- Opinion
- GDP
Treasurer v the RBA: Why Chalmers and Bullock are both right
Jim Chalmers says the economy is getting smashed by high interest, but it’s still running too hot for Michele Bullock’s central bank. The answer is simple: productivity, Michael Stutchbury writes.
Sharp rise in unemployment would compel RBA to cut rates
The jobless rate would have to exceed 4.5 per cent to bring rate relief to borrowers and set the task of mitigating above-target inflation to one side.
Family trust: Inside the Pratts’ legal soap opera
Richard Pratt carefully designed a succession plan for his three children, Anthony, Heloise and Fiona. But even the best-laid plans can wind up in court.
Blackstone clinches data centre giant AirTrunk in deal of the year
The transaction is one of the biggest Australian M&A deals ever and will add to the global investment giant’s fast-growing portfolio of digital infrastructure.
- Exclusive
- Foreign relations
Japanese fighter jets fly to Darwin as security ties ramp up for China
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa warns the world is at “a turning point” as she heads to Australia for defence and diplomatic talks.
One big deal brings a second, but are Orora shareholders better off?
It was impossible to predict the packaging group’s whirlwind year of deals. If you can put emotions aside, the latest transaction looks good for investors.
- Exclusive
- Home loans
ING not afraid to use home loan brokers to catch Bendigo and Adelaide
The Dutch-owned bank writes between “85 and 90 per cent” of its new mortgages via the broking channel in Australia, says chief executive Melanie Evans.
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Asia Summit
Economic challenge looms for Australia regardless of Trump or Harris win
The race for the White House has implications for Australia irrespective of who wins the presidency.
Deterrence key to preventing war with China: Rudd
It needs to be made clear to Beijing that military adventurism comes at a high price, the Australian ambassador to the US told the AFR Asia Summit.
Be bold on Asia or miss out, business leaders warned
Australian businesses’ narrow focus on China and North Asia means they are struggling to keep pace with the billions of investment dollars pouring into South-East Asia.
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.
Foreign investors want clarity on retooled FIRB
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ safeguards for higher-risk foreign investment proposals have been met with confusion overseas.
AIRTRUNK MEGA DEAL
AirTrunk’s $23.5b AI pay day
Blackstone emerged as the winning bidder in the year’s biggest merger and acquisition deal, netting its founder Robin Khuda a $1 billion-plus payday.
Inside the high-tech sheds worth $23.5b to AirTrunk
From a single room holding a hard-working mainframe, data centres have evolved into major pieces of high-powered, high-tech infrastructure.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
AirTrunk isn’t just a $23.5b deal. It’s a moment
From artificial intelligence and private capital to property and energy, AirTrunk’s sale to Blackstone is a deal that brings together so many strands of Australia’s economy and society.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
AirTrunk’s big number cements its deal of the year trophy
Eight months ago, bankers were telling their clients they could get the data centre giant for $11 billion to $12 billion. It has just sold for double that.
Meet the key players behind AirTrunk’s $23.5b sale to Blackstone
The $24 billion deal included $14 billion of equity and was expected to be announced by Blackstone and AirTrunk shareholder Macquarie Asset Management on Wednesday.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
Companies
NBN Co names Vocus’ Ellie Sweeney as next CEO
The Vocus Group boss will step into Stephen Rue’s shoes as he prepares to take the reins at Optus.
Data centre owner Infratil revels in the AirTrunk effect
Shares in the CDC investor rose on Wednesday following AirTrunk’s $23.5 billion sale to a Blackstone-led consortium.
Orora sells US business for $1.78b to private equity-backed group
Chief executive says it is better off as a specialist glass bottle and aluminium can maker, and is unclear if Lone Star will return with another buyout bid.
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.
This man’s $168k annual saving gives hope for net zero
Household rooftop solar has taken off, but small and medium firms have barely started. The huge reduction in the cost of solar panels and batteries may change that.
The only profitable lithium mine in Australia revealed
Every Australian lithium mine is losing money except for the famously low-cost Greenbushes, which could withstand a deeper commodity price rout.
- Exclusive
- Retail
Sass & Bide stores to close as new Myer chief clears the decks
Olivia Wirth has moved quickly to axe the storied fashion chain’s standalone retail outlets ahead of a proposed merger with Premier Investments brands.
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Markets
ASX dives 1.9pc; Orora rallies 7pc; BHP down 2.5pc
Shares plunge; US manufacturing data frays investor nerves; Orora rallies after selling North American business; Cettire founder lifts stake. Follow updates here.
Dividends hit lowest since pandemic outbreak
Investors are being forced to look beyond the once reliable income growth provided by mining stocks, and are branching out to other sectors.
Future Fund warns investing only getting harder from here
The Future Fund’s assets stand just shy of $225 billion after it delivered a 9.1 per cent return over the past financial year.
Brokers tip these 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.
What happened overnight? Nvidia sell-off paced Wall Street slide, oil plunged
Australian shares were set to plunge more than 1 per cent amid heavy selling in New York as manufacturing weakness renewed outlook worries. Volatility spiked.
Opinion
Government spending plays hero and villain
Jim Chalmers says the weakness of the economy justifies high government spending. He doesn’t want voters to link that with interest rates and inflation.
Columnist
Wall Street needs to wake up to this White House race
Financial markets are wrong to think that Congress will restrain Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Both of them have troubling plans for the economy.
Columnist
It’s up to business to take the Asian opportunity
While the government’s initiatives are designed to make it easier for Australian business to get established in new markets, it is up to business to take the opportunities we have created.
Senator
Why the Philippines is the new China flashpoint
Most people have never heard of the Sabina Shoal, but it’s become the latest global testing ground for confrontation with China. Will it trigger broader conflict?
Columnist
Australia’s going backwards in the fastest growing region
Asian investment isn’t just good business, it’s good security as well.
Editorial
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
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
Record government spending prolonging RBA’s inflation fight
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the economy would have gone backwards without government spending, but economists warn the outlays are making the RBA’s job harder.
- Exclusive
- Foreign relations
Japanese fighter jets fly to Darwin as security ties ramp up for China
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa warns the world is at “a turning point” as she heads to Australia for defence and diplomatic talks.
- Analysis
- Federal election
NSW Libs ‘robbed Abbott in 2010’, now Dutton wants to avoid a repeat
Frustrations with the state Liberal Party division stem back to a belief it cost Tony Abbott victory in 2010.
- Exclusive
- Inflation
You’re part of the inflation problem, McKibbin tells Chalmers
Former RBA board member Warwick McKibbin says the treasurer should be doing more to get price rises under control, instead of criticising the central bank.
- Exclusive
- International students
World-first EV degree sideswiped by allocation of zero students
It took four years and $4.3 million to get Nova Anglia College ready to open its doors, but the government says it cannot have any overseas students in 2025.
SPONSORED
World
Missile strike kills at least 50 in Ukraine
“The Russian scum will definitely be held accountable for this strike,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the attack, the war’s deadliest single strike this year.
- Analysis
- US Votes 2024
Donald Trump just broke with his Labour Day tradition
For the first time since the 2016, he missed the crucial state of Pennsylvania on the first Monday of September. Only his campaign team knows the reason.
Investment banks slash China growth forecasts as confidence wanes
Analysts are increasingly sceptical that Beijing will reach its 5 per cent economic growth target for 2024.
Economic challenge looms for Australia regardless of Trump or Harris win
The race for the White House has implications for Australia irrespective of who wins the presidency.
Spain’s crackdown on holiday rentals bodes well for luxury hotels
Locals have staged protests, blaming booming short-term holiday lets for soaring costs of housing and crammed city streets.
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
This ex-Macquarie banker toned up Brazil – and made a fortune
When Declan Sherman moved to the Latin American country with the investment bank, he was inspired to show the locals a new way to exercise.
- Opinion
- Investing
Five ‘fallen angels’ on the ASX worth considering
Several former market darlings are beset by short-term issues but could re-emerge as winners.
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.
Technology
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Google or Samsung, which folding phone is best?
Google’s folding Pixel phone has finally come to Australia, so we’ve put it head to head with the incumbent.
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.
Work & Careers
Sacked CFMEU leader goes to High Court to fight takeover
The CFMEU’s ousted leadership has sworn to keep fighting for years just as other unions disband branches or threaten administration over misconduct claims.
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.
Life & Luxury
The $6000 health check-up that may help you live to a ripe old age
From lung capacity to the state of your arteries, a battery of tests at a Sydney longevity clinic aims to extend your health span.
The world’s next Usain Bolt could be this 16-year-old from Qld
Gout Gout is just 16 but runs in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints against athletes who have years on him. He’s already faster than some of the world’s best.
Female sculptors deliver at mid-year art sales
Bronywn Oliver and Gloria Thancoupie caught collectors’ eyes, while a piece of Mosman history with a colourful past is back on the market.
- Opinion
- Diet
How to eat for a long and healthy life
The length and quality of your life will be determined in part by your genetics. But how you live your life is important, too.
Meet the quiet heroes of the Paralympics: the athlete guides
There are 22 Paralympic sports in which competitors are allowed to use guides, and their relationships can border on telepathic.
