Bank’s Ross McEwan says some prospective customers are being pushed toward riskier loans as the rules make lending more expensive.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The feeding frenzy that sent CBA shares to $120
Commonwealth Bank’s staggering $120 a share price came up a few times at The Australian Financial Review Banking Summit. One speaker nailed why it had run so hard.
- Opinion
- Banking Summit
Banks struggle to balance risk, reputation and regulation
Blowback over lending practices and perceived corporate greed means banks have become reluctant to take too many chances with their lending. But at what cost?
- Opinion
- Banking Summit
Five years after the royal commission, big banks have their mojo back
But the newfound assertiveness isn’t simply due to the fading of past humiliations. They are increasingly conscious their large size is now a huge asset.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
It’s time for banks to take more risk, not less
While the prudential regulator sees more stresses ahead for banks, top CEOs worry the sector has become too risk-averse. They’ve got three big ideas to drive growth.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Westpac plots multibillion-dollar tech overhaul to fix decade lag
The project will unite more than a hundred separate systems that have bloated costs since the acquisition of St George during the global financial crisis.
- Updated
- Earnings season
Solomon Lew advances plan to break up Premier Investments
The billionaire rag trader says the aim is to spin off the children’s stationery brand Smiggle and PJs brand Peter Alexander in 2025.
Mine prospecting booms among cashed-up explorers
Prospecting data shows the strongest December quarter since 2013, revealing a high appetite for risk in the market.
- Exclusive
- Retail
David Jones pens new tech deal to power $35m fresh revenue
The Anchorage Capital-owned department store has signed up US advertising firm Criteo to help it boost revenue and profitability.
Seven attacks Boral deal expert over ‘fundamental errors’
Seven Group, controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes, has stepped up the pressure in its push to buy out the rest of cement and asphalt group Boral.
Gold stock insider trader jailed for nine months
Cameron Waugh has been handed down a two-year jail term with 15 months of the sentence suspended for his insider trading in gold stock Genesis Minerals.
Jet costs cloud proxy adviser support for Santos
CGI Glass Lewis raised “concerns” over the use of a corporate jet for top management, but it and ISS backed both the remuneration report and chairman Keith Spence’s re-election.
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Markets
Trump’s media company shares soar in debut
Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group shares briefly surged near 60 per cent in value as they began trading on Nasdaq.
Here’s what happened in markets overnight
Australian shares were set to fall. Nvidia slid, knocking mega-cap sentiment. Bitcoin slipped below $US70,000.
Investors eye South Korea and India as money continues to leave China
Maple-Brown Abbott, Northcape, Antipodes and Abrdn are seeing investors continuing to pull money out of China and diverting it to other countries in the Asia Pacific, including Australia.
- Opinion
- IPO
Reddit to the moon won’t launch an IPO boom
While two knockout IPOs on Wall Street by tech companies will boost confidence, it won’t herald a blizzard of initial public offerings.
ASX retreats ahead of CPI; Mesoblast soars 45pc
Australian shares end lower ahead of tomorrow’s CPI. Citi sees ‘profit-taking’ risk for ASX 200. Premier Investments jumps on sales and spin-out plans.
Opinion
Revised car emissions policy will live or die on flexibility
The challenge is to transition to vehicles that do what their petrol and diesel counterparts can do and for the same price.
Political editor
Banks struggle to balance risk, reputation and regulation
Blowback over lending practices and perceived corporate greed means banks have become reluctant to take too many chances with their lending. But at what cost?
Columnist
I switched my phone off for the weekend. Here’s what happened
Having all the products of human civilisation at your fingertips can feel overwhelming.
Contributor
The real royal scandal is on us
The moment anyone in the public eye requests a desire to step away from the glare, we collectively make the worst possible scenario assumptions.
Contributor
Five years after the royal commission, big banks have their mojo back
But the newfound assertiveness isn’t simply due to the fading of past humiliations. They are increasingly conscious their large size is now a huge asset.
Columnist
Australia’s banks must rise to the challenges of the next decade
The underlying financial strength of the big four got them through a turbulent decade just gone. More competitiveness is needed to get them through the next 10 years.
Editorial
Reports
AI’s brave new world
Artificial intelligence is being used by hackers to create ever more convincing fakes, but the technology is also giving our leading companies an edge.
Politics
‘Get on with it’: Car makers accept Labor fuel policy – over to Greens
Citing strong support from climate groups, Labor pressed Adam Bandt to drop a threat to scuttle the government’s signature transport pollution reduction plan.
Dutton vetoes Nats-Greens supermarket break-up plan
The Opposition Leader committed the Coalition to develop laws that could extend to forcibly breaking up Coles and Woolworths.
Tough visa rules would ban entire countries
Foreigners would be banned from coming to Australia, even as tourists, if their home country refused to accept the return of failed asylum seekers.
Forrest slams ‘venal’ US politics during China visit
The Fortescue mining magnate has warned the US against treating China as a threat when the real danger comes from Russia.
Unions go after Aware Super, Lendlease over New York building project
Unions in NSW are waging war on the super fund over hiring practices and its investment in a $1 billion Brooklyn development controlled by Lendlease.
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World
US faces Liz Truss-style market shock as debt soars, warns watchdog
The Congressional Budget Office chief says the US fiscal burden was on an ‘unprecedented’ trajectory, risking a crisis of the kind that sparked a run on the pound in 2022.
Cargo ship issued mayday before hitting US bridge
After being hit, the Francis Scott Key Bridge buckled and collapsed into the river below. Two people were rescued, six were missing.
Assange wins temporary reprieve from extradition to US
London’s High Court said the US must provide further assurances by April 16 that Julian Assange would not face the death penalty.
Trump catches a break in multimillion-dollar fraud case
A New York appeals court has reduced the size of the bond Donald Trump must post in his civil fraud case by more than half.
Netanyahu fumes over UN ceasefire, cancels US trip
The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza after the US abstained, leading Israel to cancel a high-level visit to Washington.
Property
Rich Lister’s Gold Coast project woos Sydneysiders at $17.5m a pop
The Mantaray is part of a fresh wave of luxury development on the Gold Coast, led by high-profile players and fuelled by cashed-up buyers, often from interstate.
Giants deputy chairman Adrian Fonseca cashes in on fast food
Adrian Fonseca and developers Ben and Jono Isaac were the big winners from a property auction after selling a McDonald’s in Newcastle for $5.5 million.
McGrath backs buyout after ‘challenging ride’ on ASX
McGrath founder John McGrath concedes the company’s decision to go public has been tough and returning to private hands was the best outcome.
First tender surge for Housing Future funds
Public housing waiting lists make it crucial to expand funding beyond an initially planned 8000 homes, investors say.
What this $1.3m sale shows about the value of housing
The vendor of an old house on a six-lane highway made it stand out in a sea of properties going to market as development sites.
Wealth
The most ‘dangerous’ phrase in inheritance planning
“To be shared equally between my children” sounds simple, yet it’s anything but.
- Opinion
- Investing
Two ETFs for investors looking to tap bargains in China recovery
There is no telling if the Chinese sharemarket crash is over, but smart investors know that in carnage can lie opportunity.
$60b in trust payments in doubt after ATO court loss
The court warned the ATO cannot dictate to taxpayers how they should arrange their affairs.
Technology
iPhone will be ‘degraded’ if Epic wins court case, Apple warns
New laws in Europe mean iPhone users there are already facing all manner of new threats to their safety.
- Exclusive
- Cyber warfare
Leaked documents reveal Australia targeted by Chinese hackers
The revelations come as the UK sanctions a Chinese state-affiliated group that hacked into its Electoral Commission systems.
CSIRO backs its long-term VC bet despite nil returns
The CSIRO’s VC fund has not returned a dollar to public coffers despite receiving $175m from taxpayers over seven years, but insists it is on track.
Work & Careers
Government contracts on the line if gender targets not met
Companies like BAE Systems, Microsoft, SAP and the big consulting firms stand to lose billions in government contracts if they can’t prove they’re meeting targets.
Bosses want upskilled workforce? Pay your way, says Suncorp
Employers haven’t thrown enough into staff skills development and paid time must be allotted to boost productivity, chairwoman Christine McLoughlin says.
Life & Luxury
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
Maserati’s new coupe is a petrolhead’s trophy
The impressive new GranTurismo Trofeo internal combustion coupe is either highly collectable or yesterday’s news.
Meet a toilet cleaner who’s the opposite of Kenny
Small events take on momentous significance in Perfect Days’ minimal narrative.
Move over Maldives, here comes Palau
With a luxury catamaran to lure cashed-up travellers, this Micronesian island nation has its sights set on being the next big thing for luxury lovers.
Singapore’s secret restaurant with two world’s best chefs
AIR, in the Dempsey district, shows what can happen when creative visions from different professional perspectives combine.
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
Precious old vintages from the Barossa set for release
In Australia’s oldest wine region, well-cellared treasures, from wines to whiskies are being unearthed. Here’s a few to earmark.
