Population surge, small households fuelling home prices: RBA
The resilience of the housing market recovery could make the RBA reluctant to deliver cuts to the cash rate later this year, according to economists.
Big four partners split 44pc of income to cut tax bill: ATO
Big four consulting firm partners distributed $1.2 billion of their collective $2.7 billion profit via trusts and other income splitting measures to reduce their tax bill, the ATO says.
ASX retreats from record high; Mesoblast soars 65pc, Cettire slumps
Shares slip into the red despite rally in oil and mining stocks. The Reserve Bank of Australia didn’t consider raising rates at latest meeting, minutes show. Follow for more.
Israeli airstrike kills Australian aid worker in Gaza
According to local reports, the woman was working for not-for-profit World Central Kitchen when she and other foreign nationals were killed in their vehicle.
Ramsay Foundation splashed $7m on failed Voice campaign
Rich listers, major charitable foundations and big corporates spent millions on last year’s Indigenous referendum.
Origin Energy suitor EIG nabs stakes in three major LNG projects
The private equity group, partly owned by Saudi Aramco, has made three investments in ventures run by Woodside, Chevron and Shell and will open a local office.
Almost one in three jobs created last year was for the NDIS
The growth in NDIS-related employment has masked the slowdown in private sector industries like construction, retail and manufacturing.
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tuesday tech
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
How Macquarie’s $46m investment in an Aussie tech firm turned into $1
Macquarie Capital poured $46m into Plutora, but sold its stake for a dollar, and administrators have met to try to figure out what is left in its operations.
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
- Cloud
Google ‘ghosts’ Aussie staff on promotions as cloud boss quits
The boss of Google’s local cloud division has resigned, with employees saying it has scaled back promotions as it struggles to compete with Amazon and Microsoft.
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
‘AI honeymoon is over’, Canva co-founder declares
Just two years after the last technology bubble burst, investors shouldn’t mistake AI tools that look like magic for a business model that is.
- 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.
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Companies
- Updated
- Defence
Korea’s Hanwha says it is a ‘credible buyer’ for shipbuilder Austal
The ASX-listed group has rejected a bid from the defence and aerospace conglomerate after warning it would probably fail to gain required government approvals.
Citi’s local businesses log losses amid global restructuring
The US bank’s Australian financials come amid a broader slump in profits at investment banks’ local outposts.
Orora flags earnings pain at its big French acquisition Saverglass
The ASX-listed bottle manufacturer purchased the 126-year-old business last year. On Tuesday, it said orders were lower than expected, sending shares lower.
- Exclusive
- Credit crunch
This Australian executive is taking on a US private investment giant
As chairman of Cromwell Property Group, Paul Weightman saw plenty of corporate jousting. Now the Corinthia Global Management founder is staring down Barings.
- Exclusive
- Organised crime
AUSTRAC targets clubs’ pokies in $70b money laundering crackdown
New CEO Brendan Thomas says “massive” clubs that rival Sydney’s Star casino and host three in four of the states pokies pose a “significant risk”.
Large companies must file climate reports from 2025
Large companies have been given a six-month reprieve on including climate-related information in their financial reports.
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.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
$A hit as strong US data dents rate cut hopes
The local currency is back below US65¢ after traders pushed back the likely timing of the first rate cut by the Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia this year.
Inflation set to ease, but it will be bumpy: survey
While higher prices are forecast to ease, economists warn that should inflation reignite, the RBA will stand pat on rate cuts at least for this year.
RBA will struggle to cut rates this year: survey
The RBA is expected to be the last major central bank to start cutting interest rates and economists predict the cash rate will remain on hold at least until November.
Gold rally ‘has legs’, as price tipped to reset record
Gold has already jumped more than 9 per cent this year, with ANZ and JPMorgan projecting the precious metal to hit $US2300 an ounce by December.
- Analysis
- Inflation
Australia is set to be the last country to escape inflation
The Economist measured inflation entrenchment in 10 rich countries. Australia tops the index, with Britain and Canada not far behind.
Opinion
Investors fear Fed will abandon three rate cuts this year
The sell-off in US bond markets suggests investors are anxious that stubborn US inflation will force the Fed to opt for “one and done”.
Columnist
Can Australia compete in the new post-inflation world?
The “new neutral” medium-term interest rate will make global competition for capital far more intense. The country needs to get ready for that.
Economics professor
Putin waiting for Washington to collapse if Trump wins
The Russian leader sees an opportunity to re-establish a sphere of influence in Europe if Donald Trump is re-elected US president.
Columnist
Solar fantasy gives industry policy a bad name
Australia does not have a great record at industry policy. Creating a bucket of government money for solar panels in the midst of a global subsidy war looks even less likely to work.
Editorial
Boeing heard all the warnings, it just wasn’t listening
The aircraft manufacturer deliberately moved its headquarters to be away from day-to-day business. It was a disaster.
Commentator
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.
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury
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
- Live
- Need to Know
PM ‘expects full accountability’ for aid worker’s death
The PM says the tragic death of Zomi Frankcom is “completely unacceptable”; Jim Chalmers says RBA minutes show it didn’t consider increasing the cash rate in March. Here’s how the day unfolded.
Almost one in three jobs created last year was for the NDIS
The growth in NDIS-related employment has masked the slowdown in private sector industries like construction, retail and manufacturing.
Former Deloitte consultant emerges as Liberal candidate for Wentworth
The Liberal Party now has its likely candidate but party members and officials have mixed views of the Liberals’ chances of regaining Wentworth.
- Exclusive
- Carbon challenge
Sims questions solar panels as report sounds alarm on coal jobs
The green energy advocate’s caution comes as Labor looks to fund early retirements of coal power station workers, some earning up to $170,000 a year.
Retired judges demand $3m super tax exemption
Extending the tax increase to judicial pensions could endanger the courts’ independence and drain talent from the bench, judges warned Treasury.
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World
Iran vows revenge on Israel for deadly missile strike
Seven officers, including generals from the elite Revolutionary Guard, have been killed in the Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, as tensions soar.
Trump pays $269m bond to halt asset seizure
The former president, who is campaigning to return to the White House, is still on the hook for the full amount, plus millions in interest, if his appeal fails.
‘Old friend’: Indonesia’s Prabowo meets Xi in first foreign trip
Indonesia’s president-elect, Prabowo Subianto, met China’s President, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Monday on his first foreign trip since his election.
Israeli military withdraws from Shifa hospital after raid
The troops left widespread devastation in their wake after extended firefights with Palestinian militants in and around the complex.
World Bank warns of slowing growth across Asia amid China slump
The drag is partly due to the expected deceleration in the world’s second-largest economy, whose expansion is forecast to slow to 4.5 per cent this year.
Property
Record-breaking house prices make early rate cuts ‘less likely’
Home values nationwide hit new peaks in March, boosted by strong gains in the more affordable markets, but rising prices could also delay rate cuts.
Six Sydney suburbs haven’t built a major project in years
Some of the suburbs earmarked for aggressive development haven’t had a single major unit project in five years. The NSW government wants to change that.
East coast buyers bet on AUKUS, power Perth’s property boom
Perth is the country’s hottest property market as migrants converge with east coast investors betting that major defence contracts will boost rents and returns.
Atlassian’s low-carbon skyscraper is ‘out of the ground’
The work-from-home revolution has failed to kill the $1.5b Atlassian Central project near Sydney Central Station, with a key construction milestone now passed.
Mirvac’s $364m sale of tower stake at 17pc discount sets the pace
Office tower values around the world have tumbled in response to the rise of remote work and surging interest rates.The latest deal shows the bottom is not far.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Property investment
The right apartment still a good stepping stone to wealth
The price difference between houses and apartments has reached record levels, but units are still an important stepping stone on the property ownership journey.
- Opinion
- Trusts
Why estranged family members might still have a claim on trust money
A decision in the Victorian courts found that trustee must engage in bona fide inquiries about potential beneficiaries.
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?
Technology
- Opinion
- Digital Life
One control panel for all your home devices is still a lot to ask
So far, Amazon’s new Echo Hub is the best at controlling smart devices around the home. Nevertheless, the smart device industry remains fundamentally broken.
- Exclusive
- Cloud
Google ‘ghosts’ Aussie staff on promotions as cloud boss quits
The boss of Google’s local cloud division has resigned, with employees saying it has scaled back promotions as it struggles to compete with Amazon and Microsoft.
- 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.
Work & Careers
McKinsey offers staff nine months’ pay to leave
The management-consulting firm is dangling the pay, along with career-coaching services and other resources, to some UK staff who would like to leave.
The biggest culture shock for an Aussie lawyer in Tokyo
Despite looking Japanese, Katsu Saikawa is very much Australian, which meant the strong workplace culture of seniority in Tokyo came as a big shock.
Life & Luxury
The Danish city that is definitely worth the side trip
Aarhus embraces its Viking identity via myriad museums, great restaurants, and even a strange clown pub.
‘Eating out in France is a lottery you’re likely to lose’
On a trip to see family in a country known for its culinary excellence, a former Financial Review restaurant critic finds both delights and disappointments.
Can Netflix’s billionaire founder Reed Hastings disrupt skiing?
Can the new owner of Utah’s Powder Mountain transform the ski industry the way he did entertainment, even as he learns the ski business on the fly?
No cruise? No problem. We got a bonus week in Rome
The disappointment of a cancelled cruise is replaced by the joy of an unexpected luxury stay in the Eternal City.
Can you have kids AND nice furniture?
Is it best to put off owning something you’d enjoy, or keep a beloved heirloom locked away until some later, safer date? I decided to ask the experts.
