Optus parent writes off billions and strikes $1.6b deal with TPG
Singtel has had to write off billions of dollars on Optus, offset partly by the beleaguered telco striking a $1.6 billion deal with Australian rival TPG.
Super Retail legal action expands to at least four staff
Lawyers acting for employees say they offered to settle confidentially for less than a third of the $30 million to $50 million sought.
RBA’s next move will still be a cut, say investors
Market pundits argue that interest rates are still going down, not up, because inflation is declining, albeit at a slower pace than many had expected.
- Analysis
- Domestic violence
Politicians alone cannot stop violence against women
Malcolm Turnbull best summed up the challenge a decade ago when he sought to address domestic violence. The challenge for Anthony Albanese is little different, writes Phillip Coorey.
Steep rise in student visa rejections ‘scaring applicants away’
News of the federal government’s clampdown on student visas is spreading far and wide and the US is becoming the destination of choice.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
How TPG and Optus went from enemies to frenemies
Just 14 months ago, TPG and Optus apparently hated each other’s guts. But their new regional mobile networking sharing deal shows commercial logic has prevailed.
Perpetual inches closer to KKR deal
The wealth manager is one step closer to breaking up the business after it confirmed talks with KKR that would leave Perpetual solely with asset management.
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MONDAY MEDIA
Melbourne rivals hope Kyle and Jackie O’s sins haunt advertiser demand
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson signed a 10-year, $200 million contract late last year. Now they’re taking on Melbourne’s $220 million radio market.
Profit of $4804: how Musk’s takeover crushed Twitter in Australia
X is expected to be wound up in Australia after reporting just $3.4 million in revenue in the first half of 2023, documents reveal.
News Corp restructure ‘savings’ soar as editors talk strategy
After a lacklustre advertising market struck media companies in 2024, a proposed restructure at News Corp will now aim to save $50 million instead of $15 million.
- Analysis
- Social media
The real reason Elon Musk is taking on Australia
Australia has become the latest battleground for the billionaire’s global war on internet censorship, Will he win?
Seven settles with man it wrongly named as Bondi killer
Less than a week into the job, Seven West Media’s chief executive Jeff Howard has apologised to student Ben Cohen for the error by its flagship Sunrise show.
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Companies
Board ousts Star chairman as inquiry blowback continues
David Foster will be replaced by director Anne Ward. She was one of the few directors who wanted former CEO Robbie Cooke to step down in December.
Pact Group hit by Qenos fallout as Rich Lister circles
Rich Lister Raphael Geminder extended his buyout offer 12 times for packaging group Pact, a large customer of the failed Qenos plastics resins business.
Japan Inc backing for nickel mine puts BHP bailout in doubt
Sumitomo and Mitsubishi have agreed to back Ardea Resources and its $3.1 billion nickel laterite and cobalt project, about 80 kilometres from Kalgoorlie and BHP’s ageing nickel smelter.
- Exclusive
- Casinos
Blackstone’s Crown to shed 1000 jobs in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth
Job losses will be split between the corporate division and the three casino precincts. Crown says the decision was driven by economic-related pressures.
- Exclusive
- Electric vehicles
Controversial SPAC listing hobbled Tritium
The charging company’s leaders were preparing for a potential collapse before Christmas as it failed to get state government cash.
Louis Dreyfus hits back in bidding war for Namoi Cotton
The French agribusiness giant has trumped a takeover from Olam in the latest twist in the battle for Namoi Cotton.
CBA dumps bonus limits to fight Macquarie on mortgages
The bank will dump bonus caps agreed in the shadow of the Hayne royal commission as it tries to stem market share losses to rival Macquarie.
Companies in the News
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Markets
ASX bounces as real estate, tech rally; First Quantum mothballs mine
Shares close higher. Perpetual confirms exclusive talks with KKR. Tech stocks rise ahead of Apple and Amazon earnings.
Fed rate cut debate shifts from when toward if on sticky inflation
US policymakers are widely expected to hold rates steady at a more than two-decade high this week, so much of the focus will be on any pivot from the Fed chairman.
Javier Milei fuels wild rally that makes peso No. 1 in world
The currency has, in fact, not only stopped plunging day after day but in one key foreign exchange market, it’s actually rallying sharply.
Yen drops to 34-year low; will authorities step in?
The steep sell-off in the Japanese currency to the lowest level since 1990.
ASX activist HMC Capital takes aim at GrainCorp
HMC Capital has revealed a position in GrainCorp, marking the group’s fourth public bet from the highly concentrated Capital Partners Fund.
Opinion
Albanese confronts domestic violence crisis
Women are angry, and the prime minister is dodging criticism even as he calls an emergency meeting of national cabinet on domestic violence.
Columnist
RBA must ignore the band of economists pushing a rate rise
The Reserve Bank should not be firing up its interest rate models on the strength of inflation that is now steadily dropping into target range.
Former Labor minister and economist
Australia’s last-mile inflation looks like the last 10 miles
The Albanese government took power promising to increase wages. It was a risky gamble that is not paying off.
Economics professor
How Australia is losing the equity market war
Australia’s equity capital markets are slipping behind global competitors on market value, shares traded and foreign listings. That trend is unlikely to change while the ASX is fixing its monopoly clearing and settlement system.
Contributor
Woodside and the new climate activists
Energy companies work in a twilight industry where demand still endures. They don’t know the answers to the questions investor activists are asking.
Energy expert
Fight to the last Ukrainian
More aid is clearly a relief for Kyiv, but will it be enough to reverse the tide of the war?
International editor
Politics
PM flags tougher treatment of men who harm women
Bail law reform and tougher penalties for men who engage in violence against women are set to be considered at this week’s national cabinet meeting.
Albanese out, Pope in for G7 summit
Despite Australia being a regular fixture in recent years, Anthony Albanese is off the guest list for the June leaders’ summit of the world’s most advanced economies.
Budget spending cuts must ‘take heat off’ interest rates
To limit the RBA’s interest rate rises, tens of billions of dollars in federal and state government expenditure must be unwound, economists say.
The NIMBY council singled out by Minns for rejecting density
The NSW government has released its reforms for increasing housing near transport, and will immediately enforce it on the one council that has opposed density.
Albanese calls crisis meeting on male violence against women
The prime minister will hold a national cabinet meeting after being heckled at a Canberra rally protesting against a “national crisis” of gendered violence.
SPONSORED
World
EU would need 50pc tariffs to curb imports of Chinese EV
Researchers at the Rhodium Group say any punitive action arising from a blockbuster anti-subsidy investigation is likely to be too timid to deter Chinese car makers.
- Analysis
- US election
With Trump in court, can Biden take control of the election?
As polls show the race tied, the president is campaigning around the country and his opponent is stuck spending his days in a Manhattan courtroom.
Tesla clears key regulatory hurdles for self-driving in China
CEO Elon Musk’s surprise visit to the US vehicle maker’s second-largest market appears to have paid off.
- Opinion
- Inside China
Battered from all sides, China needs new solutions
Mindful of the inspiration deficit that ultimately brought the East Asian growth miracle crashing down, Chinese policymakers must seize the moment.
US pushes for Gaza truce and hostage release as Blinken visits
Egypt is stepping up efforts at mediation to secure an agreement between Israel and Hamas leading to a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages.
Property
Stockland says interest rates key to further market improvement
The country’s largest listed diversified developer said sales picked up in the March quarter, but lower borrowing costs were needed for the housing market to pick up.
Real estate agent doubles his money by selling own apartment for $6.5m
There’s a national shortage of suitable units for downsizers, so a man who sells them for a living has just sold his own home – at quite a profit.
Why Melbourne’s housing crisis will get worse before its gets better
Victoria’s population is growing faster than any other state but as housing demand outpaces supply and wage growth, its economic prosperity is at risk.
- Exclusive
- Luxury property
The luxury estate used by George Clooney hits Gold Coast market
Gold Coast luxury property developer Tim Gordon and his wife Karin have put their equine property Rivermead Estate on the marketing guiding above $20 million.
High costs to delay housing supply until end of decade: AFR survey
It’s a case of simple economics choking off the desperately needed supply of new housing as building costs rise faster than house price growth.
Wealth
Why more Australians are choosing semi-retirement
Fusing the parts of work you still enjoy with hobbies, travel and passion projects is the dream for many. Here’s how to make a go of it
Why you’ll live longer than you think (and what it means for your wealth)
Very few people die at their age of life expectancy, giving rise to financial planning’s biggest conundrum: longevity risk.
A child won a share of her dad’s estate – despite planning to kill him
A 75 per cent success rate in contesting wills is encouraging more family members to sue for a bigger share. Here’s how to protect your final wishes.
Technology
Snapchat going backwards in Australia
Elon Musk’s takeover crushed Twitter, but Snap is still a fraction of the size of the dominant Meta-Google online advertising machine.
The Meta-morphosis of Mark Zuckerberg
The robotic nerd depicted in The Social Network has turned into the kinder, more accessible face of Silicon Valley. What’s going on?
Why Apple has a $US300b ‘Made in China’ problem
Apple is gradually weaning itself off China as a longstanding and mutually-beneficial relationship between the corporate giant and the country begins to fray.
Work & Careers
Companies picking up the bill for employees’ egg freezing and IVF
Google has joined the growing ranks of companies offering financial reimbursements to staff for fertility treatments.
- Exclusive
- Industrial relations
Watchdog drops 30pc of cases against CFMEU
The workplace watchdog has filed no new cases against the construction union for 18 months and has dropped 30 per cent of the cases alleging construction union law-breaking it inherited after Labor’s election.
Life & Luxury
13 tactics you’ll need to thrive in midlife
Jason Fox, a former special forces operative turned TV star who has experienced more than his fair share of gritty situations, shares his life tips.
Nobody actually needs a watch, says Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO
Artistry and occasion influence buyers today, Catherine Rénier tells Life & Leisure ahead of JLC’s uniquely hands-on pop-up store opening in Sydney in May.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
The new Porsche Macan 4 EV is coming to Australia this year
Priced from $133,700-plus for the entry-level model, this highly popular SUV has been upgraded – and performs brilliantly in every respect.
How exercise strengthens your brain
Perhaps most remarkably, exercise offers protection against neurodegenerative diseases.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
The man behind the new Porsche Macan 4 EV
It’s the most capable model yet, reckons Jörg Kerner. “My mission was to bring the best car you can develop with this new technology to market.”
