Bipartisan, pragmatic, down to the wire: the deal that almost wasn’t
Panic set in this week as the government’s much-vaunted aged care reforms stalled. They were finally settled on a plane trip from Sydney to Canberra.
Dow rallies on renewed hopes for half-point rate cut
All three US benchmarks were higher after traders repositioned their bets on how aggressive Fed policymakers might be when they meet next week.
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
Surprise government spending blowout hits $70b
Treasury may have underestimated a state and federal government budget spending splurge by $70 billion, which a string of economists warn will add to inflation.
- Analysis
- Interest rates
Chalmers’ RBA dilemma: how much Greens is too much for investors?
Former central bankers say foreign investors who buy Australian government bonds, equities and currency will pay attention to the political standoff over the RBA board.
‘Extremely volatile’: CFMEU delegate grabs AFR photographer
A CFMEU member has allegedly manhandled a Nine photographer as union members vote to walk off the job in Sydney next week.
- Exclusive
- P2P lending
New York lender in fight over slice of Adgemis’ pubs group
A major lender to Public Hospitality Group, the hotel empire of former KPMG deal maker Jon Adgemis, has signalled it will call in receivers to five Sydney pubs.
PwC banned from China for six months and fined record $92m
Chinese authorities imposed a huge fine on PwC and suspended the accounting firm from operating over failures in auditing the collapse of real estate giant Evergrande.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
weekend fin
Meet the retirees hunting down cold cases
A global network of do-it-yourself detectives is on a mission to solve the mysteries that police won’t. Like, who is ‘D. Malan’, discovered on a hillside in 1979 and still never identified?
Friend or foe? Europe’s big Chinese EV dilemma
Bad news hasn’t been enough to get European carmakers and politicians to rethink their anti-China strategy. But that’s exactly what might need to happen.
The Sydney-born astronaut who learnt Russian in eight weeks
Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first person to train and qualify as an international astronaut under the Australian flag. She’s doing it all for her late mum.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Housing is eating the economy in countless ways
Australia’s housing woes are causing policymakers, investors and households to make decisions they might not ordinarily make. But to fix it, we need to escape a vicious cycle.
Afghanistan’s long dark shadow still hangs over the military
Two major reports this week brought home painful reminders of the legacy of Australia’s contribution to the war on terror. Will anything change?
smart investor
Where to invest as bank hybrids disappear
Investors have enjoyed juicy yields on bank hybrids but will need to find alternatives after APRA announced the securities would be phased out by 2032.
An Australian billionaire paid $45,000 for these sneakers
Sneakers, handbags, watches, number plates, sports cars. If you like nice things, and to signal your success to the world, there are clever ways to invest to ensure your assets keep gaining value.
- Opinion
- Super Q&A
I’m 74 and want to run my $10m SMSF with less fuss
A wealth manager can help you with investment strategy, administration and accounting. But choose wisely by checking their qualifications.
- Opinion
- Flat Chat
How investors can avoid being ripped off by strata firms
At the slightest hint of unscrupulous behaviour, ask questions.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
What happens to your super after you die comes down to this choice
Your money can go to your beneficiary either as a regular pension payment or as a lump sum death benefit.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
Companies
Insurers deny caving in to Healthscope demands
“Out-of-contract payments have not occurred in response to Brookfield and Healthscope’s heavy-handed US-style campaign,” says lobby group.
- Investigation
- Insolvency
The Beverly Hills wannabes and the betrayal of Ballarat
The collapse of a small-town gold mine has revealed how millions of dollars flowed to a network of Chinese businessmen. Now liquidators want the money back.
Australia and Germany in $660m hydrogen funding initiative
Chris Bowen has rejected commentary about the death of hydrogen industry, claiming production could reach a million tonnes a year in five years.
Airlines and Melbourne Airport headed for runway funding feud
Vanessa Hudson says Melbourne Airport needs to wait until “the demand is there” before building a third runway and charging airlines and their passengers to pay for it.
Is Woodside going American? Probably a good idea, investors say
Australia’s hostile business environment for oil and gas means Woodside’s shift of emphasis to North America, where it has done a string of deals, is a good idea, they say.
Westpac shunted RAMS boss before he took Beyond job
Westpac stood down RAMS boss Jake Bromwich, now the CEO of Beyond Bank, and moved him into a different role as it investigated a whistleblower’s claims.
Corporate Australia mourns former BT boss Rob Ferguson
His Bankers Trust colleague Chris Corrigan remembered him as “an individual thinker with an inquiring mind, who never lost his curiosity about how the world works”.
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Markets
Traders gear up for commodity rally as supply shocks rock markets
Australian miners notched their best week so far this year as investors rush back to the beaten-up sector in hopes the commodities comeback is just beginning.
Putin’s ‘jawboning’ of the West with uranium threat unleashes rally
Commodity markets have been rocked after the Russian president suggested limiting metal exports, but pundits are divided on whether he will follow through.
ASX gains as gold scales record high
Shares lift; Olam Agri sweetens Namoi bid to 75¢; Atlas fights over French tax; gold hits record high; oil rebounds; bitcoin retakes $US58,000. Follow updates here.
What happened overnight? Nvidia helped extend a tech rebound
Australian shares were set to open higher. Nasdaq paced an advance in all three US benchmarks. Oil rebounded. Bitcoin retook $US58,000.
ECB cuts rates again as economy stumbles
The ECB is getting more confident that consumer-price growth is returning to target following its historic spike.
Opinion
Chalmers dumps his fiscal profligacy onto the RBA
The government has its foot on the spending pedal while the Reserve Bank tries standing on the brakes. There is no sign of the co-ordination that has been called for.
Editor-at-large
A reform to face the test of an ageing Australia
It is encouraging that the two main parties have tackled such a fundamental challenge to the nation in a bipartisan way.
Editorial
Why is APRA trying to blow up the hybrid market?
The prudential watchdog wants to boost bank leverage and raise the risks depositors and taxpayers face in the name of ameliorating its regulatory complexity.
Columnist
How Kamala Harris won the battle of the body language
Donald Trump came to the debate expecting a mouse to toy with. Instead, his Democrat opponent left behind a belittled figure we have rarely seen before.
Leadership coach
Dutton’s strategic reset targets treasurer and the teals
The latest moves are emblematic of a broader offensive buoyed by polls that suggest a very slim possibility of winning enough seats to negotiate minority government.
Political editor
It’s deja vu all over again when it comes to aged care and RBA reforms
This week’s agreement on aged care and the failure to agree on the RBA reprises arguments that took place decades ago.
Columnist
Reports
Clean Energy - the bumpy transition
This special report looks at how Australia is tracking to meet net zero goals, and the new technology that can help us get there.
Politics
Aged care concessions cost $5b in revenue
The Albanese government sacrificed about $5 billion in budget savings in return for securing the Coalition’s support for the aged care reforms.
Toughest anti-scam protections in the world unveiled
Banks, telcos and social media platforms will be required to put help for scam victims front and centre on their websites and boost call centre assistance under new proposed laws.
Dutton prevails in NSW Liberal Party takeover bid
Former state MP Peta Seaton will join a three-member panel charged with cleaning up the dysfunctional division, in a win for the federal opposition leader.
‘Grab the popcorn’: Vic Liberal civil war goes prime time
In one sense, ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s defamation case against John Pesutto is about free speech. But it threatens to engulf Peter Dutton’s federal opposition.
Top bureaucrat breached code of conduct 12 times during robo-debt
A review has found 12 public servants, including department secretary Kathryn Campbell, breached the public service code of conduct 97 times during the notorious debt recovery scheme.
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World
Now it’s the middle ground that matters in the US election
Even Donald Trump’s backers admit Kamala Harris won this week’s debate. How he bounces back from defeat will shape the race for the White House.
Social media bosses face jail if they fail to stop revenge porn
Britain is introducing tough new online safety laws that could see social media bosses punished for allowing deep fakes and revenge porn to be shared.
Putin’s propaganda queen admits covertly working to get Trump elected
While the Kremlin has denied US claims of meddling in the election, Margarita Simonyan proudly admits her work is at the behest of the Russian government.
Billionaire goes from basement to world’s first private spacewalk
Jared Isaacman planted the seeds of payments company Shift4 in his parents’ basement and used to scrounge for pizza dollars. But at 41, he’s just made history.
Murdoch’s family trust feud to stay secret, court rules
A court battle over the family control of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire will be held behind closed doors, depriving the media of details of the succession drama.
Property
Fashion duo splash $40m on mega block, breaking Gold Coast record
The duo behind Brisbane cult label Dissh have reset the suburb’s property records after purchasing three blocks fronting the beach.
The fridge-in-reverse that can cut $1000 from home energy bills
Heat pump hot water systems can deliver large savings on energy bills, but there are issues to be aware of.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Australia’s highest-paid legal eagle swoops on $18m home
Corrs Chambers Westgarth CEO Gavin MacLaren has emerged as the buyer of a grand South Yarra manor.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Housing is eating the economy in countless ways
Australia’s housing woes are causing policymakers, investors and households to make decisions they might not ordinarily make. But to fix it, we need to escape a vicious cycle.
- Opinion
- Property market
How inheritances are reshaping the property market
When it comes to spending legacy money on housing, three different groups of buyers are emerging.
Wealth
- Opinion
- SMSFs
What happens to your super after you die comes down to this choice
Your money can go to your beneficiary either as a regular pension payment or as a lump sum death benefit.
- Opinion
- Property market
How inheritances are reshaping the property market
When it comes to spending legacy money on housing, three different groups of buyers are emerging.
An Australian billionaire paid $45,000 for these sneakers
Sneakers, handbags, watches, number plates, sports cars. If you like nice things, and to signal your success to the world, there are clever ways to invest to ensure your assets keep gaining value.
Technology
‘Snake oil’: Don’t believe the artificial intelligence hype
Misleading claims about the capabilities of AI are rampant, and the technology is already causing serious harm from hiring to education, medicine and hiring, write two computer scientists in this extract of their new book, AI Snake Oil.
OpenAI in fundraising talks that would value it at $225b
The ChatGPT maker is in talks with investors including Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia to raise $US6.5 billion, as the artificial intelligence race continues.
Inside the AirTrunk deal: how to build a $24b business in nine years
This week on The Fin podcast, Paul Smith and Anthony Macdonald on whether Robin Khuda can grow a $100 billion business and what might get in his way.
Work & Careers
Law firm Hogan Lovells to close Australian office
Hogan Lovells will depart Australia a decade after it arrived, while fellow transatlantic firm A&O Shearman will make 10 per cent of its partners redundant.
- Exclusive
- Jobs
How to spot when a CV has been written by AI
It’s not always easy to tell when a CV or cover letter was written by generative artificial intelligence. But a lack of personality is a common giveaway.
Life & Luxury
If you liked ‘White Lotus’, you’ll probably like ‘Bad Monkey’
Apple TV+’s latest major series has Vince Vaughn playing a wisecracking Florida cop amid exotic locales, Tom Petty songs and a menacing capuchin.
Art’s greatest couple get the biopic treatment
Pierre Bonnard, France’s most important 20th century artist after Matisse, painted wife Marthe hundreds of times. This film shows their deep and tumultuous bond.
Posh people have got the right idea when it comes to diet
Beef, vegetables from the garden and proper butter are the bare necessities for your average toff.
Do you know this week’s news? Answer these 10 questions
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
‘I was levitating’: Why Brett Clegg paid for Sydney Dance Company work
The public relations mogul’s love affair with dance began when he sent an unsolicited novella to a British electro musician in 2011.
