- Updated
- Mining
BHP lobs takeover bid for $56b Anglo American
London-listed Anglo American confirmed the all-scrip offer from BHP on Thursday in what would be one of the biggest deals in mining this year.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Mark Zuckerberg is stuck in AI purgatory, and that’s OK
Meta Platforms has a clear-eyed vision of how its artificial intelligence bets will pay off, but the returns on its growing investments remain some way off. Investors should expect to see more of this.
- Opinion
- The AFR View
‘Decolonising’ Anzac Day’s revival
The day offers a welcome counterpoint in an age of fragmenting identity politics in which it is becoming more difficult to find agreement about Australia’s national identity.
Facebook shifts more than $1.1b offshore, local profits rise
The Meta-owned social media giant defied the challenging advertising market to add $85 million in extra ad revenue last year, new accounts show.
Investors pile into miners as commodity rally heats up
Surging copper, gold and oil prices are fuelling a rotation into mining stocks as analysts scramble to adjust their profit forecasts for the sector.
PM pays tribute to ‘great artery of suffering’ on the Kokoda Track
After two days climbing through Papua New Guinea’s mountains, Anthony Albanese and James Marape marked the dawn service at the Isurava battlefield memorial.
McKinsey faces US criminal probe over opioids work: sources
McKinsey & Co is under criminal investigation in the United States over allegations it played a key role in fuelling the opioid epidemic.
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
Big reads
- 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.
Can the NRL’s worst team finally turn itself around?
To say the Wests Tigers have underperformed over the past two decades would be an understatement. Shane Richardson has a plan to change the team’s fortunes.
Can Pollination really become the next ‘green’ Macquarie?
The fledgling investment bank has lofty ambitions and a high-profile roster of executives. But it also has plenty of competition for climate dollars.
- Investigation
- Gaming & wagering
Laurence Escalante is living large off controversial gambling billions
At 42, he is one of the country’s youngest billionaires. But Virtual Gaming Worlds investors hoping for a big payday are increasingly concerned it may not come.
Golf ranges are booming on weekdays. Welcome to the WFH economy
Most office workers now spend some of their week working from home. Remote working is changing the way we live and do business.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
- Updated
- Gaming & wagering
Former Star CEO says he felt ‘under assault’ from casino regulator
Robbie Cooke left last month after NSW officials made it clear they did not think he was moving fast enough to fix governance and cultural issues at the group.
Woodside climate plan sunk but Goyder survives
The proxy battle pitched Australia’s largest gas producer against activists that argue its path could tip the balance towards more dangerous climate change.
Inquiry puts blame on regulator, RBA for ASX failure
ASIC and the Reserve Bank should conduct more thorough audits to avoid a repeat of the bungled CHESS replacement project.
Nick Scali mounts UK push, realising long-held dream
The Australian furniture retailer flagged an equity raising to fund deal and further invest in its new British business.
Lynas boss leaves door ajar for rare earths mega-merger
Lynas boss Amanda Lacaze says there may be a time when big rare earths makes sense and confirms she is a great admirer of Gina Rinehart and her commitment to mining.
Scammers are taking over the world
A seedy layer beneath our regular lives is cluttered with bogus messages, spam callers and phishing attempts.
MinRes says $1b debt-reducing haul road sale is still on track
The iron ore and lithium miner expects to sell a stake in a haul road by June 30 as it weighs up a big investment in onshore gas processing.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
- Updated
- Social media
Meta’s plans to spend billions on AI unsettle investors
Shareholders are preparing to wipe around $US200 billion ($308 billion) of the social media’s giant’s value, despite better than expected earnings this year.
Reluctant traders protect themselves from market mayhem
The mounting uncertainty in markets have traders buying put options that pay off if stocks keep tumbling.
Meta’s $554b rally to coincide with AI expectations
The Facebook parent has been the best-performer in the sector this year by far amid a surge in profitability. But there’s a catch.
Traders speculate RBA’s next move could be up
The Australian dollar jumped and bonds sold off after inflation beat forecasts, prompting traders to abandon almost every basis point of easing in this year’s cash rate profile.
Tesla buyers storm back, but not everyone is convinced
One early backer of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle manufacturer said it was hard to see it as a growth stock “when the world’s car industry is coming at you”.
Opinion
‘Decolonising’ Anzac Day’s revival
The day offers a welcome counterpoint in an age of fragmenting identity politics in which it is becoming more difficult to find agreement about Australia’s national identity.
Editorial
Are the ‘Magnificent Seven’ at risk of having their wings clipped?
Perhaps investors are finally losing patience with the hundreds of billions of dollars being ploughed into artificial intelligence as the world’s leading tech companies vie for supremacy.
Columnist
Negative gearing is not a rort or a tax concession
Negative gearing is said to single-handedly be responsible for Australia’s housing crisis. But it is a principled, fair, and efficient feature of any tax system.
Economist
Why the ECB will cut rates before the Fed
What matters is not what is happening right now, but what will happen in the months or even years ahead, as past policy works through the system.
Columnist
What it means to be (visibly) Jewish in the Ivy League
Behaviour that would be scandalous if aimed at other minorities is treated as understandable or even commendable when directed at Jews.
Contributor
Elon Musk’s three key battles
The billionaire is dealing with falling earnings at Tesla, a fight over his multi-billion pay packet and a stoush with the Australian government.
Columnist
Politics
Musk courts top Sydney silk for eSafety fight
Elon Musk’s X is preparing for courtroom battle with the government over its take down order related to the Sydney church stabbing while NSW police make further arrests related to the attack.
- Exclusive
- Social media
TikTok Australia makes its first stand after US ban laws pass
The US congress passed a bill on Wednesday requiring TikTok to be sold within a year or be banned in the country.
Corporate directors warned over Musk behaviour
AFP boss Reece Kershaw says better corporate standards are needed to enable co-operation between social media giants and law enforcement.
‘Enemy of the people’: Musk lashes out at Lambie
X owner Elon Musk has continued his attacks on Australian politicians ahead of a Federal Court hearing on Wednesday about violent content on the platform.
‘Extraordinary sacrifice’: Albanese, Marape end historic Kokoda trek
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Kokoda Track hike with his PNG counterpart James Marape gave him an appreciation of the sacrifices made by WWII soldiers.
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World
Pro-China Solomon Islands PM fails to win majority
Manasseh Sogavare has failed to win a majority in parliamentary elections, setting the stage for coalition negotiations.
US to rush weapons to Ukraine as Biden signs aid bill
The Pentagon said it would rush the first $1.5 billion in aid to Ukraine, including shoulder-fired Stinger surface-to-air missiles and other air defence munitions.
FTC sued a day after banning non-compete agreements for workers
The US Chamber of Commerce lawsuit alleges the Federal Trade Commission lacks the power to adopt sweeping rules such as the ban on so-called non-compete agreements.
- Opinion
- Courts
Trump’s prosecution puts American law on trial too
Flaws in the criminal case against former president Donald Trump demonstrate the vulnerability of the US legal system.
Captain Cook’s first Australian souvenir returned to Indigenous owners
Cambridge University has surrendered a set of spears taken the momentous day when Sydney’s Indigenous people first set eyes on their eventual colonisers.
Property
Median house prices in Brisbane and Adelaide to hit $1m by December
House price growth momentum has slowed across the capital cities, but is still expected to hit new records this year according to Domain.
The Barbie effect: Mattel expands into mega shed
DHL has relocated its Mattel warehouse to a site 20 per cent bigger as the toy maker looks to cater for rising demand for its products after the hit movie.
The Melbourne shopping hotspot that became a ‘ghost town’
Businesses on Bridge Road in Richmond, which has a whopping 15.5 per cent vacancy rate, fear an insolvency snowball effect.
Building materials supplier Lutum goes into administration
The move by directors to try and salvage the Boral spinoff shows casualties in Australia’s precarious home-building sector have spread well beyond builders.
Victor Island in the Whitsundays sold at 31pc discount to last sale
The 3.14ha island near Mackay was bought for $3.65m by Sydney-based Kingdom Developments, but sold for just $2.51m despite competition from 15 bidders.
Wealth
A child won a share of her dad’s estate – despite planning to kill him
A 75 per cent success rate in contesting wills is encouraging more family members to sue for a bigger share. Here’s how to protect your final wishes.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
The rule book on investing in cars, wine or diamonds
Because they’re classified as collectable or personal use assets, strict rules apply to their acquisition, storage, insurance and use if held by an SMSF.
- Analysis
- Gen Z
Stop complaining, Zoomers – you’re rich
People born between 1997 and 2012 should appreciate that Millennials and Baby Boomers were poorer at this stage in their lives.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Social media
TikTok Australia makes its first stand after US ban laws pass
The US congress passed a bill on Wednesday requiring TikTok to be sold within a year or be banned in the country.
‘Safe room for terrorists’: ASIO warns big tech on encryption
Federal spy and crime chiefs will demand access to social messaging systems that allow terrorists, violent extremists and child abusers to operate with impunity.
Scammers are taking over the world
A seedy layer beneath our regular lives is cluttered with bogus messages, spam callers and phishing attempts.
Work & Careers
Average HECS debts to rise by $2350 on June 1
There may be relief for student-debt holders in the upcoming budget, but it won’t come soon enough to prevent a 4.7 per cent increase.
Energy focus as Ashurst, Allens, Freehills appoint new partners
Energy and environment lawyers have led promotions at top-tier firms, as the legal industry targets the energy transition as the next big source of billings.
Life & Luxury
The rich love anti-ageing stem cell therapy, but does it really work?
The procedure is becoming a favourite for Hollywood A-listers and actors such as John Cleese. It is still under-researched, however – and could be dangerous.
- Opinion
- Gender
In today’s porn-warped culture, no wonder girls identify as non-binary
Teens today are growing up in the most hyper-sexualised environment ever. Deciding not to be a young woman feels like a sensible, self-protective alternative.
This might be the most explosive tennis movie ever made
Challengers packs a punch with breathless action while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist builds slowly and silently.
For the full zen, stay at an ancient temple in Japan
Our writer bypasses the hotels and ryokans to spend a night as a guest of Buddhist monks. He didn’t anticipate the wooden stick, though.
This acclaimed writer packs a lot into her weekends and still finds time to work
Lauren Groff is an athlete, a mother, a best-selling writer and she’s taking on the censors in her home state of Florida. She describes her typical Saturday and Sunday.
