Why towns at ground zero say bring it on
People in Morwell and Traralgon, at ground zero of the nuclear debate, say the need for new jobs could win them over to Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plans.
- Live
- Markets Live
Shares to slip; Dexus slashes office valuations, Guzman y Gomez ahead
ASX futures down 0.3pc. NZ growth turns positive, exits recession. Guzman y Gomez to list at 12pm. Wall St closed. Gold, oil flat. Follow updates here.
Can Guzman y Gomez’s New Yorker frontman prove everyone wrong?
Managers say the IPO is too riddled with cushy perks for insiders to offer value. Founder Steve Marks disagrees.
UBS boss hails banking ‘trifecta’ as it seals merger
The Asia-Pacific region is increasingly important for the bulked-up bank, and moving its global wealth head to the region has buoyed its Australian leader.
- Live
- Need to Know
‘No investor will go near this’: PM slams Dutton’s nuclear plan
Anthony Albanese describes the Coalition’s nuclear plan as “fantasy” that no financiers will want to touch due to the lack of details; insolvencies rise by 38 per cent. Follow updates here.
- Investigation
- Property development
Bankrupt developer’s plan to repay $131m: start a new firm with mum
Andrew Bodnar’s empire went bust last year, taking self-funded retirees and a champion swimmer down with him. But he’s back in business to clear the massive debt.
‘Private AI’ surge powers $240m data centre expansion
The surge in AI use adds to existing drivers for data centre demand, including cloud computing and increasing consumption of streaming services and social media.
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
DUTTON’S NUCLEAR PLAN
Locals might prefer nuclear to renewable poles and wires
Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plan could win support from communities concerned about major infrastructure upgrades needed to get solar and wind power into the grid.
Nuclear no help in today’s energy supply crisis: industry
Energy-intensive industry says the Coalition’s nuclear plan delays action on emissions and doesn’t address energy security and affordability for the next decade.
Nuclear plan puts sovereign risk back into infrastructure: Contractors
The Coalition’s energy proposal rekindles uncertainty for a contracting industry counting on renewable energy to offset a slowdown in rail and road work.
Uranium explorers powered by short supply, nuclear renaissance
Seven ASX-listed explorers raised a total $323.22 million, a 50 per cent increase from the previous quarter.
Dutton’s nuclear power plan explained in brief
How will the Coalition’s plan for large-scale and small modular reactors work, and what will it cost?
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Companies
Hack wipes $140m from Melbourne mansion-owning crypto king
Michael Egorov, who spent $59 million purchasing two mansions in Hawthorn, said I “don’t really live in Australia”. His curve token plunged last week.
Mineral Resources to shut iron ore mines employing 1000 workers
Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources will shut iron ore mines and look for jobs for about 1000 displaced workers in other parts of the company.
QBE nears end of the road on reset as it ditches US middle-market
The ASX-listed insurance giant is hoping to shake off the last vestiges of a decade-long but ill-fated grab at the North American market with the wind down.
Helia shares plunge as CBA shops around mortgage contract
The insurer shed almost a fifth of its market value after its biggest client, the Commonwealth Bank, said it would run a tender process for its existing contract.
- Analysis
- Aviation
Virgin IPO may not fly for next boss
There are plenty of big questions for the airline’s next chief executive – including what the carrier will look like, and how it will be owned, in the long run.
- Exclusive
- Retail
City Chic sales smashed by 30pc, capital raise documents show
The women’s specialty fashion retailer is raising $27.5 million at a steep discount, investors were being told this week, with its bottom line deep in the red.
NAB clarifies crypto strategy with investment in Zodia Custody
NAB Ventures joins Standard Chartered and Northern Trust on the register of London-based Zodia, revealing NAB’s crypto play may involve custody services.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Rate increase ‘more likely this year’ after RBA’s tough talk
An increasing number of economists say the next policy meeting in August is “live” for a rate rise after the central bank’s language at this week’s meeting.
What happened overnight? European stocks were mostly lower
Australian shares were set to open modestly down. Wall Street was closed for a federal holiday. The Bank of England was expected to keep rates steady.
Here’s how investors should trade the US election
Goldman Sachs says these commodities are the best way to protect investments against the threat of a fresh wave of inflation.
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Central bankers doing their best to silence rate cut hopes
Investors are responding to high rates with a novel investment strategy – keeping the bulk of their money in cash and using the rest to punt on AI stocks.
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Fed needs to cut interest rates sooner not later
The delay by the US central bank in easing monetary policy could jeopardise a soft economic landing.
Opinion
Dutton is ready for a fight over his crazy-brave nuclear play
You only have to consider the political context in which the nuclear power pledge was made to understand the Coalition feels it is a risk worth taking.
Political editor
Dutton’s high-stakes nuclear gamble
The opposition leader is betting big on nuclear power, and Labor is delighted to take on his challenge.
Columnist
End the nuclear ban. Don’t stop renewables
There is a case for considering zero emissions nuclear power but as part of a technology-neutral energy approach to generating reliable baseload power and firmed wind and solar generation.
Editorial
Why JobKeeper may be part of our productivity problem
An anxious Reserve Bank of Australia is hoping for a pick-up in labour productivity this year to help alleviate the economy’s inflation problem.
Economics editor
Li’s visit may be as good as it gets for China ties
Dialogue is vital. But the reality for Labor’s “stabilisation” is that the strategic environment will continue to breed black swans and black elephants crises in the Sino-Australian relationship.
Geopolitical analyst
Gillard is right: Gender equality must mean no man left behind
The former PM’s view that decades of advocacy have felt exclusionary is a challenge to invite men and boys into the conversation
Reports
Executive education - Microcredentials
A growing number of employers are developing short, sharp courses known as microcredentials in collaboration with tertiary institutions.
Politics
Men still winning the best-paid federal jobs
The Commonwealth public sector leads the private sector on gender equity, but women still earn $19,000 less on average.
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
‘World-leading deficits’: Australia’s state debts could hit $800b
They are on track to triple by 2028 relative to pre-pandemic levels, warns S&P, amid a spending binge that economists say is making the RBA’s job harder.
China’s ‘predatory’ tactics justify critical mineral subsidies: Kennedy
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy says China’s dominance of critical minerals justifies the government’s taxpayer support for rare earths the world needs.
Under poll pressure, Burke slams Setka ‘thuggery’
The CFMEU has demanded Labor back down on its law to break up the union, saying it will set a “terrible precedent”.
As China’s premier leaves, Australia launches full court press in PNG
The Albanese government will help PNG with domestic security as it tries to ward off Chinese efforts to gain influence in Australia’s closest neighbour.
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World
Hezbollah chief threatens Cyprus in war with Israel
The leader of the militant group issued the threat as fears grow of a full-blown war across Lebanon’s southern border in Israel.
Putin and Kim sign mutual defence pact
The pact could be a dramatic shift in the strategic balance in Northeast Asia by placing Russia’s heft behind North Korea.
UK inflation back to 2 per cent target for first time since 2021
While the fall in headline inflation in May will be welcomed by both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the BoE, it is likely to have come too late.
China’s copper glut soars in sign of stuttering economy
Copper inventories in Shanghai warehouses have reached their highest levels since 2020, as manufacturers rein in demand.
- Opinion
- Culture wars
Britain’s arts sector learns the cost of being too pure for finance
A bank and asset manager have withdrawn their sponsorship of music and book festivals in the UK after activists called for boycotts.
Property
- Investigation
- Property development
Bankrupt developer’s plan to repay $131m: start a new firm with mum
Andrew Bodnar’s empire went bust last year, taking self-funded retirees and a champion swimmer down with him. But he’s back in business to clear the massive debt.
‘Private AI’ surge powers Equinix’s $240m data centre expansion
The surge in AI use adds to existing drivers for data centre demand, including cloud computing and increasing consumption of streaming services and social media.
- Exclusive
- Office
Mirvac set to sell two office towers at discounts of more than 20pc
Pricing for the latest deals on the office towers in Sydney and Melbourne – worth close to half-a-billion dollars in total - shows just how far values have fallen.
Poor energy-efficient properties becoming stranded in Europe
More than half of 250 European commercial real estate portfolio managers surveyed acknowledge that more than 30 per cent of their assets are stranded.
Nuclear plan puts sovereign risk back into infrastructure: Contractors
The Coalition’s energy proposal rekindles uncertainty for a contracting industry counting on renewable energy to offset a slowdown in rail and road work.
Wealth
My $1.25m super fund can’t pay me enough income
An 84-year-old is facing liquidity problems with minimum annual pension payments – but there are solutions.
Australia had more female fund managers seven years ago
Industry efforts to hire more women in investment management have borne fruit. But the industry is struggling to get more women into portfolio manager roles.
Super funds fall short on unlisted asset valuations: APRA
Super funds are not revaluing their $650 billion unlisted asset portfolios enough, potentially hitting the prices paid by customers and their returns, APRA has warned.
Technology
Need to get up to speed on gen AI? Here’s how
Workers who know how to use AI are expected to eventually replace those who do not. Four experts explain how and where to level up your skills.
Online shopping has become a giant fake-product machine
TikTok is better than any other digital platform for turning cult favourites into global bestsellers – and making counterfeiters money.
McDonald’s scraps drive-through AI after customer gets bacon ice cream
Other malfunctions spawning mocking videos on social media have included hundreds of dollars’ worth of nuggets being automatically added to an order.
Work & Careers
From Goldrush to green explosives: Orica’s forgotten 150-year history
From making bricks for the 1956 Olympics to Dulux paint, the explosives and mining technology company’s long history mirrors the Australian economy.
I had a difficult childhood. It made me an amazing employee
To the outside world, my success was unimpeachable – built around work – but inside I was a mess.
Life & Luxury
The workout that requires total mind-body focus
Greg Taylor, founder of online underwear retailer Step One, reckons that after one hour of boxing with his trainer Liam Paro his whole body hurts. “And that’s a great feeling.”
- Travel
- Luxury travel
Holiday like Europe’s jetset on the Côte d’Azur
The ability to step straight onto a private sandy beach is rare in this part of the world, which is why summer is always booked out at this pink-splashed hotel.
A $220 pair of thongs – and seven other luxurious items to consider
From pieces that will make your home pop to fun Euro-summer fashion accessories, we have ways to make you spend.
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
‘This is an exceptional pinot noir’
John Nagorcky moved to biodynamic viticulture in 1999 and these three wines from his Hochkirch label in southwest Victoria are a testament to his methods.
How Bridgerton gets sex right for women
Netflix’s hit series’ formula is hours of tension and longing that culminate in a lengthy sex scene.
