The Energy Awards recognise the people and businesses driving the future of the industry.
Employment jumps 50k in still-tight jobs market
The employment growth figures were better than market expectations for gains of 20,000 and highlighted the ongoing strength of the local jobs market.
CFMEU treats $19m in fines as ‘cost of doing business’
Judges have constantly called out the rogue union while issuing workplace penalties of about $19 million since 2016.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
CFMEU scandal should force rethink on super fund boards
Union-backed industry super funds have pushed hard to lift governance and accountability at public companies. Shouldn’t they want to improve their own governance, too?
- Live
- Markets Live
Economy adds 50,200 jobs; traders lift bets on interest rate increase
Jobless rate edges higher in line with expectations, job gains beat forecasts. Domino’s cuts guidance. Telix lifts sales forecasts. Nasdaq posts worst day since 2022. Follow here.
One in 40 highly indebted home owners are behind on their mortgage
Banks expect home loan arrears to increase further as more borrowers struggle to deal with high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures.
- Live
- Need to Know
Schumer, Jeffries reportedly warned Biden to exit
Schumer reportedly tells Biden to end re-election bid; Trump appears at RNC for third day as Vance expected to speak; Biden says he feels good as he flies home; McManus defends previous CFMEU backing. Follow for updates.
- Analysis
- US election
How Thiel and Silicon Valley funded J.D. Vance’s sudden rise
Donald Trump’s VP pick was a venture capitalist bankrolled in business and politics by billionaire investors. His ties to PayPal’s co-founder go way back.
- Drinks With Max Allen
- Wine & spirits
The six best wines from this year’s Penfolds collection
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
BUILDING BAD
CFMEU treats $19m in fines as ‘cost of doing business’
Judges have constantly called out the rogue union while issuing workplace penalties of about $19 million since 2016.
APRA puts onus on Cbus to ensure CFMEU directors are fit, proper
Senators have called for the construction industry fund to cut ties with the CFMEU amid allegations of criminality at the union. The prudential regulator says it is up to superannuation fund boards.
- Updated
- Building Bad
CFMEU crackdown doesn’t go far enough
Business groups are demanding an inquiry into the CFMEU’s alleged criminal activities and the return of a permanent independent regulator.
Construction industry ‘much more respectful’ in WA
The Western Australian Labor government is unlikely to follow moves by eastern states to impose compulsory requirements for union agreements.
‘Not a threat, it’s very real’: CFMEU retaliation tactics in focus
Victorian firms strong-armed into signing enterprise bargaining agreements say they are too afraid of speaking out against the CFMEU for fear of reprisals.
US ELECTION
- Updated
- US election
COVID-infected Biden says doctor could make him quit
Californian congressman Adam Schiff became the highest-profile Democrat to demand the incumbent president step aside in the 2024 race for the Oval Office.
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to withdraw, new poll finds
The survey also found that only about three in 10 party members are extremely or very confident that Joe Biden has the mental capability to serve effectively.
Trump tells Taiwan to pay up for US defence against China
The presidential candidate said that America is “no different than an insurance company”, and accused the island of stealing semiconductor business.
Former rivals back Trump in show of Republican unity
The second day of the Republican convention showed the kind of discipline and co-ordinated messaging not normally associated with the former president’s political operation.
- Analysis
- US election
Biden circle shrinks as Democrats fear election wipeout
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump at the weekend has muted some of the public pressure on the US president to exit the race. But the party remains deeply divided.
Get the front page and latest edition of the Financial Review as it was printed, delivered to your inbox every morning.
Companies
- Updated
- Big four
ANZ board ‘acutely focused’ on trading scandal
In a note to staff, the bank’s executives said directors and senior management met on Tuesday to review probes into workplace conduct and market manipulation.
- Analysis
- Roads
Sydney’s toll road overhaul is set to target the rich
Drivers who live in some of the city’s priciest suburbs may pay extra, but the benefits of reducing fares on many of its other motorways will be worth it.
- Updated
- Food
Domino’s shuts dozens of stores, dumps big growth target
The company told shareholders it would close stores in Japan and France and warned that the “timing of achieving the long-term outlook was under review”.
Resurgent Zip pays big break fee to eliminate its debt
Zip has indicated it will push the accelerator on growth in the United States despite regulators investigating whether it has violated consumer protection laws.
Nuclear awakening ‘a decade or two late’, says AER
Clare Savage said it would take 25 years to put the political and regulatory frameworks in place for nuclear power – much longer than the Coalition says.
Fortescue’s pivot shakes faith in Labor’s Hydrogen Headstart strategy
Power prices would need to drop steeply and electrolyser costs more than halve to produce hydrogen at anywhere near a competitive level, the industry has warned.
Pernod Ricard exits Australian wine making, sells to Bain consortium
The French giant’s portfolio of local brands – as well as those in New Zealand and Spain – will be combined with Accolade Wines, the company behind Hardys.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Geopolitics tops inflation as key market risk: global fund managers
The “perception” of geopolitical risk is a net 88 per cent above normal, and at its highest since November 2022, according to a Bank of America metric.
What happened overnight? The Nasdaq tumbled as semiconductor stocks plunged
Australian shares were set to open lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 2.8 per cent amid a sell-off in semiconductor stocks. Nvidia dropped 6.6 per cent.
Why Ark’s Cathie Wood is betting big on Tesla
The fund manager is banking on Elon Musk’s move into robotaxi’s will be a catalyst for a roughly 10-fold increase in Tesla’s share price
Waller says Fed getting ‘closer’ to cutting rates
Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller has added to a growing chorus of officials who have signalled that they are moving closer towards a rate cut.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Stocks just keep rising, but bonds are flashing a big warning
Wall Street’s rally is grinding on, and now seems to be broadening out. However, beneath the surface, there are signs of fragility that shouldn’t be ignored.
Opinion
Only a full judicial inquiry can lift the lid on the CFMEU
The scandals at the construction union leave a host of unanswered questions that will shape the future of industrial relations in Australia.
Former Fair Work Commission vice-president
CFMEU’s industrial power has corrupted
The scale of the systemic wrongdoing that has been uncovered demands a fuller judicial inquiry that must also probe the institutional enablers of the CFMEU’s crimes.
Editorial
‘We have a country to save’: Republicans rally to a reborn Trump
The Republican National Convention is showcasing a party dominated by Donald Trump and his views, while the disarray in the Democrats just keeps coming.
Columnist
How toxic talk turns too easily to assassin’s bullets
A more centrist political culture doesn’t make Australia immune to the language that has inflamed American politics in recent times, writes Georgina Downer.
Robert Menzies Institute
Why does France’s far right get stronger with each election?
The Western nation has not responded well to the challenges of globalisation, which is a problem that also applies to the whole of Europe.
Economist
Private equity has become hazardous terrain for investors
The days of easy windfalls from freakishly loose monetary policy are gone. Now, private capital is much more hazardous terrain for investors.
Contributor
Reports
Sustainability Leaders
The list celebrates Australasian companies that are making real progress in tackling sustainability challenges – and delivering business value along the way.
Sponsored
by BCGPolitics
Trust in government is the newest gender divide
Only 38 per cent of Australian women trust the federal government, compared with 54 per cent of men, an OECD study has found.
Was the greatest Labor politician of his era corrupt?
Many people believe NSW Premier Neville Wran used his office for personal profit. A biographer wants to correct the record.
- Updated
- Energy
Labor’s hydrogen dream stalls as Fortescue slims down H2 vision
Fortescue will cut 700 jobs and slow its push into green hydrogen in a blow to the Albanese government’s plan to make Australia a hydrogen superpower supported by more than $8 billion of taxpayer funded incentives.
‘Alltoohardism’ supplants climate denial as obstacle to renewables
Chris Bowen remains upbeat about achieving 82 per cent renewable energy generation by the end of the decade.
‘Another bombshell on tax practitioners’: new rules anger accountants
Labor is being urged to delay implementing the new standards and obligations for accountants and tax agents, who accuse the government of significant overreach.
SPONSORED
World
Tennis diplomacy: why MAGA star Ramaswamy is a fan of Nick Kyrgios
The future Trump cabinet pick and former presidential candidate says the psychology of the bad boy of Australian tennis “fascinates me”.
- Analysis
- US election
How Thiel and Silicon Valley funded J.D. Vance’s sudden rise
Donald Trump’s VP pick was a venture capitalist bankrolled in business and politics by billionaire investors. His ties to PayPal’s co-founder go way back.
- Opinion
- Trade deals
The world needs to prepare for a US-China trade war
Democrat and Republican policymakers believe Washington must impose huge restrictions on Chinese technologies, including electric cars and solar panels.
New Zealand inflation slows to three-year low
Three of the country’s main banks brought forward forecasts for RBNZ rate cuts after the inflation report.
Paris mayor dives into Seine River to prove it’s safe for the Olympics
The big question on French lips is not whether the chronically polluted waterway will host sports, but whether President Emmanuel Macron will also take a dip.
Property
- Exclusive
- Office
The 19 corporate giants behind Sydney’s tumbling office values
Australia’s biggest companies have cut close to 200,000 square metres from their Sydney CBD office footprints. And so far, only Westpac is considering expanding again.
Barrenjoey partner swaps Bondi federation mansion for Double Bay villa
After selling their Bondi home to designer Camilla Franks, Barrenjoey Capital founding partner Ben Scott and wife Pensiri have bought in Double Bay.
Remote work crushes next wave of office towers: experts
The next wave of CBD skyscrapers may not emerge for another decade as Sydney and Melbourne office markets recover from the rise of remote work and record high vacancy rates.
The suburbs turning into buyers’ markets as listings pile up
The sharp increase in inventory levels is creating favourable conditions for buyers, experts say.
Apartment starts fall to 11-year low
Industry groups say the extra costs of construction union agreements compound rising materials and financing costs to make housing projects unprofitable.
Wealth
ATO targets property valuations in countdown to new $3m super tax
SMSFs are in the firing line for failing to update the market value of investment properties and commercial buildings such as farms and medical practices.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Spending a few hours on this now will make you richer later
Work through these 11 steps to grow your superannuation faster.
Can I put $360,000 into super before my divorce settlement?
A reader getting $1.9 million from her ex-husband’s super fund wants advice on maximising her savings and the $15,000 she already has in her fund.
Technology
‘Not good enough’: Blackbird admits its gender pledge has stalled
Australia’s largest VC fund pledged to track data to support its rhetoric around investing in more women founders. Its first report shows it has gone backwards.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Construction start-up lands mega $105m deal
Melbourne software company HammerTech has landed a $105 million investment from Californian private equity shop Riverwood Capital.
- Exclusive
- Funding
Woolies, Harris Farm, Tesla chair, pile in to back biosecurity start-up
ExoFlare has plans to build a global biosecurity tech firm, modelled on international cybersecurity players, and has big-name backers watching as it helps tackle bird flu.
Work & Careers
The $50,000 arts degree arrives, as student debt climbs
The cost of a degree is at historical highs, with no relief in sight for at least another two years.
- Opinion
- Illness
Do you get sick on holidays? You’re probably a workaholic
Those of us who fall ill as soon as we stop work may need to rethink our approach to life.
Life & Luxury
The luxury watches that insiders were talking about in Geneva
The biggest and best competed for attention at the year’s largest horological fair, although true surprises were the exception.
Why testosterone is a wonder drug for men and women over 50
More than just a male sex hormone, it can be the foundation for a healthy lifestyle – and the Olympics is about to put its powers under the spotlight again.
NSW stun Queensland in brutal Origin fightback
The Blues clawed back to win the State of Origin series in a chaotic, epic decider that saw Cameron Murray sin binned off the bench.
‘Grazed, but not Dazed’: Trump T-shirts go viral
Entrepreneurs in Asia were quick to cash in on the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump.
This Australian invention can slash heating bills
Architect Ben Berwick’s modular glazing system for saving energy costs is more than window dressing.
