- Opinion
- Australian economy
Jobs numbers pose a sticky conundrum
The Albanese government can only publicly welcome the strength of the jobs market, but a receding horizon for rate cuts is always difficult for political leaders eyeing their election prospects, writes Jennifer Hewett.
PM slammed for labelling Gary Banks a flat earther
Anthony Albanese hit back at criticism of the Made in Australia policy, but economists say many share the concerns of former productivity commissioner Gary Banks.
‘It’s going to take time’: Bondi mourns as retail goes into limbo
Westfield Bondi Junction was silent on Thursday as its doors opened to the public for the first time, five days after a stabbing attack that killed six people.
Legitimate to question Higgins’ $2.4m compo: Liberals
The opposition says it is legitimate to question Brittany Higgins’ payout given Justice Michael Lee found there was no political cover-up of her rape.
PE risks leaving ASX behind, RBA warns
The Australian assets of buyout funds have grown 75 per cent in four years, but the ASX 200 has shrunk by roughly $6 billion this year.
Dutton faces Liberal pushback over ‘big stick’ supermarket powers
Opposition MPs have warned against any move that could undermine the Coalition’s free market economic credentials.
- Opinion
- Pay
Musk wants $87b. Tesla’s Aussie chair is defying a court to help him
Robyn Denholm is asking investors to over-rule a judge who cancelled the biggest pay package in history for an AWOL chief executive.
An insightful look at the week’s biggest tech stories, deals and trends delivered free to your inbox every Tuesday.
SUPERMARKET INQUIRY
How balance sheet quirks skew supermarket returns measures
The concept became a political football this week after it was used by Greens senator Nick McKim to accuse Woolworths and Coles of “making off like bandits”.
The merger that is paying competition dividends
The new deal laws out this week suggest that bringing Gina Cass-Gottlieb into the ACCC led to a poacher-turned-gamekeeper story for the ages.
- Opinion
- Letters to the Editor
It’s political spending that feeds inflation, not Coles and Woolies
Readers’ letters on wasteful spending; the need for a Made in Australia policy; the fantasy of sustainable aviation fuel; Climate 200 candidates; confusing petrol prices; and Woodside’s climate dilemma.
Nick McKim’s Senate antics make it all worse
This is all entirely on brand for McKim, a man eternally promoting simple, populist solutions to complicated problems.
- Analysis
- Supermarket inquiry
What is the true measure of a grocer’s profitability?
There’s solid ground to dismiss Nick McKim’s use of return on equity. But his audience is not wonky accountants – it’s disgruntled punters facing higher bills.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
BHP suffers new productivity hit in Queensland coal
Another downgrade means the miner spends almost seven times more money to dig a tonne of coal out of the sunshine state as it does for each tonne of iron ore in WA.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why China could deliver BHP, Rio and FMG a double blow
China’s peak demand for iron ore has likely passed, and the rebalancing of steel from construction to export sector may see iron ore caught up in increasing trade tensions.
Alcoa vows to ‘listen better’ as it closes in on Alumina
Alcoa boss Bill Oplinger says permitting delays in Western Australia showed the US company needed to listen better, as he prepares to spend $4.6 billion buying more Australian assets.
- Updated
- Aviation
KordaMentha runs the ruler over Bonza as its Miami PE owner wavers
Sources close to discussions said the corporate restructuring specialists had not been appointed as administrators, but to provide financial advice.
Santos blames lower output, prices for 15pc revenue slide
But the gas giant says the result sets it up to complete major projects including a carbon capture and storage scheme which is due to start later this year.
Star inquiry fallout spreads to Bendigo bank board
Wednesday’s hearing was interrupted when Star’s solicitors released documents to the inquiry related to its former CFO, Christina Katsibouba.
- Investigation
- Food & drink
Jon Adgemis’ high-wire act is coming unstuck
The former KPMG dealmaker burst onto the hospitality sector after buying up a string of venues. Huge debts and angry lenders are threatening to push it over.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Private equity risks leaving ASX behind, RBA warns
The Australian assets of buyout funds have grown 75 per cent in four years, but the ASX 200 has shrunk by roughly $6 billion this year.
Shares snap losing streak; iron ore jumps, jobless rate rises
ABS says labour market still relatively tight. Shares add 0.4pc. Iron ore prices jump. Copper higher. Challenger upgrades guidance. Wall Street falls. Follow the latest here.
- Updated
- Employment
Business collapses hit record, jobs market stays strong
The slowing economy pushed a record number of businesses into insolvency last month, but just 6600 people lost their job, suggesting smaller firms were hit hardest.
Balance sheet quirks skew supermarket returns measures: MST Marquee
The concept became a political football this week after it was used by Greens senator Nick McKim to accuse Woolworths and Coles of “making off like bandits”.
Why investors should look past banks, mining for big gains
The top 10 stocks should account for more than half the ASX 200’s earnings this year, but that figure will drop below 50 per cent in FY25 as market leadership shifts.
Opinion
The Senate’s mock outrage games shame all
Threatening corporate leaders with jail time over an accounting contrivance is part of trend where the national parliament is becoming a theatre for showboating and mock outrage, writes Tom Burton.
Government editor
So-called ‘reform’ is working against the productivity objective
The government’s (self-)celebrated productivity agenda is mainly a spending agenda, indeed a spending more agenda, and avoids the regulatory reforms we need.
Founding chair of the Productivity Commission
Subs ahoy! Marles defends Labor’s record in defence
Richard Marles argues the Labor government has delivered dramatic reform in defence to project Australia into a much changed and more dangerous region. Is that right?
Columnist
This budget boost for working women will supercharge the economy
We wilfully under-utilise 50 per cent of our economic potential, creating a national emergency we could easily solve.
Federal MP
Defence strategy fills gaps but misses holes
We need to move towards a wider conversation around national security and mobilisation, and be clear on the vulnerability in our capabilities until the late 2030s.
Defence expert
Marles forced to revise Canberra’s take on far away wars
The Defence Minister has made it clear the government is going to stare down critics who want our troops turning up at every world trouble spot.
International editor
Politics
China’s iron ore demand may have peaked, RBA warns
The country’s shrinking population is posing a multi-decade headwind for mining industry profits and government revenue.
Navy, RAAF face cuts to pay for $330b in new weapons
While the government touts its $330 billion new weapons blueprint, concerns are being raised about programs that have been scrapped.
International student numbers slump as reforms bite
Only 46,570 students landed in Australia to begin their studies last month.
- Exclusive
- Australian economy
First productivity chief calls for Labor U-turn on policy agenda
Inaugural Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks and his successor Peter Harris are each separately calling for a “pro-productivity” and a “pro-competition” agenda.
Truth-telling risks inflaming community conflict: report
Amid heightened scrutiny on community cohesion, a new report says 60 per cent of Indigenous Australians have major concerns about a Makaratta process.
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World
Record-breaking rain floods Dubai airport and swamps desert
Experts said storm systems across the region were forecast well in advance and that UAE’s cloud seeding would not have caused such a deluge.
Iran oil exports hit six-year high as West considers tougher sanctions
Iran’s success in exporting its crude underscores the difficulties facing the West as it seeks to build pressure on Tehran following its attack on Israel.
- Opinion
- Trade wars
Biden’s trade action against China is just polite Trumpism
Improved relations between the two powers can’t mask age-old trade tensions. Better communication is important because the structural problem between them is insoluble, writes Edward Luce.
Biden triples tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium, denies trade war
US President Joe Biden defends the move, while US Trade Representative Katherine Tai says the US will monitor any impact on Australia.
‘It is clear the Israelis are making a decision to act’
Britain’s foreign secretary David Cameron acknowledged during a visit to Israel that an Israeli reprisal seemed inevitable.
Property
Hidden billions in Tokyo real estate lure activist hedge funds
There’s a $222 billion gap between how companies value their real estate on their books, versus what those same properties would fetch in the current market.
He bought his first home at 19 - now he’s up to a $1m house
Edward, a 27-year-old bank analyst is passionate about property investment. He has just bought a home in Guilford for $1 million.
The suburbs where you can buy a unit for under $400,000
Home buyers looking to score units under $400,000 will not easily find them in Sydney or Brisbane, but Melbourne and Perth still offer plenty, at least for now.
Developers slam Mornington Peninsula Shire social housing tax
A 3.3 per cent levy on new developments would reduce investment in housing on the Mornington Peninsula, says Rich Lister Sam Tarascio and other developers.
Data centre builders fight infrastructure for heavy cranes
Demand for the heaviest type of crane has pushed up costs at twice the rate of ordinary commercial cranes. And there aren’t enough of them.
Wealth
- Opinion
- SMSFs
New superannuation tax may hit venture capital
SMSFs will shy away from investing in start-ups for fear of being slugged with big tax bills on unrealised gains.
- Opinion
- Super Q&A
How do I calculate my tax-free super pension limit?
The transfer balance cap has increased twice since its inception to reach $1.9 million. Calculating how to stay within it can be tricky.
Three ways investors can back the next Canva
Dozens of angel investing clubs are allowing sophisticated investors to buy a piece of early-stage start-ups for as little as $10,000.
Technology
- Opinion
- AI
World’s first AI consumer gadget panned by everyone
Humane’s Ai Pin flop shouldn’t mean the end of experimentation in this new era of artificial intelligence gadgets.
How Amazon wasted a decade trying to reinvent the supermarket
The online shopping behemoth simply failed to make the technology cheaper than a conventional store.
This tiny tweak made WhatsApp users furious
People began to notice the minor alteration last week, prompting outrage from users across social media.
Work & Careers
Economics professor sacked for ‘personal relationship’ with student
The University of Melbourne’s defence of its firing of an academic has pointed to claims he massaged shoulders and often asked a student to go out for a drink.
Why TechOne’s CEO gets his executives to swap jobs
The architect of a corporate experiment where the execs change jobs admits it is a little on the crazy side for a $5.2 billion, top 100 ASX tech company.
Life & Luxury
Is this flat white really worth $500 a cup?
If you thought coffee was getting expensive in Melbourne, it’s hard to beat the eye-watering price for this Japanese-grown coffee in London’s Mayfair.
This executive just swam his first lap at 49
Fraser McNaughton can count on one hand the number of times he has swum in the ocean since he moved to Australia 17 years ago. But that’s all about to change.
Don’t want your kid to end up as a deepfake? Keep their face offline
The rise of AI has created new anxieties about how an innocent photo could be manipulated, so “sharenting” is out and privacy is in.
This new Aussie horror is scary and funny
There’s not a moment in “Late Night with the Devil” when you’re not eager to know what’s going to happen next.
Watches & Wonders 24: How the latest timepieces measure up
Geneva has just hosted the biggest watch fair in years. We look at the blitz of new releases it unleashed.
