Featured 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
Dutton is prepared to take risks, but he is no onion eater
The signature difference between what the Coalition unleashed on Wednesday and the debilitating climate fights of the past is that both parties are operating from the assumption that emissions need to be reduced.
Political editor
Small bank targets a niche product the big four have long neglected
Enthusiasm about the challenge from neobanks to the banking sector has come and gone, along with several start-ups. But Avenue Bank has its own plans.
Columnist
More From Today
- 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.
- 4 mins ago
- Anthony Macdonald
- 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.
- 35 mins ago
- James Curran
- Opinion
- US election
Why billionaires support Trump
Business people struggle to understand fanaticism. In commercial life, all actors are negotiable, even if their price is high. They also tend to overrate contrarianism.
- Janan Ganesh
- 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.
- Anthony Macdonald
- 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.
- Jonathan Shapiro
Yesterday
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why the favourite demographer of market gurus predicts catastrophe
History says something really ugly is coming, according to Neil Howe. Investors need to be ready.
- James Thomson
This Month
- 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?
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Opinion
- Food & drink
What does a $3b burrito taste like? Jill Dupleix rates Guzman y Gomez
Mexican food is at its best when it’s made by hand, with a squat stone molcajete and smoky char from a hot grill, and unlimited access to sun-dried Mexican chillies. This isn’t that.
- Jill Dupleix
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Bullock v the burritos: $3b float speaks to the RBA’s nagging problem
Central banks have a problem: rate hikes are slowing the economy, but a wealth effect from housing and shares is keeping inflation sticky.
- James Thomson
- 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.
- Tony Davis
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Winners are grinners at Guzman y Gomez, but real test to come
TDM Growth Partners’ initial $40 million bet has delivered a massive return. But while first-day profits are nice, it’s long-term success that counts.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- The AFR View
CFMEU break-up overdue
The real source of John Setka and other union bosses’ political power remains the institutional privileges unions are granted by Australia’s archaic industrial relations framework.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Can big burritos save public markets?
We won’t know for many years whether Guzman y Gomez investors have overestimated Australians’ appetite for Mexican-themed restaurants.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Investing
The fund meant to save Australia held ‘sham’ meetings
The $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund is struggling to find investments, but it is great at holding meetings.
- Aaron Patrick
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why the office property market is still in real pain
Sliding valuations in Australian office real estate means the debate about whether the sector has hit the bottom will rage on.
- James Thomson
Guzman’s three FOMO factors put life into IPO market
As soon as you walked into the listing ceremony on Thursday, you could tell the stock was going to pop. It’s time to dust off those float candidates.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Opinion
- Nuclear energy
Why I welcome a nuclear power station in my backyard
I have never been against some solar and wind power. My message is that we need a balanced mix of energy types.
- Matt Canavan
- Opinion
- Royal Australian Navy
Time to promote a woman as deputy chief of Navy
The officer second in charge of the Royal Australian Navy will shortly rotate, opening the way for a historic first appointment of a female.
- Jennifer Parker
- Opinion
- US election
Why next week’s Biden v Trump debate is so important
A set piece clash between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will turn less on policies than on manner and appearance. What they say will matter less than how they seem.
- Updated
- Edward Luce
- Opinion
- Inside China
China’s banks feel the sting as problem loans mount
China’s deepening housing market crisis is eroding the balance sheets of the country’s largest state banks.
- Karen Maley
