If your business is turning inspiration into innovation, it’s time to be recognised.
Inside Project Constantine, the plan to sell Perpetual
Soul Patts’ $3 billion offer for the asset manager set the stage for whirlwind negotiations and accelerated a sale that private equity firms had eyed for years.
- Exclusive
- Tax avoidance
Lendlease hit with $112m tax bill over retirement business
The property group has been hit with an initial $112 million bill from the Tax Office, in a dispute that could ultimately cost it more than $300 million.
- Exclusive
- Antisemitism
Lowy’s lament: ‘I know how insidious antisemitism can be’
Sir Frank Lowy experienced hatred against Jews first hand in Hitler’s Europe, and is shaken by what he now sees “leaking out of decent people” in Australia.
Greens demand $2m threshold for super wealth tax
The Greens have a new list of demands in exchange for their support on Labor’s new tax on high balance super accounts.
Trade partners applaud gas certainty as trouble brews for Labor at home
Gas, not wishful thinking, is needed to get to net zero, says Anthony Albanese.
Confession season kick-off fails to derail ASX run
Fund managers say this year’s Macquarie Australia Conference was among the least eventful in recent memory – and that may be a good sign for investors.
CFMEU in ‘open defiance’ of the law: judges
Federal Court judges said the CFMEU “simply regards itself as free to disobey the law” and 25 years of fines have done nothing to stop it.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
review
- Analysis
- Banking products
Good banks today want to be seen as boring
Regional US financial institutions are promoting themselves as stodgy, stuffy and dull in response to industry failures.
- Analysis
- EU
Europe’s far right is becoming mainstream
Anti-immigration parties with fascist roots, and an unclear commitment to democracy, are emerging as Europe’s new leaders, the New York Times reports.
- Opinion
- USA
Campus protests may help Donald Trump win
History suggests the intellectual conformism sweeping university life could trigger a popular backlash that ends in conservative rule.
- Opinion
- Legal industry
How the US Supreme Court became a political organisation
When judges make decisions that should be left to politicians, they undermine democracy.
- Analysis
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Can the ICC actually arrest Benjamin Netanyahu?
The International Criminal Court is entitled to judge Israeli and Hamas officials, writes one of its former presidents.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
CBA victory shows tide is turning on shareholder claims
The decision is more proof that shareholder claims are no longer a lay-down misere, lawyers say.
Bonza in talks with six buyers despite owing $100m and losing planes
Creditors of the collapsed budget airline were told that it owed more than $100 million to backers, customers and staff after going under late last month.
Investors urge caution as Rio Tinto eyes BHP’s $60b Anglo bid
Rio Tinto should not challenge BHP for control of Anglo American, and should instead target smaller lithium and copper producers, a major investor says.
- Updated
- Earnings season
Life360 reheats plans to target US investors with Nasdaq listing
The ASX-listed, San Francisco-based family-tracking app does not expect to raise more than $US100 million. It had considered a similar move in 2021.
BHP’s Anglo American bid clouds Rinehart-backed potash project
The miner had been in talks about selling a big stake in the fertiliser development amid a plunge in prices linked to higher exports from Russia and Belarus.
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
Tesla slashes jobs in Australian charging team
The company’s global cuts have come to Australia, with staff laid off and at least one charger location cancelled.
Stokes’ anti-AFR price rise could breach competition law: Samuel
Billionaire Kerry Stokes has faced political criticism – and calls for an ACCC investigation – for forcing The Australian Financial Review print edition out of his home state of WA.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
Energy pushes ASX higher, Life360 falters
Shares lift; Suncorp homeloans up; QBE premium increases help results; Helia in $100 million share buyback, Upbeat outlook for St Barbara.
Crypto miner spruiked 16pc returns for five years without a licence
A Gold Coast cryptocurrency miner was authorised to provide financial services for less than seven months despite operating for six years.
Cabal of industry super funds, led by investors, weighed ASX takeover
The ASX is an essential piece of infrastructure, and has a quasi-monopoly position, a description that would fit Sydney Airport, for instance, which went private in a $23.6 billion takeover.
Iron ore’s big China property problem isn’t going away
Pockets of strength in the Chinese steel market have boosted the raw material after a plunge below $US100 a tonne early last month but investors are cautious.
Bank of England boss ‘optimistic’ interest rate cuts are coming
The BoE left its benchmark unchanged at 5.25 per cent, but the UK economy is looking ripe for a rate cut.
Opinion
Budget week is time for Dutton to roll a few Jaffas down the aisle
In the same week Peter Dutton went in to bat for the koalas, Labor flew the flag for gas.
Political editor
RBA’s credibility at risk as central banks confront interference
Alleging neutrality while considering lifting rates seems contradictory.
Columnist
GST and gas show a government that’s still out of tune
A huge GST handout to WA and a report that gives a free pass to the state’s gas industry show how far parochial toadying in the west will go.
Columnist
China’s grim pattern in South China Sea needs a collective response
A quiet tussle is going on over China’s ambitions to control all of its neighbouring seas. Affected countries need to unite before China miscalculates.
Defence expert
Sad halting of the press in WA
The Australian Financial Review has built a publishing model based on premium digital subscriptions. But it is still sad that from May 22, no one in Western Australia will be able to read a hard copy version.
Editorial
Half-priced detergent every few weeks? Shoppers can smell a rat
Deep food and grocery discounts have become increasingly popular with consumers, but the cost is unfairly borne by suppliers, prompting calls for change.
Columnist
Reports
BOSS Best Places to Work
The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.
Politics
Australia considers voting yes on Palestine’s UN bid
Penny Wong says abstaining is a common diplomatic practice, amid pressure to admit Palestine as a United Nations member.
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
RBA board split in doubt as Libs dig in
The impasse between Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor means the new RBA interest rate setting board will not be up and running by its planned start date of July 1.
‘Unprecedented’ migration blamed for jump in WA spending
Treasurer says the state government had been forced to spend more on education, housing and healthcare after 95,000 people moved to WA last year.
High Court hands Labor rare win on immigration detention
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles welcomed the ruling in the case of the man known as ASF17, who says he would face persecution if he was sent back to Iran.
- Analysis
- Immigration
No more gaming the system, says High Court
The High Court has sent a clear message: those “manipulating the system” won’t be rewarded with a get-out-of-detention free card.
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World
Japan’s energy giants applaud Australia’s ‘clear’ gas plan
Japanese energy giant Inpex said the Albanese government’s new gas strategy shows Australia’s role as a “reliable and trusted” partner.
Anglo’s South African investors open to improved BHP bid
The shareholder stance defies South African government hostility to the plan that would break up the national champion.
Chinese debt trap diplomacy blamed for grounding Vanuatu airline
Air Vanuatu has gone into voluntary liquidation, putting pressure on the Albanese government to bail out the national carrier.
‘We’ll fight with our fingernails’: Netanyahu hits back at Biden
The Israeli prime minister defiantly says the country is prepared to stand alone if necessary if it attacks Rafah to further its destruction of Hamas.
- Analysis
- US election
Trump’s long week in court as election looms
Stormy Daniels’ allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump set the courtroom alight this week. How they play into his election chances is unclear.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
AI pioneers pay $12.45m for harbourside penthouse
Appen founders Chris and Julie Vonwiller have joined a trend of “discerning down-sizers” seeking large apartments.
Simon and Catriona Mordant shoot for record with $16m trophy weekender
The Sydney power couple have listed their Clareville waterfront, which is expected to reset the suburb record.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Liberman family to sell $17m Toorak ‘treehouse’
A glass and steel modernist retreat designed by Robin Boyd has joined Toorak’s prestige market with a guide of $15.9 million to $17 million.
Westfield Bondi owner says shoppers are back after horror attack
Scentre chief executive Elliott Rusanow said the mall operator had increased security spending as it returned to a “different” normal after the fatal attack.
- Analysis
- Renting
Why Australia’s long-suffering renters are not alone
Rents are soaring not only in Australia but also in the US, UK and Canada, preventing inflation from declining closer to central banks’ targeted levels.
Wealth
ASIC finds super funds still charging fees for no service
Super funds are obliged to ensure members are only charged for financial advice they actually receive but not all are doing so.
A smarter way to tax high super balances
The government has tried to keep things simple, but in doing so fairness has gone out the window.
Coalition to oppose ‘sophisticated investor’ test overhaul
Labor is grappling with backlash from the start-up sector over calls to limit access to venture capital to investors worth more than $4.5 million.
Technology
15 minutes to get around X’s stabbing video ban, court hears
Lawyers for the social network argued that they had complied with a government take-down notice, which they said was invalid, by blocking footage in Australia.
- Opinion
- Tech Observed
Apple ad fail shows why we fear AI
Apple has apologised for an ad for its new iPads that was so tone-deaf that the creative types, who normally love the company, had an existential fright.
Farmers’ software start-up raises $11m with profitability promise
The Funded blog is the home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.
Work & Careers
Why so many top executives start in accounting, consulting
BOSS delves into the career paths of the senior executives at Australia’s 20 biggest companies to discover where they started – and the critical skills and experience they gained.
Love or money? What to tell kids about career choice
Do you tell them to do what they love or urge them to become a doctor, accountant or a lawyer because it will provide financial security?
Life & Luxury
When business comes to dine: Fin Dining & Wine launches at Bennelong
The Financial Review’s first restaurant guide features 50 of the best business lunches across Australia, helmed by Jill Dupleix with wine tips from Max Allen.
This luxury spa in India costs $17k for five nights. Is it worth it?
We road-test celebrity magnet Ananda Spa in the Himalayas.
How to host a business lunch
The lowdown on what to do – and what not to do – from three hosts who are legends in their own business lunch times.
The world’s wiliest climate warrior? It’s not who you think
International Energy Agency boss Fatih Birol, a lifelong bureaucrat with roots in the oil industry, has made the net zero transition a personal mission.
Cult tailor Patrick Johnson opens stupendous new Sydney showroom
Ballroom blitz: A grand building, and a touch of dirty pink, has resulted in a suitably spiffy new CBD space.
