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Opinion

Chanticleer

Today

Departures lounge: Perpetual chairman Tony D’Aloisio and chief executive Rob Adams.

How 138-year-old Perpetual came unstuck

It is a sad day for Australian funds management. The Perpetual equities team, which stood up to Woolworths, Crown, Brambles, Ramsay and IAG will have to find a new name.

  • Updated
  • Anthony Macdonald
Goodman Group CEO Greg Goodman says the company is enmeshed in the AI ecosystem.

How Goodman Group’s data centre dream could be super-sized

The next generation of data centres will require even more land. That’s something Greg Goodman says his group can provide. 

  • James Thomson
Jon Gray says the investment themes of AI, energy and private credit are colliding.

Blackstone’s Jon Gray reveals ‘defining theme for the next decade’

The Wall Street titan says three megatrends that have driven Blackstone to $1.9 trillion in assets under management are now combining in a unique way. 

  • James Thomson
Stanley Druckenmiller says the Fed set financial conditons on fire at exactly the wrong time.

‘I’m not Buffett’: Druckenmiller on Nvidia, Trump and the Fed’s error

Wall Street legend Stan Druckenmiller has profited from the Federal Reserve’s dovish pivot, though he says it could get harder for investors to time AI’s boom.

  • James Thomson

Yesterday

Orora went big with an offshore M&A deal right as its core business was softening.

The chart that gives Goldman confidence M&A is on the up

Be wary of bankers talking deal pipelines. But what you can rely on them for is a good chart. Goldman Sachs’ M&A boss Marissa Freund didn’t disappoint.

  • Updated
  • Anthony Macdonald
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The unemployment data re-enforces why RBA governor Michele Bullock sounds so cautious about the prospect of rate cuts.

RBA is still betting on Goldilocks. Investors shouldn’t follow suit

With the ASX 200 back near record levels, investors are betting Michele Bullock is right on a soft landing. But with uncertainty high, a more all-weather approach looks sensible.

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  • James Thomson
Shayne Elliott says ANZ can pursue growth and return capital to investors at the same time.

The sneaky bad news in the banks’ $4.5b buyback bonanza

ANZ joined the bank buyback party on Tuesday. Investors love getting excess capital back, but do these buybacks show the banks are short of growth options?

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  • James Thomson
Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake’s a hard act to beat.

The four key themes dominating Macquarie’s talkfest

Macquarie chief Shemara Wikramanayake is the perfect person to open the biggest investor conference of the year with the last of her issues a sleeper for a lot of us in Australia.

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  • Anthony Macdonald
Ken Moelis says Jay Powell won’t want to be seen to be involved in politics.

Ken Moelis on Trump, interest rates and Ozempic

The billionaire investment banker thinks Donald Trump has his nose in front in the US presidential race, and that could have ramifications for interest rates. 

  • James Thomson

This Month

Transurban’s CEO Michelle Jablko is six months into the top job.

Transurban’s buying and building days not done yet

Investors would have reacted much more strongly to any sort of distribution guidance. Instead, Transurban’s Michelle Jablko gave them the long road to value creation.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Westpac CEO Peter King says the banking sector has competed away three rate rises.

Westpac shows how banks are mortgage war casualties

Peter King says Westpac is hunting growth. But he won’t find it in old-fashioned mortgages and deposits, where returns have been brutally competed away. 

  • James Thomson
NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue is a known quantity; that’s important for his new employer Optus.

Fresh meat in the Optus sandwich promised a helping hand

Optus and its owner, Singtel, have made governance changes to try to make the incoming CEO’s job easier. We’ll wait to see the proof.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has ticked off another milestone on her turnaround plan.

Admitting Qantas’ ‘ghost flight’ misconduct is a win for Hudson

Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has taken the pragmatic approach of fessing up to the ACCC and ending the so-called ‘ghost flights’ case. It’s another step in her rebuild.

  • James Thomson
Protests at Columbia and other universities have turned nasty.

Macquarie guru Viktor Shvets says mind the generation gap

The pro-Palestine protests at university campuses around the world are a symbol of the generational transition under way. Investors should be ready.

  • James Thomson
The Star Sydney is the centre of an inquiry that threatens to destabilise its owner.

Blood in the water: Star needs a CEO to stop sharks tearing it apart

Star’s board, beaten and bruised, has a short window to try to keep the entity together. If it misses this, sharks will move in. They’re already circling.

  • Updated
  • Anthony Macdonald
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The banks balance sheets are sitting pretty, paving the way for returns to shareholders.

Big banks hand out the treats to keep investors sweet

The banks have a few lollies for shareholders. NAB’s was capital management, Westpac is likely to follow suit.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Shemara Wikramanayake is confident in Macquarie’s outlook after a tough year.

Why Wikramanayake says a tough year proves Macquarie’s growth story

Investors have been looking past the group’s big profit drop and betting that the drought in renewable energy asset sales will end. But the rebound may be bumpy. 

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  • James Thomson
NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine is promising strategy tweaks rather than pivots.

New NAB boss Andrew Irvine on trust, banker pay and client weddings

Andrew Irvine has inherited a solid strategy, but five weeks into the job he’s not afraid to weigh in on tough issues such as banker bonuses and regulatory creep.

  • James Thomson
Rob Scott’s portfolio of businesses at Wesfarmers is constantly evolving. The spotlight is on its digital, health and lithium moves.

Wesfarmers sprays growth bets, waiting for payoff

Wesfarmers’ hefty businesses proved their resilience in the pandemic. Now, with shares breaking $65 for the first time, Rob Scott needs us to think about growth. 

  • Updated
  • Anthony Macdonald
Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci is facing three big problems.

Woolies’ reputational crisis has cost it $8b and counting

The supermarket giant has aggressively brought down prices, but its sales are growing far more slowly than its great rival. That’s a serious problem. 

  • James Thomson