- Updated
- Mergers & acquisitions
BHP’s $75b Anglo mega deal on ice
Anglo American has rejected BHP’s request for more time to negotiate a $75 billion takeover offer, meaning the deal is off for at least six months, unless BHP lobs a formal bid by 2am. BHP is unlikely to make a bid before the deadline.
- Exclusive
- Defamation
Former PwC partner sues firm for allegedly linking him to tax scandal
Richard Gregg alleges people have shunned and avoided him because of an implication by PwC that he was involved in the tax leaks scandal, when he was not.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
BHP has lost its Anglo prize, but kept its head
BHP’s decision to go public with its pitch to solve Anglo American’s South African problems was a move designed to win an extension between the two mining giants. It failed.
‘Blaming a guest’: students slam migration cut
International students say they are being unfairly blamed for Australia’s housing crisis after the Labor government moved to clampdown on migration.
- Opinion
- Commercial real estate
Why Lendlease couldn’t grow like Westfield or Goodman
The developers’ mantra “think global, act local” makes sense but too often the offshore investments, by Lendlease and many others, have lacked discipline.
Laura Tingle rebuked by ABC for calling Australia racist
The chief political correspondent for the ABC’s 7.30 program has released a statement explaining the context for her comments describing Australia as racist.
Rob Coombe’s Generation Development Group to buy rest of Lonsec
Jefferies told investors that the acquisition would be high single-digit earnings per share accretive for the ASX-listed GDG.
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rich list
- Exclusive
- Rich List
More than half the 11 new Rich Listers are already billionaires
Two cryptocurrency giants, an under-the-radar mattress mogul, a former mechanic and an ex-NRL player are among 17 new and returning faces on this year’s Rich List.
How the Turner women are creating a legacy beyond Flight Centre
Graham Turner may have turned Flight Centre into a household name, but wife Jude and daughter Jo have a different approach to business.
What Rich Listers think about money – and what they teach their kids
Nine of Australia’s wealthiest people reflect on their journey with money and whether material success leads to a rich life.
Rich Lister Terry Snow steps away from the cockpit
At 79, the Canberra property dynamo behind Canberra Airport is finally stepping down from active roles. His son Tom will now chair the airport board.
- No. 176
- Rich List
Rich Lister Wes Maas’ three rules for business decisions
The former NRL player has built a billion-dollar company through hard work and diversification.
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Companies
Don’t believe the banks, mortgage brokers are a good deal: Jefferies
Jefferies analyst Matthew Wilson argued that “the proverbial genie was let out of the bottle” and “we doubt banks can successfully in-source this craft”.
CEOs to Labor: Cut taxes and tech investment will ramp up
Dennison Hambling of security monitoring company IMG says Australia is five to 10 years behind other countries and a corporate tax rate cut would free up capital to make bolder investments.
Fisher & Paykel leaves pandemic behind as respirator demand grows
Earlier this year, Vertium Asset Management’s Jason Teh put the New Zealand-based group on his list of turnaround prospects. Issues at its rival are helping.
Stan’s publicity chief took six-figure payout on exit
Adrian Foo left the Nine Entertainment-owned streaming service last year amid an investigation into allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct.
Payroll tax for big four partner profits, inquiry urges
A NSW upper house inquiry into consultants has called for a radical reshaping of the taxation and oversight of the major consulting firms.
News Corp unveils major restructure, with editors shown the door
The restructure is aimed at saving up to $65 million, will likely result in north of 100 redundancies, in one of the biggest overhauls of the Murdoch family’s publishing and broadcast empire in decades.
Lendlease sells US construction business days after reset
The development giant had on Monday outlined plans to progressively offload its international construction and property assets as investor unrest mounted.
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Markets
RBA ‘one bad inflation report’ away from hiking, say economists
Yields rose and equities sank on Wednesday, after another hot inflation print fanned rate rise worries among Australia’s traders and economists.
Why the big four banks keep wrong-footing the market
Investors are asking whether analysts jumped the gun by advising clients to sell bank stocks, as the lenders continue to defy bearish views on their valuations.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How to set up your portfolio for the next decade, according to Goldman
The traditional 60:40 portfolio has rallied off its deathbed thanks to surging stocks and bond yields. But Goldman Sachs says what comes next might look very different.
ASX slumps 1.3pc, BHP requests Anglo American bid extension
Shares fall; IAG sued over loyalty discounts; Fonterra boosts guidance; Ramelius with takeovers panel; Fisher & Paykel eyes profit bounce.
The AI bulls are sticking to Nvidia despite 600pc share price rally
“When people ask ‘who is the next Nvidia’? The next Apple was Apple – the next Apple, even today, is still Apple,” said Munro Partners’ stockpicker Qiao Ma.
Opinion
The grim news from soaring gold and oil prices
The gold price is up more than 20 per cent in the past 12 months, while oil is up 15 per cent. One analyst warns this is a sign of looming inflation, writes Karen Maley.
Columnist
Banks are at war with each other, not mortgage brokers
The major lenders’ market share is not being “taken” by the mortgage broking industry. It is being taken by more than 100 other lenders in the market, writes Anja Pannek.
CEO of Mortgage & Finance Association
Taxpayers are poorer without a carbon tax
Instead of imposing a carbon levy on polluters to fund big personal income tax cuts, governments are gambling taxpayer money on climate and energy projects, writes John Kehoe.
Economics editor
Why rate cuts look even further away
The latest inflation figures look like bad news for interest rates, even if the government doesn’t agree.
Columnist
Global expansion vision survives Lendlease exit
It’s a myth that Australian companies don’t do well overseas. Yet, it is hard not to be disappointed at this ebbing of an Australian company with vision in its blood from the start.
Editorial
Alex Pollak is already investing in ‘the very next’ Nvidia
A shift in where AI queries are being handled has opened up the investment field to more chipmakers, and to apps we haven’t even dreamed of yet.
Columnist
Reports
The future of financial advice
This special report looks at options to make financial advice more accessible and affordable, including robo-advice, as well as tips for the new financial year.
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Greens will demand Palestinian statehood if there’s a hung parliament
As political skirmishing over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continued, immigration officials revealed more than 60 per cent of visa applications by Gazans are being rejected.
Chalmers wrong on Husic’s corporate tax call: experts
Business leaders and tax watchers say overdue changes to corporate rates could be a good place to start a major reform push.
- Analysis
- Company tax
Competitive tensions abound on policy and ambition
Jim Chalmers wants to be Labor leader one day. Cabinet colleague Ed Husic’s public intervention on company tax policy this week shows he’ll have to work for it.
Labor revamps deportation directive to stem visa crisis
The controversial Direction 99 will be rewritten to ensure legal authorities “give weight to community safety” when hearing appeals against visa cancellations.
- Exclusive
- International students
SA premier slams migration cuts, raises alarm on innovation
Peter Malinauskas has slammed the ramped-up rhetoric around migration, and said cuts would not solve the housing crisis but would decimate research.
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World
The disease detectives trying to keep the world safe from bird flu
Frontline work in low-income countries is increasingly vital to a global system to detect viruses that jump between animals and humans, the way COVID-19 did.
Israeli tanks, combat team advance into heart of Rafah
Tanks and armoured vehicles mounted with machine guns were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a city landmark.
IMF lifts China growth forecast but warns on trade war
The International Monetary Fund said it was raising its forecast for the country’s gross domestic product growth in 2024 to 5 per cent from 4.6 per cent.
Trump tried ‘to hoodwink voters’, say prosecutors, as trials wraps up
The landmark case centred on allegations that Donald Trump and his allies conspired to stifle potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Key clients desert PwC China as big four rivals circle
The accounting firm is under a cloud over audits of the distressed property developer Evergrande, and it faces severe penalties.
Property
Interstate buyers drive $600k rise in new Gold Coast apartment prices
Interstate investors drove the average price of a Gold Coast apartment purchased off-the-plan to $1.73 million in the March quarter.
Lendlease sells US construction business days after strategy reset
The development giant had on Monday outlined plans to progressively offload its international construction and property assets as investor unrest mounted.
Home construction activity nears two-year low amid tradie shortages
Builders are struggling to find tradies to complete homes as new ABS data shows a second successive quarterly fall in the value of completed residential work.
Rising house prices, mortgage stress spark short-term resale
Recent home buyers are selling up their properties in droves to cash in on the recent windfall or to get out of financial trouble.
- Opinion
- Commercial real estate
Why Lendlease couldn’t grow like Westfield or Goodman
The developers’ mantra “think global, act local” makes sense but too often the offshore investments, by Lendlease and many others, have lacked discipline.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Shopping centres
Why shopping centres are a good investment prospect
Population growth, a robust employment market and rising incomes will stoke retail spending, and much of the extra money will end up in shopping centres.
Baby Boomers are loaded. Why are they so stingy?
Recent evidence has cast doubt on the notion that a spending splurge by those born between 1946 and 1964 is on the way.
‘I spent four months in and out of hospital thanking my old boss for this advice’
After a potentially life-threatening gallbladder condition, Jessica Brady has two goals: Listen to her body, and make sure young people are prepared for the worst.
Technology
Here are all the best AI uses from a day talking about it
Will it be useful or “just cool”? Executives and industry insiders spent the AI Summit discussing how they are already using artificial intelligence in their work.
OpenAI is training a model with human brain power
The start-up said it expected the new model to bring “the next level of capabilities” as it strove to build a machine that can do anything the human brain can do.
Why young women are falling out of love with dating apps
Gen Z is a priority for Tinder and Bumble but threats and unsolicited material from potential suitors often turn users off.
Work & Careers
CFMEU redundancy fund push sparks call for worker choice
Builders are calling for workers to have the right to choose their own redundancy fund in response to a CFMEU push to oust a fund that returned thousands of dollars to workers.
Harsh migration cuts will stifle new mega-uni’s ambitions
Adelaide University got its official tick of approval on Tuesday, but its plan to recruit 13,000 new students over eight years could suffer from migration cuts.
Life & Luxury
Do you have ‘portion distortion’? Here’s how big your dinner should be
Our appetites and waistlines have been growing at an alarming rate over the past few decades. But there are ways to bring your dinners back under control.
The surprising health benefits of running backwards
It’s one thing to run a marathon in reverse – competitors either laugh or take offence. But over much shorter distances, it can improve your stamina.
We check out the new Six Senses Kyoto
In a departure for the brand, this hotel is not in a remote location. It’s plum in the heart of the city, yet feels like an oasis of serenity.
The green liqueur that’s on everyone’s lips
Chartreuse, that venerable herbal blend is hip once more, prompting other producers to get in on the act – including two new Australian brands.
Lessons in legacy-building from history’s most tenacious rulers
The NGV’s winter blockbuster will take a deep dive into what it meant to be pharaoh – and the complex power systems they needed to maintain their supremacy.
