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

    Enter now

    Dutton puts CFMEU’s future on the election agenda

    Peter Dutton has made the future of the CFMEU an election issue by pledging to deregister the union if he wins office, as well as re-establishing the construction industry watchdog.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to benefit from a dominant Labor base at the state level when he came to power -  the premiers had ideas of their own.

    Wall-to-wall Labor not necessarily a bonus for the PM

    As the federal election nears, the question is whether Labor in power across the entire mainland has become a problem for the Albanese government in terms of brand damage, writes Phillip Coorey.

    The Trump family: who is up, who is down, and where is Melania?

    Ex-president’s wife and daughter Ivanka fade into the background as Republican National Convention chair Lara takes the limelight.

    Forrest says Element Zero execs burned bridges ‘like Nazis’

    Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest has distanced himself from surveillance tactics used against former employees, but fully supported the IP lawsuit against them.

    Green hydrogen too ‘expensive and inefficient’: Finkel

    Former chief scientist Alan Finkel – who devised Australia’s first clean hydrogen strategy – now says we are “unlikely to use hydrogen for storage of electricity”.

    Workers’ rights law firm admits to underpaying staff $300,000

    Prominent class action firm Slater & Gordon says there are “no excuses” for the underpayment which was due to a decade-long miscalculation of leave entitlements.

    What Guzman y Gomez can learn from the Domino’s disaster

    Domino’s’ latest downgrade tells a story about long-term growth plans that investors in Guzman y Gomez should take note of. 

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    BUILDING BAD

    The Albanese government should deregister the CFMEU.

    On CFMEU, Albo must emulate Hawke

    The union must be deregistered, and government construction contracts must once again be used to ensure that unacceptable union behaviour is not tolerated.

    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 – including the latest on Thursday.

    Hard road: Large Queensland renewables projects are baking in higher costs that benefit the CFMEU but no-one else, industry says.

    Labor rules giving building unions more powers on projects

    The construction industry in Queensland is worried about state policies that benefit the CFMEU, but which will saddle consumers with great costs.

    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.

    ACCC urged to investigate damning CFMEU document

    Competition experts are shocked at a secret side deal between John Holland and the CFMEU to only use three-CFMEU-backed labour hire companies on a major state project.

    US ELECTION

    Joe Biden’s election campaign is in deep trouble as calls mount from within his party for him to step aside.

    Democrats try to stop the slide as Biden isolates

    Nothing has gone right for Joe Biden since his disastrous debate with Donald Trump last month. His COVID diagnosis may be the last straw for a distraught party, reports Jennifer Hewett from New York.

    Courting billionaires while hunting the blue-collar vote: Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention this week.

    Economic populism clashes with Trump’s pitch to donors

    Even as the former president leans into populist themes that make some Republicans wary, he has told major donors he is the only bulwark against higher taxes.

    J.D. Vance has a brand that needs disciplined story telling for it to work.

    Will Vance’s rags-to-riches story win back Trump deserters?

    The senator lauded the former president, calling him “a once-in-a-generation business leader” who showed the instincts to fight for his country when he was shot.

    Two top Democrats tell COVID-struck Biden he won’t win

    The two top Democrats in Congress have privately told Joe Biden that he can’t beat Donald Trump in November, as the president, now isolating with COVID-19, conceded he would give up the race if a doctor told him he had a problem.

    The Trump family: who is up, who is down, and where is Melania?

    Ex-president’s wife and daughter Ivanka fade into the background as Republican National Convention chair Lara takes the limelight.

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

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    Companies

    The concerns of Star’s special manager into its operations and executive team are now public.

    Star was warned of lack of executive experience before NSW inquiry

    A report from special manager Nick Weeks blames regulatory and financial pressure as reasons for a lack of good quality candidates on Star’s board.

    Telix CEO Christian Behrenbruch has upgraded 2024 revenue forecasts.

    Telix shares hit new high on upgraded revenue forecast

    The biotech’s shares double in value this year due to strong sales in the United States for its prostate cancer imaging product.

    LNG prices softened last financial year but export volumes held strong.

    LNG export purse crunched 25pc as prices drop

    Australia’s LNG revenue fell in 2023-24 despite flat export volumes, with Santos’ sales broadly reflecting the wider picture as prices softened.

    Former Fortescue executives Bart Kolodziejczyk (left) and Michael Masterman.

    Forrest says Element Zero execs burned bridges ‘like Nazis’

    Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest has distanced himself from surveillance tactics used against former employees, but fully supported the IP lawsuit against them.

    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”.

    Albanese sticks to hydrogen despite Fortescue retreat

    Andrew Forrest ditching plans to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 has sparked questions over the government’s climate policies.

    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.

    Companies in the News

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    Markets

    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.

    Shawn Lee.

    SG Hiscock offloads retailers and buys these small caps instead

    Small caps manager Shawn Lee explains why he’s bearish on the consumer discretionary sector and names a Kiwi-based retirement living operator as a stock he thinks is cheap.

    Xi Jinping and Donald Trump appear to be on a collision course.

    Nvidia crash shows dark side of the Trump trade

    Donald Trump’s comments on Taiwan added to a global sell-off in computer chipmakers. The episode has three big lessons for investors. 

    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.

    Tech sector plunges; 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.

    Opinion

    Wall-to-wall Labor not necessarily a bonus for the PM

    As the federal election nears, the question is whether Labor in power across the entire mainland has become a problem for the Albanese government in terms of brand damage.

    Phillip Coorey

    Political editor

    Phillip Coorey

    Democrats try to stop the slide as Biden isolates

    Nothing has gone right for Joe Biden since his disastrous debate with Donald Trump last month. His COVID diagnosis may be the last straw for a distraught party.

    Picking green over blue is stalling our hydrogen superpower hopes

    Labor’s tax incentive scheme maintains the habit of describing identical molecules with colours of the rainbow. It is out of step with Australia’s competitors and customers

    David Heard

    Energy expert

    David Heard

    Don’t put all energy transition eggs in one green basket

    The energy revolution is producing militant evangelists and sceptics of individual technologies. Andrew Forrest’s hydrogen retreat shows policymakers need to be more open-minded.

    The AFR View

    Editorial

    The AFR View

    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

    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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    Politics

    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.

    Australia could impose the broadest country-by-country tax reporting rules for multinationals anywhere in the world.

    Labor urged to include tax havens in profit shifting crackdown

    About 50 per cent of large US companies and multinationals from China, Japan, and Germany will be covered by the rules.

    Rate rise chances grow as employment jumps

    The market is pricing in a one-in-five risk the RBA will increase the cash rate when it meets next month, after 50,000 jobs were added to the economy in June.

    One in 40 highly indebted homeowners 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.

    Don’t restart energy wars, business and green groups warn

    A coalition of business and environment groups has urged governments to provide credible and consistent energy policy.

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    World

    Courting billionaires while hunting the blue-collar vote: Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention this week.

    Economic populism clashes with Trump’s pitch to donors

    Even as the former president leans into populist themes that make some Republicans wary, he has told major donors he is the only bulwark against higher taxes.

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

    Two top Democrats tell COVID-struck Biden he won’t win

    The two top Democrats in Congress have privately told Joe Biden that he can’t beat Donald Trump in November, as the president, now isolating with COVID-19, conceded he would give up the race if a doctor told him he had a problem.

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Tech companies are racing to get access to the company’s GPUs.

    Struggling bitcoin miners seek deals with AI companies

    They now hope to benefit from a surge in demand for powerful but scarce chips which are used in both crypto mining and AI processing.

    Will Vance’s rags-to-riches story win back Trump deserters?

    The senator lauded the former president, calling him “a once-in-a-generation business leader” who showed the instincts to fight for his country when he was shot.

    ‘I love you, Mum’: Vance draws on his own struggles in voter pitch

    Donald Trump’s running mate introduced himself to Americans at the Republican convention while using his story to argue he understands their everyday problems.

    Property

    Luxury homes now ‘critical asset’ for Australia’s wealthy

    The number of house sales over $5 million has rocketed since 2019, with a new report saying prestige property is key to long-term wealth creation.

    The DoubleTree by Hilton Hobart will open later this year.

    Singaporean billionaire brings Hilton to Hobart

    Koh Wee Meng’s Fragrance Group has ditched Accor’s Novotel brand and has instead appointed Hilton to run its new Hobart Hotel as a DoubleTree.

    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.

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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

    Employees at Melanie Perkins’ Canva are higher paid than tech staff elsewhere, but are increasingly unionised, according to Professionals Australia.

    Microsoft may have just become Canva’s most dangerous rival

    The world’s biggest software company has debuted an AI-powered design app, presenting Canva with a deep-pocketed rival.

    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.

    Work & Careers

    KPMG defended its early retirement plan for partners for more than two years.

    What went wrong with KPMG’s legal experiment

    Finding top lawyers willing to tolerate relative anonymity and powerlessness in a distant corner of a mammoth multinational proved a challenge for the legal division.

    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.

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    Life & Luxury

    The Sydney-born solution to NYC’s paragon of inefficiency

    Architect Ben Berwick’s modular glazing system for saving energy costs is more than window dressing.

    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.

    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.

    Terry de Gunzburg’s secret to French beauty? Red lipstick.

    The secret to French beauty? It’s simple, and powerful

    Terry de Gunzburg, the woman behind the By Terry makeup empire, says a laissez-faire approach – and a little red lipstick – goes a long way in business, and life.

    From the gallery