Shipping crises ‘spanner in works’ for inflation fight
Australian consumers and retailers are facing long delays and higher prices for goods from Europe and Asia amid an international shipping crisis that could stoke local inflation.
Australia will have 400,000 new millionaires by 2028. Are you one of them?
Buoyed by property and super, Australians have become the second-richest people in the world, on paper at least.
House price growth to ease under 5pc as affordability bites
Some of the heat is finally coming out of the market’s remarkable rebound as the burden of servicing mortgages weighs more heavily on prospective buyers.
The investor survival kit for property taxes
Property investors, particularly in Victoria and NSW, face what seems to be an ever-increasing regime of extra costs and charges. Here are some tips to stay the course.
- Opinion
- Cyber warfare
Asian allies key to our cyberdefence against China
Japan and South Korea have for the first time joined Five Eyes allies led by Australia in directly calling out Chinese cyberattacks, but more can be done.
Forrest says he was kept in the dark about spying on ex-employees
Fortescue’s executive chairman Andrew Forrest is considering sacking the company’s external lawyers who presided over the surveillance of former employees.
- Exclusive
- China relations
New ‘alliance’ calls out China’s bad cyber behaviour
Months of behind-the-scenes work helped convince Japan and South Korea to join an Australian-led statement slamming China over cyberattacks.
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Companies
Anzac Day shopping ban restricts choice, retailers say
Retail trade will be banned on Anzac Day in NSW, giving the state some of the nation’s most restrictive rules in a move to counter “creeping commercialism”.
Forrest says he was kept in the dark about spying on ex-employees
Fortescue’s executive chairman Andrew Forrest is considering sacking the company’s external lawyers who presided over the surveillance of former employees.
BHP enlists OZ Minerals copper veteran amid cost blowout fears
BHP’s mine manager has warned of cost and schedule challenges for a near $1 billion expansion project at the Prominent Hill copper mine.
‘Wholly inadequate’: Non-bank lender pinged by new rules
Firstmac has become the first financial outfit pinged by new regulations designed to ensure suitable products are promoted to customers.
Veteran banker Jon Gidney joins Cettire board
The former investment banking heavyweight has joined the luxury goods platform, which is yet to appoint any female directors.
Incitec Pivot ditches fertiliser sale talks with Indonesian buyer
The chemicals giant said it shelved the negotiations due to transaction delays as it flagged a $900 million on-market share buyback would still go ahead.
- Analysis
- Billionaires
Old and new money meet at billionaires’ annual retreat
Network Ten owner Shari Redstone was in Sun Valley along with Bob Iger, a crop of Democratic presidential hopefuls and the tech elite for the annual Allen & Co gathering.
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Markets
The mining stocks fundies think may outrun BHP and Rio
The rout in the ASX’s largest mining companies this year has created a “screaming” buy for some of the sector’s biggest investors.
Macquarie says it’s time to buy real estate stocks before rate cuts
The broker has warned that the “best” phases for ASX returns is behind us and is urging investors to buy more defensive companies amid signs that returns are starting to falter.
New Zealand eyes August rate cut after ‘dovish pivot’
Market pundits have ramped up bets that the RBNZ may cut interest rates as soon as next month after the central bank said it was confident that inflation will return to target.
Wall Street’s big run has investors trying to pick the top
The No.1 question is: when will the remarkable run come to an end? Another nine days of gains (out of the past 10) only makes it more fascinating.
Miners drag ASX lower; Insignia falls 7pc; Bell Financial jumps
Shares decline at the closing bell; Incitec Pivot stops sale negotiations for fertilisers business; Bell Financial forecasts 47 per cent profit jump; miners fall as iron ore futures lower. Follow updates here.
Opinion
Tariffs, inflation, debt: The economic hits of a re-elected Trump
Trump’s first term tariffs did not crater the US or world economies. The same cannot be said for his far more ambitious plans the second time around, writes Richard Holden.
Economics professor
Inside the Democrats’ fight over Biden
Hosting the NATO summit was supposed to help the US president demonstrate unity within the Democratic Party. But it is tearing itself apart.
Columnist
Asian allies key to our cyberdefence against China
Japan and South Korea have for the first time joined Five Eyes allies led by Australia in directly calling out Chinese cyberattacks, but more can be done.
Cybersecurity expert
It’s an energy race between the implausible and the impossible
Peter Dutton has come up with a nuclear-powered cost of living wedge to expose Labor’s overreach on renewables and sustainability.
Energy expert
Ukraine remains NATO’s pressing test of global relevance
The shadow that hangs over NATO’s 75th birthday is a strange brew of populism that now endangers the alliance’s claim to modern strategic relevance.
Editorial
Why we need ‘wickedly hard’ reform in Australia
Such measures, however, would have to first wrestle the biggest policy reform chiller of all – vertical fiscal imbalance, write Karen Chester and Helen Silver.
Reports
Sustainability Leaders
The list celebrates Australasian companies that are making real progress in tackling sustainability challenges – and delivering business value along the way.
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- Exclusive
- China relations
New ‘alliance’ calls out China’s bad cyber behaviour
Months of behind-the-scenes work helped convince Japan and South Korea to join an Australian-led statement slamming China over cyberattacks.
- Exclusive
- China relations
Cheaper kitchen sinks as Canberra dismantles tariff barrier to China
While Australian lobster remains off the menu in Beijing, the Albanese government is removing tariffs on Chinese-made kitchen sinks.
- Exclusive
- AUKUS
Revealed: Turnbull’s Paris option to revive French subs deal
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull paved the way for Australia to renegotiate the French submarine contract when Labor came to power, but there was silence from the new government.
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
CFMEU deal helps add 10pc to apartment costs
The CFMEU’s latest wages deal for NSW will increase labour costs by up to 19 per cent in the first year alone, a new analysis finds.
Cattle farmers go to war with Labor over class action
Cattle farmers have accused Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus of launching an appalling, contemptuous and “outrageously misleading” attack on them.
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World
Europeans use NATO summit to meet Trump officials
European delegations to a NATO leaders’ summit in Washington this week are holding meetings with foreign policy associates of Donald Trump, as nervousness rises inside the military alliance regarding President Joe Biden’s re-election prospects.
Trump steps up attacks on Harris, stays silent on running mate
The former president accused Vice President Kamala Harris of working with other Democrats to cover up Joe Biden’s alleged mental acuity issues.
Samsung workers strike ‘indefinitely’ in global chip risk
The union of 30,000 workers will go on strike in action that may snowball to trigger similar responses across a recovering tech and chip industry.
China’s consumer price growth weakens ahead of key summit
Factory deflation eases but Beijing’s reliance on exports and industrial output is stoking trade tensions.
Macron coalition talks shaky as left ‘behaves like children’
While French leftists demand the premiership, the president faces fissures in his own camp.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Hedge fund manager’s Perth mansion sells for $25 million
A contemporary mansion in Mosman Park has sold for $25 million in Western Australia’s biggest residential deal so far this year.
The investor survival kit for property taxes
Property investors, particularly in Victoria and NSW, face what seems to be an ever-increasing regime of extra costs and charges. Here are some tips to stay the course.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Young Rich Lister splashes $19m on 1950s waterfront home
Founder of streetwear label Geedup Co. Jake Paco and his mother Debbie have emerged as the buyers of sprawling waterfront estate in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.
PGIM hops on private credit boom with $750m fund
The global fund manager’s first local private credit fund has raised $300 million and received an additional $300 million in commitments so far.
Jon Adgemis’ Paddington pub housing El Primo Sanchez up for sale
The move follows a complex refinancing effort of Mr Adgemis’ Public Hospitality empire involving Deutsche Bank, Muzinich and Archibald Capital’s Ben Madsen.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Property investment
This fledgling asset class is generating double-digit returns
Investors are earning attractive returns from land lease communities, which can generate an annuity-style income.
We inherited dad’s house in the UK – where to pay capital gains tax?
Sisters who moved countries find tax and administration penalties could eat into their inheritance.
How this 29-year-old pilot plans to retire at 50 with $2.5m
From meal-prepping a month in advance to investing in Tesla and Coca-Cola, here’s how one young couple is hoping to retire early.
Technology
Microsoft, Apple walk away from OpenAI board
The ChatGPT maker plans a strategy to engage with its crucial partners as regulatory scrutiny of the sector increases.
The consultant telling business what not to do with AI
Data analytics expert Monica Ly says artificial intelligence should only be used to save on costs or generate revenue.
Telstra increases phone plan prices above inflation rate
The telco is lifting prices for most of its mobile plans – and analysts warn there could be more price increases to come.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
CFMEU conditions risk pushing up Queensland build costs by a third
Restrictive CFMEU conditions on Queensland sites risk dragging out work and making apartment buildings up to 33 per cent more expensive to build, a new analysis says.
A beginner’s guide to surviving a business conference
“Making new connections”? If you don’t know why you’re at an industry gathering, you need to come up with a strategy.
Life & Luxury
Work friends can be hard to find. How to combat workplace loneliness
Remote work has only intensified a problem that has been bubbling for decades.
Sydney’s new aquatic centre was worth the wait
It’s won the Sulman Medal for public architecture and the hearts of locals with its empathetic design and impressive facilities.
How to eat your way to a good mood
What you eat doesn’t just affect your waistline but your emotional outlook as well.
The horror of war in a century-old letter
A letter from the WWI front line and a book of poetry by a famous Sydney eccentric will be auctioned in a sale of arts, war and social history.
Why young people love London’s newest luxury hotel
In contrast to its heritage-rich big sister in Hyde Park, the £1000 a night Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is cheekier and more focused on fun.