ASIC says opaque private credit funds will face more scrutiny
Chairman Joe Longo says the regulator is setting up dedicated teams to investigate conflicts of interest and asset valuations in the sector.
We suspect ANZ broke the law in $14b bond sale: ASIC
Private credit must be less secret, say banks, regulators
Rock stars happy to discuss fixes, but super isn’t the big problem
Once reluctant, super funds are flocking to private credit
This private credit fund is going big on companies failing ESG tests
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Elon Musk is right. AI doubters should sell
Tesla’s first wave of growth is under severe pressure from competition and politics. But the chief executive says none of that matters.
As Australians are attacked, 45,000 police to hit streets
Olympic officials have warned of a broad range of security threats in Paris, from protests to crime and even war, as authorities step up protection for Israeli athletes.
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
Investors aren’t buying Google’s AI future – yet
The search giant’s parent, Alphabet, produced solid earnings, but shareholders are tiring of claims about future magic without answers to important questions.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX flat; Perpetual drops after outflows; gold stocks rally
Shares flat; Telix abandons plans to list on the Nasdaq; Perpetual hit with outflows; the Australian dollar extends sell-off; Pilbara revenue jumps 58 per cent. Follow updates here.
- Live
- Need to Know
Democrats slam Vance depiction of Harris as childless cat lady
The three-year-old interview shows J.D. Vance criticising Kamala Harris for being childless; Donald Trump says he does not think Secret Service boss “had much of a choice” but to resign. Follow for updates.
Saul Eslake’s one-man mission to undo the GST deal – and make WA pay
The Tasmanian economist has drawn the ire of an entire state with his campaign to reverse “the worst public policy decision of the 21st century”.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
Audi’s luxe electric SUV faces uncertain future
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
paris 2024
Brisbane Olympics boss: Stop making 2032 Games a ‘political football’
Andrew Liveris claims plans for the Queensland event is running “ahead of schedule” with cricket remaining a possibility to be added to the roster of sports.
How the billionaire ‘godfather of the Olympics’ made his fortune
LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault created the world’s biggest luxury group - and that lavishness will be on full display at the Paris Olympics.
Secrets of Olympians who have conquered the business world
BOSS speaks to six Olympians, including Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott and Generation Life CEO Grant Hackett, about the most valuable business lessons they learnt from sport.
The 14-year-old Aussie Olympian who could make history in Paris
Skateboarder Chloe Covell could become the youngest gold medallist in Australian Olympic history.
Nine CEO runs in Paris torch relay as strike action looms at home
The company’s chief executive, Mike Sneesby, waved happily to French locals hours after journalists in his publishing division voted overwhelmingly in favour of a five-day strike.
super fund roundtable
Private credit must be less secret, say banks, regulators
Chief executives of the nation’s biggest banks say they are prepared to partner with private credit funds but called on major players in the $2.3 trillion sector to provide better disclosures to investors.
Keating rebukes super funds for ‘chasing the money’
Super funds should have been thinking about the needs of retirees long before now, says former prime minister Paul Keating.
Junk bond king says Australia could become ‘financier of Asia’
Australia could become a financing powerhouse, says American billionaire and philanthropist Michael Milken.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Rock stars happy to discuss fixes, but super isn’t the big problem
Tinkering with super allocations is one thing, but it cannot replace our desire for bolder economic and tax reform.
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Once reluctant, super fund giants are flocking to private credit
If they can find investments that earn close to double-digit returns with reasonable reliability, they’re happy to scale up – which is precisely what they’re doing, writes Jonathan Shapiro.
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Companies
Perpetual clients pull almost $8b from funds house before KKR sale
Almost 4 per cent of all assets were yanked from the storied asset manager, which is preparing to offload its more successful wealth management division.
Former TPG Telecom email customers to be slugged up to $95 annually
Accounts with iiNet, Internode and Westnet addresses will start paying a yearly fee from September after they were transferred to a Norwegian-owned company.
Mortgage stress tests give advantage to big banks’ smaller rivals
But analysts warn that the green shoots – a growing market share – for non-bank lenders may lead them into difficult waters if rates continue to rise.
Cold snap confirms energy price surge, and need for gas and coal
Light winds through much of the June quarter drove a return to gas and coal power, and pushed up wholesale prices drastically in some states.
- Updated
- Gas
Woodside says investors back $1.4b US buy, but some have questions
Meg O’Neill says no investors have questioned investing in US LNG, but Aware Super queried the impact on climate targets and shares fell further on Tuesday.
QIC confirms it has written its 5pc of Thames Water to zero
The Queensland government-owned wealth fund told a parliamentary hearing the decision to write down the undisclosed value was ‘very unfortunate’.
Claims of Super Retail office relationship cover-up head to court
Two former senior executives have filed their Fair Work action, alleging they were unfairly dismissed from the company behind the Rebel Sport chain.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
This is what could spark the next market correction
Scepticism about how AI investment will translate into earnings is starting to build. That’s a worry given how heavily the market is invested in tech.
What happened overnight? Tesla missed, Alphabet slightly beat expectations
Australian shares appeared set for a modest opening advance. Tesla shares fell in extended trading. Alphabet got a Cloud boost. Oil slid again. Bitcoin slumped.
ASIC hits ASX pump-and-dump crew with criminal charges
The corporate cop has hit the alleged ring leaders of an ASX penny stock pump and dump scheme with criminal charges that could come with millions in fines.
Traders seek shelter in hard-hit assets on US election twist
Investors are bracing for volatility in the lead-up to the US presidential vote, so emerging market specialists are hiding out in South America and India.
$A hit with longest stretch of losses in a year on China woes
The Australian dollar fell for a seventh session below US67¢ as concerns about China’s economy weigh on the currency and commodity prices.
Opinion
The land of the fair go is taxing social mobility
Australia’s antiquated over-reliance on income taxes means that if you do manage to succeed, then that success is taxed heavily.
Economics professor
The common sense path to net zero
Looking at the environmental crisis through the lens of financial frameworks, the core principles that drive good investment are also at play in climate change.
Contributor
Trump will relish a fight against ‘DEI candidate’ Harris
The former president would clearly have preferred to cruise to victory against Joe Biden, but Republicans have always had plenty of attack lines to launch against the vice president.
Columnist
CFMEU lawlessness demands three responses
But instead, Labor and the unions are seeking to dodge reinstating the ABCC, overhauling the governance of industry super, and scaling back Victoria’s Big Build.
Editorial
Why the construction industry needs its own cop
The ABCC was a highly successful regulator, and its disbandment by the Labor government emboldened the law-breaking construction union.
Former building industry watchdog
Why bigger bills equal better value for consulting clients
This ‘designer handbag effect’ is well known in consumer goods, but the same could apply to large professional services firms.
Contributor
Reports
Cybersecurity and AI
The federal government lays out plans to help boost the nation’s cyber defences, while experts outline steps to stay safe.
Politics
PM mulls reshuffle as colleagues urge him to tread lightly
The shake-up, which the prime minister flagged in May, is not expected to be major, given his desire to maintain the stability that has been a hallmark of the government.
Saul Eslake’s one-man mission to undo the GST deal – and make WA pay
The Tasmanian economist has drawn the ire of an entire state with his campaign to reverse “the worst public policy decision of the 21st century”.
White House, Westminster turmoil won’t jeopardise AUKUS: navy chiefs
Top commanders of the three AUKUS navies have signed a ‘Statement of Intent for Lethality’ and say politics won’t get in the way.
Australia could buy South Korean nuclear reactors
The East Asian nation is gradually increasing its exports of energy technology to diversify its economic base and strengthen its geopolitical influence.
‘I’d be rolling over my money’: Murray’s worry on Cbus-CFMEU links
Former bank boss David Murray says the latest CFMEU revelations reaffirm his view that all superannuation board members should be independent.
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World
‘Choice between freedom and chaos’: Harris rallies swing state crowd
By stopping in Wisconsin, Ms Harris was putting down a marker in one of the “blue wall” states along with Michigan and Pennsylvania that Democrats see as essential for securing a presidential victory.
Harris leads Trump in US presidential race, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Secret Service director resigns after Trump rally shooting
Kimberly Cheatle has handed in her resignation amid intense and unrelenting pressure from lawmakers of both parties.
- Analysis
- US election
Will Biden’s legacy include an end to the Israel-Hamas war?
Being free from the constraints of campaigning will give the president more time to focus on foreign policy in the coming months, which some analysts say will allow the president to bolster his image on the world stage.
Ukraine goes all-in on ground robots
The battlefield has become a laboratory of innovation and Ukraine is further along than most nations when it comes to developing robots.
Property
Fear of CFMEU reprisals keeps building bosses silent
Major builders and developers say union power is driving up the cost of housing and infrastructure projects, and they don’t want more trouble on their sites.
Architects, fire engineers, building surveyors fingered over cladding
Victoria’s combustible cladding crisis shows the permit system failed to ensure compliance with building rules, a new government agency report shows.
Why Melbourne could beat other cities in the next housing upturn
Melbourne’s prolonged downturn is priming the city for a strong rebound when interest rates fall, experts say.
Sale price for Captain Cook pub doubles to $35m since 2020
The price paid for the Botany hotel by publican Kent Walker is in sharp contrast to the $6.6m paid recently for the Captain Cook Hotel in Paddington.
- Analysis
- Commercial real estate
Tourism gimmicks won’t save the office wastelands of Canary Wharf
The landlords who own the old business districts need to be far bolder, and come up with some genuinely radical solutions as major firms head for the exits.
Wealth
How to spot a good – or bad – private credit fund
Growth in non-bank lending presents new opportunities for investors. But with higher returns comes added risk.
The $1 rule that can save you hundreds on your mobile phone
Telstra’s decision to raise its plan prices above inflation is a wake-up call to Australians to shop around for a better deal on their mobile phone, savings experts say.
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.
Technology
Inside Google’s plans to revolutionise the weather forecast
Traditional methods have involved “physical models” run on supercomputers. GraphCast can be run on a laptop, and come up with a forecast in minutes.
Google’s biggest acquisition falls over as $35b offer rejected
Cybersecurity firm Wiz has turned down a mammoth takeover bid from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, sticking with an IPO plan.
Samsung plans different shape for AI phones
Regular phones have peaked, but AI phones are going to need new shapes and sizes, says Samsung’s Mobile president, and it is already working on them.
Work & Careers
This exec wants more than a CEO role. She wants to be an astronaut
Renee Wootton is one of the 2024 BOSS Young Executives. She works in the fledgling sustainable aviation sector, but her real goal is to go to the International Space Station.
This top fundie used to peel four sacks of potatoes every Friday
Ausbil Investment Management’s Paul Xiradis says it’s at the fish market that he probably got involved in markets, understanding how they’re priced and cleared.
Life & Luxury
Clothes shopping a tedious bore? Check this place out
Christian Kimber has gone to considerable lengths to make his new CBD flagship an easy place to be.
‘Having clear thoughts always makes for better outcomes’
This is the mantra that American Express executive Robert Tedesco swears by when things get hectic on the soccer pitch. It applies in business, too.
New Michael Kirby building takes law students ‘into light’
The new Macquarie University Law School, designed by architectural practice Hassell, brings the legal faculty to the centre of the campus and into the light.
The ups and downs of flying business on Singapore Airlines
Great food and privacy in a large bed – if you can find a spot for your feet.
Gen Z tells me I’m wearing my socks wrong. Am I?
First, Gen Z came for our skinny jeans. Now, they’ve really gone below the belt. Is no Millennial safe?
