Spectre of Mid-East war hangs over global shares, dollar
The S&P/ASX 200 and the Australian dollar are poised to drop on Monday on worries that Iran’s first direct attack on Israel could trigger the regional war investors have been afraid of.
- Live
- Need to Know
US, Israel shoot down ‘nearly all’ Iranian drones, missiles
Joe Biden vows “ironclad commitment” to Israel, convenes G7 meeting; Albanese joins condemnation of Iran; UN Security Council to hold urgent meeting. Follow live.
Details emerge about Bondi killer Joel Cauchi
The man responsible for the mass murder at Westfield Bondi Junction flagged an interest in guns, frequented strip clubs and made repeated attempts to meet people in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s rampage.
- Updated
- Crime
Police name stabber who killed six at Sydney’s Bondi Junction mall
Police have identified the man who killed six people in a stabbing rampage inside Westfield shopping centre in Sydney’s Bondi Junction. Dawn Singleton, a daughter of businessman John Singleton, and Ash Good have been named as two victims.
Ukraine’s top commander says front has ‘significantly worsened’
Ukraine’s outmanned and outgunned army is struggling to halt a multipronged and intensifying Russian offensive.
Iran is now caught up in a mess of its own making
The Tehran regime’s use of proxy forces has left it boxed into a regional fight that it does not really want, writes Patrick Gibbons.
A look at Iran’s military capabilities as it threatens Israel
The Iranian armed forces are among the largest in the Middle East, with at least 580,000 active-duty personnel and about 200,000 trained reserves. Here’s a look at Iran’s military and its capabilities.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
smart investor
What to buy if you can’t afford a house
The best investment bets are boutique unit complexes in blue-chip suburbs.
Billion-dollar wealth hit afoot as BHP’s dividends fall
The big miner’s place in history and our retirement savings means nearly 70 per cent of Australians face a financial hit as it prepares to pay lower cash dividends.
- Opinion
- Aged care
Time to force wealthy retirees to tap super to pay for aged care
There is no good reason why today’s workers should fund aged care for older Australians who have accumulated generous superannuation savings.
- Opinion
- Inflation
Inflation shocks bond bandits
The spike in US inflation has caught equity and debt investors napping, writes Christopher Joye.
- Opinion
- Super Q&A
Will borrowing to buy property in an SMSF affect my credit rating?
Some banks are happy to ignore loans in SMSFs, others will require detailed information about how you plan to service the loan.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Rio turns to Mars exploration tech in search for next big discovery
Rio Tinto has not disclosed a major mineral discovery since finding a copper-gold deposit in WA in late 2017, but is hoping to turn that around using technology from NASA.
- Opinion
- Investigation
James Mawhinney’s surveillance game of cat and mouse
While the Financial Review was following James Mawhinney’s investment schemes, it turns out he was trying to follow us, writes Jonathan Shapiro.
TPG, iiNet email accounts bounce to Philippines, Norway
Users of TPG Telecom and iiNet email have to deal with a call centre and a parent company in the northern hemisphere after their accounts were handed over to The Messaging Company.
Kerry Stokes’ Seven rains dividends to win over Boral
The independent directors of the cement group are now recommending shareholders accept the revamped $1.9 billion bid, with one-off dividends attached.
Macquarie short-listed in $772m Indian road auction
The Australian bank is competing with a Canadian pension fund for the roads held in India’s Athaang Infrastructure.
- Analysis
- Carbon challenge
Woodside treads impossibly fine line on climate demands
Whether new oil and gas projects can align with the Paris Agreement is central to the oil and gas producer’s stoush with activists and some proxy advisers.
Star reveals more losses as it braces for public hearings
Star told investors it was losing large sums of money from customers visiting VIP areas, where trading is down.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
![Former US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke put it bluntly: “It’s important to have people in key areas [who] understand the details and can stand up to an MPC member and say: ‘no, you’re wrong’.”](http://web.archive.org./web/20240414062046/https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.5298%2C$multiply_2%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/c_scale%2Cw_300%2Cq_88%2Cf_auto/6d2b85096d048e8b0a522ef5285874bd81e934a7)
How ‘flamethrowers’ and creaking IT burnt the Bank of England
For more than three decades, the BoE has used fan charts to visualise the uncertainty surrounding its forecasts. As Ben Bernanke pointed out, most people have no idea what they mean.
LME bans new Russian metal, but braces for a flood of old stock
Some traders and producers have argued that exchange should ban all Russian material to avoid being overwhelmed by a flood of unwanted stock, which they say is depressing prices.
US stocks tumble as war fears send ‘fear gauge’ to six-month high
Equities had their worst day since January after a report that Israel was bracing for an attack by Iran on government targets. The VIX index jumped 16 per cent.
Oil jumps, Treasuries surge on fears Iran will attack Israel
Bond yields tumbled and crude oil surged to a six-month-high following reports that Israel is bracing for a possible attack from Iran.
Dimon warns of ‘unsettling’ pressures on global markets
The CEO of JPMorgan sees a cascade of pressures including war, rising geopolitical tensions and inflation weighing over markets.
Opinion
Turning 60 feels like 40 in Japan’s certain age crisis
Japan’s ageing population means you’re still young at 60. That’s great if you’ve just celebrated that birthday. For the country, it’s a problem.
Contributor
The week Australia travelled further down the dead-end policy road
At the least, the Treasurer should join with whoever can claim to be an economic rationalist in this government to yell stop, wrong way, go back.
Editorial
Albanese is setting the Labor Party up for failure
The prime minister’s Future Made in Australia plan is part of a shift to bigger government and higher taxes that will sap support for the government – eventually.
Senior correspondent
Inflation shocks bond bandits
The spike in US inflation has caught equity and debt investors napping.
Columnist
Wong and Dutton leave Arabic and Islamic Australians feeling abandoned
Both major parties are wildly out of step with the views of people they must woo if they want to win the next federal election.
Columnist
Political point-scoring blinkers everyone’s approach to Gaza
Anthony Albanese is right to say the impact Australia can have on the behaviour of either side of the conflict is “limited”. But that has long ceased being the point.
Political editor
Politics
Tragedy in Sydney: How the Bondi attack unfolded in pictures
Police say a man moved through the shopping centre on Saturday afternoon and “engaged with about nine people” by stabbing them.
‘I just saw this empty pram’: How strangers frantically tried to save mother
A new mother was forced to throw her bleeding baby into a stranger’s arms as she tried to escape a rampaging knife man who murdered her and five others on Saturday.
Tax changes may make super the best place to stash cash
New analysis shows the changes will have the perverse effect of entrenching tax benefits for some of the country’s wealthiest, spurring calls for widespread tax reform.
- Exclusive
- Federal budget
PM’s Made in Australia green plan a ‘slippery slope’
Former Productivity Commission heads back Danielle Wood’s concerns that the government’s proposal needs clearly defined objectives and exit strategies.
Wong joins world calls for restraint from Iran
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has backed a US-led push urging Tehran not to attack Israel.
SPONSORED
World
US forces ‘remain poised’ to protect Israel from more attacks
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said American troops and ships are standing ready to prevent any further conflict following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel.
Biden, Albanese condemn Iran’s attack on Israel
Tehran had vowed retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus, pushing the Middle East closer to war.
Trump to make history with sordid ‘zombie’ trial
A previously stalled probe over alleged pay-offs to a porn star has led to the first criminal trial against a former US president that starts this week.
Cheap, deadly drones: Iran’s ‘AK-47’ of the skies
The long-range Shahed drone has become known as the “AK-47” of Tehran: mass-produced and ready to be exported worldwide to conflict zones.
US deploys military assets over ‘imminent’ threat of Iran attacking Israel
Officials said they had deployed “additional assets” to the region in light of threats by Tehran of a retaliatory air strike on Israel.
Property
Housing angst: 840 days and still waiting on a planning permit
Melbourne architect Michael Smith warns that lengthy council planning approvals can kill good projects at a time when more housing is desperately needed.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Gold bullion chief expands harbourside block with Vaucluse buy
Pallion COO Paul Cochineas has expanded his blue-chip Vaucluse foothold, paying $17.6m for a neighbour’s home.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Findex family behind $77m Toorak trophy home double deal
Findex co-founder Spiro Paule and his wife, Conny, have emerged as the mystery circa $40 million buyers of the grand Toorak estate of the late fund manager, David Hains.
Real estate tycoon sentenced to death in huge $19b fraud case
Truong My Lan started by selling perfume in a market but rose to become a billionaire real estate developer. Now she’s been sentenced to death in Vietnam’s biggest fraud case.
It’s NIMBY v YIMBY as Victoria’s housing crisis grows
A Melbourne council’s plan to increase “vibrancy” by prohibiting apartment developments unless they allow commercial space has been lashed by developers.
Wealth
Super fund sued over customers’ unpaid penalties in ‘unique’ case
The claim that ESSSuper left customers more than $40 million out of pocket could prove a test case on how rigorously the $3.6 trillion industry is held accountable for meeting its trustee duties.
Billion-dollar wealth hit afoot as BHP’s dividends fall
The big miner’s place in history and our retirement savings means nearly 70 per cent of Australians face a financial hit as it prepares to pay lower cash dividends.
- Opinion
- Aged care
Time to force wealthy retirees to tap super to pay for aged care
There is no good reason why today’s workers should fund aged care for older Australians who have accumulated generous superannuation savings.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
Suncorp’s bank suffers breach, customer funds stolen
The bank said it had restricted a “small number” of accounts that had been accessed and returned money to affected customers.
Can AI help you get more laughs than The New Yorker’s cartoonists?
Researchers from the University of Sydney have measured whether AI can help beginners master the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest.
Apple set to overhaul entire Mac line with AI-focused M4 chips
The tech titan is harnessing the hunger for artificial intelligence to boost sluggish computer sales.
Work & Careers
Why AGL chairman Patricia McKenzie couldn’t get a job in a law firm
She almost didn’t take up legal studies in the first place, but didn’t expect to find job hunting so difficult.
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
CFMEU push to take control of the Labor Party
John Setka plans to use the militant union’s hundreds of delegates and members to boost its influence on internal ALP politics in Victorian and federal parliaments.
Life & Luxury
Aussies Davis, Smith raise hopes of elusive Masters triumph
Cam Davis has held his nerve to upstage his more-fancied Australian compatriots and surge into contention during the windswept Masters at Augusta National.
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.
This new nunsploitation film is a good omen
This is a cinephile’s movie, but it also delivers the thrills and suspense one expects from the horror genre.
This week’s edits of lovely little luxuries: golf and go-to glitter
From statement golf accessories to a classic Chanel bag reimagined, we have inspired suggestions for you.
Board games are being simplified for the TikTok generation
Younger audiences, accustomed to scrolling through short videos, need fast-paced and easily digestible experiences.
