Join us as we debate fresh perspectives on how Asia is transforming Australia’s future.
Robin Khuda is the ringleader of this year’s biggest M&A deal
The founder of AirTrunk has cashed in on the inexorable rise in demand for processing power and built a vast fortune on the rise of cloud computing.
Brokers tip retail and industrial stocks in an already hot sharemarket
Equities strategists and fund managers are working out how to navigate a market that has been on a bull run, creating increasingly stretched valuations.
Meet the key players behind AirTrunk’s $23.5b sale to Blackstone
Blackstone’s Jonathan Gray, in particular, wore many hats – from extolling virtues of data centres to journalists, to chairing the firm’s investment committees.
- Exclusive
- Consulting
Revealed: The sales targets KPMG Australia sets its consultants
Advisers in its consulting division will be forced to put the firm’s interests before their own, as part of a direction to sell profit-generating work.
Vintage Cellars to disappear under Coles’ bottle shop rebrand
Coles is trialling an enlarged Liquorland footprint as its best chance of catching up to rival retailer Dan Murphy’s.
Feds launch takeover of dysfunctional NSW Liberal division
The NSW Liberal Party will be placed under control of party elders amid fears its ineptitude could cost Peter Dutton dearly at the federal election.
Foreign investors want clarity on retooled FIRB
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ safeguards for higher-risk foreign investment proposals have been met with confusion overseas.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Electric vehicles
Your electric car choices are about to explode
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
Companies
Cuscal considers IPO plans after recording a surge in earnings
The payments processor owned by mutual banks and credit unions is lining up meetings with prospective investors as it attempts to hit the ASX before Christmas.
Mystery investor raises questions about Northern Minerals divestment
Labor forced the miner’s largest investor, a China-linked fund, to sell its shares. A Hong Kong-registered firm with almost no corporate history bought up.
Want to do business in Asia? Beware your unconscious bias: Lynas boss
Amanda Lacaze, the managing director of Lynas Rare Earths, narrates how she set aside a full day for cultural awareness during her trip to Malaysia.
- Exclusive
- Retail
Sass & Bide stores to close as new Myer chief clears the decks
Olivia Wirth has moved quickly to axe most the storied fashion chain’s standalone retail outlets ahead of a proposed merger with Premier Investments brands.
Investors have moved away on private hospitals, industry warns
Investors in private hospital developments have shifted away from the sector, further heaping pressure on the healthcare system.
REA’s interest in British realty giant Rightmove met with scepticism
But shares in the London-listed target soared 27 per cent overnight on confirmation that the News Corp-controlled group was considering making a takeover bid.
These three charts show how Coles is outperforming Woolworths
The country’s second-largest supermarket chain is doing better than its bigger rival – from more stock on shelves to lower theft and better value. Here’s why.
Companies in the News
Search companies
View stories and data from an ASX listed company
Markets
ASX slips as Mineral Resources tumbles
Shares slip; CBA resets all-time high; EML completes Sentenial sale; Coles, Woolworths, Wesfarmers trade ex-dividend; Fonterra to build $138m cream plant in NZ. Follow updates here.
Iron ore slides below $US100 a tonne as stock sits on Chinese docks
Strategists are warning that the commodity, one of Australia’s key exports, would continue to sink amid depressed demand for steel in China this year.
Hybrids make stealthy return in Scentre vision
A $750 million hybrid security issue entertained by Scentre may encourage more corporations to turn to the Australian debt market to bolster their balance sheets.
‘Winner takes all’ cycle dashes hopes of ASX small-cap revival
Blue-chip stocks asserted their dominance throughout the August reporting period, but analysts warn that has left valuations stretched.
Here’s why REIT valuations may have finally bottomed
Morgan Stanley says cap rates for industrial and retail properties have peaked, signalling a buying opportunity for investors. Office towers may have further to lose.
Opinion
Chalmers is smashing Labor’s economic legacy
If only the treasurer focused a little less on managing political expectations and a little more on managing inflation expectations we might have avoided this mess in the first place.
Economist
Chalmers is more in touch with the economy than the RBA
It’s easy enough to understand the treasurer’s criticism of the RBA in political terms. But the inflation target that is good for the central bank as an institution is not so good for the economy.
Economist
Why Albanese is talking big in WA
The Albanese cabinet is trying to prop up its electoral standing in Western Australia with the promise of new jobs and economic opportunities. The resources sector is highly sceptical of Labor’s agenda.
Columnist
Why Elon Musk is much more powerful than you think
His influence is showing up from Ukraine to China, angering the United States, although he still lacks the ability to make the law.
Columnist
Is Anthony Albanese fated to lead the last majority government?
Labor may not hold off the Greens, and the Coalition may not recapture the seats it lost to the teals. Another marriage of convenience may beckon.
Former Labor adviser
The 5 things university students should be protesting about
Here are some alternative focal points for outrage and protest, particularly for morally energetic university students.
Contributor
Reports
Higher Education Awards
The Higher Education Awards highlight the tremendous contribution that the Higher Education sector makes to Australian capability, prosperity and society.
Politics
Alex found guilty of $10m tax fraud conspiracy
Construction identity George Alex has been found guilty of conspiring to defraud the tax office through his labour hire firms as his marathon six-month trial came to an end.
Extra 21,000 childcare workers needed now: report
Low pay, excessive overtime, lack of career progression and high levels of burnout are contributing to high attrition rates in the childcare sector.
Chalmers stands firm on rates ‘smashing the economy’
In a breakfast TV blitz, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also accused the Coalition of making political capital out of the independent central bank’s decisions.
Peta Credlin had hand in Higgins’ statement, trial told
Sky News political commentator Peta Credlin helped Brittany Higgins draft a statement outlining the former staffer’s plan to reform how parliament handled sexual harassment, a trial has been told.
NSW rules out payroll tax on big four consulting partners
The NSW Labor government has rejected a push by the Greens to apply payroll tax to the profits of big four consulting firm partners.
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World
New Zealand nearly triples fees for foreign tourists
Like many popular international travel destinations, New Zealand has struggled with the impact of visitors on the natural environment and local infrastructure.
Harris courts union vote with Biden at her side
The vice president and president used the Labour Day holiday to make another pitch to crucial blue-collar voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The 5 things university students should be protesting about
Here are some alternative focal points for outrage and protest, particularly for morally energetic university students.
BCG admits it paid bribes to win consulting business in Angola
Boston Consulting Group has admitted it paid millions of dollars in bribes to win business in Angola, and agreed to give up more than $21 million in profits.
Netanyahu refuses to ‘surrender’ to hostage deal pressure
The Israeli prime minister has said the war would end only when Hamas was defeated, despite mass protests and a strike to urge a ceasefire.
Property
- Exclusive
- Property market
NSW valuer general takes half its 2.7 million valuations inhouse
The move will save time and money, but there are bigger changes afoot in the valuation sector, with artificial intelligence offering to turbocharge efficiency.
Apartments boost housing approvals – but not enough
Australia’s home-building activity remains well below target to meet the government’s 1.2 million target. The slowdown is hitting all types of housing.
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
‘Great assets’: Nick Politis pays $50m for Porsche dealerships
Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis has added two Melbourne Porsche dealerships to his 28pc stake in ASX-listed Eagers Automotive.
A $1.4m sale plays the Brisbane and Melbourne markets – and wins
It wasn’t on purpose, but a young couple bought and sold in two capital city markets at just the right time.
The ultrarich are buying up big, and using shell companies to hide it
Across the country, the wealthy are increasingly creating schemes to shield real estate transactions from view. And with it, creating a whole new industry.
Wealth
Why the family farm has become a huge inheritance challenge
Succession planning can be extremely difficult, but it doesn’t have to be if you start talking early and come up with a workable strategy.
- Opinion
- Commercial real estate
How investors can profit from the commercial property cycle
It’s important to recognise and understand the four phases in the cycle – recovery, expansion, hyper-supply and recession – to enable better decisions.
- Opinion
- Investing
How Australia’s ‘magnificent 10’ contributed to returns over 20 years
How costly was failing to pick the ASX’s 10 top performers over the past two decades? Vanguard did the sums
Technology
Canva triples prices citing the need to pay for new AI design tools
The increase in the cost of its popular software ahead of an IPO may lead some smaller customers to abandon the company for cheaper rivals, analysts warn.
Why ex-Google chief Eric Schmidt warns we may have to pull plug on AI
The former Google chief executive and chairman said Western democracies had to regain lost ground in industrial policy to counter China.
Farquhar’s Atlassian era passes without a grand farewell
Co-founders Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes spent their final day of as co-CEOs working from home. Venture capitalists say Farquhar’s influence goes beyond Atlassian.
Work & Careers
How a tragic car accident upended this CEO’s life
Rest Superannuation’s Vicki Doyle worked at insurer Suncorp for more than nine years. Three weeks into her first general manager role, she got a phone call.
How to sue your boss for getting fired, even if you earn $175,000-plus
If you’re paid more than that amount a year and aren’t covered by an award, you can’t bring an unfair dismissal claim. But that doesn’t mean you can’t act.
Life & Luxury
This coffee machine could become a cult classic
Breville has come up with an excellent espresso maker that just needs a tweak to allow user-generated brew profiles.
Appointments still available at About Time – but get in quick
The About Time Watch Weekend is Australia’s prestige event for fine watches and features 15 of the world’s top brands.
From a $240 lipstick to a fabulous French knit for $40
What do tennis, travel, fashion and cakes have in common? They all star in this week’s edition of Spend, our curation of lovely luxuries.
Your bigger brain comes with a downside – faster ageing
A study comparing chimpanzees and humans suggests the regions that grew the most during evolution are the most susceptible to old age.
It’s Asia’s answer to Burning Man. And why not buy a villa, too?
Meet the Russian tech multimillionaire who’s building a 44-hectare playground for adults in Bali.
