- Opinion
- Putin's Russia
Putin to Xi: I have options in East Asia
The Russian President’s visits last week to North Korea and Vietnam shows Russia’s residual capacity to stir trouble in East Asia, writes James Curran.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Two charts show why RBA is discussing rate hikes, not cuts
Australia is in pretty rare company and that’s not necessarily a good thing. What the bank needs if it is to stamp out goods inflation is a stronger Australian dollar.
Rich Lister’s ‘billion dollar’ company faces $79m loss
Shaun Bonett bought into Prezzee in 2015 and has slowly increased his control over the business. New figures reveal it lost $79 million in the 18 months to December 31.
- Opinion
- Investing
Blackstone’s mega private credit deal is a sign of the times
Private credit funds are the solution for private equity’s problems. But can the good times last for Wall Street’s hottest sector? Blackstone thinks they can.
AirTrunk’s ‘competitive’ auction has huge $15b payday in reach
AirTrunk’s investors had no way of knowing just how good their timing was when they invested in 2020.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
In Canadian giant PSP v Aware Super, who wins?
There are very different ways to make 10 per cent a year. We compare Canada and Australia’s third-biggest super funds, with a combined $470 billion in assets.
Surf lifesaving in the Olympics? This broker says it’s no pipe dream
Shaw and Partners is all-in on wealth and health. But there’s more to its latest deal: elevating competitive surf lifesaving to the Brisbane 2032 program.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
Is Lexus’ plug-in hybrid the best NX on the market?
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
weekend reads
What Australia’s busiest sleepy town really thinks about nuclear
From a failing coal mine being propped up by the WA government to keep the lights to Australia’s biggest battery being built by Brookfield takeover target Neoen there is a lot going on in Collie.
Over budget and plagued with delays: UK nuclear lessons for Australia
The big challenges facing nuclear power in Britain, both for large reactors and SMRs, are not technological or economic, but largely administrative and logistical.
- Analysis
- Australian economy
Why our spooks and economists are teaming up to manage China
Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy and chief spook Andrew Shearer are leading a new economic security regime that will have far-reaching consequences for business and investors.
Why Israel doesn’t care what the world thinks
The international community thinks Israel is fighting a war of choice. Israel doesn’t see it that way, says US writer and author Bret Stephens.
- Exclusive
- International students
‘Very wealthy’ unis ‘disingenuous’ about foreign student fees
Universities are richer than they claim and spend less of their overseas student revenue on research than they say.
smart investor
Can I do anything to maximise my tax return this close to June 30?
Though the end of the financial year is just days away, there are still some last-minute ways small businesses can reduce their tax liabilities.
- Exclusive
- Income tax
How much extra tax you stand to pay because of bracket creep
The average taxpayer will lose $2000 to the so-called stealth tax in the next four years, which will deliver the federal government an extra $29 billion in revenue.
Why parents are forking out $40k for their kids to live on campus
Residential colleges used to be the preserve of county boarders and blue-blood families, but there’s a growing trend among parents who want their kids to have the kind of university experience they had.
How much your super fund is expected to grow this financial year
The expected returns were driven largely by strong performances from overseas equities, Chant West found.
- Opinion
- Bonds
Attention investors: the risk of a sovereign debt crisis is back
The financial market volatility induced by the political dramas in France show the world is moving into a new risk regime, writes Christopher Joye.
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Companies
![Westpac chief executive of institutional banking Nell Hutton. “When I thought about where I could have an impact, it made sense to think about the big four [banks].”](http://web.archive.org./web/20240623030912/https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.4147%2C$multiply_2%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_837%2C$y_125/t_crop_custom/c_scale%2Cw_300%2Cq_88%2Cf_auto/cd94f78169c2fc934117b043efc5b34161f75ab0)
From Goldman Sachs to Westpac, Nell Hutton is climbing the ladder
Having reached the top of the Wall Street giant by her mid-40s, the career banker has big plans to turn around Westpac’s once-dominant institutional bank.
Federal Court rules iSignthis misled the market
A Federal Court judge says payments company iSignthis and its former managing director John Karantzis misled the market, but ASIC had failed to prove that the boss knew about performance milestones and deliberately structured revenue to trigger share bonuses.
The bank at the heart of Project Jalapeno was not Barrenjoey
The founder of Guzman y Gomez, Steven Marks, had been working with one Wall Street giant for years to get the Mexican chain’s $3 billion float off the ground.
Gen Z demand makes Guzman y Gomez the hottest retail stock
About 30 per cent of all shares traded on Superhero, a popular online platform, were in the Mexican restaurant group on Thursday. Still, demand is falling.
Pilbara’s lithium growth plans immune to price pressure
Lithium exporter Pilbara Minerals says it can triple lithium production in a value accretive way even if prices remain near current levels.
The Jarden verdict on CBA’s digital home loan
The new mortgage product is not a credible threat yet to mortgage brokers, analysts say.
Skyrocketing gas prices intensify fears of shortage this winter
There are growing fears the long-forecast shortage in supplies in the south-eastern states will emerge this winter, hitting manufacturers hard.
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Markets
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Favourite demographer of market gurus predicts catastrophe
History says something really ugly is coming, according to Neil Howe. Investors need to be ready.
Global ambitions a dangerous trap for overzealous local giants
“An organic approach to world domination is a better way to do it,” says Allan Gray’s Simon Mawhinney. A string of failures shows he’s on the money.
CBA rally threatens to dethrone BHP as ASX top stock
A 25 per cent rally in the country’s largest bank has placed it within striking distance of the miner, which has been Australia’s most valuable listed company for more than two years.
S&P 500 slips, Nvidia paces semiconductor slide
The S&P 500 ended modestly lower as semi stocks pared some of their advance. BofA broadly positive on China’s economic outlook.
Investors see uranium riches if Coalition’s nuclear plan takes off
The country’s largest uranium developer could almost triple in value if Australia relaxed its restrictive position on the energy source, Morgan Stanley says.
Opinion
Attention investors: the risk of a sovereign debt crisis is back
The financial market volatility induced by the political dramas in France show the world is moving into a new risk regime.
Columnist
Dutton’s climate poll surge evokes Fightback! saga
The headline numbers confirm Peter Dutton is setting the agenda, but to stay on top he will need to prove how his nuclear plan will ease the cost of living.
Columnist
Are state governments on the brink of a debt crisis?
Victoria and Queensland have caught the infrastructure fever from NSW. Ideas are plentiful, but financial discipline is often in short supply and the funding numbers are staggering.
Contributor
Nuclear election poses energy transition questions for both sides
The Coalition’s nuclear option deserves a proper debate, not the puerile meme scare campaign that Labor is running.
Editorial
It’s time to revisit all those famous nuclear disaster movies
With debate about nuclear energy firmly in the zeitgeist, the movie business would be wise to contemplate redux versions of some box-office classics.
Satirist
Why Australia needs to stop being PNG’s payday lender
It might seem a good, neighbourly thing to do. But loans can be damaging as poorly tied aid. The alternative is subsidising direct Australian business investment.
Commentator
Reports
Executive education - Microcredentials
A growing number of employers are developing short, sharp courses known as microcredentials in collaboration with tertiary institutions.
Politics
The gambler: Dutton bets it all on nuclear
The opposition leader is hoping his energy wager could return the Coalition to government. But if it all goes badly wrong, his dream of becoming prime minister could be lost.
Skyrocketing gas prices intensify fears of shortage this winter
There are growing fears the long-forecast shortage in supplies in the south-eastern states will emerge this winter, hitting manufacturers hard.
Setka’s ‘obnoxious and rude’ CFMEU fined for wet wipes blockade
The Federal Court has fined the CFMEU $109,000 for behaviour that a judge said was emblematic of the coercion that has plagued the construction industry for decades.
AUKUS nuclear waste no help for Dutton plan: Labor
Any high-level dump for spent nuclear material from AUKUS submarines will be too late for an opposition energy plan, Defence Minister Richard Marles says.
What Australia’s busiest sleepy town really thinks about nuclear
From a failing coal mine being propped up by the WA government to keep the lights to Australia’s biggest battery being built by Brookfield takeover target Neoen there is a lot going on in Collie.
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World
Japanese eye investment in Australian nuclear rollout
Japan’s giant energy trading houses would actively consider helping to pay for a nuclear rollout in Australia in return for decades-long investment returns, industry insiders say.
Putin’s Asia tour seen as show of defiance to the West
Analysts are scrambling to assess the significance of agreements struck by the Russian leader in North Korea and Vietnam.
Israel pounds Gaza, killing dozens, as fighting rages
Israeli tanks were forcing their way into the western and northern parts of Rafah, and troops were engaged in close-quarter combat with Hamas militants.
American nuclear set for biggest overhaul in history
A divided Congress has just agreed to speed up nuclear reactor development. The president will sign off on it next week.
- Opinion
- UK election
The English town where Australia’s latte left would feel right at home
Brighton’s trendy centre has an unmistakable inner-city or Byron vibe – and the politics to match. But can the Greens resist voters who are seeing red?
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Rich Lister buys Manly’s most expensive home
Maas Group’s Wes Maas and his wife Emma have emerged as the buyers of Manly’s most expensive home for around $35 million.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Power couple creates Brisbane’s most expensive family compound
Prominent Brisbane couple Steve and Jane Wilson have bought the property next door to their recently restored landmark home Lamb House.
Post-pandemic demand for Australian housing softens
Overseas interest in Australian residential real estate softened in the six months to December, according to new Treasury figures of Foreign Investment Review Board applications.
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
Rich List Snow family sets sights on Canberra’s next landmark
It is the first major project launched by Capital Property, the owner of Canberra Airport, since Terry Snow stepped down from active management last month.
Scentre’s bargain-hunting lands it $308m stake in Adelaide mall
The Westfield owner has set up a fund with Barrenjoey to buy a half stake in Tea Tree mall, in a deal that was struck at a 12 per cent discount to book value.
Wealth
Can I do anything to maximise my tax return this close to June 30?
Though the end of the financial year is just days away, there are still some last-minute ways small businesses can reduce their tax liabilities.
Why avoiding Coles and Woolies will save you 25pc
A basket of everyday groceries is $17 cheaper at Aldi, research by consumer group Choice shows, with little difference between the big two supermarket chains.
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.
Technology
Grong Grong (population 150) does its bit to solve the energy crisis
Small-scale solar farms like that at Grong Grong can fly below the radar but represent a large opportunity to plug renewable power into the system.
Calls to ban Facebook and Instagram in Australia
The heads of major media organisations say Meta’s refusal to renew about $70 million in commercial deals with news outlets will likely lead to job losses and newspaper closures.
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.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Australian economy
Tax cuts will prolong rate pain: directors
Economic uncertainty and the energy transition are among the top issues being debated in our biggest boardrooms.
Skilled refugees could unlock $9b in extra GDP
Maths graduate Wissam Chabo applied for 100 jobs before getting work in a local cafe. Research shows skilled migrants are badly underutilised, even during Australia’s skills shortage.
Life & Luxury
The under-the-radar watch brands worth your time
Can’t get your hands on a Rolex, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet? Try one of these lesser-known timepieces as your next must-have.
Do you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
Is Lexus’ plug-in hybrid the best NX on the market?
A PHEV is either the perfect compromise or an expensive and unnecessary one, depending on your situation.
How to keep off the kilos after stopping weight-loss jabs
Until now, those prescribed the radical treatments have been warned that they may have to stay on the drugs for life – or revert to their former size.
Renaissance renditions of Bee Gees? Only at one festival
With portraits ‘singing’ Aussie pop classics, fires in the botanic gardens and dinosaurs at the zoo, Adelaide’s Illuminate Festival wants to lure you out this winter.
From the gallery
The Australian Financial Review Magazine
The under-the-radar watch brands worth your time
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