The Energy Awards recognise the people and businesses driving the future of the industry.
- Live
- Need to Know
Trump details shooting; makes ‘bold’ pledges on energy and inflation
WATCH LIVE: Trump details attempted assassination and millions raised for victims in RNC speech; Pelosi tells Democrats Biden may soon be persuaded to exit race; Biden’s donations expected to halve. Follow updates here.
Latest Posts
Trump finishes 90 minute speech
Trump’s speech reaches 90 minutes
WATCH: Trump calls COVID-19 the ‘China virus’
How the RNC crowd is laid out
Last updated 1 min ago
- Analysis
- US election
What happens if Biden drops out of the presidential race?
Vice-President Kamala Harris is the likeliest candidate to replace Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, but her nomination is not a sure thing if Biden withdraws.
How Trump went from pariah to political saviour
The former president was in the wilderness not much more than a year ago, but now he is back. The seven battleground states will be the ultimate judge.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Time to sell stars like CBA and Nvidia? History says be careful
More market watchers are getting worried the stars of this rally are starting to fade. But new research says big winners tend to keep winning.
- Live
- Markets Live
Shares fall; Afterpay-owner Block, Lifestyle Communities dive
Miners, banks drag shares 1.2pc lower. APRA relents on Westpac. Lifestyle Communities pulls guidance. Netflix’s profit surges. ECB holds rates. Copper, gold, oil fall. Follow here.
Fight over Baby Boomer housing takes toll on developer
The Melbourne-based developer and landlord faces the twin battles of a slowing market and criticism of a fee structure that other companies do not use.
- Breaking
- Dominic Perrottet
Dominic Perrottet to join BHP in senior Washington role
The former NSW premier will join the Big Australian in Washington, heading up the miner’s external affairs in the United States.
AFR Weekend: The big stories, best reads and expert advice. In your inbox on Saturday.
BUILDING BAD
- Investigation
- Building Bad
Leaked texts reveal Labor women who backed Setka
Leaked text messages reveal Labor politicians and insiders sent messages of support to the CFMEU boss as he dealt with domestic violence-related offences.
Victorian Labor MP takes swipe at colleagues over Setka messages
Gabrielle Williams, a former minister for the prevention of family violence, has had a veiled dig at colleagues who sent messages of support to John Setka.
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.
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.
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.
RICH BOSSES
The 10 wealthiest executives in the ASX 300 revealed
The Australian Financial Review’s Rich Bosses list for 2024 is dominated by tech and mining executives and also welcomes a new face.
- Exclusive
- Rich Bosses
Nation’s richest boss ‘can’t find anything to invest in’ but WiseTech
This year’s list is stacked with tech founders such as Richard White – and shows how divorces can force bosses down the ranks.
Why only four execs have kept spot on rich bosses list over decade
Chris Ellison, Graham Turner, David Teoh and Gerry Harvey have maintained their positions while some of their richer peers of yesteryear have bowed out.
- Exclusive
- Rich Bosses
The secrets to becoming a rich boss
There are good reasons why tech companies dominate this year’s Rich Bosses list.
This rich boss always wanted a private jet. Now he is on his second
In his twenties, David Dicker had not yet figured out how he was going to make money, but he knew he wanted a private jet. Then he worked out how to afford one.
Get the front page and latest edition of the Financial Review as it was printed, delivered to your inbox every morning.
Companies
Judge slaps $1m fine on ‘dishonest’ Dominique Grubisa
The self-styled wealth and property guru has also been banned from running companies for five years, and her DG Institute has copped a fine of $5 million.
Prudential watchdog halves $1b Westpac penalty
APRA will slash its $1 billion capital penalty levied on the bank four years after it was first implemented.
QIC coy on Thames Water stake as utility drowns in debt
The state-backed asset manager has not marked down its valuation of the embattled London investment, despite its largest shareholder writing it off entirely.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
What happened overnight? Wall Street extended its losses
Australian shares were set to drop 1.3 per cent at the open. US stocks reversed early gains, though Nvidia rebounded. Volatility leapt to a three-month-high.
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.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
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.
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.
Political editor
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.
Columnist
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
Energy expert
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.
Editorial
Productivity Commission pours cold water on care spending
Jim Chalmers’ misclassification of the care economy as a driver of productivity simply underlines why Labor needs a genuine reform agenda.
Editorial
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
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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by BCGPolitics
Surge in expats coming home could thwart migration targets
Strong labour conditions are attracting Australian citizens back from overseas. It could be a political problem for Labor.
- Updated
- Employment
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.
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.
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.
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.
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World
Democrats weigh up a showdown with Joe Biden
The wave of doubt surrounding the incumbent president suggests a new, more serious phase in his bid to save his candidacy.
For Biden and Harris, a delicate and sometimes awkward dance
Joe Biden is said to have become more receptive to arguments for why he should step aside, and is asking questions about how Kamala Harris could win.
We don’t know when rates will be cut again, ECB says
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde says the question of an interest rate cut in September is “wide open”, and dependent on data.
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.
- Opinion
- US election
What if Trump had been assassinated?
His death would have pushed America further down a road it is already going – of hatred from both sides towards the other.
Property
- Exclusive
- Luxury 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.
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.
- 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.
Wealth
New $3m super tax is ‘stealing my children’s inheritance’
Family enterprises face hard questions about whether to abandon their succession and retirement plans by selling their shops, farms and factories,
Having too much money isn’t possible, happiness researcher finds
A senior fellow at the Wharton School says the correlation between wealth and wellbeing does not plateau once incomes reach a certain point.
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.
Technology
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”.
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.
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.
Work & Careers
Top lawyers ‘name their price’ as competition runs hot
Major law firms are being forced to adapt their partnership structures as high-earning partners test their value on the open market.
The secret to joining an ASX 200 board, from two women who succeeded
Eleven women were appointed to chair S&P/ASX 200 companies between March and June, taking the total to a record 25.
Life & Luxury
Don’t seize the day in Europe. Seize the night
It’s another gangbusters season for continental travel, and the usual suspects are dealing with baking heat and swarms of tourists. Here’s how to avoid both.
‘I’m in Hell’ – when AI resurrection goes wrong
It is in its infancy but “death capitalism” will soon become big business.
America’s most powerful export may be anxiety
What if mental health cannot be separated from culture, and cultural forces are making young English-speakers unhappy?
Celeste Barber made fun of the beauty industry – now she’s in it
This comedian, actor, author and Instagram queen has never shied away from a challenge. Now she’s creating make-up for women who fear it.
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.
