Musk pitches for White House job in glitchy Trump interview
The billionaire proposed a job involving cutting federal spending in a Trump presidency, during a conversation with the former president on social media site X.
Private sector pay growth hits lowest rate in 2.5 years
Wages growth moderated for a third consecutive quarter in June, as the ongoing slowdown in the jobs market forces private sector workers to rein in their pay demands.
Retired judge to investigate dysfunctional TWU branch
The Transport Workers Union says allegations and counter allegations show the relationship between its Victorian secretary and the branch board has irretrievably broken down.
Challenger sales boosted by anxious retirees
The financial services firm says it’s on track to meet its long-term return targets as higher rates and cost-of-living pressures fuel sales of annuities.
- Live
- Need to Know
Keating takes swipe at Pelosi after she calls him ‘stupid’
Paul Keating says Nancy Pelosi doesn’t share Australia’s interests; Scott Morrison tells court he feared Linda Reynolds could have died; How Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s conversation unfolded. Follow live updates.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX rises, Temple & Webster on course for best day in two years
Shares steady; immunoglobulins unit boosts CSL earnings; Seek hit by job ads fall; Orora knocks back Lone Star’s bid; NBN losses deepen. Follow updates here.
How Ukraine pulled off its biggest gamble: invading Russia
Kyiv’s troops say they found a Russian unit calmly drinking coffee as they crossed the border.
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PARIS 2024
How the French really feel about the Paris Olympics
The Games’ problems – food, air-con, ticket prices – seem prosaic, whereas memories are written in poetry.
The five charts that show it really was our best Games ever
Australia won 53 medals across 20 different sports. Outgoing IOC vice president John Coates says we can win even more.
Paris changes as the Paralympics get ready to arrive
Four-time Paralympic gold medallist Dylan Alcott just attended his first Olympics. It’s given him a taste of what’s to come, and how the city has changed accessibility.
- Opinion
- Paris 2024
Like a French film, the closing ceremony was genius, difficult
The closing ceremony was slow, and some people walked out, but the fans stayed until the end and only the Hollywood part was a bit off.
Tom Cruise dives into star-studded Paris closing ceremony
With golden fireworks, celebrities and thousands of athletes partying into the night, the closing ceremony put a final flourish to Paris’ first Games in a century.
TUESDAY TECH
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Start-up founder sues Victoria’s VC fund
The Victorian government’s troubled venture capital fund Breakthrough Victoria faces a multi-million dollar legal battle.
- Exclusive
- Executive shake-up
Canva recruits from big tech ahead of IPO, but five execs have left
Five senior Canva executives with years of experience at technology giants including Meta, Adobe and Google have departed over the past 18 months.
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Cannon-Brookes, Benioff-backed start-up lays off staff in US pullback
Loam Bio, a start-up that has raised more than $150 million from high-profile investors, has laid off the majority of its staff in the US.
Fears the only way is down for hot tech sector in reporting season
Nervous investors and analysts are ready to punish any ASX-listed tech company that disappoints this earnings season.
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Apple Vision Pro means the future of work is upon us
The headset lets you do your work in virtual reality. It works surprisingly well, but ideally, you will have the neck strength of a rugby forward.
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Companies
Hancock’s Senex Energy loses long-time CEO post $1b expansion deal
Outgoing chief executive Ian Davies has told staff he will hand over to chief operating officer Darren Stevenson “in late 2024”.
CSL posts bumper profit but top-line growth to slow
The biotech giant says margin recovery at its core blood products business will enable it to produce double-digit earnings growth for the next half a decade.
James Hardie battles weak demand in Australian reno market
Renovators are holding off on big projects because of high building costs and economic uncertainty, but the building products maker expects an improvement in 2025.
‘Trifecta of awfulness’ by Orora led to $3.3b bid
Orora’s shares soared 19 per cent after it rejected a buyout proposal from private equity firm Lone Star because it “materially undervalues” the company.
Temple & Webster bucks retail slump, shares soar
The online furniture retailer’s shares jumped 26 per cent after it achieved almost $500 million in sales in a soft market by winning market share.
- Exclusive
- Health insurance
Pressure for health premium overhaul in election headache for Albanese
The influential medical lobby is demanding an independent umpire to determine how high insurance premiums can rise as negotiations over the next increase begin.
Rich Lister-backed Vinyl Group buys firm after HR complaints
One of Australia’s biggest media industry news websites, Mediaweek, has sold for $1 million to the ASX-listed music company backed by Richard White.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
Meet Canberra’s best and worst stockpickers (one got returns of 64pc)
From investments in lithium to Fortescue, disclosures made by parliamentarians give at least a glimpse of whose portfolios are up – and whose are down.
Gas traders rush for cover as Ukraine attack sparks supply fears
Traders are closely watching Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region because it is near a key gas-transit point.
What happened overnight? Wall Street awaited inflation data
Australian shares were set to rise. US stocks struggled for direction before key US inflation data, as the return of geopolitical risk put a rocket under oil and gas prices.
- Results Wrap
- Chanticleer
Chanticleer’s hits and misses from day one of earnings season
Retailer JB Hi-Fi was the standout result on day one of earnings season. Here are the key things our Chanticleer columnists noticed today.
‘Carnage’ in steel markets to sink iron ore below $US90
Analysts can’t understand what is holding up the price of Australia’s key export and Westpac says the market is ignoring key fundamentals.
Opinion
Labor’s shock at CFMEU deserves an acting prize
After years of ignoring all the evidence, Labor governments have expressed their shock at evidence of criminality and corruption in the construction union. What now?
Columnist
Calling Harris a communist shows Trump’s desperation
The vice president is a social democrat, but that doesn’t mean she believes in state control of the economy.
Contributor
Central banks need true transparency not fake consensus
The Bank of England isn’t afraid to advertise its differences. That is better for creating trust than the obsession with a united front at the US Fed.
Global financial commentator
In post-PwC era, ethics means duty comes before temptation
From children’s books to corporate life, leaders must mean what they say, and say what they mean. Always.
Former Federal Court judge
Kick the gambling ad habit that’s doing damage
If the point is to crack down on gambling ads that cause harm, the old anti-smoking campaign tagline about “every cigarette is doing you damage” ought to apply to making all addicts kick the habit.
Editorial
High-level dialogue shows China chill is ending
The resumed annual face-to-face meeting of government and industry has been crucial to stabilising the relationship.
Former Labor minister and economist
Politics
Labor facing internal backlash on gambling ads
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is facing growing backbench pressure to introduce a total ban on gambling advertising.
- Exclusive
- Federal election
Coalition eyes Labor’s IR laws as part of WA policy package
The Coalition is developing a specific policy package for WA to try and reclaim lost ground in its former stronghold.
Greens, Libs to play hardball on CFMEU legislation
The union faces three years under administration and big penalties for anyone who tries to interfere. The opposition says the laws are too weak.
Stop telling us what to do with interest rates: RBA deputy
Economists and politicians have accused the Reserve Bank of hypocrisy after deputy governor Andrew Hauser labelled economic commentators overconfident “false prophets”.
- Analysis
- Sketch
The next election is sucking the life out of politics
Back in Canberra after a six-week break, Labor and the Coalition appeared dejected and snarky.
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World
US warns Iran’s ‘set of attacks’ on Israel could come this week
Israel and the US believe it is increasingly likely that Iran will launch an attack.
Russia evacuates another border region amid threats from Ukraine
Russia has imposed a sweeping security regime in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, while ally Belarus says it is bolstering troop numbers at its border.
Wildfire menaces Athens suburbs, forcing residents to flee
Hundreds have fled as flames as high as 25 metres spread in to the Greek capital’s suburbs, fuelled by gale-force winds.
US orders armed submarine to Middle East as tensions mount
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin also ordered the Abraham Lincoln strike group to hasten its deployment to the region, as Israel prepares for Iran’s attack.
Pelosi welcomes Harris home as West Coast donors raise $18m
The former House speaker appeared with the Democratic presidential nominee in San Francisco at an event the Harris campaign said raised more than $18 million.
Property
Private hospital woes are ‘short term’, says healthcare property fund
Analysts say the HealthCo Healthcare & Wellness REIT could be one of the few listed property trusts to forecast earnings growth this reporting season.
The Sydney suburbs where rents are falling
Asking rents have fallen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It’s not the end of the rental crisis but could mean the worst increases are over.
- Opinion
- Commercial property finance
Why the pros are snapping up commercial property
Syndicates believe the market is bottoming out. Here’s how to assess the best opportunities.
US mortgage rates drop sharply to lowest level in a year
The Fed is expected to start lowering interest rates in September after holding them at 5.3 per cent for the past year.
Receivers appointed to sell Selina Australia’s ‘flashpacker’ hotels
The global budget hotel operator collapsed last month. Now its profitable Australian hotels are being sold by receivers acting on behalf of Dorado Capital.
Wealth
Young investors sold geared ETFs as property becomes pipe dream
Leverage is what makes the housing market such a wealth juggernaut. Should ETFs get the same treatment?
How the rich are decarbonising their portfolios
Wind and solar may have disappointed, but wealth managers see opportunity in areas such as waste management and disability housing.
- Opinion
- Aged care
Changes to aged care fees are likely. This is how it might look
As providers face financial pressure, one option might be to increase the lifetime cap applied to means-tested fees.
Technology
- Analysis
- Tech Observed
In love with a bot? OpenAI data shows we are entering sci-fi territory
Humans falling in love with chatbots, and AI platforms hatching ‘catastrophic schemes’ are among concerns being monitored and managed by researchers at OpenAI.
Fears the only way is down for hot tech sector in reporting season
Nervous investors and analysts are ready to punish any ASX-listed tech company that disappoints this earnings season.
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Cannon-Brookes, Benioff-backed start-up lays off staff in US pullback
Loam Bio, a start-up that has raised more than $150 million from high-profile investors, has laid off the majority of its staff in the US.
Work & Careers
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
Amazon Flex and ‘last mile’ couriers lined up for pay claims
Amazon’s delivery service will be among the first firms to be targeted under Labor’s new laws for minimum standards in the road transport industry.
Workers told to expect lower nominal pay rises as economy cools
Employers expect to lift salaries by an average of 3.8 per cent this financial year, as mounting evidence suggests pay rises have passed their recent peak.
Life & Luxury
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
The car that wants you to have a good day
Want a dash selfie camera, AI-assisted personalised settings and a mega touchscreen? You’ll find all that in Mercedes-Benz’s E300 sedan.
The luxury jeweller making architecture for your hands
Kia Schwaninger’s exquisite own-label jewellery is inspired by art deco shapes and bold gem colours.
The world could use more yogis, says Adobe director
The joy of yoga isn’t just about how good it makes her feel, says Jennifer Mulveny – it’s about how she can bring that experience to others.
- Gadgets With John Davidson
- Digital Life
Hold off buying Samsung’s new folding phone for a few days
Just as Samsung irons out the last of the problems in its flagship Galaxy Z Fold6, Google looks set to announce an AI phone that just might be worth waiting for.
Nuns go disco in Sister Act musical
The musical version of the 1992 hit movie has its heavenly moments.
