- Live
- Need to Know
‘Privilege’ to serve this constituency: Starmer
WATCH LIVE: Rishi Sunak to speak; Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wins his first-ever seat; Starmer has attends his own seat count. Follow the count here.
Latest Posts
Gaza issue appears to hurt Labour
WATCH LIVE: Rishi Sunak to speak as count continues
BBC now forecasts smaller Labour majority
‘We are coming for Labour’: Reform’s Farage wins his first seat
Last updated 2 mins ago
The war in Gaza is dividing Australians. Business is worried
Paul Bassat says Australia is fighting a “war of ideas” and losing; John Mullen says business people are too scared to say what they really think and Rod Eddington fears multiculturalism is under threat.
How to invest for a new Cold War
Governments around the world are ramping up military spending – and fund managers are positioning accordingly.
Labour set for huge 170-seat majority: exit poll
Keir Starmer says Britons voted for change, and ‘it is time for us to deliver’. The Tories reeled as Nigel Farage’s populist party ate into their support.
- Opinion
- UK election
Why Starmer’s victory in Britain should scare Albanese
The Australian prime minister now has an ideological bedfellow in the UK. But he also has something in common with the loser: incumbency, writes Hans van Leeuwen.
UBS has a new suggestion for REIT investors – buy battered Mirvac
The bank’s analysts, in a 65-page overview of the sector, said the market had yet to confront the impact of higher interest rates. It expects two increases.
- Live
- Markets Live
Banks, miners drag shares lower; Magellan, GQG jump
Shares lose 0.1pc. $A gains as traders eye RBA. UK’s FTSE rallies on Labour govt. Wall St closed. US jobs data, French elections ahead. Follow here.
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
UK ELECTION
Knives out: Tory collapse sparks bitter blame game
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under fire after an exit poll shows the Conservative Party is set for the worst result in its history.
How London turned against the Tories
London might be the home of the professional and business elite but the UK election result is expected to effectively shut the Tories out of the English capital.
Why Britain’s new PM could hold the key to Jimmy Lai’s freedom
Keir Starmer cut his teeth as a barrister at the same firm as Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who is fighting for the release of Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai.
- Opinion
- UK election
The Conservatives imploded. Labour simply filled the vacuum
Labour’s landslide shares some parallels with Tony Blair’s 1997 win but ends with Keir Starmer’s small target strategy and threadbare policy.
- Analysis
- UK election
How will Keir Starmer change the UK?
As a Labour government gets set to take the reins after 14 years of Conservative rule, what will Starmer do with power in his first 100 days and beyond?
REVIEW
- Opinion
- Global economy
Why Europe is becoming poorer than America
Oversized governments in Britain and on the Continent have crushed productivity growth, allowing US incomes to grow twice as fast.
- Editorial Of The Times
- US Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court gives a free pass to Trump and future presidents
In a step towards monarchy, the bedrock principle that presidents are not above the law has been set aside.
The #MeToo lawyer accused of being a tyrant
Roberta Kaplan’s poor treatment of colleagues, including micromanagement, insults and personal attacks, triggered her expulsion from the firm she founded.
- Opinion
- AI
The bear case against Nvidia and artificial intelligence
The computer chip company will struggle to sustain its growth as interest in AI wanes.
Indonesia’s remote new capital looks like a disaster
President Joko Widodo’s plan to create a city on an old timber plantation is late and over budget.
Get the front page and latest edition of the Financial Review as it was printed, delivered to your inbox every morning.
Companies
Suncorp dumps Warren Buffett insurance-protection deal
The decade-long arrangement had split the risks and rewards of the insurer’s exposure to weather in Queensland, covering 30 per cent of its home policies.
- Exclusive
- Renewables
Grok Ventures boss woos wealthy families for Sun Cable
The chief executive of Mike Cannon-Brookes’ private vehicle is plotting a pivot – opening it up to outside investors.
Pharmacies face an ‘Uber’ moment – whether they like it or not
Stephen King, who led a Health Department review into the sector, says antiquated ownership restrictions should be abolished before they do more damage.
Santos wins court battle on EDO funding quest
The Federal Court also cleared the way for Santos to pursue the Environmental Defenders Office for costs in its failed case against the Barossa gas project.
Saudi, UAE interest puts $25b Santos in play
Renewed takeover speculation has underlined the oil and gas producer’s status as a potential target in the wave of global energy consolidation.
BHP misses internal targets, docks incentives across global workforce
BHP’s top brass has cut employee incentives around the globe based on failures to hit internal performance targets.
AOFM chief puts banks on notice as bond trading probe heats up
The head of the government’s debt agency has reminded the banks, which are hired to help it sell billions of dollars of bonds, what is expected of them.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Why coal stocks are seeing an epic rally
Underground fires at two major coal operations have ignited a rally in unloved ASX miners, and some analysts are tipping prices to push even higher.
Banks, REITs will only get cheaper as outlook darkens: fundies
Australian fund mangers Merlon Capital, Lazard Asset Management, Australian Eagle and Blackwattle share their best stock picks for FY25.
Phil King’s Regal Partners set for major payday after banner year
Soaring funds under management and strong performance pushed fees at the investment house, which has snapped up several rivals this year, to record levels.
What happened overnight? FTSE 100 rallies on expectation of Labour majority
Australian shares are set for a modestly weaker start. UK markets were higher awaiting confirmation of a Labour majority. US markets closed. Bitcoin slides anew.
Growing bets on Fed rate cuts boost $A to six-month high
Evidence of weaker US growth and a deteriorating job market bolstered conviction that the Fed will cut rates imminently, triggering a rally in commodities.
Opinion
Muslims and farmers, everyone wants a piece of Labor
An unanticipated backlash in WA is the last thing the government needs, given the prospect of the creation of a pro-Muslim political movement targeting heartland ALP seats.
Political editor
Sectarian divide threatens idea of Australia that benefits migrants
Battling out toxic foreign feuds here, and pushing votes on issues far beyond the reach of Australian governments is both pointless and divisive.
Editorial
Don’t switch super funds until reckoning in unlisted assets is over
Industry fund executives regularly boasted about capitalising on the so-called “illiquidity premium”, but the world has changed.
Wealth editor
There is no catastrophic failure of AUKUS Plan A
The “optimal pathway” may not run exactly to plan, but the risk is known, is being managed, and all three partners have demonstrated their commitment to the process.
Defence expert
Canberra’s $1b digital identity play could be the next white elephant
The failure of open banking and the poor uptake of My Health Record offer a salutary warning for the government’s digital ID system.
Government editor
Energy transition will cost much more than politicians are pretending
The brutal reality is that taxpayers and consumers will be on the hook for much higher costs under a renewable or nuclear energy system.
Economics editor
Reports
Law partnership survey
After a period of caution following a pandemic-era peak our Law Partnership Survey shows firms have roared back, with growth near its COVID-era record.
Sponsored
by UNSW SydneyPolitics
‘The port would stop’: Fremantle workers threaten to walk off job
Western Australia’s largest container port could grind to a halt next week if a small group of key staff stop work over a pay dispute.
Winter gas woes to extend into 2025
Considerably higher demand for heating in the winter months is set to cause supply shortfalls in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.
Labor plays down call to break up ASIC, talks up whistleblower rewards
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was on Wednesday accused of being a “toothless tiger” in the final report of a 20-month Senate inquiry.
‘Stay tuned’: Payman open to forming a new party
First-term senator Fatima Payman has not ruled out forming her own political party after she quit the ALP, citing its “indifference” to the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.
St Vincent’s splits with insurer NIB amid private hospitals ‘crisis’
St Vincent’s on Thursday told health fund NIB it would walk away from its contract over an entrenched pricing disagreement.
SPONSORED
World
Biden says ‘I’m not going anywhere’ as calls to quit race grow
The president also told a group of key Democratic leaders that he was in the race to stay, chilling any talk of his withdrawal, participants said.
- Opinion
- US election
Replacing Biden carries risk but also possibility
There is not a plausible way for Democrats to convince voters that the man they saw on the debate stage should be president three or four years from now.
Armed kidnapper, Nazi sympathiser: Meet France’s far-right candidates
The far-right’s National Rally party acknowledges a few “infected sheep” among its candidates as it stands on the threshold of power in France.
Trump rants about Biden and Harris in leaked video
Donald Trump said he is now competing against Kamala Harris in the US presidential race during an expletive-laden rant on a golf course.
Putin says Trump ‘sincerely’ wants to end the war in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin said Russia takes seriously statements by Donald Trump that he has proposals to end the war in Ukraine quickly.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Wesfarmers exec Ed Bostock sells Cottesloe mansion
Wesfarmers heavyweight Ed Bostock has sold the family home in Cottesloe following his appointment as CFO of the conglomerate’s health division.
Tamawood profit jumps, but can’t predict FY25 earnings
Chairman Robert Lynch said factors such as the Queensland election, weather and land shortages meant it was “impossible” to predict the builder’s performance.
ACCC gives Lendlease, Stockland two-month ultimatum over $1.3b deal
The competition watchdog has further delayed a decision on the two property giants’ transaction over a 12-community portfolio of assets.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Palm Beach trophy sale sets 2024 peninsula record
Frank and Amber Elsworth’s Karala estate has clocked the elite Sydney suburb’s most expensive deal of the year as the coastal market stays below its COVID-19 peak.
Rents in Sydney, Melbourne are starting to come down
New figures show asking rents plateauing or even falling in some markets after several years of sustained increase.
Wealth
- Opinion
- UK election
Want to get rich from Keir Starmer in Number 10? Read this
With the British Labour party set for a huge victory in the polls, investors have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. This is where to look for the biggest profit.
Why this is the ideal age to downsize
Move into a smaller home too early, and you miss out on the opportunity to put additional money into super. Leave it too late, and you might not be up to the task.
Aware Super cashes in on tech, healthcare bias to return 11pc
Aware follows several other super funds with high global equities exposure reporting returns of more than 11 per cent for 2023-24 as tech stocks soared.
Technology
How solar beat every forecast to win the renewables race
Solar power is on track to generate more electricity than all the world’s nuclear power plants in 2026, its gas-fired power plants in 2030 and its coal-fired ones in 2032.
- Updated
- Cloud
Aussie spies to get $2b top-secret Amazon data centre
The system will let the country’s spies and military collaborate without being connected to the open internet where adversaries could breach it.
Leaving war-torn Ukraine was hard, then this AI worker tried Australia
Tech skills have been in red-hot demand for a decade, but skilled migration has cooled as numerous companies have shed staff in the so-called tech funding winter.
Work & Careers
Why the local CEO of this $26b company likes her commute
When QBE Australia chief Sue Houghton rises at 6am, the self-described introvert relishes a walk on her own.
The co-CEOs who learned the secret to business from ... pasta
Shaun Greenblo and Elliot Midalia are managing directors at Boody, a bamboo-based clothing company. They both meditate – in their own way – before office hours.
Life & Luxury
How Terri Irwin defied pundits with debt-free success
The wildlife warrior discusses business strategies that helped Australia Zoo navigate the shock death of her husband – and the zoo’s frontman – Steve.
Sexual pathologists would have plenty to say about this film
Director Yorgos Lanthimos has returned to his arthouse roots in Kinds of Kindnesses.
The exercise habit that boosts this founder’s productivity
Road running in the morning gets Brand Rebellion’s Bryden Campbell primed for her workday.
This week’s pick of luxuries: a $17k wrist cuff and a posh dog harness
Who needs a sculpture by a top American artist when you can get a mini version for your wrist? Or another artwork for your walls when your pooch can wear one?
‘I got a six-figure rent’: The benefits of owning a famous building
A piece of cultural history, such as a property that appeared in the films “Groundhog Day” or “Atonement”, can help pay bills – and bring unexpected visitors.
