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    Yesterday

    It isdealmakers at 10 paces in the battle for a below-the-radar small cap.

    The PE takeover battle that is like pulling teeth

    Once a board has decided a takeover isn’t about the highest price, it enters the deal-making twilight zone. This one is a doozy.

    • Anthony Macdonald
    JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon enjoys top billing among bank executives globally. When he talks, the local bank bosses are listening.

    Shadow of JPMorgan’s Dimon hangs over red-hot Aussie banks

    Huge share price runs are great for the banks. But they also create an unexpected problem for bank bosses.

    • Anthony Macdonald

    Investors should ignore CPI drama and focus on these five questions

    The inflation story for the ASX is largely unchanged: price pressures remain uncomfortably high, and the RBA has little scope to support a weakening economy.

    • James Thomson
    Jakob Stausholm has overseen a solid recovery in Rio since arriving in 2021.

    Spluttering China the big risk to Rio Tinto’s new growth era

    Rio boss Jakob Stausholm says the miner is at a growth inflection point and is relaxed about China’s apparent weakness. But sentiment towards resources is souring. 

    • James Thomson
    Satya Nadella says AI demand is outstripping capacity.

    Microsoft’s $334b sell-off is a sign of healthy AI doubts

    Microsoft smashed analysts’ forecasts in the June quarter, but it still wasn’t enough to please a market that has bet too heavily on the AI revolution. 

    • James Thomson
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    Suncorp’s Steve Johnston and ANZ’s Shayne Elliott agreed a $4.9 billion deal way back in July 2022.

    743 days later, ANZ has little to cheer as Suncorp deal closes

    After more than two years, ANZ’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Suncorp is finally complete. But the mood inside the two companies is wildly different. 

    • James Thomson

    July

    Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson says the airline would prefer that Rex was sustainable and able to serve the regional routes that were once its speciality.

    Why Qantas isn’t a big winner from Rex turmoil

    At first glance, Qantas looks the obvious winner from the turmoil at Rex. But the aviation sector’s comeback kid won’t be cheering this mess.  

    • James Thomson
    Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue was a stunningly good investment for some big backers.

    Fortescue plunge reveals huge shoes to fill

    Fortescue was fortunate to have such a sticky institutional backer for as long as it did. Now, it needs to find broader support.

    • Anthony Macdonald
    New Ramsay Health Care boss Natalie Davis joins from Woolworths, where she runs its Australian supermarkets.

    Why Australia’s No.1 hospitals business poached a supermarkets boss

    Ramsay Health Care chairman David Thodey is trading in deep industry knowledge and expertise for a consultant’s mindset. Will it work?

    • Anthony Macdonald
    Mike Henry is back on the copper train, just weeks after being left at the altar by Anglo American.

    $3b deal shows how BHP dusted itself off and tried again

    Mike Henry was disappointed his $75 billion takeover bid for Anglo American failed. But his latest deal helps to show investors he has many other ways to play the copper bull story. 

    • James Thomson

    Investors are asking the wrong questions on interest rates

    From the RBA to the BoJ to the Fed, the market’s obsession with interest rates will go into overdrive this week. But it may be leading investors down the wrong path. 

    • James Thomson
    Beware politicians looking to score points on mining decisions.

    When politics and miners mix, investors get hurt

    The last thing investors need in Australian mining is more shocks like the ban on uranium mining at Jabiluka. The industry is doing it hard enough.

    • Anthony Macdonald
    Car yards are full and dealers are worried they are in a race to the bottom on prices.

    Car yards are full and dealers worry they are racing to the bottom

    There’s been little economic data to offset expectations that the RBA needs to raise interest rates. A review of conditions at car dealerships caught our eye.

    • Updated
    • Anthony Macdonald
    Mark Freeman says AFIC’s discount to NTA makes it a buying opportunity.

    CBA isn’t the only valuation puzzle for Australia’s biggest LIC

    AFIC has almost $1 billion tied up in CBA stock, and is watching its eye-watering valuation closely. But it’s not CEO Mark Freeman’s only worry.

    • James Thomson
    NIB Holdings CEO Mark Fitzgibbon has sympathy for private hospital operators.

    How to end the $22b private health war

    Many things have changed in the 22 years that Mark Fitzgibbon has spent at the helm of NIB. The tension between private health insurers and private hospitals isn’t one of them.  

    • Updated
    • James Thomson
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    China’s spluttering economy has created a credit bubble that has Chinese officials worried.

    There’s a frightening new bubble building in China

    China’s property bubble has popped, its economy is spluttering and its sharemarket is all over the place. Now there’s a new problem to watch. 

    • James Thomson
    Macquarie’s re-thinking what its bankers can do in the coal sector.

    Macquarie has partly reversed its ban on banking coal deals

    Sentiment against part of the coal industry has softened, and Macquarie has read the tea leaves.

    • Anthony Macdonald
    The growing power of the super sector raises some big questions.

    Three ‘grown-up’ questions investors must ask themselves

    It feels like a plethora of risks emerged during a wild week on world markets. One $24 trillion investor says it’s time for asset allocators to start asking hard questions. 

    • Updated
    • James Thomson
    ANZ boss Shayne Elliott needs the regulator to back up his assertions that the bank has done nothing wrong.

    ANZ boss Elliott makes big call on bonds scandal

    If Shayne Elliott is right, he’ll get out of this with a docked pay-packet. If not, the bank’s succession planning and strategy could be in ruins.

    • Anthony Macdonald
    Shemara Wikramanayake is confident in Macquarie’s outlook after a tough year.

    Macquarie investors will need patience as deal drought rolls on

    Macquarie is well-positioned to win from the big shifts in markets – but the deal drought will delay those gains, despite a spring in the step of some bankers.

    • James Thomson

    The Australian Financial Review Magazine

    About Time Watch Weekend

    BOSS Financial Review

    Renee Wootton was unsure if she would be able to complete her degree in aerospace engineering.

    Life & Leisure

    Lamborghini Revuelto.

    Rich List

    Gifford Hill is just to the south of Murray Bridge and includes the Murray Bridge Racing Club (centre).