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    The Energy Awards recognise the people and businesses driving the future of the industry.

    Enter now

    Markets bet on August rate rise as employment jumps 50k

    Investors have ratcheted up bets on an August interest rate rise after the jobs market recorded another month of strong employment gains in June.

    ‘I stand here humbled’: J.D. Vance speaks at convention

    WATCH LIVE: Trump’s vice presidential pick speaks at RNC; Schumer reportedly tells Biden to end re-election bid; Biden says he feels good as he flies home. Follow for updates.

    Vivek Ramaswamy: “Most people have a crazy side to them.”

    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”.

    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?

    The Aussie funds that beat bitcoin and big tech

    It was often savvy bets at the smaller end of the market that shot the top-performing fund managers to the top of the leader table in the last financial year.

    Domino’s sinks; 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 behind on mortgage

    Banks expect home loan arrears to increase further as more borrowers struggle to deal with high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures.

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    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.

    This firm is on police’s radar, but still thriving thanks to CFMEU

    A company run by brothers known to the authorities and championed by the union has ballooned into one of NSW’s biggest labour hire operations.

    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.

    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.

    US ELECTION

    caption

    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.

    Joe Biden remains under pressure to reconsider his bid for the White House.

    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.

    President Joe Biden speaking in Las Vegas earlier this week.

    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.

    Get the front page and latest edition of the Financial Review as it was printed, delivered to your inbox every morning.

    Sign up for the Today’s Paper newsletter

    Companies

    ANZ’s head of institutional banking, Mark Whelan, with the bank’s chief executive, Shayne Elliott, last year.

    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.

    Drivers who use Sydney’s Eastern Distributor toll road would have to pay toll fares in both directions if the government adopts the recommendations of a toll road review.

    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.

    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”.

    Zip Co group chief executive Cynthia Scott.

    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

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    Markets

    China sent a record number of warplanes across a US-drawn boundary in the Taiwan Strait earlier this month.

    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.

    The New York Stock Exchange.

    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.

    Ark’s Cathie Wood is betting big on Tesla.

    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.

    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.

    Graeme Watson

    Former Fair Work Commission vice-president

    Graeme Watson

    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.

    The AFR View

    Editorial

    The AFR View

    ‘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.

    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.

    Georgina Downer

    Robert Menzies Institute

    Georgina Downer

    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.

    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.

    John Plender

    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 BCG
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    Politics

    Trust in government is declining, and it’s a global trend.

    Why competent government is the answer to political extremism

    The US has its unique national blind spot for guns, but as two reports on social cohesion and democracy point out, the ingredients of division and extremism have been rising everywhere.

    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.

    The Assassination of Neville Wran, by Milton Cockburn, aims to set the record straight.

    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.

    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.

    SPONSORED

    World

    Vivek Ramaswamy: “Most people have a crazy side to them.”

    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”.

    caption

    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.

    US and China remain among each other’s top investors and customers.

    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

    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.

    Property survey

    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.

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    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.

    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

    Wing ground operations manager Semira Ragan and Australia operations manager Dave Ojiako-Pettit loading a drone with a parcel in Melbourne.

    Drone food delivery set to land in Melbourne’s east

    Lightweight, styrofoam drones will soon be flying over the city, delivering meals and packages to homes in Melbourne’s sprawling outer-eastern suburbs.

    The children of parents who spend a lot of time on their own phones are found to spend 40 minutes more on their phones.

    I gave up my phone as an example to my teenagers – it was disastrous

    Before you ban your kids from using smartphones, ask yourself why.

    Blackbird Ventures co-founder and partner Rick Baker.

    ‘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.

    Work & Careers

    There is a vast and growing difference in how much students contribute to their degree based on what they study.

    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.

    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.

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    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.

    Research suggests testosterone can improve your midlife health and relationships.

    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.

    State of Origin game three. NSW beat Queensland 14-4 at Suncorp Stadium.

    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.

    Trump T-shirts were available minutes after the shooting.

    ‘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.

    From the gallery