Rio Tinto makes $9.9b bet on lithium comeback
Takeover target Arcadium Lithium says Rio Tinto’s offer to pay a 90 per cent premium reflects “full and fair” value amid a lithium bear market.
- Exclusive
- Pubs
Ed Peter’s Duxton Pubs dangles 2025 IPO as it seeks $35m
Some parts of Peter’s South Australian business empire have come under pressure as investors get cold feet.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Arcadium’s $10b takeover exposes brutal reality of listed life
A $15.7 billion merger one year, gone in a not-quite $10 billion takeover the next. Time frames are not always as long as we like to think in listed equities.
Alan Joyce to keep flying on Qantas dime for more than two decades
The former chief executive is entitled to perks worth millions of dollars, as Richard Goyder makes the most use of his free flights this year.
Supermarkets singled out as Labor overhauls merger laws
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is launching the biggest competition shake-up in almost half a century.
‘Wedge politics’: Dutton mocks PM’s talk about NBN privatisation risk
The opposition says the government is attempting a similar campaign to the “Mediscare” one in 2016. Experts doubt anyone will want to buy NBN Co any way.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why Rio Tinto wants to be a new cornerstone for the lithium sector
Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm argues the miner’s long-term investment approach and sheer size can help stabilise the volatile lithium market.
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Companies
Richard White allegedly asked lawyer to break off billionaire’s affair
Letters filed with the Federal Court in an unrelated bankruptcy claim show his solicitor told Linda Rogan his client had made “alternative arrangements”.
Super Retail loses bid to throw out Harmers from dismissal case
Justice Michael Lee said it would be “far from an insignificant thing” to disallow two women suing the company their choice of solicitor.
Former Melbourne Rebels directors sue Rugby Australia for $30m
The court case comes five months after former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford declared war against the governing body.
Relief rally for APA on gas pipeline decision
Energy-intensive manufacturers say the ruling still leaves them worried about supply shortages in the southern states.
$145m: The most valuable AFL and NRL teams revealed
An inaugural list that rates the most valuable club trademarks in the two most popular football codes are out, with an ASX-listed giant leading rugby league.
- Analysis
- Media & marketing
Nine mulls adding advertising to Stan in search for new revenue
Streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were once entirely commercial-free. Now almost all services have a cheaper ad-backed plan.
VC deep freeze still manages to outrun IPO market
The IPO drought has forced venture capital investors to search for different ways to realise profits from long-held investments.
Companies in the News
Search companies
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Markets
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why China is hesitant to fire its stimulus bazooka
China bulls want stimulus, and quick. But three big roadblocks stand in the way.
Brokers stick with stimulus bets after meltdown
Investors have delivered a cool assessment of whether China’s stimulus lives up to the hype, but brokers are refusing to give up on the easy money dream.
Markets bet on drastic cuts after NZ slashes rates
The kiwi hit a seven-week low after New Zealand’s jumbo rate cut, but Citi is tipping the RBNZ could go another 75 basis points next month to arrest slowing growth.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Dimon and Dalio look past rates to a ‘ticking time bomb’
While everyone is predicting rate cuts, Jamie Dimon and Ray Dalio remain worried that rates will need to go up and one big inflationary force keeps building.
Rio buys Arcadium for $9.9b; China finance ministry to meet Saturday
Shares edge up but commodity stocks weigh; Rio Tinto inks Arcadium buy; Oil falls sharply; RBNZ slashes its key rate to 4.75 per cent. Follow updates here.
Opinion
Why Kamala Harris is not playing up her gender
Unlike Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate does not intend to attract votes for the ground-breaking achievement of becoming the first female US president.
Columnist
US-China rivalry colours our ASEAN relations
ASEAN believes that neutrality is the best defence against regional conflict. But it is too reluctant to help maintain the regional balance.
Editorial
Private markets will always need public ones
Private markets need listed markets to price their assets and provide an exit, but public markets need to curb the inane social pre-occupations.
Investor
Government has listened to concerns on merger law reform
The targeted and balanced merger bill will see most mergers approved faster, with more time to consider the contentious ones.
Contributor
Australia can’t keep relying on hopes of China stimulus
Beijing’s latest version of its stalling stimulus model will become another dead end. It’s time for Australia to make its own economy more adaptable.
Foreign policy expert
Respectful remembrance shows peace is possible
Readers’ letters on ending conflict in the Middle East; Coalition attacks on the government; ASIC’s action against AustralianSuper; nuclear power; and respect for Baby Boomers.
Contributor
Reports
BOSS Most Innovative Companies
The Most Innovative Companies List recognises and celebrates those businesses that are shaking up their industries with genuine game-changing innovations.
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‘Wedge politics’: Dutton mocks PM’s talk about NBN privatisation risk
The opposition says the government is attempting a similar campaign to the “Mediscare” one in 2016. Experts doubt anyone will want to buy NBN Co any way.
Why Albanese and Dutton are lying low in Queensland election
In the defiantly parochial state, a visit from the boss in Canberra doesn’t always work as intended.
Abortion laws threaten to derail LNP’s bid for Qld victory
The odds-on favourite to win the Queensland election has failed to hose down controversy surrounding abortion speculation.
Albanese likens China talks to US-Soviet Cold War ties
Anthony Albanese is heading to the ASEAN summit for two days of talks with regional leaders where security will be a top priority.
Australia’s universities tumble down global rankings
Australia has six universities in the world’s top 100 again, but pandemic-era revenue cuts are hitting financial viability.
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World
Fresh hopes for China stimulus and private sector reform
Foreign investors say China’s moves to free up private business might reduce unemployment, encourage investment and boost consumer confidence.
‘Bad f---ing guy’ description hangs over Biden-Netanyahu phone call
Joe Biden’s hopes of avoiding a wider Middle East war are more remote after revelations he described Benjamin Netanyahu as a “son of a bitch”.
Unprecedented move: Aussie super funds press for reform in UK
IFM and six leading super funds are publicly pushing the Starmer government for reforms to help unblock the UK’s sluggish pipeline of infrastructure deals.
Netanyahu defiant as Middle East braces
Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak with US President Joe Biden over his retaliation plans against Iran amid fears of a widening war.
- Updated
- Extreme weather
Florida residents flee monster hurricane as time runs out
Milton, one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record, is threatening a stretch of Florida’s densely populated west coast still reeling from Helene.
Property
Lendlease signs Japanese partner for $500m build-to-rent tower
Lendlease is pairing Australia’s housing development demand with the investment needs of companies like Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate to back its own turnaround.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
Private credit boss sells ‘Batman’s treehouse’ after 30pc price drop
AltX co-founder Sean Katz and his wife Bonita have sold their Vaucluse mansion after spending $33 million on a Camp Cove waterfront.
NSW’s new planning rules swap unloved offices for 450 homes
The state government’s powers clear the way to seize planning controls of “unreasonably delayed” sites.
Google HQ, Media House up for grabs
The offerings come after two years of significant upheaval across the office market. But there is growing confidence the down cycle is finally bottoming out.
Rich Listers to turn Ferrero nut orchards into olive groves
goFARM, which is half owned by Costa Asset Management, has paid about $60 million for the former hazelnut orchards near Narrandera.
Wealth
- Opinion
- Aged care
Thankfully, living at home until the end looks possible for more Australians
Elderly people will get used to paying for the services they need rather than wondering what they are going to leave the next generation.
- Opinion
- Passive investing
Is passive investing a safe bet or a double-edged sword?
While typically considered benign, passive index investing can come with unintended consequences.
- Opinion
- Investing
Don’t let politics get in the way of a good return
With the US presidential election less than a month away should investors be concerned about the impact on sharemarkets?
Technology
Google targeted for break-up in landmark US case
The US Department of Justice could seek “structural remedies” such as forced product sales after a judge’s ruling of illegal monopoly in searches.
- Analysis
- Phones
Did Apple just kill social apps?
The drama demonstrates how powerful gatekeepers like Apple have become and how even minor changes to Apple’s products can create dramatic ripple effects in the rest of the tech industry.
Inside the bro-ification of Mark Zuckerberg
The Meta founder has quietly remade his public image, attracting the same generation of start-up guys who once idolised Elon Musk.
Work & Careers
The Aussie who helped discover how to weigh the universe
World renowned astrophysicist Professor Matthew Bailes has won the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.
‘No excuse’: Drunk worker fired for Qantas Lounge sex harassment
The fly-in fly-out worker had her unfair dismissal claim rejected, including that placing her head in a co-worker’s lap was “the usual inconvenience of public travel”.
Life & Luxury
Mona Lisa of Melbourne makes an unexpected splash in London
After being held by a family for 40 years in Hawthorn, a rare 17th-century expert copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has sold for 10 times its estimate.
Iconic images of life, death and football fetch top dollar
A series of auctions suggests the market for big-name photographers is alive and well.
At these ultra-luxe Maldives resorts, you could be in for a surprise
Take up the alternative medical therapies or snorkel in transparent water with boundless reef fish. Each has its own wow factor.
Are plant burgers better than beef? Here’s how to decide
Are burgers made from plants really better for you than real beef burgers? Scientists have found that in most cases, plant-based meat substitutes can improve your health.
What’s behind our obsession with wellness?
From ice baths and breathwork classes to turmeric lattes and green juice, wellness has become a cultural obsession and a trillion-dollar industry.