- 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.
- Live
- Need to Know
Albanese calls crisis meeting on male violence against women
PM to hold crisis meeting on gendered violence; Labor told to fix structural deficit; PwC set to become smallest big four firm. Follow updates live.
- Live
- Markets Live
ASX to rise; tech stocks in focus after Nasdaq rally
Shares to recover some of Friday’s losses. Anglo American shareholders await BHP’s next move. Tech stocks back in focus with Apple and Amazon to report this week. Follow here for more
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.
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.
CBA dumps Hayne-era bonus limits to take mortgage fight to Macquarie
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.
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.
- Driving With Tony Davis
- Motoring
The new Porsche Macan 4 EV is coming to Australia this year
Wealth Generation: News and views to help aspirational investors grow their wealth. In your inbox every Wednesday.
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.
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.
Why Ita Buttrose used to spy on ABC hosts’ Twitter posts
The former ABC chairwoman has strong views on lots of topics, but social media use by journalists is a particular bugbear.
Get the latest business news on the go with the AFR’s new iOS app.
Companies
ASIC secretly probed IAG’s Greensill disclosure
As IAG raised $750m, a hedge fund’s tip-off claimed there was scant detail about exposure to fast financier Greensill Group. Since then, $7b in gross claims have been declared.
Banks stare down spectre of bad debts, eye $4.5b return
Analysts say banks may declare higher dividends and share buybacks over the next fortnight’s earnings season as margin pressures ease.
Anglo to run investor gauntlet after rejecting BHP’s $60b bid
The market is tipping BHP can come back with a higher offer, as it moves to acquire more copper assets. But first, Anglo American will face its own shareholders.
BHP’s $60b copper play was years in the making
How chief executive Mike Henry has been methodically hunting a big deal for years.
Tanarra sharpens criticism of Lendlease’s Lombardo, Ullmer
John Wylie’s firm has been calling for major changes at the property group. In a letter to investors, it makes clear its views of the company’s chief executive.
Aldi pays mega $420m dividend to offshore parent
Newly released accounts reveal the discount supermarket chain made a hefty capital return to Austrian company Hofer KG in 2023.
NSW wants fintechs to be part of the country’s largest bank contract
Westpac, ANZ and Citi are incumbents, but NSW Treasury wants innovative pitches to help solve issues, such as helping get payments to victims of domestic violence who may not have access to banks.
Companies in the News
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Markets
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
The RBA is still threading the needle
The Reserve Bank’s next policy move is more likely to be a rate cut despite the evidence seen in the stronger than expected March inflation figures, says GSFM’s Stephen Miller.
How markets were looking before the ASX opening bell
The US Federal Reserve will take centre stage again this week, when some forecasters are expecting its chairman to address an increasingly poor inflation outlook.
Investors bet global central banks forced to delay rate cuts
Market expectations for loosening interest rates in Europe and the UK have been pushed back, as the US grapples with a hot economy.
Market bets the RBA will raise rates by August
Traders are ascribing a more than 50 per cent chance the Reserve Bank will lift the cash rate as early as in August to stamp out inflation.
Kogan executives handed $17.6m payday three weeks before stock crash
The online retailer disclosed earlier this month that key executives would be able to sell options back to the company without having to exchange them for shares.
Opinion
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
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
Woodside Energy’s part in BHP’s low-carbon transition
The irony is that “The Big Australian” has the financial resources to bid for Anglo American partly because its legacy fossil fuel assets are now on Woodside Energy’s books.
Editorial
If Musk wins high stakes global battle, X could still lose the war
A court victory in the legal stoush over Australia’s eSafety commissioner’s take-down order might invite government intervention that bolsters regulation of the social media giants.
Lawyer
Post-coal power choice is renationalisation or redesigning the market
An integrated net-zero electricity system depends on governments restoring faith in the market delivering enough power to the right places at the right time.
Energy expert
How Boomers are busting hopes for rate cuts
Macro commentator James Aitken says interest rates may have to head higher after we underestimated the increasingly powerful wealth effect.
Senior reporter
Politics
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.
Call to put fixing structural deficit at heart of budget policy
UNSW professor Richard Holden said Treasurer Jim Dr Chalmers had failed to adopt clear strategy in his first two budgets, which lacked accountability.
Failure to reopen Australia embassy in Kyiv ‘an embarrassment’
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles visited Ukraine to unveil the package, including drones and air-defence systems, but there was one glaring omission from his trip.
AFR readers call for government spending restraint to fight inflation
Two-thirds of The Australian Financial Review readers have urged Treasurer Jim Chalmers to resist the urge to deliver a big-spending pre-election budget.
Labor urged to restrict rather than ban non-compete clauses
Leading economists have urged the Albanese government to significantly restrict the use of non-compete clauses to revive Australia’s ailing productivity growth.
SPONSORED
World
Russian missiles pound Ukraine’s battered power plants
Russian missiles again targeted the nation’s strained energy grid in a broad and complex attack, as Defence Minister Richard Marles pledged $100 million in aid.
China factory profits slip as overcapacity troubles economic recovery
Industrial profits at large-scale Chinese companies declined 3.5 per cent from a year earlier in March, ending seven straight months of increases.
US universities cite antisemitism in protest crackdown
Some universities moved to shut down encampments to protest against the Israel-Hamas war after reports of antisemitic activity.
Why China’s spies are being caught all over Europe
A flurry of arrests this week reflect the continent’s newly toughened response to Beijing’s espionage activities and political meddling.
- Opinion
- East Asia Forum
South Korea’s president faces revolt over US security ties
After his party’s loss in parliamentary elections, Yoon Suk-yeol is under pressure over his pivot to a stronger US alliance and perceived anti-China policies.
Property
Sticky inflation not deterring home buyers at auction
Auction markets didn’t react to renewed interest rate rise fears as the pool of home buyers remains big enough relative to the number of homes up for sale.
- 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.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Huge mango farming operation in NT for sale by receivers
Receivers are hoping to recoup almost $10m owed to NAB through the sale of the Cheeky Farms aggregation of mango plantations.
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Chinese billionaire to sell Tassie dairies after Fonterra deal sours
The Woolnorth dairy farms in north west Tasmania and the near 200-year-old Van Diemen’s Land Company are being sold by Chinese businessman Xianfeng Lu.
The conundrum behind Perth’s housing price surge
There’s plenty of demand and many projects approved, but sky-high construction costs have left developers asking for more government money.
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
Gold Coast crypto-miner assets seized amid fears $60m would vanish
The corporate watchdog is alleging the firms providing financial advice without a licence, encouraging investment in crypto products.
Alphabet surges past $3 trillion, announces first-ever dividend
Google’s parent company rose nearly 16 per cent after first-quarter earnings beat expectations and a $US70 billion stock buyback was approved.
- Exclusive
- Social media
TikTok Australia makes its first stand after US ban laws pass
The US congress passed a bill on Wednesday requiring TikTok to be sold within a year or be banned in the country.
Work & Careers
Henri Aram: the 101-year-old market gadfly
A reforming pioneer in the investment advice industry, Henri Aram was also outspoken about the operation of finance markets and the behaviour of big corporates.
- Exclusive
- NAPLAN
NAPLAN reports arrive eight weeks early, giving more time to intervene
Detailed reports on how schools, classes and individual students performed in this year’s NAPLAN tests will start landing on Monday.
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.
- 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.”
Streeton stuns at $10m art auction
Arthur Streeton’s historic scene took top honours, but works by Bronwyn Oliver and Nicholas Harding were the big surprises.
Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Sydney
The electric ute has been cruising tourist sites before going on display amid Elon Musk’s ‘censorship’ battle with Australia.
How to train for a marathon no matter how fit you are
It might take you a year to prepare for, but even the complete novice can work their way up to do it. Here are some tips for where to start.
