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- Updated
- Mergers & acquisitions
Chemist Warehouse may have to sell stores to save merger
Chemist Warehouse may have to sell off part of its store network to convince the competition regulator that plans to merge with Sigma would not lessen competition and lead to higher prices.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Australian business is at a crossroads. Can we get out of our own way?
Chanticleer’s 50th anniversary celebration showed Australia’s long period of prosperity and growth will be challenged by geopolitics, regulation and competition.
Setka’s threats against AFL umpiring chief may be illegal
John Setka’s threats over Stephen McBurney could breach workplace laws and may even amount to blackmail, lawyers say, as minister Tony Burke condemned the union campaign.
AGL Energy says investment case for wind and solar is ‘tricky’
But Macquarie Asset Management’s head of green investment sees plenty of opportunities for investors willing to “face into” these challenges.
Chris Minns wants Sydney to feel like Brooklyn
To encourage an urban renaissance, the NSW premier has a message for the city’s property developers: build, build, build.
Migration finally turns a corner as reforms bite
Net migration hit a record high of 547,000 in 2023, but in the last three months of the year numbers started heading in the opposite direction.
Help us or hospital system could fail: private operator
One of Australia’s largest Catholic hospital operators says a review of the viability of the private sector must secure a viable business model.
Australia’s most influential corporate column unpacks the most important stories in business, markets and politics.
chanticleer celebrates 50 years
‘Chanticleer for a day’ draws out three big issues
Infrastructure planning, boosting equity markets and re-thinking social advocacy by companies are three things these movers and shakers put on Chanticleer’s agenda.
The leak that got away: Chanticleer on Foxtel’s $2b losses
Seven former Chanticleer columnists reminisced about their biggest stories on Thursday to celebrate the column’s 50th anniversary. Here’s what they said.
Big business’ Voice advocacy backfired: new Qantas chairman
John Mullen said businesses should not be “completely anaesthetised” on social issues, but warned it can be dangerous for firms to back politicised causes.
‘Pretty surreal’: Transurban chief remembers ‘sexism’ storm
Michelle Jablko’s appointment as ANZ CFO in 2016 was initially lauded, but then the bank’s reaction to criticism of her became the story.
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Chanticleer’s half-century of crowing
How hardwired Chanticleer remains in the upper echelons of the corporate world is measured by Thursday’s sold out 50th anniversary celebration in Sydney.
Review
- Opinion
- AI
AI could end India’s dominance in tech outsourcing
This is not the first time an industry in the country has faced an existential challenge, although the last time was 300 years ago.
- Opinion
- UK election
White Britons are receiving special attention but don’t tell them that
The most important ethnic group in British politics is the one nobody talks about.
Cryogenic start-up focuses on thawing the frozen waiting for a cure
A former child prodigy is working on ways to ensure that bodies can be revived when the time is right.
All change as Prabowo prepares for the top job
Economic nationalism has been a constant in Indonesia and the incoming President has some firm views on the topic.
This physicist can prove that economics has it all wrong
J. Doyne Farmer, an American complex systems scientist says the world is more predictable than we think, and he can prove it.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
Judo Bank poaches APRA’s top bank supervisor
Renee Roberts, who led the prudential regulator’s bank supervision teams, will from September join one of the companies she monitored as chief risk officer.
CSR ends 62-year run on ASX as $4.3b takeover gets green light
But some shareholders say that the price paid by France’s Saint-Gobain was too low, with a lower Australian dollar giving overseas buyers more firepower.
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
Former PwC Australia partner flags legal action against firm
A former senior partner, Wayne Plummer, has indicated he will sue the firm after being publicly linked to its tax leaks scandal.
- Updated
- Wine & spirits
Australian Vintage wants to revive Accolade Wine merger talks
The market capitalisation of the wine producer has almost halved after its shares resumed trading following a three-week suspension.
Qantas snaps up 100pc of TripADeal as travel package bookings boom
Qantas Loyalty said the deal – increasing the airline’s stake from 51 per cent – would help the division hit its ambitious earnings targets for 2030.
Forrest lieutenant Julie Shuttleworth exits Fortescue after a decade
Ms Shuttleworth’s departure adds to the growing list of executives who have left the Andrew Forrest-chaired mining and energy giant in the past year.
Top law firms question AI’s usefulness
The technology, which has been touted as a revolution in legal practice, will streamline basic tasks but is likely to have limited impact on core legal work.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
$A jumps most in a month as markets ramp up rate cut bets
Traders have dialled up expectations that both the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank will cut rates this year after US inflation slowed more than expected.
Sam Berridge’s resources fund is pumping out 30pc returns. Here’s how
The portfolio manager of Perennial’s Natural Resources Trust reveals his fund’s “big winners” and explains why he is betting big on domestic gas.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Rate cuts are coming, but Wall Street guru fears ‘unstable’ backdrop
Good news on US inflation helped Wall Street to a fresh record. But Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson sees two big worries hanging over markets.
ASX investors spooked by rising technology costs
Shares in the equities market operator slumped 8 per cent after it revealed elevated capital expenditure over the medium term, as it continues with the CHESS fix.
- Exclusive
- Property market
Ray White founders seek investors for $1b lending bonanza
The White family is seeking to raise $400 million for its second credit fund, which will provide loans to developers. It has already lined up $841 million of deals.
Opinion
Why the government is desperate to cut immigration
There are many reasons for Australia’s inadequate housing supply, but a population jumping by 2.5 per cent a year obviously compounds the immediate problem.
Columnist
Now is the time to write a new chapter in China-Australia relations
China is willing to take Premier Li Qiang’s visit as an important opportunity to join hands with Australia to work from a new starting point.
Ambassador to Australia
Teals are ‘paying the piper’ while Dutton plays Russian roulette
Peter Dutton reckons the cost of living doesn’t discriminate between the teal seats and the rest.
Political editor
Consulting pile-on wound back
The argument for a more company-like corporate form and regulation of professional services partnerships raises two questions that will need thinking through.
Editorial
No truth in claim Dutton needs net zero to win teal seats
When the reality of the energy transition dawns on the Australian public, the Coalition will be able to get away with leaving the Paris Agreement.
Columnist
The Fed treats itself to the luxury of time when it comes to rates
The decision to sit pat highlights the very different approaches central bankers are taking as they try to rein in inflation while maintaining economic growth.
Columnist
Reports
Driving an electric future
This Insights Report looks at the benefits and remaining hurdles of broadscale EV adoption from a business and consumer perspective.
Sponsored
by LDVPolitics
Job losses near record lows as unemployment falls to 4pc
The share of workers losing or leaving their jobs has fallen to a near-record low as the labour market shows remarkable resilience to higher interest rates.
Cost of living will outweigh climate, even in teal seats: Dutton
Peter Dutton says his rejection of Labor’s climate change target will not stop the Liberal Party winning back critical teal seats.
- Exclusive
- Nuclear energy
Simon Holmes à Court silences nuclear speech
A nuclear energy scientist had his speech cancelled by Engineers Australia after social media pressure from the Climate 200 founder.
Business chiefs to talk climate change during Li visit
Boosting ties in mining and energy, agriculture and services will be high on the agenda for Australian and Chinese company chiefs.
Anti-corruption commission robo-debt call to be investigated
Gail Furness, SC, the independent inspector tasked with holding the NACC accountable, on Thursday said the decision came after nearly 900 individual complaints.
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World
US jobless claims jump to the highest level in 10 months
The number of unemployment claims rose 13,000, higher than economists expected but still within a range that reflects a healthy labour market.
Argentine Senate passes Milei reform bill as protests rage outside
The bill is key to overhauling an embattled economy, and includes plans for privatising public firms, granting special powers to the president and spurring investment.
Musk says shareholders approving his $75b pay package
It’s D-Day for the Tesla CEO as shareholders vote on his controversial pay package – with major implications for the billionaire and his company.
World faces ‘staggering’ oil glut by end of decade, energy watchdog warns
The International Energy Agency says electrical vehicle and renewable energy take-up and slowing growth in China means demand will peak in a few years.
- Analysis
- World elections
What business can expect from Europe’s far-right shift
Both sides of politics in Europe will back industrial policies designed to onshore or diversify supply chains – and that’s the space where Australia plays.
Property
‘Impossibly unaffordable’ housing a social risk: report
The level of housing price relative to incomes poses an “existential” risk and demands a rethink of urban growth boundaries, a new global report says.
Chris Minns wants Sydney to feel like Brooklyn
To encourage an urban renaissance, the NSW premier has a message for the city’s property developers: build, build, build.
- Exclusive
- Property market
Ray White founders seek investors for $1b lending bonanza
The White family is seeking to raise $400 million for its second credit fund, which will provide loans to developers. It has already lined up $841 million of deals.
Council pushes plan to double rates for landlords, as cover for new homes jump
The Greens-controlled council is one step closer to imposing different rates for landlords and owner-occupiers after passing a motion on Wednesday night.
FOMO driving investors into property, especially in these suburbs
Experts reveal their top picks for suburbs that could deliver strong capital gains and rental returns for investors over the near to medium term.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
ATO warns property investors not to ‘double-dip’ on expenses
Rental property taxes can be tricky, and that’s before you add in the strata factor.
The four biggest mistakes downsizers make
Many people overestimate how much they will have left over after downsizing, but smaller doesn’t necessarily mean cheaper.
When it’s worth giving up government subsidies to stay home for longer
There may be more home care packages in the recent federal budget, but in some cases you would be better off financing care yourself.
Technology
- Updated
- Workplace culture
Canva co-founder calls for ‘wartime’ approach to staff performance
Cliff Obrecht says companies that let poor performance slide are forced to do big lay-offs, something the graphic design group headed for an IPO has avoided.
- Opinion
- AI
Why the growing ‘slop’ on your social feeds is dangerous
Like the other type of slop, AI-assisted search comes together quickly, but not necessarily in a way critical thinkers can stomach.
AI power shift as Apple brings ChatGPT to iPhones with OpenAI deal
Apple has made its long-awaited entrance to the artificial intelligence battle being waged by the world’s biggest companies, with a major overhaul of Siri and apps across its devices.
Work & Careers
Kim Williams shares Paul Keating’s lesson on art of persuasion
The ABC’s new 72-year-old chairman plans to use a speech next week to argue a tsunami of American and British content is diluting Australian culture.
Former Cranbrook teacher sues school alleging unsafe environment
Sydney private school Cranbrook is dealing with a new legal action brought by a former teacher who alleges the environment was unsafe for female staff.
Life & Luxury
BYO is coming to a fine-dining restaurant near you
The trend is no longer confined to lower-priced eateries, which is good news for diners who have their own wine collections.
Inside the world of art nouveau visionary who defied nazis, communists
A new Alphonse Mucha exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW will give Australians their first meaningful exposure to a giant of Czech culture.
Finally, a documentary about Midnight Oil
Paul Clarke’s ‘The Hardest Line’ is largely a celebration of the Oils that never ventures a word of criticism.
This woman knows exactly what you should wear with your Birkin
Nadège Vanhee has re-energised women’s ready-to-wear while still honouring her fashion house’s classically elegant heritage.
