Chalmers confirms second surplus amid rate rise fears
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed the budget will again be in surplus as he moves to firewall the government against responsibility for another interest rate increase.
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
Payman has crossed Labor’s tribal caucus comrades
Unlike the West Australian senator who gifted the Greens a propaganda victory, Penny Wong stayed in the tent and effected change from within on same-sex marriages, writes Phillip Coorey.
CoinSpot’s billionaire owner grabs huge dividend payout
But the company, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has reported a near 75 per cent slide in profit in the last financial year.
Lending rules ‘locking out middle Australia’ from homes: ANZ CEO
The banks have become increasingly strident in their criticism of lending rules, warning it is preventing access to home loans except for the wealthy.
RBA deputy talks up renewable energy potential
RBA deputy Andrew Hauser has talked up Australia’s potential to be a world leader in solar, as the nation debates the best energy mix to achieve net zero.
How Trump’s Green Card promise could disrupt Australian unis
Donald Trump wants international students to stay in the US after graduation and while his campaign insists this is a qualified promise, it will interest many.
Retailers have bigger worries than possible interest rate rise
Nick Scali and Harvey Norman say they are getting squeezed from all directions. A rate rise would add to their woes but other costs are doing more damage.
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
LAW PARTNERSHIP SURVEY
Top 50 law firms add a record 806 new senior associates
Law firms have promoted a record number of senior associates, as demand for work remains high and staff turnover is slowing.
Energy transition lights a rocket under law firms
Law firms are streaking ahead of the broader economy, adding partners as deals return and the energy transition offers decades of lucrative work.
What the fastest-growing law firms are doing differently
Rapidly expanding law firms say the traditional partnership model is outdated and ineffective, as they look towards outside investment.
HWL Ebsworth appoints new board
The HWL Ebsworth partnership has elected seven members to its new governance board, which will bring it in line with common practice at other firms.
British law firm DWF bulks up Down Under
Just three years ago DWF slashed its Aussie headcount. Now the insurance-focused business is bulking up again, buying local claims management firm Proclaim.
review
- Opinion
- Investing
A stock trader’s guide to navigating the French election
The prospect of a change in the balance of power in France has investors on edge. These are the sectors most affected by the coming political upheaval.
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
What Israel’s ultra-orthodox draft means for Netanyahu
The Israeli Prime Minister relies on the support of minority parties to hold on to power. The court ruling has put some of them offside.
The Ozempic effect: How weight loss wonder drug gobbled up an economy
Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has grown so large in its native Denmark that it’s hard to find staff. Meanwhile, its philanthropic foundation is running out of local causes to support.
A Las Vegas residency is a nice little earner for top stars
When flamboyant pianist Liberace settled in for a prolonged stay in 1955, it started a trend that’s proved lucrative for performers and the city as a whole.
The insiders: the three men at the core of Biden’s brains trust
The US president is surrounded by a diverse, multigenerational crowd of operatives, but his full trust is in a small circle who are the definition of old school.
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Companies
Lynas to break China’s heavy rare earths stranglehold
The Amanda Lacaze-led miner will start producing two critical minerals that are essential to the US and its allies from next year.
- Updated
- Casinos
Casino regulators clear way for Bruce Mathieson to buy up more of Star
The decision by NSW and Queensland authorities means the billionaire can increase his stake in the gaming operator from the 9.7 per cent he currently holds.
Workers threaten to ‘grind things down’ at troubled power station
The union has warned electricity prices will ultimately rise amid industrial action at the troubled Callide Power Station.
Southern Cross rejects Catalano’s offer to sell his newspapers
The operator of regional television networks and the Hit and Triple M radio brands says it does not want to buy a portfolio of regional publications.
Meet the most expensive lawyer in Australia
Tax specialist Mark Robertson, KC, is in a league of his own, charging $6250 an hour and $50,000 for an eight-hour day.
ASIC warns banks not to become complacent with new code
ASIC has approved a new Banking Code of Practice, but chairman Joe Longo says lenders must be alive to the dangers of “apathy, complacency and backsliding”.
Will John Mullen’s emotional intelligence work at Qantas?
The business veteran’s decency, toughness and persistence could make him one of the airline’s great chairmen.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Inflation shock derails ASX 200 from best gain since 2021
A two-day sell-off after a hot consumer price report has left the bourse with a tepid return for the 2024 financial year.
Why Tyndall has gone all in on Zip Co’s turnaround story
James Nguyen says the market is mispricing the buy now pay later provider and reveals why a $15 billion settlement could be the catalyst for another small cap stock.
First Super, Stafford pen $220m co-investment effort
The private equity firm’s latest comes just days after another superannuation fund, HESTA, signed a $250 million deal.
Yen’s free fall exposes the Fed’s grip on markets
The yen is plunging through milestone levels in rapid succession and likely won’t stop until the Federal Reserve finally pivots on rates.
- Updated
- Interest rates
August rate rise on cards after inflation hits 4pc
Investors say there is now a one-in-three chance of an August interest rate rise after inflation accelerated to its highest rate in six months and economists warned price pressures remained too strong.
Opinion
Payman has crossed Labor’s tribal caucus comrades
Unlike the West Australian senator who gifted the Greens a propaganda victory, Penny Wong stayed in the tent and effected change from within on same-sex marriages.
Political editor
Nuclear should fire Coalition’s Fightback!
Finding the same combination of politics and principle on other policies might be the start of a strategy to win, not necessarily the next election – but the one after that.
Columnist
ALP should be flexible like UK Labour and ditch the three-line whip
Fatima Payman crossing the Senate floor is a chance to fundamentally revisit Labor’s approach to caucusing.
Commentator
Union pay push isn’t helping Labor’s inflation fight
It is not necessary to have a 1970s-style wage-price spiral to cause the government grief. It’s enough for the RBA to say that wage increases are above the level that miserable productivity growth can sustain.
Editorial
RBA edges closer to interest rate rise as inflation proves sticky
Governor Michele Bullock will be troubled by the latest inflation data, and contemplating the real possibility of an interest rate rise at the August meeting.
Economics editor
A recession if Trump wins is just the start
Joe Biden has not targeted the former president’s trade policy during the campaign, but it would be disastrous for the US, and the rest of the world.
Columnist
Reports
Women in Leadership awards
The awards celebrate outstanding achievements of women poised to enter the upper echelons of corporate life and government. Meet the winners in eight sectors.
Politics
Political row erupts over ‘hero’s welcome’ for Assange
The opposition says it is inappropriate for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to have spoken to Julian Assange after Assange’s arrival in Canberra on Wednesday.
Nation’s first renewable energy zone wins approval
The Central-West Orana infrastructure project is intended to drive up to $20 billion in private investment in solar, wind and storage projects.
- Exclusive
- Federal election
Right-wing group asks Jewish donors for millions to target Greens
Advance’s campaign to portray the Greens as antisemitic worries some Liberals, who fear it will drive voters to the Labor Party.
- Exclusive
- Manufacturing
Future Made in Australia Act needs guardrails against waste: BCA
Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans will scuttle the green energy objectives of the Future Made in Australia Act, the PM warns.
- Exclusive
- UK election
AUKUS safe under Labour: next UK minister for Australia
Australian-born Catherine West, who will be minister for Asia and the Pacific if Labour wins the election, rejects Tory claims the subs deal is at risk.
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World
China’s ‘Summer Davos’ highlights corporate anxiety over tariffs
A surge of cheap exports and industrial production supported by the government has propelled China’s economy this year. That’s prompted a pushback from trading partners.
What the far right’s Jordan Bardella would do as France’s PM
The 28-year-old chief of the National Rally party said in an interview that he was confident of winning an outright majority in legislative elections starting this weekend.
Why most Americans plan to watch Biden-Trump debate
Both men remain broadly unpopular as they prepare to face off for the first time since 2020.
Rishi Sunak uses TV debate to try to avert Tory electoral meltdown
With new opinion polls pointing to a massive Labour majority, the PM came out fighting, insisting that Sir Keir Starmer would raise taxes and allow spending to spiral.
Boeing’s new crisis: astronauts left ‘stranded’ by its spacecraft
The Starliner ship has suffered helium leaks and thruster problems. Its delayed return from the International Space Station comes at the worst time for the US company.
Property
Why this family is swapping a six-bedroom house for apartments
Lexi Dodd and her family are moving into apartments ahead of a new chapter, where being closer to cafés and restaurants is more important than space for kids.
Building costs 37pc higher than four years ago
The cost of building a home is surging, threatening the Albanese government’s efforts to build 1.2 million new dwellings.
The suburbs where sellers are amassing $1m+ profits
Houses delivered nearly three times as much profits as units, and vendors in some Sydney and Melbourne suburbs raked in more than $1million median gains.
- Exclusive
- Office
Dexus-Canadian fund cashes out $310m Martin Place stake at a discount
Office valuations have been progressively written down over the past two years as the sector absorbs the cost of high rates.
Bidding wars for bakery and vet as investors chase affordable assets
A Bakers Delight shop in Rosanna in Melbourne’s north-east sold for $943,000 on a low 3.9 per cent yield after 40 bids at a portfolio auction.
Wealth
Why you could be caught by the ‘wealth tax’ this year
Fast-rising wages and asset prices will leave more Australians facing Division 293 tax on their income and deciding whether to pay it from their super.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
SMSFs desert financial advice in face of looming crisis
The government’s quality of advice review was intended to make financial advice more affordable. So why are fewer SMSF trustees seeking financial advice?
Can I start a pension and put the income back into super?
A couple want to maximise their savings in the most tax-effective way before they both retire.
Technology
Look at Zoox and Waymo to see Australia’s AI potential
The local ecosystem for investment in artificial intelligence is in its infancy, but could thrive if given the right funding.
Back from the dead, the Windows laptop is better than ever
Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 11 marks the beginning of a new era in portable computers, where Windows computers are at least as good as their MacBook rivals, and in many ways better.
- Opinion
- Digital Life
With the new Surface Laptop, Microsoft catches the MacBook
Microsoft has finally done it. It has broken free from Intel and produced a laptop right up there with Apple’s hitherto incomparable MacBook Air.
Work & Careers
British law firm DWF bulks up Down Under
Just three years ago DWF slashed its Aussie headcount. Now the insurance-focused business is bulking up again, buying local claims management firm Proclaim.
HWL Ebsworth appoints new board
The HWL Ebsworth partnership has elected seven members to its new governance board, which will bring it in line with common practice at other firms.
Life & Luxury
- Jill Dupleix
- Food
‘The most exciting thing about Australian cuisine right now’
The eternal quest to define “modern Australian” cuisine, and how the answer was right next to our chopsticks.
Acclaimed restaurant duo Ross and Sunny Lusted to open in Melbourne
The globetrotting couple behind Sydney’s acclaimed Woodcut are heading south for their latest restaurant venture, Marmelo.
- Drinks With Max Allen
How a blend of prosecco and limoncello proved a smash hit for winery
Fuelled by memories of European summers and sipping limoncello, a zesty new spritz from the Yarra Valley has become a top seller.
How to know if – and when – you’re going to go bald
Diet, stress, smoking, drinking, excessive exercise and deficiencies in iron or protein can all play a part in men and women losing hair. Here’s what to do.
