The search is on for the 2025 Best Places to Work.
- Exclusive
- Rich families
Rich Lister wealth secrets revealed after 30-year loophole ends
Two years after removing an exemption that allowed Australia’s richest families to keep details of their private companies secret, their financials are filtering through.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX rises amid broad rally; Stockland climbs
Shares advance; Platinum board says Regal bid ‘undervalues’ the listed global equities fund manager; ACCC allows Lendlease projects sale to Stockland and Supalai; Soul Patts profit slides. Follow updates here.
The 10 most covertly powerful people in Australia in 2024
Those who wield the most clout behind the scenes in the nation’s business and politics.
Platinum rejects Regal’s takeover on value grounds
Regal Funds offered 0.274 of its own shares for every Platinum Asset Management stock plus a special dividend. But that wasn’t enough.
ACCC green light for $1.3b Lendlease, Stockland estates deal
The divestment is one of a number of major initiatives that Lendlease boss Tony Lombardo is pursuing in a radical overhaul of the global developer.
- Live
- Need to Know
Greens claim credit for Labor’s negative gearing shift
The Greens claim negative gearing win, Penny Wong says civilians are being killed in Israeli strikes; Anthony Albanese denies inflation drop is due to temporary rebates. Follow live updates.
- Exclusive
- Energy
Bowen uses gas to fire up offensive on Coalition’s nuclear plans
Energy Minister Chris Bowen claims the Coalition’s energy plans will require spending tens of billions of dollars to build and service new gas power plants.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
POWER LIST
Australia’s five most powerful people in education in 2024
As we hurtle to the end of the year, there are a lot of balls still up in the air for the sector. The question is, how many have landed?
Why Australia’s think tanks are a growing source of covert power
These research and advocacy institutes are a growing source of covert power. But to get the funding, they need to be seen.
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.
The 10 most culturally powerful people in Australia
What does it mean to be Australian right now? These 10 people made the biggest mark on our national culture this year.
The best of travel, fashion, cars and more, straight to your inbox every Saturday.
Companies
BlueScope sounded out as Whyalla steelworks rescuer
Sanjeev Gupta’s empire is showing further signs of distress as creditor defaults tick up against his other businesses in Australia, InfraBuild and Tahmoor coal.
Investors blame supermarket ‘arrogance’ for dodgy discount lawsuit
But some fund managers say a slump in Woolworths and Coles shares is a buying opportunity, betting the ACCC’s claims will be hard to stand up in court.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Star funding deal done, now to prevent a white elephant
Star Entertainment’s directors will get over one hurdle, only to face the next. Such is the life of a casino operator in 2024.
- Updated
- 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 after it failed to lodge its accounts with the ASX.
Star’s Queen’s Wharf comes to life – unless you want to shop or eat
It’s been dubbed a “multistaged opening” or, in other words, a work in progress. But the sight of hi-vis and faint smell of sawdust haven’t deterred visitors.
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.
Qube sues own employees for damages for blocking ship services
A wage dispute between logistics group Qube and wharfies in Melbourne has escalated after the company sued more than 20 union members.
Companies in the News
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Markets
Ex-RBA governor Lowe joins Barrenjoey board
In February 2023 Philip Lowe found himself in hot water after accepting a lunch invite from Barrenjoey. This week he joined the start-up investment bank’s board.
What happened overnight? The Dow dragged Wall Street lower
Australian shares were set to open higher. US stocks were mostly lower. Goldman said bullish equity positioning reflected enduring US exceptionalism.
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.
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.
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.
Opinion
Why Labor seems to be flirting with housing tax breaks again
The real story is that the government is desperately looking for a way out of the political dead end that has stalled any momentum in its drive to an election.
Columnist
Real tax reform could help fix the housing crisis
The political system lacks the maturity to even discuss using tax policy as a serious instrument to help solve the housing shortage.
Editorial
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
The answer to our housing crisis is three letters: EBA
For all the focus on the illegal activities of the CFMEU, it’s their legal activities that have played a starring role in our housing affordability crisis.
Economics professor
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 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
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
Electricity bills to surge 47pc next year as government support ends
The Albanese government has hinted it could extend the federal government’s $300 electricity bill rebate to avoid a sharp rise in out-of-pocket energy costs.
A quick guide to the politics of housing tax breaks
Anthony Albanese won’t be the last political leader to mull changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, and he certainly is not the first.
ADF prepares land and air capability for possible Lebanon evacuation
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned evacuation operations will not be able to accommodate all of the up to 30,000 Australians in the region.
Fire service chiefs’ email hacked to help union boss, inquiry finds
Union boss Peter Marshall asked staff at the Metropolitan Fire Brigade to gather sensitive information, a report by Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog has found.
PM yet to be convinced housing tax changes won’t hurt supply
The prime minister says Treasury is looking at ways to curb the use of negative gearing and capital gains tax, but it wasn’t his idea.
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World
- Updated
- Middle East tensions
Israel ‘preparing for ground invasion’: army chief
The Israeli Defence Forces head told troops it is gearing up for a land incursion of Lebanon, as diplomats race to secure a ceasefire between the two sides.
Harris insists she’s a ‘capitalist’ in economic pitch
The Democratic presidential candidate has been under pressure to offer more details on her economic plans.
- Analysis
- UK politics
Why Britain’s PM faces political firefights on all fronts
A combination of bad politics and unpopular policy has left Sir Keir Starmer on the back foot. And there isn’t even a Tory opponent who can lead the attack.
Lebanon says 51 killed in latest round of Israeli strikes
The attacks are the deadliest in the country since the bruising month-long war between the Jewish state and Hezbollah in 2006.
- Exclusive
- Asia-Pacific
Japan’s new ambassador has high hopes for closer ties
In an interview, Kazuhiro Suzuki says the two countries are “indispensable” to achieving peace and prosperity in a region where the shadow of China looms large.
Property
These newly minted million dollar suburbs are breaking records
More neighbourhoods are poised to cross the seven-figure median milestone in the coming months as prices continue to rise.
- Exclusive
- Office
Brookfield to sell $480m stake in tower that Cartier calls home
Singaporean property giant UOL will buy Brookfield’s half stake of 388 George Street, which will be managed by Investa once the deal is completed.
- 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
Jose was priced out of his inner-city home. So were 16,000 others
KPMG data shows rising costs are squeezing out much-needed workers from Sydney and Melbourne’s most sought-after suburbs.
‘Paying whatever it takes’: Prestige home prices jump 20pc a year in this city
International and east coast buyers are helping fuel a price boom in Perth’s most sought after luxury coastal and riverside properties.
Wealth
Hartman exit leaves separated Forrests occupying Tattarang board
The longest surviving member of the Forrest inner circle, John Hartman, has left the board of the private company that holds most of the couple’s combined fortune.
The $52b side hustle economy offers a shot at getting rich
The ATO estimates there are around 1 million side hustlers, including a fast-growing group of white-collar workers who dream of going into business for themselves.
- Opinion
- SMSFs
How to get your kids more tax-free super when you die
Re-contribution strategies allow you to withdraw money from super and put it back again to minimise tax for whoever inherits it. Such strategies are making a come-back, particularly in SMSFs
Technology
Meet the ‘actionable futurist’ who demystifies tech for the C-suite
Futurist Andrew Grill reckons execs will struggle to make good decisions about deploying tech in their businesses if they’re not actively using it themselves.
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”.
Work & Careers
How Angella went from healthcare to coder in nine months
Holberton’s course is an example of the practical training programs employers are using to fill stubborn vacancies in the face of persistent skills shortages.
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
Star’s Queen’s Wharf comes to life – unless you want to shop or eat
It’s been dubbed a “multistaged opening” or, in other words, a work in progress. But the sight of hi-vis and faint smell of sawdust haven’t deterred visitors.
Seven must-see shows this October
From a Bette Davis cabaret, to Celine Dion on the Titanic and a takeover in the Adelaide Botanic Garden, there are plenty of reasons to leave the house this month.
The doctor-turned-CEO aiming to beat Ozempic
Adam Steensberg leads Zealand Pharma, a Danish drug maker whose stock has risen by more than 800 per cent since he took over in 2022.
Heading to Melbourne for the footy? It might pay to book a stop-over
Brisbane fans might choose a less-than-ideal path to save a few dollars in the pilgrimage to the MCG this weekend – booking a flight via Sydney or Canberra.
The perfect autumn weekend in London
It’s not called the UK’s capital of cool for nothing. Here’s an insider’s guide to how to spend 48 fun hours.
