Uber’s ‘espionage plot’ to ‘crush’ Packer-backed rival GoCatch
Well before the ride-sharing giant dominated, it had a big local rival. This week, Victorian courts will hear explosive claims of how it killed the competition.
- Exclusive
- China
BHP executive criticises Xi, predicts China’s decline
Chief economist Huw McKay says Xi Jinping’s ideological grip over state-owned enterprises is hurting the Asian superpower.
- Updated
- Mergers & acquisitions
Neoen taps Bank of America to sell $1.6b stake in renewables business
The French group has appointed the bank to sell as much as 30 per cent of its Australian wind and solar portfolio as it attempts to accelerate expansion.
Treasury Wines to lift Penfolds prices as China loosens tariffs
The country’s largest wine producers say there has been an immediate increase in demand from importers after Beijing loosened trade restrictions last week.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Private capital’s surprisingly sluggish year prompts rethink
Just when we thought the push to private capital was flying, new fundraisings have slowed down. Is it a hiccup, or more?
Morgan Stanley profit slides after slump in M&A, capital markets
The US investment bank’s local business collected less than $10 million in fees from advisory and underwriting work last year, down from $14.5 million in 2022.
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
What would you have Israel do to defend itself?
There is no magical alternative military strategy, but Israel needs to completely rethink and change the humanitarian and political side of this operation, writes David Brooks.
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Companies
Want Australian-made solar? Be prepared to pay $1500 more
SolarQuotes’ Ronald Brakels says there are probably enough consumers willing to pay a premium for locally made panels for a manufacturer to make a go of it.
- 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.
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Markets
Indonesia vows to speed up nickel output despite global glut
A deputy minister says the government wants to expand nickel production to achieve “price equilibrium” to support sustainable demand for EV batteries.
- Opinion
- Investing
Now is the ‘sweet spot’ for making money in private debt
While corporate defaults are at their highest year-to-date default count since the height of the global financial crisis, fears for private credit are overblown.
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
The Federal Reserve chairman said February’s 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
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
It’s a long and winding path that leads to a rate cut
The reality is there is still some way to go as the RBA balances the challenge of reducing inflation while keeping the economy ticking.
Former advisor Paul Keating
America and its self-defeating Sinophobes
Excessive fear of Chinese competition is blinding Americans to the real weaknesses in their economy that need to be addressed.
Asia watcher
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
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
Ten seeks to call fresh evidence about Lehrmann days before judgment
The network’s lawyers have lodged an interlocutory application seeking that the high-profile Bruce Lehrmann case be reopened before the decision on Thursday.
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.
How migrants are changing the face of Australian politics
Aspirational migrants and their families will be the fastest growing demographic chunk of suburban Australia for at least the next two decades.
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.
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World
Israelis stage largest protest since Gaza war began
The major protest in Jerusalem was the second in two days to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
- Analysis
- Immigration
Immigration politically toxic, but it’s helping drive US growth
Immigration has been good for the US economy, just as an out-of-control border becomes the No.1 issue for voters in some states and No.2 in swing states.
Trump accused of inciting violence with image of hog-tied Biden
“If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Donald Trump said before posting the video featuring his rival, US President Joe Biden.
China’s factory expansion is new sign of recovery
While the industrial sector expanded for the first time in six months, China is still grappling with a deep property slowdown and weak investor confidence.
- Opinion
- China relations
China has prioritised security over economic growth
The US must avoid setting its strategic goals in a way that implies it is trying to keep China eternally weak and isolated.
Property
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.
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.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Trusts
Why estranged family members might still have a claim on trust money
Repetition of the same distribution formula year after year raised reg flags.
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.
Technology
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Big house? This new security camera can reach into every corner
Swann’s new MaxRanger4K AI-based security camera system uses a new type of WiFi with a range of hundreds of metres, if not thousands.
Meta’s smart glasses are becoming AI. We took them for a spin
What happens when a columnist and a reporter use AI glasses to scan groceries, monuments and zoo animals? Hilarity, wonder and lots of mistakes.
- Opinion
- Social media
It’s time to stop the smartphone experiment on our children
China has been way ahead of the west in seeing the dangers of raising a generation of zombies, writes Camilla Cavendish.
Work & Careers
Ban restraints on poaching staff: RBA board member
Workers should be allowed to solicit ex-colleagues to jump ship to competitors and staff should be paid while under non-compete clauses, a former judge has urged.
- Opinion
- Obituaries
The man who discovered people hate losing more than they like winning
Daniel Kahneman was one of the few psychologists to win the Nobel Prize for economics and wrote, ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ - an influential social science book.
Life & Luxury
This woman is using science to defend us – but she can’t talk about it
After a stellar career as an academic researcher, Professor Tanya Monro now heads Canberra’s top-secret Defence Science and Technology Group.
Heading to a European spa this summer? Here’s how to bare all
For many, the tradition of stripping off to sit naked with strangers in a sauna is awkward. But don’t sweat it.
The unlikely menu item now being paired with Champagne
It may seem incongruous to those who equate bubbles with haute cuisine, but experts have long known the tipple’s uncanny rapport with crisp fried chicken.
Star chef swaps fine dining for ‘young dining’
The top chef has swapped fine dining for ‘young dining’ with her latest venture in Slovenia’s capital serving simple, seasonal shared dishes.
Nature takes on Melbourne at the NGV
Swiss artists Franziska Furter and Julian Charrière both explore the wild elements in their large-scale installations at NGV Triennial.
