HSU scandal emboldens Abbott on IR
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has told his MPs that a Coalition government’s industrial relations policy would “reflect a return of the pendulum back to the middle’’, suggesting the opposition has been emboldened on workplace reform by the Health Services Union scandal.
Shares on Wall St dip on Grexit concerns
Before the Bell | Shares on Wall Street have ended lower, paring earlier gains in the final hour of trading, on concerns about the potential of Greece exiting the euro ■ Dow dips 0.01pc ■ S&P 500 up 0.05pc ■ SPI futures down 17 pts ■ $A at 98.14US cents.
£500 stake costs Rinehart dearly
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, will cede tens of millions of dollars in iron ore royalty income to Perth billionaire Stan Perron after settling an extraordinary dispute days before a Supreme Court trial.
Hollande on collision course with Merkel over bonds
Germany has dismissed a French-led call for EU governments to issue common bonds, a day before a summit which investors are looking to for new measures to counter the bloc’s debt crisis.
Services win from trade deal
Services businesses have won potentially valuable new access to Malaysia under a trade agreement sealed on Tuesday that locks Australia further into South-East Asia.
Qantas splits domestic and international wings
Qantas has split its international and domestic operations as it seeks to stem losses from the struggling overseas arm by installing a dedicated management team charged with cutting costs and finding partners.
Tax Google like Twiggy, says Conroy
Stephen Conroy says tech giants such as Google will be hit by tax laws designed to stop them transferring profits out of Australia, a step he compared with the government’s policy on wealthy mining entrepreneurs.
House votes on Thomson
Parliament has voted to refer embattled MP Craig Thomson to its powerful Privileges Committee to consider whether he misled Parliament in his hour-long defence on Monday.
Accor cements hotel dominance
French hotelier Accor and Singaporean property group Ascendas will put their stamp on the Australian hotel industry after finalising their purchase of the Mirvac Hotels & Resorts business and associated properties.
Bakrie visit lifts political profile
Indonesian businessman Aburizal Bakrie has met senior government and opposition figures in Canberra as an indication he is stepping up presidential bid in two years.
Biotechs call for incentive lifts
Some of Australia’s most successful biotechnology companies have called on Canberra for more incentives to boost investment in the high-risk sector, for which access to capital remains the biggest issue.
Australian Twittersphere mapped
Queensland researchers have created the first map of the Australian “Twittersphere” to chart the trends and relationships of the country’s two million Twitter users.
Facebook who? Apple brand hits $183bn
Gadget maker Apple has cemented its position as the world’s most valuable brand, heading a top 10 list laden with technology companies.
Clash of cultures at Boral
In a world in which management performance is mainly measured by financial ratios, it is easy to forget the importance of workplace culture.
AMP seeks pal for aged care opportunity
AMP Capital Investors has been quietly sounding out possible investment partners for its flagship healthcare asset, Domain Principal Group.
Retail stocks face mundane times
As consumers continue to favour buying over the internet and desert bricks-and-mortar stores, the possibility of retail shares rebounding looks bleak.
Action on code now seems certain
Kitney | For an all too brief moment, some clear light shone in Federal Parliament on the murky mess that is the Thomson affair.
More Greek muddle
Hewett | Berlin and Paris are in furious agreement that they’ll “do everything to keep Greece in the euro club’’, if not on how to achieve this.
Rio’s great barrier grief
Stevens | Tony Burke’s decision to send Rio Tinto’s South of Embley bauxite project into stasis in the name of the Great Barrier Reef is a political stunt.
Exchange rates the real issue
Long view - Baker | All the focus has been on Greece and the possibility it will exit from the EU. But what if Germany was to leave? Is that a better option?
Jobless need help and motivation
Alan Mitchell - With the welfare lobby still complaining that Newstart Allowance recipients are on the poverty line, the issue is far from closed.
Protectionism not the answer
Roberts | Paul Howes’ call for Australia to get into the business of picking winners takes us back to the 1980s and the long-gone era of protectionism.
IR prefers conflict to productivity
Editorial | When the ACTU conference ended last week with a cheerful looking former prime minister, Bob Hawke, leading delegates in singing Solidarity Forever, it was an echo of a long-gone age.
Notable no-shows for Origin
Like many in the crowd, corporate types going to the State of Origin will be flying in from interstate. But many Melbourne business identities are giving it a miss.
French village snapped up at last
The champagne was popping when an entire French village, which caught global attention after failing to find a buyer, was finally auctioned off.
Thomson’s tears help, in theory
Stokes | If Craig Thomson’s crying helped him find his humanity in the glare of publicity, it may also have helped him appear genuine, thus attracting empathisers.
Manhattan penthouse sets record
A duplex penthouse at a tower under construction on Manhattan’s West 57th Street went under contract for more than $US90 million.
National
Budget test headline
Budget test web summary
Baird may cut NSW spending
NSW may be forced to reduce government spending after Treasurer Mike Baird pledged to take “whatever action” is needed to retain his state’s AAA credit rating.
Home owners face higher mortgage rates
Australia might be a long way from the turmoil engulfing Europe. But fears that Greece will exit the euro and default on its debts are set to be felt by Australian home owners in the form of higher interest rates.
World
Rise in US home resales bodes well for economy
The pace of sales for existing US homes in April rose to its fastest in nearly two years and a falloff in foreclosures helped cause an unexpected jump in prices, hopeful signs for the economic recovery.
SAP to buy Ariba for $US4.5bn
SAP AG said it would buy software and information technology services company Ariba Inc for about $US4.5 billion in cash.
Macau casinos try to beat the odds
Macau’s $US34 billion gaming industry has an obstacle: with 28 million visitors and 21 per cent economic growth last year, Macau is confronting a severe labour shortage.
Business
Hard man too tough for Boral
A tough manager with a forceful personality, Mark Selway set a cracking pace in overhauling Australia’s largest building materials group.
- Super Retail hatches plan to stem bike losses
- Retail stocks face mundane times
- Qantas splits domestic and international wings
- Bakrie visit lifts political profile
- Macau casinos try to beat the odds
- Leighton’s Johns rejects investor concerns
- It doesn’t have to be this nasty: BCA
- China looks good for second half, says Xstrata
- Qld ranks $2bn Gladstone terminal ‘significant’
Facebook who? Apple brand hits $183bn
Gadget maker Apple has cemented its position as the world’s most valuable brand, heading a top 10 list laden with technology companies.
Technology
Facebook who? Apple brand hits $183bn
Gadget maker Apple has cemented its position as the world’s most valuable brand, heading a top 10 list laden with technology companies.
- Tax Google like Twiggy, says Conroy
- Goodman gets the e-commerce bug
- Biotechs call for incentive lifts
- Talks unlikely to resolve Apple-Samsung dispute
- Apps ‘more secure’ than mobile websites: NAB
- Investors un-friend Facebook as reality sets in
- Apple chief’s $385m pay day
- Gregan uses software to outwit opponents
- Conference offers peek into future
Australian Twittersphere mapped
Queensland researchers have created the first map of the Australian “Twittersphere” to chart the trends and relationships of the country’s two million Twitter users.
Markets
Shares on Wall St dip on Grexit concerns
Before the Bell | Shares on Wall Street have ended lower, paring earlier gains in the final hour of trading, on concerns about the potential of Greece exiting the euro ■ Dow dips 0.01pc ■ S&P 500 up 0.05pc ■ SPI futures down 17 pts ■ $A at 98.14US cents.
Charge into fixed income
Global fixed-income fund manager PIMCO is amassing up to $5 million a day in client inflows from Australian retail investors as sharemarket uncertainty pummels investor confidence.
Personal finance
Super funds facing another annual loss
Superannuation funds are in danger of posting a third annual loss in six years as renewed fears that Greece may default on its debt obligations and be forced out of the single European currency take their toll on global equity markets.
- Investors hit as Macquarie axes funds
- Rate cuts good but fewer risks better
- Cheques . . . going, going but not yet gone
- Apartment dwellers kick up a stink
- Genworth loss spurs rethink
- Henderson eyes super assets
- Budget bites Tasmanian business
- Victoria won’t rule out merger of accident insurers
- HSU affair hits industry super funds
How to put in $50,000 – and get back 30pc
If they can get their act together in time, do-it-yourself super fund members have a one-off opportunity to maximise the tax deductible benefits of super contributions ahead of the reduction in contribution limits that applies from July 1.
Opinion
Local tax from global profits
Recent comments by opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull have focused on the taxation of global technology behemoths such as Google and Apple. In particular whether the tax paid in Australia is disproportionately low relative to the revenue said to be earned here.
IR prefers conflict to productivity
Editorial | When the ACTU conference ended last week with a cheerful looking former prime minister, Bob Hawke, leading delegates in singing Solidarity Forever, it was an echo of a long-gone age.
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.
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