- Exclusive
- Gaming & wagering
Brisbane developer at centre of Star’s Hard Rock mystery
The Florida-based entertainment giant said it had not authorised its name for use, despite Star telling investors it had received a proposal.
Four executives exit Bunnings amid ‘reshaping’ of top management
Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider has overhauled his top management team, but he says it’s not part of a cost-cutting blitz.
Cost-cutting advisers the bright spot in professional services
Advisers are being increasingly asked to conduct cost-cutting programs, from upskilling and reducing staff numbers to digitisation and automation.
Lenders move on Adgemis’ El Primo Sanchez bar
The move comes amid debt refinancing negotiations led by major lenders to the dealmaker’s hospitality empire.
Billionaire MinRes boss hits back at Dutton
Chris Ellison says tax credits to help build a critical minerals industry that will be around for decades are of high value to Australia, and the Coalition is on the wrong side of history.
Macquarie says there is a 50pc chance of recession this year
The group’s economist Sophie Photios said the economy was like a “masquerade”, where immigration had masked it going backwards in per person terms.
Four listed fintechs say they’ll be smashed by credit report rules
Plenti, MoneyMe, Harmoney and Wisr allege major banks are conspiring against them by restricting access to crucial credit file data they use to price loans.
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tuesday tech
Corporate regulation is not as bland as AI thinks: Longo
ASIC asked a generative AI program to summarise reams of documents as a test. The results were more boring than the originals.
Scarlett Johansson takes on Sam Altman over ‘eerily’ similar AI voice
The Hollywood actor says she was “shocked” by the use of a voice “eerily similar” to her own in the latest worry for the ChatGPT maker.
Microsoft fights back against Apple with AI laptops
Microsoft says it now has laptops that can match Apple for battery life as well as performance. Plus, they have AI.
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Big win for Square Peg as Nvidia buys AI start-up Deci
The Melbourne VC firm will soon be toasting a rich profit on its investment in an Israeli AI start-up, when it is acquired by chip titan Nvidia for $447 million.
How business websites will have to change for Google’s AI era
Enterprises hoping to attract the attention of the search engine’s Gemini platform will need short, punchy web pages, says a digital advertising expert.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Mobile users face price rises as Telstra swings the axe
Telstra customers could be hit with above-inflation price increases for mobile phone plans, as well as higher internet fees, as the telecommunications giant slashes costs.
Zip’s Larry Diamond returning to Sydney, says US mission accomplished
Diamond says he heeded warnings from James Gorman, setting Zip onto a profitable path in the US, where he expects BNPL to keep winning share off credit cards.
ALS CEO gave up $6m bonus after backlash
The former chief executive relinquished up to $6 million in potential bonuses following a shareholder backlash against pay at the Brisbane-based testing giant.
- Exclusive
- Consulting
Accenture set to buy Partners in Performance
Consulting firm Accenture is set to acquire Partners in Performance, in the most significant consulting market deal in nearly five years.
James Hardie in $3.5b wipeout on weaker housing outlook
The share price slumped 14.8 per cent, with CEO Aaron Erter expecting volumes to fall by about 5 per cent in Australia in what he calls a “very challenging” market.
Better slot access at Sydney might have saved Bonza, says regulator
The ACCC warns that regional travellers risk being left behind by the entrenched duopoly of Qantas and Virgin Australia.
Alcoa amends bid for Alumina to suit China’s CITIC
Alcoa has already secured the support of Alumina’s biggest Australian shareholder, Allan Gray, but No.2 shareholder CITIC remains elusive.
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Markets
VGI founder Robert Luciano pulls millions from Regal-owned funds
The high-profile stock picker has sold stakes in the funds managed by Phil King after registering a new venture last month.
Trillion-dollar fund managers pile money into Asia, emerging markets
Schroders is bullish on European and Japanese equities, and Blackrock has gone overweight on emerging markets for the first time since 2020.
ASX slips as James Hardie craters, BHP climbs ahead of bid deadline
Shares ease; Telstra eyes AI; Sonic profit warning; James Hardie misses consensus; Hard Rock denies Star offer claims; cryptos surge. Follow updates here.
Crypto lifted by ether’s biggest jump since 2022 on ETF hope
Social media is alive with speculation that the US regulator may be warming to the idea of an ether exchange-traded fund.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Nine signs there’s a ‘mini melt-up’ on the ASX – and 12 stocks to buy
UBS strategist Richard Schellbach says Wall Street’s relentless grind higher will inevitably flow through to the ASX, and has picked some local stocks to watch.
Opinion
From euphoria to subsidies to kick-start the next great mining hopes
An Australian mining industry more used to being threatened by super-profit tax raids is being offered handouts to kick-start its way into the low carbon era.
Editorial
Gas industry hawks its carbon credentials
Barrow Island and its inhabitants of kangaroos, perentie lizards and rare native fauna is also home to the world’s largest dedicated carbon capture and storage project.
Columnist
Why you can’t argue the $300 energy rebate will lower inflation
Energy bill relief increases real disposable income and boosts aggregate demand. We can debate how far they push inflation, but not that the direction is up.
Economist
Arrest warrants huge blow for Israel and massive gamble by ICC
The question of how the US president responds to this, along with Congress, now becomes critical.
Columnist
Hamas’ defeat, helping Ukraine win, best for West
The sooner Israel defeats Hamas, the better. And also the sooner the US focuses attention on helping Ukraine win the war, the better.
Editorial
Why WA loves the critical minerals budget boost
Peter Dutton’s refusal to endorse Labor’s plan for production tax credits for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen won’t make him popular in must-win seats in Western Australia.
Columnist
Reports
The future of financial advice
This special report looks at options to make financial advice more accessible and affordable, including robo-advice.
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Labor premiers leave Miles on his own with Dutton on immigration
Former treasurer Wayne Swan has accused Peter Dutton of “dog whistling on migration”.
Households tipped to save 80pc of stage three tax cuts
The RBA board has “limited tolerance” for inflation remaining above the mid-point of its target band beyond 2026, but the latest Westpac consumer sentiment survey suggests that might not be a problem.
- Exclusive
- Income tax
ATO freezes former Young Rich Lister’s muscle cars, mansion
The flamboyant accountant Steve Di Petta, who has a penchant for Ford Mustangs, is facing allegations he and his wife owe the Tax Office over $3 million.
Nearly 46 hours a month to read all privacy policies: study
Australians would spend nearly 46 hours a month reading all the privacy policies they encounter, according to a new report into data firms.
Risk of summer blackouts in NSW, Victoria rises
Power users face an increased risk of summer shortages in NSW and Victoria due to delays in transmission lines and renewable projects, and large users may need to switch off plants to avoid blackouts.
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World
First Aussies home from riot-hit New Caledonia after RAAF rescue
French authorities have given permission for evacuation flights to take off and land in Noumea.
PM’s refusal to slap down international court ‘tarnishes’ Australia
Jewish groups and Peter Dutton say Anthony Albanese should join the US and condemn the International Criminal Court’s pursuit of Benjamin Netanyahu over war crimes.
- Opinion
- US election
Seven theories of why Biden is losing
The US president is running like he’s winning, which he isn’t. From his age to economic management, voters are turning off the Democrats’ nominee, writes Ezra Klein.
Iran moves to project stability after fatal air crash
The change in leadership comes during heightened tensions in the region and discontent in Iran, where many have called for an end to decades of repressive rule.
Political bombshell hits Israel’s leaders over Gaza war
The application by the ICC prosecutor for the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu is loaded with symbolic and practical implications.
Property
- Exclusive
- Hotels
Collins Street tower to appeal to return-to-office ‘boltholers’
Developer Sterling Global believes corporate high-flyers commuting into town from regional locations on a more regular basis will want a CBD bolthole.
Accor readies Melbourne Airport hotel and co-working hub for take-off
The hotel offering of 464 rooms across two Accor brands – a Novotel and ibis Styles – will include a two-level co-working hub when it opens on July 1.
- Exclusive
- Retail property
UBS bets on co-working and bowling to fix troubled Melbourne mall
UBS has secured two big tenancies for St Collins Lane, an arcade in the Melbourne CBD that has been one of the city’s worst performing malls for years.
- Exclusive
- Industrial
ISPT to put $250m of logistics sites on the market
The super fund investor is trying to turn around its flagship fund by selling three industrial sites. It plans to recycle that capital into larger sites.
Fund manager busy buying assets in a struggling office market
Brisbane-based Exceed Capital has snared its second office building in nine months and is now circling bigger CBD assets
Wealth
- Opinion
- Cash
Why holding too much cash can be harmful to your wealth
As a standalone asset class cash has long underperformed bonds, property, and shares.
‘I lost my 95-year-old mother’s $1.6m life savings to scammers’
Great-grandmother Elaine Spring is ‘too frail’ to be told that the proceeds of the sale of the family home are gone.
JobSeeker, JobKeeper cut wealth inequality
Lower-income households benefited the most from early COVID government payments, but higher-income households had the greatest gains in the recovery.
Technology
- Exclusive
- Funding
NSW surgeons bet they can beat investment bankers with VC fund
Two surgeons behind a new $50 million venture capital fund based in Bowral, NSW, have launched a new venture capital fund.
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Why the iPad Pro still hasn’t made itself useful enough
Apple’s latest tablet is undoubtedly one the greatest feats of computer hardware engineering ever. But what about its software?
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Government-backed green tech firm goes broke, gets acquired for $5m
Scipher Technologies, an e-waste processor that the government invested $15 million in, has been bought for $5 million after it entered administration in March.
Work & Careers
Academics seek pay for emails out of hours
A major union is using Labor’s new right to disconnect laws to scrap a “common practice” where casual academics do not get separately paid to be contacted outside of hours.
- Exclusive
- Insolvency
Doctors owed millions in collapse of service provider
The Melbourne-headquartered eReports allegedly failed to disclose $7.2 million owed to more than 400 specialists before calling in administrators.
Life & Luxury
Pirates, pampering, rum bars and more - the Caribbean has it all
The region has many drawcards in addition to its famous white-sand beaches and azure waters. Norwegian Cruise Line offers a tantalising taster.
How to quit the treadmill and travel for six months – yes really
We all crave time out from routine and life stress to discover a different, more peaceful world. Here’s how one Australian couple pulled off “the impossible”.
This week’s edit of lovely luxuries for travellers at heart
From seasoned adventurers to those just looking for a short break away from home, we have inspired suggestions for you.
How to lose yourself in the wild without getting lost
Having wireless communications with you when there’s no mobile reception isn’t just about making adventure travel more social. It’s safer, too.
What five common sweeteners are really doing to your body
New research has revived fears about whether sweeteners cause health problems.
