The search is on for the 2025 Best Places to Work.
RBA issues scathing assessment of ASX’s derivatives upgrade
In a lengthy review, the central bank has said the sharemarket operator was too slow in disclosing problems and suggests it was keeping regulators in the dark.
- Exclusive
- Gaming & wagering
Star Entertainment set to sign financial accounts as bailout finalised
The company – which operates casinos in Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast – has been in turmoil all month after it failed to lodge its accounts with the ASX.
Albanese confirms negative gearing and CGT options under review
The prime minister says Treasury is looking at ways to curb their use, but refused to say whether it is at the federal government’s request.
China tests ballistic missile in Pacific in ‘provocative’ move
China fired an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean, its first such major missile launch in years.
- Breaking
- Defence
Hanwha walks away from $1b pursuit of ASX-listed shipbuilder Austal
The Korean conglomerate has accused the company of making it impossible to conduct due diligence despite four separate approaches since its first last year.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Lew’s ‘toughest year in 61 years’ a chance to really shake things up
Few chairmen are pulling strategic levers like Australia’s shrewdest retailer. Where is it all headed?
Inflation hits three-year low of 2.7pc, but rate cuts remain distant
Inflation temporarily plummeted in August as millions of households received $75 electricity bill rebates, but Michele Bullock says rate cuts aren’t on the agenda.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
POWER LIST
Australia’s 10 most powerful business leaders in 2024
The strongest voices for corporate Australia in a year when cost-of-living pressures have ripped through the most vulnerable parts of the economy.
Australia’s top five powerbrokers in the law for 2024
It was a momentous year for the High Court, the competition regulator and outspoken judges. Here are the people setting the agenda in legal circles.
Power list reveals diminished influence of Australia’s corporate sector
This year’s list reflects the fading voice of CEOs and the growing size, scale and power of the superannuation sector.
The five most powerful Australian tech leaders in 2024
The biggest deal of the year, the end of an era at Atlassian and the rising influence of super funds helped to shape the list of technology’s most powerful in 2024.
Australia’s most powerful deal makers in 2024
If investors step up and hit the bid on those valuations, the market will see real momentum. If not, it will be the same painful conversation about dry powder next year.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
Companies
Record $12.9m greenwashing penalty puts fund managers on notice: ASIC
Federal Court fined Vanguard $12.9 million for failing to exclude certain investments against ESG criteria and instead relying on third parties.
Pro Medicus’ billionaire boss says simplicity secret of success
Pro Medicus’ stranglehold on cloud-imaging healthcare tech means its growth trajectory has a long way to go.
- Exclusive
- AI
Google to test its AI-powered search in Australia
Known as AI Overviews, the change is the biggest to the platform in years. But news publishers and e-commerce sites fear it could leave them out in the cold.
- Exclusive
- GST
ATO found pub empire made ‘fictitious’ GST refund claims
Virtical Group made false claims for millions in GST refunds based on invoices for construction that did not happen on property it did not own, the tax office has found.
ACCC call on Sigma, Chemist Warehouse $8.8b deal looms
Merger plans are tracking in line with expectations, with the competition watchdog to make a final decision on October 24 after a previous delay.
- Updated
- Investment banking
Macquarie fined after failing to catch dodgy energy transactions
The corporate regulator says the bank was warned a dozen times that there were suspicious futures transactions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Qantas pilots to vote on pay freeze offer (worth 30pc more)
Short-haul pilots are the last group of the airline’s employees to vote on enterprise agreements since the pandemic, when wages were frozen across all entities.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
Bond markets too punchy on RBA rate cuts, say investors
Fund managers say traders have overblown the comments from governor Michele Bullock and are siding with the central bank on the rate outlook.
ASX ends lower as rotation churns; Rightmove rejects third REA bid
Inflation falls within RBA’s target for first time in 3 years. Investors shift money from banks to miners. Lew sidelines demerger plans. Aussie dollar hits 18-month high. Follow updates here.
China kills ASX bank rally as money piles into miners
Traders are scrambling after China’s latest effort to boost its economy prompted investors to rapidly pull money from the big four banks and pile into the mining sector.
Meta stock bulls look for next rally catalyst
Meta’s annual Connect conference kicks off this week, with industry buzz around the latest technology reveal and updated by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
Traders up bets on RBA December rate cut, ignoring Bullock
The bond market is sticking with its prediction of some rate relief by Christmas, despite governor Michele Bullock saying that inflation remains “too high”.
Opinion
Beware the hidden cost of Dutton’s nuclear plan
The Coalition’s timeline will need major expansion of gas to replace sidelined renewable energy projects, which will be a huge and needless expense.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy
Government spending blowout is the size of the mining boom
Like the mining investment boom of the early 2000s, the economic shock from higher government spending will have implications for inflation, productivity and interest rates.
Economics editor
Why Hezbollah is everyone’s problem
The world is now in the opening stages of yet another contest between the free and unfree. It’s a conflict reaching far and wide, and will last for decades.
Contributor
Why there will be no relief on rates
Jim Chalmers claims “welcome and encouraging progress” in the fight against inflation. The Reserve Bank disagrees, writes Jennifer Hewett.
Columnist
Why is Australia stuck in the slow lane on driverless cars?
Australian regulations put a far higher bar on robot drivers than human ones. That makes little sense when it’s likely that the tech is already safer.
Infrastructure and transport expert
Retail politics of ACCC Coles and Woolies case are bad for business
The investor reaction underlines challenges facing the business community which has tried to push back against the populist anti-big business bashing in Canberra.
Editorial
Reports
Technology - Valuation shift
This special report looks at shifting valuations for tech companies in public and private markets, plus how AI will change work.
Politics
‘NATO of critical minerals’ deal to hit China dominance
Local mining and processing projects could be funded by more than a dozen like-minded nations as part of a new joint financing body agreed to by 14 countries.
‘Not unusual’: Chalmers says Treasury examining negative gearing
Jim Chalmers downplays Treasury examining negative gearing; Angus Taylor doesn’t support negative gearing change; Retail billionaire criticises Labor’s economic strategy. Follow live updates.
Inflation to hit three-year low, but don’t expect a rate cut: Bullock
Michele Bullock says she will ignore data on Wednesday that is likely to show inflation back in target band, warning government energy rebates will not bring forward a rate cut.
RBA explores Plan B shake-up on managing ‘big risks’
RBA governor Michele Bullock is developing a back-up plan to manage “big operational risks” such as cybersecurity in the likelihood that the proposed shake-up of the central bank’s board fails.
Woolworths, Coles price manipulation claims come at tough time for BCA
Liberal and Labor MPs say that the claims against the supermarkets undermine corporate Australia’s efforts to position itself as a critical plank of prosperity.
SPONSORED
World
UK property site Rightmove knocks back REA again
Pressure is increasing on the Murdoch-owned REA’s $11 billion-plus foray, with just five days left to get a deal across the line.
- Updated
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Hezbollah fires missile at Mossad HQ as tensions rise
The military said Hezbollah fired the missile from Lebanon, in what appeared to be the first attempted attack by the group on a target as far south as central Israel.
Starmer calls for return of ‘sausages’ from Gaza in conference gaffe
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer misread his script – which called for the return of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 last year.
- Opinion
- UK politics
Keir Starmer’s honeymoon hardly got started
The UK prime minister already has a marginally lower approval rating than the recently deposed Rishi Sunak. Even by modern standards, the fall has been swift.
Trump pledges to take jobs and factories from allies, China
The former president promised a “manufacturing renaissance” as the centrepiece of his plan, saying he would offer foreign firms low taxes and little regulation.
Property
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
BlackRock seeds $1.5b laboratory real estate fund
BlackRock is partnering with local private equity firm Wentworth Capital on a “pure play” laboratory fund that has already secured a number of seed assets
Commercial property is coming back to life in US
But at what price will beaten-down offices, apartments and other properties actually change hands?
Melbourne developer snaps up regional sites with plans for 2000 homes
Jinding has bought three sites in regional Victoria and one at Mount Barker outside of Adelaide, where it believes there is strong demand for housing.
RBA decision to hold on rates won’t help home buyers: experts
The housing market won’t get much of a boost from the RBA’s decision to keep rates steady, although some investors may be willing to jump in early.
- Exclusive
- Retail
Knives out as Victor Churchill threatens to quit blue-blood suburb
The butcher has been an institution in the wealthy Sydney enclave of Woollahra since 1876. Now a stoush with its landlord could send it packing.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Cybersecurity
SMSFs are a $1 trillion honeypot for hackers
The success of the retirement savings system has become an irresistible target for global cybercriminals.
Perks, points and fees: How to choose the right credit card
Understanding the four credit card types will help you make smart choices.
The $1 rule, and 43 other easy ways to be better with money
Not everything about money has to be hard. We asked experts for their top tips on how to be better at saving, budgeting and investing.
Technology
How a Caramello Koala helped catch Coles and Woolies out
As consumers’ belts tightened, price-sensitive shoppers vented their frustrations online on Reddit, TikTok and X. The ACCC, it seems, was listening.
Will AI be a bust? A Wall Street sceptic rings the alarm
Jim Covello, Goldman Sachs’ head of stock research, warns that building too much of what the world doesn’t need “typically ends badly”.
Inside Elon Musk’s mushrooming security apparatus
The world’s richest man has long cultivated a devil-may-care persona. But in private, he has increasingly barricaded himself behind a growing phalanx of armed bodyguards.
Work & Careers
‘We need to talk’: the hidden cost of unclear messages
The “emotional overhead” of trying to decode ambiguous emails is just one piece of problematic fallout from poor communication at work.
Dentons CEO to fight anti-vax, antisemitism claims
Dentons chief executive Doug Stipanicev has stepped down after he was accused of ignoring bullying allegations and sending a conspiratorial report.
Life & Luxury
$300 still life flowers into a 70-bagger
A forgotten work by a forgotten Australian artist was one of several to do well as the great financial reappreciation of women artists continued at Leonard Joel.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
This is one of the quietest cars we’ve ever driven
The Volvo EX90 electric SUV combines safety with size and silence – or superior sounds via its 25 speakers, if you choose.
Travel is the key to staying young, says this new study
Academics at Edith Cowan University have discovered that, as well as the mental and physical benefits, tourism can keep people looking younger.
Dolce&Gabbana CEO in Australia to party and sell the dream
The Italian fashion powerhouse is moving boldly into skincare, homewares – even dog fragrances.
Margot Robbie’s ‘My Old Ass’ is a bummer
This lame coming-of-age story, produced by the megastar, is no Barbie. Meanwhile, 85-year-old Ian McKellen hams it up megalomaniacally in The Critic.
