Skip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footerHelp using this website - Accessibility statement
Advertisement
AUDUSD0.6648
0.0024 (0.37%)0.37%
S&P/ASX 2007,763.00
36.20 (0.47%)0.47%
All Ords8,030.40
34.70 (0.43%)0.43%
NZX 504,391.29
-26.44 (-0.60%)-0.60%
Hang Seng19,073.71
-41.35 (-0.22%)-0.22%
Nikkei38,576.09
220.03 (0.57%)0.57%
View all
BHP chief executive Mike Henry is taking is takeover pitch to Anglo investors.

Why BHP’s hopes of buying Anglo American are fading fast

BHP boss Mike Henry has taken his takeover pitch directly to Anglo American investors. But the hurdles to this bid are multiplying, and time is running out.

Australia needs a huge influx of skilled foreign workers.

Wages grow at slowest pace in more than a year

Wages growth slowed for a second consecutive quarter in March, to 0.8 per cent, and economists tipped further easing that lowers the chances of an interest rate rise soon.

AFR GIF - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers in-between television interviews at Parliament House in Canberra

‘I don’t see this budget in political terms’: Chalmers

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has denied that the budget, which offered tax cuts and energy bill relief, is geared toward driving an early election campaign. Follow updates live.

Miners hail tax credits but Coalition to block it

Australia’s critical minerals industry has hailed $13.7 billion in budget tax credits at the same time as the Coalition has vowed to block the policy claiming it will deliver “billions to billionaires”.

ASX gains as BHP, mining stocks advance

Shares rally after budget as BHP jumps; AACo swings to a loss; Iress reveals data leak; CSR hit by energy costs; Q1 wages cool more than expected. Follow updates here.

Prezzee co-founder quits Shaun Bonett-owned gift card company

Claire Morris is leaving the group, and resigning as its brand ambassador. It follows a string of senior executive departures in the last 18 months.

Victorian parliament bans MPs from wearing keffiyeh

Victoria has joined a Canadian province in becoming one of the few parliaments in the world to ban MPs from wearing the keffiyeh.

Advertisement

FEDERAL BUDGET

Spending addiction fuels a new decade of deficits

This pre-election budget includes $300 in power bill discounts for every household, $1.9 billion in rent assistance and $14 billion in tax credits for critical mineral miners and green hydrogen producers.

Fortescue’s energy boss Mark Hutchinson.

‘Back in the game’: Hydrogen sector celebrates from afar

Almost 50 Australian companies were in Rotterdam for the World Hydrogen Summit. When news of the budget bonanza came through, the reaction was ecstatic.

A beach house in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Holiday homeowners to get $600 in power bill discounts

Holiday and second homeowners will receive multiple $300 energy bill credits, after the government said all households would automatically receive the benefit.

‘Higher costs, more taxes’: Business warns budget could fuel inflation

Business has warned the third Chalmers budget could add to inflation, and urged the government to rein in spending to prevent a decade of deficits.

Labor’s $24b green energy superpower bet

The government has made a multi-billion dollar bet on renewable energy powered by hydrogen, critical minerals processing and commodity exports.

budget analysis

Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock.

There’s an $80b spending bomb buried in the budget

The people who should be most worried about this profligate pre-election budget are Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock and home borrowers, writes John Kehoe.

A better than expected economy, lower than forecast unemployment, and sticker than wanted inflation set up a diabolical task for Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ third budget in May.

This is the most irresponsible budget in recent memory

The government set itself a simple standard: not to make the Reserve Bank’s job harder. Michele Bullock may just choke on her cornflakes, writes Steven Hamilton.

Looser budget policy from Jim Chalmers means interest rates will stay higher for longer, or even rise.

Why economists hate the $300 energy rebate

This is a budget that acknowledges the government is facing a mountain of problems that cannot be solved any time soon, writes Laura Tingle.

Forget policy, Albonomics is all politics

The budget is just more hard proof that Australia has not elected a government driven by policy since Kevin Rudd’s Labor in 2007, writes Richard Holden.

This budget won’t be a catalyst for rate cuts

When setting monetary policy, the RBA will look through temporary factors impacting prices to understand the underlying trend for inflation within the economy, writes Warren Hogan.

Features include the ability to save articles, dark mode and real time notifications.

Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.

Find out more

Companies

CSR chief executive Julie Coates says Gyprock, Bradford and Hebel are the company’s key brands.

Aluminium losses hit CSR ahead of Saint-Gobain $4.3b buyout

Shareholders will vote next month on the bid from Saint-Gobain, which must wrestle with a loss-making aluminium business hit hard by high energy costs.

BHP chief Mike Henry says the Anglo plan “perhaps gives shareholders greater clarity about the choices they have at hand”.

BHP says Anglo American demerger plan vindicates takeover structure

The London-listed miner will sell or shut assets except those producing copper, iron ore and crop nutrients as it hopes to see off its Australian suitor.

UTA’s portfolio includes a stake in TransGrid, Australia’s biggest poles-and-wires company.

Eyes on Transgrid as super funds bail out of $8b infra fund UTA

Sources say Aware Super has hired Campbell Lutyens, a specialist in moving illiquid investments for institutional investors, to shop a $600 million stake.

Justice Robert Beech-Jones.

Judge chides critics who want to ‘regulate class actions out of existence’

The newest member of the High Court, Justice Robert Beech-Jones, also gave qualified support to competition between courts.

Anglo American to sell Queensland coal in big shrink, spurning BHP

Anglo American will sell or shut everything except its copper, iron ore and potash mines as part of a strategy to dodge BHP’s advances.

Arena to receive $5.1b to back renewable energy

A big winner is the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, a body threatened with abolition a decade ago.

Optus denies ‘cloaking’ Deloitte report on 2022 cyberattack

A press release published after Optus’s 2022 cyberattack had legal purposes, even though they were never mentioned, Optus has argued in a court appeal.

Companies in the News

Search companies

View stories and data from an ASX listed company

Markets

Retail stocks will be among the biggest beneficiaries from the budget.

ASX retail, property stocks to rally from budget boost

The “inflationary” tones from the federal budget could provide a fresh tailwind for the sharemarket, especially for retail and real estate stocks, according to brokers.

Higher producer prices may raise concerns on Wall Street.

Producer prices leap as US inflation remains sticky

The unexpectedly high readings may raise concerns on Wall Street and in the Federal Reserve.

Exchange-traded funds continue to be popular with investors seeking a cheap way to diversify their portfolios.

Australian ETF winners had returns as high as 153pc

US megacap tech stocks and cryptocurrencies proved profitable investments in the last year, according to the latest top-performing ETF data – alongside some other surprise standouts.

Investors weigh whether to chase China’s new bull market

The 27 per cent surge in Chinese stocks this year continues to wrong-foot many asset managers, but some are cashing in following a disappointing few years.

What happened overnight? US markets rallied on megacap techs

Australian shares were set to advance. Budget details in focus. Nasdaq broke its closing record high. Meme stocks extended their surge. Bitcoin struggled.

Opinion

Chalmers crumbles and gives up spending restraint

Jim Chalmers is like a bloke who successfully dieted for two years but crumbled after someone shoved a bucket of KFC under his nose.

Phillip Coorey

Political editor

Phillip Coorey

Budget spending spree that locks in a decade of deficits

Given all the good luck since coming to office, there are no excuses for Labor not running successive substantial surpluses to repair the budget buffers and start repaying the pandemic debt at this point in the cycle.

The AFR View

Editorial

The AFR View

Chalmers’ Made in Australia is just a drop in the bucket

The new strategy is just a drop in the bucket compared with the US, and taxpayers can be relieved that the treasurer has been remarkably frugal in its funding.

Karen Maley

Columnist

Karen Maley

Why the student protests make me optimistic about the future

If there is any failure in Australian universities it more likely lies with administrators, rather than student bodies.

Adir Shiffman

Columnist

Adir Shiffman

Gas critics are signing up for coal and candles

The climate movement needs to ask itself what is worse: gas in the new energy mix, or coal that lingers for longer.

Craig Emerson

Former Labor minister and economist

Craig Emerson

The costs of the future still start adding up today

Jim Chalmers is betting he can get the balance right between curbing inflation in the short term while promoting growth in the longer term.

Reports

BOSS Best Places to Work

The awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.

Advertisement

Politics

TikTok says it co-operated with the Tax Office to permanently ban more than 60 accounts that promoted GST fraud.

Tax fraud, capital gains tax crackdown to raise $3.3b

The budget includes a broad crackdown on tax fraud, the shadow economy and the avoidance of capital gains tax by foreign residents, which Labor hopes will raise $3.3 billion.

Australia’s debt interest cost set to surge.

Decade of deficits to spark debt interest surge

While Treasurer Jim Chalmers was spruiking debt in 2023-24 being $904 billion, gross debt is forecast to rise sharply in the years ahead.

The budget in five key charts

The five key graphs to understand the government’s latest federal budget.

ASIC staff motivation, satisfaction, stress hit critical levels

A confidential staff survey made public through a Senate inquiry on Tuesday showed the regulator had just two out of 12 outcomes at average or desirable levels.

War crimes whistleblower jailed for nearly six years

David McBride, who leaked documents that revealed allegations Australian soldiers committed war crimes, will spend at least two years and three months behind bars.

SPONSORED

World

‘Dear friends’ Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in 2019.

Putin to meet ‘dear friend’ Xi in China, defying US

The Russian president is set to arrive in Beijing, underlining the key relationship as China faces growing US pressure to curtail support for the war in Ukraine.

Lithium mining in Western Australia. New US levies on Chinese exports could provide long-term support for Australian producers.

New US tariffs on China could help Australian critical minerals

It’s not just the federal budget that could boost Australia’s critical minerals exports, but also a new round of US tariffs on Chinese imports.

Bidzina Ivanishvili: Few would have predicted that the man who set Georgia on course for European integration would be the one to steer it towards the Kremlin’s embrace.

The reclusive billionaire turning Georgia towards the Kremlin

Georgia’s former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has returned to politics for a third time, and is taking a risk by supporting an inflammatory new law.

Biden ramps up tariff regime on $27b of China imports

Following a four-year review on trade with China, US President Joe Biden will not only keep the tariffs put in place by Donald Trump, but ratchet up others.

Why this Trump acolyte is key to finding some of Greensill’s billions

The fight to recover funds owed to Credit Suisse clients has landed with West Virginia coal baron and senate hopeful Jim Justice and a small Virginia bank.

Property

The golf course could support a $1 billion housing estate.

Former AFL star pays $190m for Cranbourne Golf Course

The 70-hectare site in Melbourne’s south-east will support up to 1500 new homes with an end value of about $1 billion.

Why would anyone want to invest in Melbourne’s housing market?

Some experts are predicting Melbourne’s housing market to bounce back strongly in the next two years, but others warn about getting in too early.

Retiring Reece chair lists $12m family mansion in South Yarra

Melbourne-based Reece chair Tim Poole and his wife Jane have listed their South Yarra home, Atherley, after 24 years owning the Italianate mansion.

For $490 million, last private land in Arctic archipelago can be yours

The massive tract of land could be an investment project for a high-net-worth individual looking to make an impact as an environmentalist.

Demand for housing and sheds to drive Frasers forward

Frasers’ booming Australian residential and industrial businesses will help drive profits at the Singaporean giant, after they fell at the half-year stage.

Advertisement

Wealth

First time home buyer Joanne Kim says she wouldn’t have made it in without being able to live at home for years.

Forget Boomers. Millennials, your next landlord could be a best mate

For decades, Millennials and Generation Z have blamed Baby Boomers for locking them out of the housing market. But what happens when wealthy Boomers start to give their kids cash?

From babies to Boomers: what’s in the budget for you

The 2024 federal budget includes power bill relief, more training places and additional rent assistance.

Super on parental leave adds $4250 to retirement balance

The government will also spend $55.6 million over four years to establish the Building Women’s Careers program.

Technology

Google steals OpenAI’s thunder with something 15 times bigger

The new version of Gemini can write poems about objects it’s seen, or even tell the user where it last saw her glasses.

Smartphone sales are soaring in Afghanistan.

For the Taliban, Afghans’ best status symbol is a $2120 iPhone

Commerce is thriving for some entrepreneurs despite the difficulties imposed by the country’s rulers.

Elon Musk scored a win over Anthony Albanese in the local Federal Court.

Judge rebukes ‘clear case’ of government overreach on stabbing video

A Federal Court judge said a global ban would not be a “reasonable” step and would likely be ignored by other countries.

Work & Careers

Grant Thornton senior manager Priscilla Ly says she’s proud of her employer for introducing a nine-day fortnight.

Grant Thornton adopts nine-day fortnight, but staff have to earn it

The accounting firm’s year-long trial coincided with record productivity, employee retention and profits.

Why this event maestro takes a bath every single morning

Katerina Grant is the founder and director of The World Of, an events agency that produces experiences for clients such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Tommy Hilfiger.

Advertisement

Life & Luxury

To make Furiosa her own, Anya Taylor-Joy allowed herself to be put through an emotional and physical wringer for six months.

How Anya Taylor-Joy morphed from chess nerd to action hero

Despite being the star of Furiosa, the actor’s status was cemented by a small role in another big film set in a desert.

The McLaren 750S: Zero to 100 km/h is quoted as 2.8 seconds, and 200 comes up in 7.2 seconds.

An eventful test drive of the new McLaren 750S, priced from $586k

In a nutshell, it’s a pure and precise driving experience, even on city roads (notwithstanding an ill-timed software glitch).

Joint super funds for couples has gained traction within the super industry.

Older adults are having sex – but there is an increasing downside

Experts have offered five reasons that help explain why sexually transmitted infection rates are rising among ageing people.

Free Skiing in Steamboat.

The elite US ski town that flies under the radar of many Australians

It’s the American resort that’s bred the most winter Olympians. After a $US200 million overhaul, Steamboat’s 1500 hectares across six peaks is the place to be.

Six tips for styling a room from David Flack

Incongruous and ingenious, the work of this designer has influenced interiors all over the country. Here, he takes a humble den and makes it a haven.

From the gallery