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    Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan under pressure as she publicly responded to the CFMEU allegations this week.

    Why Allan is so exposed by the CFMEU scandal

    The Victorian premier’s deep roots in the union movement place her on the front line of fallout from the scandal enveloping the CFMEU.

    A Delta Airlines kiosk displays a message that reads “It looks like Windows didn’t load correctly”.

    Global IT chaos triggered by software glitch eases slightly

    The impact of what’s being called the most spectacular IT failure the world has ever seen is expected to take at least several days to tally.

    The momentum in US small caps has so far failed to translate to the ASX small cap sector.

    ASX small caps miss out on ‘Great Rotation’ on rate worries

    The gains in US small caps have further to run, say strategists, but Aussie investors shouldn’t hold their breath for a knock-on rally closer to home.

    ANZ’s toxic trading-floor roulette spins out of control

    The bank is engulfed in one of its biggest scandals after a sudden market move swung tens of millions of dollars out of its client’s favour. The client was the government.

    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, writes Tim Stanley.

    Biden vows to fight on amid ever rising calls to step aside

    While more than one in 10 congressional Democrats have now publicly called on the president to step aside, Joe Biden said he will renew his campaign next week.

    The battle for Australia’s new submarines

    A new book reveals the problems Australian political and military leaders faced in making the most important naval acquisition in a generation.

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    WEEKEND READS

    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, writes Kenneth Rogoff.

    Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention.

    How Donald 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.

    Evidence of a link between social media and poor mental health in young women is growing.

    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?

    Political poison: Unions, the Labor Party and the CFMEU

    With an election due within a year, the CFMEU scandal will be an issue that dogs Labor and the unions all the way to polling day.

    Bikie delegates axed as CFMEU scrambles to fight back

    Sources say the Labor government is struggling to find someone willing to take on external administration of the CFMEU, a move it is desperately trying to fend off.

    SMART INVESTOR

    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.

    Zombie companies, low-yielding commercial property and marginal residential borrowers will become even more vulnerable.

    Second subprime crisis more likely with Trump in the White House

    Investors need to start preparing for how a re-elected Donald Trump will shape inflation, interest rates, and hence asset prices.

    Over the past five years, financial advice fees have risen nearly 60 per cent.

    Not rich enough! Why my financial adviser dumped me

    Half a million Australians have been ‘sacked’ by their financial planners as firms clamour to win wealthier clients.

    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.

    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.

    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

    Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson.

    Mining boss calls for policy changes with more jobs in danger

    The boss of WA’s peak resources lobby group says the Albanese government needs to step up to prevent more job losses.

    Bombed out retailers stage comeback ahead of results season

    There is plenty of pressure on household budgets, but retailers from Universal Store to shoe chain owner Accent Group say trading is picking up.

    Energy Minister Chris Bowen said reports of the death of Green hydrogen are exaggerated

    Green hydrogen not dead despite Fortescue retreat, says Bowen

    State energy ministers have unanimously reiterated their opposition to Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans.

    Cheap renewable power is one driver for affordable hydrogen.

    Energy CEOs urge industry not to quit hydrogen dream

    Australian businesses need to be smarter and work harder to overcome the cost hurdles in hydrogen, which has a strong future in some industries, CEOs insist.

    ‘True giant’ Kevan Gosper, Olympic veteran and businessman, dies

    The Olympic silver medallist, who was planning to go to next week’s Paris Games, gave Australia’s fledgling Olympic movement business-like governance.

    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.

    Whitehaven Coal says inflation is ‘rife’

    The coal miner says the cost of parts and services continues to rise despite higher unemployment, as a rail “glitch” soured its $6.4b move into Queensland coal.

    Companies in the News

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    Markets

    CBA shares roared to new record highs this week on the back of strong institutional demand, including from index funds.

    Has the CBA share price peaked?

    After the Commonwealth Bank’s latest record, analysts and fund managers are wondering whether the hyper-rally in bank stocks can be sustained.

    Shares were set to end the week lower.

    US equities drop as selling pressure persists

    The S&P 500 posted its worst week since April as investors continue to shift from this year’s winners to its laggards.

    Research by Professor Hendrik Bessembinder found that 59 per cent of US companies were a drag on investor wealth between 1925 and today, and just 4 per cent of companies accounted for the net wealth creation in that period.

    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. 

    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.

    Opinion

    Trump skips reset moment, doubles down on MAGA magic

    Donald Trump had the chance of a lifetime to reinvent himself following an assassination attempt. But why on earth would he do that?

    Matthew Cranston

    United States correspondent

    Matthew Cranston

    Why powerless workers are now a potent political force

    The rise of hillbilly J.D. Vance and an Australian mega-union that is famous for all the wrong reasons have more in common than you might think.

    Laura Tingle

    Columnist

    Laura Tingle

    Democrats know that this fight is done

    No matter how much Joe Biden points to falling inflation and violent crime rates and rising real wages, too many voters are looking in the other direction, writes Jennifer Hewett.

    Trump sets out his flawed vision for America

    Donald Trump’s policies will bake inflation in, and isolate America while weakening it. The Democrats need to field a credible challenge quickly.

    The AFR View

    Editorial

    The AFR View

    What is Trumponomics 2.0, and how will Australia manage it?

    Some of Donald Trump’s new economic plans may help Canberra. Most of them will leave us more alone in increasingly volatile world markets.

    Susan Stone

    Economist

    Susan Stone

    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

    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

    A Delta Airlines kiosk displays a message that reads “It looks like Windows didn’t load correctly”.

    Global IT chaos triggered by software glitch eases slightly

    The impact of what’s being called the most spectacular IT failure the world has ever seen is expected to take at least several days to tally.

    Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has made no apologies for abolishing the ABCC.

    ‘We won’t be lectured by Dutton on CFMEU’: Albanese says

    The opposition leader has vowed to deregister the union and reinstate the Coalition’s union watchdog.

    Nobody will even look at staying anywhere with a rating below four stars.

    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.

    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.

    Home building slowdown fuels Perth’s rocketing price rises

    Dwindling housing completions have helped fuel major increases in Perth’s property prices as developers warn most projects are not viable because of rising costs.

    SPONSORED

    World

    President Joe Biden is looking ahead.

    Biden vows to fight on amid ever rising calls to step aside

    While more than one in 10 congressional Democrats have now publicly called on the president to step aside, Joe Biden said he will renew his campaign next week.

    People are seen through a broken window next to the scene of an explosive drone attack in Tel Aviv.

    Yemen’s Houthis take credit for shock drone strike in Tel Aviv

    The attack in the heart of Israel’s most populous city killed one and injured at least five people, sparking renewed concerns of wider regional violence.

    Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

    US journalist sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison

    The expedited trial and harsh verdict for Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was seen as opening the door to a prisoner swap.

    A triumphant Trump seizes control of rollercoaster race

    There’s a sense that a newly energised Trump needs an equally dynamic Democrat to take him on as polling increasingly favours a Republican victory in November.

    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

    Son of late British billionaire sells $12m Melbourne penthouse

    Businessman Mark Healey has offloaded his Toorak penthouse, while packaging executive Alex Commins has downsized to South Yarra.

    Lifestyle Communities managing director James Kelly.

    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.

    The Bellevue Hill property bought  by Anabel and Andrew De Saxe.

    Society couple settle on $20m Bellevue Hill home

    Anabel and Andrew de Saxe have settled on their six-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion, following a string of hefty sales linked to their extended family.

    Home building slowdown fuels Perth’s rocketing price rises

    Dwindling housing completions have helped fuel major increases in Perth’s property prices as developers warn most projects are not viable because of rising costs.

    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.

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    Wealth

    Words

    Revealed: Which super funds rate the best – and worst – for retirement

    Superannuation funds are going backwards in terms of preparing their customers for retirement, new research shows.

    Spending a few hours on this now will make you richer later

    Work through these 11 steps to grow your superannuation faster.

    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,

    Technology

    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.

    Alan Finkel says green hydrogen will be used as a chemical to produce decarbonised products for export,

    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”.

    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.

    Work & Careers

    “Shōgun” offers tips for modern political parties.

    Power tips from ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘Shōgun’

    The popular swords-and-scheming TV series have lessons for modern political parties.

    ‘True giant’ Kevan Gosper, Olympic veteran and businessman, dies

    The Olympic silver medallist, who was planning to go to next week’s Paris Games, gave Australia’s fledgling Olympic movement business-like governance.

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    Life & Luxury

    Do you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions

    Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.

    An artist’s impression of Goodman’s Rosebery Engine Yards development.

    Not an outlet store: how fashion brands are making discounting cool

    With the opening of a new “luxury discount” precinct in Sydney, local retailers are trying to make sales fashionable.

    Mary Lou Ryan (left) and Deborah Sams, of bassike.

    Bassike third local fashion business to lose a co-founder this year

    Bassike co-founder Mary Lou Ryan is leaving the business she helped create.

    ‘I’m in Hell’ – when AI resurrection goes wrong

    It is in its infancy but “death capitalism” will soon become big business.

    The six best wines from this year’s Penfolds collection

    Wondering what to buy, what to drink and what to stash away? Here are six bottles we especially loved.

    From the gallery