Fortescue allegedly sent ‘dummy’ electric batteries to partner
Evoa has claimed the iron ore giant turned clean energy hopeful missed multiple deadlines over two years, cancelled the project then stuck it with a bill.
Foxtel plans rival bid to exclude Nine from NRL coverage
Foxtel will bid against Nine Entertainment for the NRL’s entire suite of broadcast rights, and is prepared to use Nine’s free-to-air rivals to do so.
One Nation hasn’t changed, the Australian public has, says Joyce
Labor believes it can claw back the ground lost to One Nation, as Abbott hails latest poll results despite Coalition sliding further.
Revealed: Australia’s top university on global rankings
Four Australian universities have made the Centre for World University Ranking’s top 100, but most have fallen backwards in the past year.
ASX slips as oil rebounds; DroneShield tanks 10pc after protest vote
Shares start June little changed as traders await fresh US-Iran signals; Cettire targets China growth; DroneShield dumped after first strike; Pro Medicus wins two contracts. Follow live
There is no economic case for taxing work and investment the same
Jim Chalmers is pushing a wealth-destroying agenda that ignores financial experts and threatens to stifle growth in our best companies.
Beer o’clock’s mad $13.1b trading event for Australian shares
Two brokers each traded more than $1 billion of a lithium company’s shares late on Friday. Welcome to the equity market’s wild west.
Chalmers stands by budget despite ‘scare campaign’ and drop in polls
Chalmers calls on Coalition not to vote against tax bill; Barnaby Joyce says One Nation would scrap “most” of Labor’s budget. Follow live updates.
Australian wheat harvest to drop almost 50 per cent as farmers adapt to energy crisis
Skyrocketing diesel and fertiliser costs encourage a domestic retreat from wheat as local growers pivot to barley and canola to try and protect profitability.
Lendlease takes $175m hit on Italian job
Lendlease’s global sell-down of assets, which aims to return funds to shareholders after decades of value destruction, is not going to plan.
Independent MP Allegra Spender talks to Financial Review editor Cosima Marriner about tax reform, the future for the teals and why she didn’t join the Liberals.
AFR Interviews: Allegra Spender tells Labor to drop CGT indexation model
Companies
WiseTech bars laid-off workers from jumping ship to smaller rivals
The logistics software giant has singled out four local competitors that its sacked workers are prohibited from joining, after amending its non-compete rules.
Macquarie banks on tech nerds to smash big four’s mortgage oligopoly
When it came to building up its retail banking business, the Silver Doughnut has taken inspiration from America’s tech giants – not its banking rivals at home.
Google warns Australia’s AI investment opportunity won’t last forever
Google’s global infrastructure boss follows OpenAI chief Sam Altman in promoting Australia’s opportunity to be a global AI hub, if the policy settings are right.
Peter Warren Auto flags collapse in demand after fuel price surge
Australia’s second-largest car dealership group had a horror month in May, it revealed in a trading update that sent its shares to a record low.
KPMG wants secret parliamentary hearing over audit leaks allegations
The firm is also claiming legal professional privilege to shield its internal investigations into the scandal from the corporate regulator and parliament.
CBA hopes its AI agents can fend off a competitive threat from OpenAI
Major Australian banks face a new front for competition in increasingly complex personal financial assistants launched by US artificial intelligence providers.
Weak Australian board presence shades Woodside chairman succession
Questions are being asked about the declining number of local directors at the oil and gas giant ahead of Richard Goyder’s retirement.
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Markets
This Regal-backed investor is betting against the market and winning
PM Capital’s John Whelan has made plenty of money buying shares in unloved sectors like healthcare and aviation. He’s also betting big against CBA and NAB.
There are good reasons to be a market bull, starting with the dollar
Investors have spent months worrying that rising yields and no US rate cuts would crush risk assets. That made sense after the GFC, but this cycle is different.
ASX eyes lower open as investors await RBA speeches
Futures show Australian shares will slip 0.1 per cent ahead of a flurry of central bank speeches assessing whether interest rates have peaked.
A sharemarket correction more likely than a lasting rally, say fundies
Until the RBA blinks, inflation improves or Beijing spends, any peace deal between the US and Iran is just a temporary Band-Aid for the local bourse.
US stocks gain ground, adding to their records, as Dell soars
Markets rose on Friday to end the week on a positive note, with computer giant Dell leading a surge in tech stocks.
Opinion
A tax grab dressed up as help for the young
Readers’ letters on Labor’s tax changes, the biotech blow, modern-day politics and why the NDIS should not be handed to big charity.
Letters to the Editor
Hanson juggernaut rolls on, courtesy of Labor’s budget
The budget’s breach of trust with voters appears to outweigh its stated attempt to repair social cohesion.
Political editor
There is no economic case for taxing work and investment the same
Jim Chalmers is pushing a wealth-destroying agenda that ignores financial experts and threatens to stifle growth in our best companies.
Economics professor
Are you ‘lower-value human capital’?
After Standard Chartered’s chief executive made a controversial statement about artificial intelligence taking jobs, we all need to consider our worth.
Labor’s budget accelerates aspirational Australia’s One Nation revolt
Our poll suggests the political disruption signalled by One Nation’s rise has spread in response to the budget’s tax changes.
Editorial
Australia’s accounting kingpin meets the harsh reality of leverage
Brett Kelly has spent the best part of a decade convincing the sharemarket of his capital allocation mastery. A margin call has changed the narrative.
Senior reporter
Politics
‘Take a breath’: MP Allegra Spender criticises rushed CGT changes
The independent MP says the government fails to understand business and is rushing changes to capital gains tax without consulting industry.
One Nation surges ahead of Labor as budget flops
The rebel party’s vote has risen even further, and Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have taken hits to their personal ratings, following the federal budget.
Commissioner rejects bid to keep counter-terrorism funding info secret
Labor tried to block documents that the royal commissioner says reveal cabinet was ‘informed about and considered’ declining priority given to counter-terror.
How the federal budget is unearthing Australia’s hidden art treasures
The visual art world is anticipating a trove of forgotten, valuable paintings emerging as the new capital gains tax regime forces pre-1985 purchases to be appraised.
National push to tighten workers’ comp risks super insurance crisis
Mental health claims on income protection insurance are surging. Claims managers and insurers think workers compensation cuts are adding to the burden.
World
Israel seizes Crusader castle in biggest Lebanon incursion in decades
The capture of the strategic 12th-century hilltop fortress comes as Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an expanded offensive against the Hezbollah militant group.
Japan rejects China’s ‘new militarism’ label as hypocritical
The remarks illustrate the heightened tensions between Asia’s two largest economies after the papering over of historic differences came unstuck last year.
China AI industry alarmed by travel curbs on top talent
Beijing’s efforts to keep top AI researchers at home are tussling with the lure of eye-watering US salaries.
Trump wants to cancel Freedom 250 concerts after artists bail
A senior administration official described the rollout of the concerts as “a mess” with at least five musicians dropping out in less than a week.
Trouble brews again in South China Sea near Scarborough Shoal
The contested waters have become a frequent flashpoint between China and the Philippines over sovereignty and fishing rights.
Property
Sydney now leads Melbourne in race to bottom of housing market
Accelerating declines in value in the two largest cities have tipped the basket of capital cities negative for the first time since January last year.
Dexus’ infrastructure hopes ‘at risk’ after $4.5b airport blunder
A court ruling that forces Dexus to sell its prized Melbourne Airport investment raises wider concerns about the property giant’s stewardship, analysts say.
Weekly auction clearance rates to sink to six-year low
More homes failed at auction than sold for the first time in six years as the market continues to tank, upcoming Cotality data is expected to show.
Inside Sydney’s One Circular Quay where the penthouse costs $150m
AFR Weekend went inside Lendlease’s latest lux Sydney Harbour apartment tower which will be home to some of the country’s priciest apartments.
The great pause: Why home buyers and sellers are holding fire
Two weeks after the budget and Labor’s tax shake-up, the property market has seized up as first home buyers, investors and sellers wait for the dust to settle.
Wealth
Investors nervous on all asset classes after Labor’s tax changes
Two separately commissioned surveys show apprehension among investors, including younger people the government was hoping to win over.
What young wealth builders can learn from the budget
The budget makes long-term growth assets less attractive at exactly the point when younger Australians have been shut out of the old wealth-building playbook.
ATO finalises strict new tax rules for holiday homes
The ATO has upended a 40-year understanding of how owners claim holiday home costs in a tax crackdown that could trigger a property sell-off.
Technology
Dell’s new XPS 16 laptop v Apple's MacBook Air
After some pretty turbulent years, the once-great XPS has returned as one of the best laptops a mobile worker can buy. But it’s not cheap.
Cash injection for supercomputers that ‘literally save lives’
Australia led the global pack in supercomputing, but experts say it now lags in the race to develop AI capabilities as $82 million in new funding is unveiled.
Iren borrows billions to buy Nvidia chips for Microsoft data centre
The Australian-founded AI data centre operator sold bonds and secured loans to borrow $5 billion to buy Nvidia chips to provide computing capacity for a Texas data centre.
Work & Careers
Why it’s harder to fire unsafe workers these days
If bosses take disciplinary action against employees who carelessly endanger their own safety or that of others, they are increasingly likely to face litigation.
‘AI brain fry’ is the new frontier for compensation claims
Artificial intelligence is throwing up new fodder for rising psychosocial claims, from mental fog, deskilling and fears of job replacement, experts warn.
Life & Luxury
How to pack for a work trip – according to this Aussie designer
St Agni’s Lara Fells is never without layers and a pile of samples – but is still searching for the perfect travel chess set.
Holiday like Gwyneth Paltrow at this hot Italian hotel
Villa San Michele, Belmond’s most anticipated reopening of the season, draws an A-list crowd.
This highly capable offroader is not for everyone
Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is a niche twin-cab for a niche buyer, but what it does, it does extremely well.
Ferrari’s EV sparks angst in Italy, critics say it harms car maker’s legacy
Critics say executive chairman John Elkann has detached the family empire from its home country. Even its transport minister got involved.
The best new places to eat, drink and be merry this June
As the temperature drops, so too can our mood. What better reason then to cheer yourself up with a little culinary indulgence.
