Coles, Woolies face multibillion-dollar fines under new mandatory code
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has agreed to adopt all 11 recommendations of Craig Emerson’s review into the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.
Collapsed Dion Lee owes $20m to Levis family’s Cue
An entity linked to Cue extended $20.3 million in working capital and funding since January 2022, making it Dion Lee’s number one creditor ahead of the Commonwealth Bank.
ASX to fall as RBA’s inflation problem rattles nerves
Shares are set to start the week down 0.2 per cent with investor nerves tested by monthly inflation data and RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser’s assessment of the economy.
Election countdown: Labor has plenty of laws to pass before voting day
With the election due within 12 months, Labor ministers privately concede that some policies could be pushed back into a likely second term.
Keating labels Dutton ‘a charlatan and climate change denialist’
The former prime minister accused the Coalition leader of seeking to “camouflage” his “long held climate denialism” in an industrial fantasy of nuclear energy.
Cleanaway closes on Melbourne City’s garbo Citywide
Street Talk understands Cleanaway has seen off rival suitors for the business, with a deal expected to be announced as early as this week.
- Exclusive
- Defamation
AMP’s royal commission executive sues The Australian newspaper
AMP’s former head of advice, “Jack” Regan, claimed an article imputed he misled ASIC and admitted to misleading ASIC during the Hayne banking royal commission.
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MONDAY MEDIA
- Analysis
- Media & marketing
Publishers fear this new Google AI feature will kill their traffic
Google’s ‘AI Overviews’ has rolled out in the US. Its AI-generated results push links down by a full page, a new study has found.
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.
Financial Review Australia’s most trusted newspaper brand
The Australian Financial Review has again been ranked the nation’s most trusted newspaper brand, as overall trust in the media declines across the board.
Nothing funny about AI as advertisers look to laugh off uncertainty
A new humour category at this week’s Cannes Lions festival seeks to highlight the “human connection” in a sector beset by a crisis in creativity.
Social media set to overtake TV as top source of news
The survey findings come as a Labor-led parliamentary committee demands tech firms and media companies face questions about the influence of such platforms.
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Companies
Collapsed Dion Lee owes $20m to Levis family’s Cue
An entity linked to Cue extended $20.3 million in working capital and funding since January 2022, making it Dion Lee’s number one creditor ahead of the Commonwealth Bank.
Government urged to add accountants, auditors to fast-track visa list
Eleven accounting, auditing and data-related roles need to be added to a new list of occupations eligible for fast-tracked migrant visas due to ongoing labour shortages, say two major professional bodies.
- Analysis
- Due diligence
Deterra’s big-ticket bet on lithium royalties faces tough reception
After years of being criticised for high costs and inaction, Iluka-backed Deterra Royalties has bid for Trident Royalties and is facing a backlash, again.
Fortescue should face EPA audit, native title group claims
Fortescue’s stoush with the Yindjibarndi people has deepened, with the native title group asking the WA government to review permits for the Solomon mining hub.
Rio Tinto punts on British start-up to plug renewables gap
The mining giant joined a $575 million investment round for Highview Power, which says its storage technology can firm renewable power.
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.
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.
Companies in the News
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Markets
- Opinion
- Bonds
Are state governments on the brink of a debt crisis?
Victoria and Queensland have caught the infrastructure fever from NSW and have super-sized it. But financial discipline is in short supply.
- 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.
Opinion
Supermarket crackdown avoids break-up overreach
Yet what remains unexplained is how shoring up the bargaining power of incumbent suppliers will actually lower prices for families at the checkout or will have the unintended regulatory consequences of meaning higher prices.
Editorial
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.
International editor
Israel needs to get the hell out of Gaza
The extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government have led a reckless act of economic, military and moral overstretch.
Contributor
Nuclear is unviable because of economics, not engineering
Even if all that mattered was the cheapest possible energy that meets minimum levels of reliability and emissions, the Coalition’s plan fails.
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.
Contributor
Global supply chains at risk without new WTO rules for digital trade
The World Trade Organisation, despite its flaws, remains the only single vehicle able to attract multilateral participation, and business needs it more than ever.
Contributor
Reports
Executive education - Microcredentials
A growing number of employers are developing short, sharp courses known as microcredentials in collaboration with tertiary institutions.
Politics
Keating labels Dutton ‘a charlatan and climate change denialist’
The former prime minister accused the Coalition leader of seeking to “camouflage” his “long held climate denialism” in an industrial fantasy of nuclear energy.
Pocock, Tink push for 10-year housing and homelessness plan in law
Independent ACT senator David Pocock and teal MP for North Sydney Kylea Tink want a 10-year housing and homelessness plan enshrined in legislation to create certainty.
- Exclusive
- Defence
Crash hits army’s multimillion-dollar drone program
An army drone crashed soon after take-off in a test flight after losing communications with operators.
- Exclusive
- Defamation
AMP’s royal commission executive sues The Australian newspaper
AMP’s former head of advice, “Jack” Regan, claimed an article imputed he misled ASIC and admitted to misleading ASIC during the Hayne banking royal commission.
- Exclusive
- Nuclear energy
Labor’s $40b renewables bid attracts massive industry support
Energy Minister Chris Bowen will on Monday reveal the first auction for 6 gigawatts of renewable energy received bids from more than 100 projects covering more than 40 gigawatts of renewable energy production.
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World
Biden-Trump debate comes with great risks and rewards for both men
In appealing to divided and often angry voters, the past and present presidents will need to navigate a minefield of perceptions and realities.
Trump presents himself as a martyr to Christian right
The former US president portrayed himself as having “wounds all over”, alluding to his legal troubles while suggesting he is targeted for his beliefs.
Trump changes tune on mail-in ballots, early voting
Donald Trump used a rally in swing state of Pennsylvania to pitch to early voters, who are becoming increasingly more important in US elections.
Thousands of Iran-backed fighters offer to join Hezbollah
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said militant leaders from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen had previously offered to send tens of thousands of fighters to help.
Israeli business leaders push for elections
A forum of Israel’s top 200 business leaders is calling for early elections “to save Israel from a deep economic crisis”.
Property
Tiny Sydney studio sells for $425,000 as clearance rate slides
A buyer from Dubbo snapped up one of Sydney’s smallest homes for just $425,000, but the city’s clearance rate fell to just 63 per cent, according to Domain.
Aviation exec to sell Provence-style vineyard in the Adelaide Hills
A $7 million luxury vineyard escape has joined the Adelaide Hills market complete with ornamental lake and Provence-style homestead.
How higher building costs will shape the Brisbane Olympics
High labour costs will put pressure on the construction sector, forcing changes in how new projects are procured.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Fund manager Allan Fife pays $11m for 180-year-old Yass sheep farm
The Fife Capital founder will add Dowan Hill to a farming portfolio that includes Stonehenge, a sheep farm in Tasmania he bought last year for $25 million.
Rural Funds eyes further sales of farms to cut debt and risk
Rural Funds COO Tim Sheridan says the trust may look to sell half-stakes in other cattle, cropping and macadamia properties it currently owns and operates.
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
OpenAI co-founder’s new company promises safe ‘superintelligence’
Last year, Ilya Sutskever tried to force out OpenAI boss Sam Altman. Now he has a new company, aiming to build a machine that is more intelligent than humans – safely.
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.
Work & Careers
Union calls for ‘moratorium’ on AI-job losses in banking sector
The Finance Sector Union wants laws to ensure gains from artificial intelligence are passed on as pay rises and halt job losses to allow workers to retrain.
- 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.
Life & Luxury
When Maria Callas went from diva to teacher
By 1971, the celebrated soprano’s voice was worn out. This made for a febrile mood at her series of Juilliard masterclasses that year, now immortalised in a play.
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.
From the gallery
The Australian Financial Review Magazine
The under-the-radar watch brands worth your time
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