Reclaim IR middle ground: Shorten
The labour movement needs to “reclaim the middle ground” in the debate over industrial relations, Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten says.
Echo cleared of cover-up but rapped over delay
An inquiry into the sacking of the former MD of Sydney’s The Star casino has cleared owner Echo Entertainment of a cover-up but warned disciplinary action may be taken for its delay in reporting the matter.
CBA lifts earnings to $1.75bn
Updated | Commonwealth Bank of Australia has lifted cash earnings to $1.75 billion in the third quarter amid “challenging” conditions in retail banking.
ECB cuts Greek bank funding
Updated | The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalised, euro zone central bank sources have said.
IAG UK business under review
Updated | IAG is to put its loss-making UK business under review for potential sale after considering options including improving the existing business and focusing more on motor insurance.
BHP fires salvo on industrial relations, tax
BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser has launched a broadside at the Gillard government, calling for a halt to tax changes that have unsettled investors, and for an industrial relations system that balances the needs of companies and employees to stem a fall in competitiveness.
Stocks head down, but gold sector rallies
Updated | Australian stocks were steady with a slight downward trend by mid Thursday morning, down 0.1 per cent lift as gold stocks reversed their poor performance of recent days, but many sectors were in decline.
ACTU plan to avoid more union scandal
The ACTU will create a specialist panel to report on “best practice” governance for the union movement, in the wake of the financial scandal surrounding Craig Thomson and the Health Services Union.
Future Fund chairman backs broader super choice
The intense debate over whether investors are overexposed to the sharemarket ignores savers’ individual circumstances, according to the new chairman of the Future Fund, David Gonski.
High-frequency trades distort rankings
JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs in Australia argue the broker league tables don’t reflect the ability to get a deal away due to the prevalence of high frequency trading.
Pirate Bay attacked by . . . attackers!
World’s biggest BitTorrent search engine gets to feel what it’s like to be a victim.
The problem with BHP
A speech in Sydney by BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser and an earlier presentation by CEO Marius Kloppers in Florida, did nothing for the stock.
IAG hires Evercore to look at UK
Insurance Australia Group has hired Evercore Partners to review the insurer’s UK business.
How Google search just got smarter
If you’ve ever thought Google just doesn’t get what you’re asking, that’s about to change.
It all depends on home ownership
Anderson | Fed up with the ongoing repairs and maintenance involved with owning a home? Well, don’t get rid of your real estate just yet.
Jac Nasser nails Labor
Hewett | Whack! Plain speaking BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser has never been one for equivocation when he sees a problem.
Double act but one message
Stevens - The double act played out by BHP’s Jac Nasser and Marius Kloppers warns Australia about its minerals and energy future.
Japan confronts a nuclear void
Asia-Pacific observed - A battle over nuclear and renewable energy will determine Japan’s future but has also broader global implications.
US regulators should act on banks
Potter | Regulators should use the powers they’ve been given by Congress to do what Congress lacks the courage to do.
REITs pass baton to unlisted funds
Property observed - Australian REITs are no longer the dominant owners of the nation’s office towers, shopping centres and warehouses.
Union fund too close to Labor
Editorial | The ACTU believes its campaign fund will address declining union membership, but the real danger is that it will be used to support the Labor Party in its quest for re-election.
O’Farrell stuck in the slow lane
Editorial | NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell’s landslide victory last March delivered him a very substantial mandate. But after more than 12 months, he doesn’t have much to show in terms of substantial reform.
Too black and white for some
A Paris exhibition on the phenomenon of “human zoos” is under fire for simplifying the link between colonial-era exotica and racism.
Top price for an old Bentley
A classic Bentley, the marque most favoured by the art trade, sold for $462,000 at an auction held in Sydney by Shannons on May 7.
Aussies hammer out great deals
Australia remains very much in the loop of the international art and antiques trade, thanks in part to influential expatriates.
Coast clear but Surfers can’t catch one
The Gold Coast apartment market is finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel – except in Surfers Paradise.
West Wing writer tapped for Steve Jobs biopic
Sony Pictures has enlisted the writer behind political drama The West Wing to adapt last year’s best selling Steve Jobs biography for the big screen.
National
Suncorp gift gives back
The 2006 takeover of AAMI looks set to give Suncorp Insurance a useful tax deduction six years on.
Odd lots
Less than two months after telling The Australian Financial Review that he was happy with only one Australian dealer, that dealer being the Brisbane based Jan Murphy, artist Ben Quilty has joined Jan Minchin’s blue chip Melbourne stable, Tolarno Galleries.
Aussies hammer out great deals
Australia remains very much in the loop of the international art and antiques trade, thanks in part to influential expatriates.
World
Hubei Energy signs $US2.4bn power plant deal
China's Hubei Energy has signed an agreement with the Suizhou county government to build a power plant with total capacity of 4000 megawatts, an investment worth $US2.37 billion.
Why is Britain trying to save the euro?
The European Project is doomed – and it's not Britain’s job to delay its inevitable demise, writes Peter Oborne.
Japan confronts a nuclear void
A battle over nuclear and renewable energy will determine Japan’s future but has also broader global implications.
Business
CBA lifts earnings to $1.75bn
Updated | Commonwealth Bank of Australia has lifted cash earnings to $1.75 billion in the third quarter amid “challenging” conditions in retail banking.
- IAG UK business under review
- Echo cleared of cover-up but rapped over delay
- Tale of two cover-up stories out of News
- Leighton reviewing disclosure methods
- Sydney Airport reassures on guidance, capacity
- Banks fund offshore investors
- Billabong founder’s green punt coming up red
- Adani boss dumped as mine awaits approval
- PTTEP may backtrack on project
Double act but one message
The double act played out by BHP’s Jac Nasser and Marius Kloppers warns Australia about its minerals and energy future.
Technology
Samsung replaces Nokia as leading phone maker
Samsung became the world’s No.1 phone maker during the first quarter of 2012, with Gartner research showing that Nokia had been knocked off its perch for the first time in 14 years.
- Brokers stop taking Facebook IPO orders
- Apple readies iPhone with bigger screen: sources
- Etsy sets up shop in Melbourne
- Japanese firm unveils gesture controls
- West Wing writer tapped for Steve Jobs biopic
- GM puts the brakes on Facebook ads
- New age dotcom bubble in danger of bursting
- Business failing mobile shoppers: Google
- IBM helps oil companies manage data gush
How Google search just got smarter
If you’ve ever thought Google just doesn’t get what you’re asking, that’s about to change.
Markets
CBA lifts earnings to $1.75bn
Updated | Commonwealth Bank of Australia has lifted cash earnings to $1.75 billion in the third quarter amid “challenging” conditions in retail banking.
- Stocks head down, but gold sector rallies
- Greek financial system could fall in days
- Markets Today | Hope for calm conditions after choppy night
- Gold futures slump to 10-month low
- Slight rise for $A despite uncertainty
- It just got a whole lot worse
- S&P 500 slides for fourth straight session
- Fed keeps door open to more monetary stimulus
Regulator defends higher fees
The corporate regulator has defended plans to charge stockbrokers tens of millions of dollars in additional fees to pay for the supervision of the market.
Personal finance
Volatility frustrates the funds
Long-only Australian equity fund managers failed to beat the index’s returns last month as global uncertainty pummelled investment performance.
- Future Fund chairman backs broader super choice
- Commonwealth looking slimmer at the margins
- Regulator defends higher fees
- Trio report urges AFP super unit
- Henry warns of upward pressure on ‘safe’ $A
- RBA’s Parkinson boosts rate-cut hopes
- US tax law a threat to financial sector
- Home loans stuck in the slow lane
- Fund managers uneasy about proposed ASX changes
IBM super mandate goes to AustralianSuper
AustralianSuper has won the mandate to manage the $1.7 billion IBM staff superannuation fund, the largest corporate out-sourcing in Australian history.
Opinion
Euro zone damage control doubtful
With a Greek exit from the euro again on the cards, the chances of contagion also rise dramatically.
Lifestyle
London Olympics special | Fashion
The secret to looking like one of the cool crowd is to be edgy and irreverent.
London Olympics special | Day trip
The royal city of Bath has always been a fashionable place to take the waters.
London Olympics special | Food
The city’s restaurants have reinvented their menus – from regional specialities to classics with twist.
London Olympics special | To the richest, the spoils
The greater spending power of some nations could upset Australia’s medal hopes.
Latest TV
Video | APPEA - day two
This year’s Australian Petroleum Producers and Exporters Association conference is very gas heavy for good reason, says resources editor Perry Williams. More AFR TV
Video | The Bassanese Report
David Bassanese looks at the RBA minutes and whether further cuts are imminent, as well as the global economic outlook. More AFR TV
