- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Lessons from a fund that has beaten the market for 50 years
Since 1973, Capital Group’s New Perspective Fund has ridden the shifting tides of world trade. With deglobalisation taking hold, will the strategy hold up?
Donald Trump, blasphemous bible thumper
On this holy weekend, one man is taking the Resurrection personally, writes Maureen Dowd.
Why EVs are such a big geopolitical deal
Policy changes in the US will have ramifications that will be felt far beyond the autoworkers of Detroit, Michigan.
Lendlease locks in $1.7b Melbourne win in race to repatriate capital
Chief Tony Lombardo is under pressure to deliver quickly on a turnaround plan, which involves refocusing efforts on Lendlease’s Australian business.
Netanyahu faces rising fury over orthodox draft exemption
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is facing a crisis about whether ultra-Orthodox Jews should be required to join the Israeli army.
Concerns grow as Meta’s news exit nears
Australians who use Facebook as their main source for news will have to look elsewhere for stories as Meta shuts down its news tab in early April.
Keating succumbs to Chinese ‘grey zone’ influence: Taiwan
One of Taiwan’s top diplomats says former prime minister Paul Keating fell victim to Chinese “grey zone” influence.
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SMART INVESTOR WEEKEND
Inside the Queensland family office making 15pc
Meet a mango farmer managing billions who will back anything except private equity.
Where to invest $1m right now
We asked 11 experts where they would invest $1 million to earn serious returns; then we asked them to nominate an indulgence spend.
$60b in trust payments under cloud following ATO court loss
The court warned the ATO cannot dictate to taxpayers how they should arrange their affairs.
Why invest in a house when you can get a 5pc yield on a laundromat?
The exodus of investors from the housing market is fuelling demand for small commercial properties like laundromats offering higher returns and sticky tenants.
- Opinion
- Investing
Stock pickers at near record levels of underperformance
More than 75 per cent of all Australian large-cap equity fund managers underperformed the ASX200 benchmark for 2023.
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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.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
From startup star to near collapse at the ‘next Cochlear’
Seer Medical was feted from its inception in 2017, after developing a groundbreaking wearable device for epilepsy. Then it met the Victorian government.
How the McLaren F1 team is helping save the Great Barrier Reef
British Formula One race team McLaren deployed engineers to help the Great Barrier Reef Foundation speed up its coral spawning program.
Qantas’ Frequent Flyer program is getting a run for its money
The airline is on the verge of unveiling the biggest change to the popular loyalty scheme in years, but savvy customers are increasingly shopping around.
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.
China removes punishing tariffs on Australian wine trade
Beijing says the restrictions, which had devastated local winemakers, will be removed on Friday, and big producers have applauded the change.
Vanguard guilty of greenwashing in ASIC’s first major court win
The funds management giant could be on the hook for millions of dollars in damages, though the court rejected aspects of ASIC’s case.
Companies in the News
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Markets
How the world’s top fundies are navigating the AI boom
From the early backers of Nvidia to those that have recently jumped on the bandwagon, Wall Street is betting the AI rally has further to run.
No need for Fed to rush rate cuts: Powell
Still, the Federal Reserve chairman said February’s latest inflation data, released on Friday, was “pretty much in line with our expectations”.
US monthly inflation slows; consumer spending surges
Core inflation increased 2.8 per cent year-on-year in February, the smallest gain since March 2021, after rising 2.9 per cent in January.
- Opinion
- Biden's White House
The US economy’s resilience is now undeniable
In an economy that has consistently outperformed and is constantly being scoured for cracks, it’s hard to find any faults in the latest data.
How economists interpreted US inflation data
The Federal Reserve’s key inflation metric mostly met expectations for February, leaving economists as divided as ever on the timing of a rate cut.
Opinion
Bidenomics is making China angry. That’s OK.
Biden’s China policy is so tough that it makes me, someone who generally favours a rules-based system, nervous.
Contributor
Bankers cheer as the frozen IPO market shows signs of heating up
Local bankers are celebrating as the US public listing market heats up, but is this simply another sign of a US sharemarket bubble.
Columnist
Bank bosses who speak the truth on reform
Tax reform is the cornerstone of rebooting national economic performance because its benefits are so pervasive. Business leaders are rightly taking up the conversation.
Editorial
Why the GST fiasco won’t be fixed
Fights about the distribution of GST revenue aren’t just about the money – they also reflect the political death of major tax reform. It’s a policy fiasco.
Columnist
A Kennedy might be about to help Trump into the White House
Robert Kennedy jnr’s third-party candidacy could split the vote in key swing states. Polls give him between 2 and 15 per cent of the vote in a three-way race, writes Edward Luce.
Columnist
Disgrace turns into love on the cross
Easter offers divine love beyond shame. God, it turns out, is far less judgmental than we are.
Faith leader
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
SA uncorks support to bolster wine exports to China
South Australian winemakers are being urged to re-engage with China after the country lifted tariffs on Australian wine that inflicted pain on the local industry.
Rebuilding wine sales in China to take time: minister
Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres welcomed China’s removal of tariffs on Australian wine but said rebuilding the $1.1 billion trade will take time.
Tammy Tyrrell goes solo, quits Jacqui Lambie Network
Senator Tyrrell made the shock resignation announcement late on Thursday, citing a rift between herself and party leader Jacqui Lambie.
China can be a democracy: Scott Morrison
The former PM has dismissed the idea that China is unable to become a multiparty democracy, saying there is no “anti-democratic” instinct in the Chinese people.
Business fears Fair Work intervention in power closures
Business groups fear Labor’s Net Zero Transition Authority legislation will expose them to union-initiated disputes as coal- and gas-fired power stations close.
SPONSORED
World
Blast hits Australian UN observer patrolling in Lebanon
Israel denied responsibility for the shell that exploded, injuring the UN observers and their interpreter, who were patrolling the southern Lebanese border.
‘Every day is hard’: One year since Russia jailed Evan Gershkovich
Since his arrest, the 32-year-old journalist for the Wall Street Journal has been held in the notorious high-security Lefortovo prison in Moscow.
Zelensky warns Ukraine forces will have to retreat
Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview that if Ukraine does not get promised US military aid blocked by disputes in Congress, its forces will have to retreat “in small steps”.
Israel hits Syria in heaviest raid on Iran proxies in months
Israel said it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, stepping up its campaign against Iran’s proxies in parallel with its war in Gaza.
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
Bankman-Fried’s jailing a warning shot to crypto industry
The 25-year sentence for the former crypto mogul sends a crucial message to an industry that’s still yet to complete the clean-up it sorely needs, writes Lionel Laurent.
Property
Developers find easy targets among cash-strapped golf clubs
They take up swaths of land and face big bills to renovate and keep courses in order. Could surplus golfing greens help solve the housing shortage?
Melbourne’s medium-density housing miracle
A 14-apartment development won local approval by mimicking the scale of a local church building. Can it be repeated elsewhere?
The suburbs where every house sold delivered a profit
Profits from residential resales rose strongly in the December quarter, underscoring the improving profitability in the housing market.
Charter Hall swallows 15pc of pubs owner HPI
The property fund manager is already the country’s biggest pubs owner after taking charge of former ASX-listed landlord ALE Group in a $1.7 billion deal three years ago.
- Exclusive
- Hotels
Dubai billionaire brings luxury hotel brand to Canberra in $200m deal
Ghassan Aboud will open the first Crystalbrook Collection hotel in Canberra in 2027 and is keen to take the Aussie-grown luxury brand overseas.
Wealth
The mystery of the mansion and the $2.7b bitcoin haul
What were two Chinese women doing in a rented mansion in London with an astronomical amount of cryptocurrency?
Inside the Queensland family office making 15pc
Meet a mango farmer managing billions who will back anything except private equity.
- Opinion
- Investing
Stock pickers at near record levels of underperformance
More than 75 per cent of all Australian large-cap equity fund managers underperformed the ASX200 benchmark for 2023.
Technology
Epic battle with Apple and Google heads into the wilds
In a light-hearted exchange, a Federal Court judge says a willingness to be shot at in a game may help you with installing the game in the first place.
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.
Work & Careers
KPMG hands CEO Yates another three years
The board of KPMG Australia has extended the leadership term of Andrew Yates to June 2027.
Poor kids who choose the IB do better than rich kids who don’t: study
Jasmine Werneberg says the International Baccalaureate she did at high school was more academically rigorous than her business-law degree at university.
Life & Luxury
Seven must-see shows in April
From West Side Story’s Tony and Maria on Sydney Harbour to Tom Gleeson’s return to stand-up in Melbourne, entertainment options are hot next month.
Common hormones used for contraception linked to brain tumours
Experts say a new French study should be a timely reminder to women to review their contraceptive needs periodically.
This week’s edits of lovely little luxuries: faded leather to champagne
From a reimagined Hermès work bag to a clever way to transport your French champagne, we have inspired suggestions for you.
Think you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
Here’s what you get in a $1700 butler-serviced hotel room
At Singapore’s legendary Raffles Hotel, butlers are expected to anticipate your needs.
