National
ALP member comments on the state of the party
What ALP members said.
Tips to avoid tripping up
Relativities | Astute readers will have noticed that there is a section called Traveller on a nearby page of this paper, written by business people, who travel so often that they can master almost anything.
Digesting that less is more
Please don’t choke on your cornies. . . but the Seventh Day Adventist doctor John Harvey Kellogg developed breakfast cereals because he thought they’d suppress the evil male urge for sex and masturbation.
Ready to be launched into orbit
For Barry O’Farrell, becoming the next NSW premier will be the easy part. The polls have been predicting for two years that the Coalition will win the election on March 26 in a landslide.
Myth of exit fees
Politicians may be dumbing down the talk on mortgage exit fees, but voters will run into the same old expenses, writes Alison Kahler.
Pools create ripples
The Australian stock exchange is worried. It’s worried about losing the war against new rivals who have set up platforms that perform the same function it does, except they hide the trading action.
Hard going in WA Labor camp
If politics is a game of patience, Joe Bullock has it in spades. And it looks like the powerful West Australian union leader may need it.
Storm rages over funds
Once the can rattling has stopped, disaster relief funds have to get on with the fraught business of handing out the money.
Ahem, please excuse me
Never mind cyclone Yasi. What about the political storm that burst out of the Australian Workers Union’s national conference on the Gold Coast? What the hell was all that about?
Tension in the shopping trolley ranks
Woolworths chief executive Michael Luscombe was uncharacteristically subdued as he released the retailer’s first-quarter sales figures late last year.
Financial Review TV
Domestic market lifts Qantas
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and CFO Gareth Evans discuss the airline’s first-half profit result.
Tony’s trials begin as PM finds her feet
Canberra observed | You could be forgiven for not knowing there were actually some significant things going on in Canberra this week.
Obama’s missed reform opportunity
Alan Mitchell | Like presidents before him, Barack Obama has discovered what even a relatively modest economic upswing can do for an otherwise intractable budget problem.
Digesting that less is more
Please don’t choke on your cornies. . . but the Seventh Day Adventist doctor John Harvey Kellogg developed breakfast cereals because he thought they’d suppress the evil male urge for sex and masturbation.
Big sister knows what’s best for you
Capital idea | The government has failed to properly account for lifting the compulsory superannuation contribution to 12 per cent.
World Indices
| S&P;/ASX 200 | 4,936.7 | - 1.7 | - 0.03% |
| ALL ORDINARIES | 5,026.1 | + 0.1 | + 0.00% |
| S&P;/ASX 100 | 4,014.9 | - 1.1 | - 0.03% |
| SMALL ORDS | 2,941.6 | - 1.3 | - 0.04% |
| Dow Jones Industrial | 12,391.25 | + 73.11 | + 0.59% |
| S&P 500 | 1,343.01 | + 2.58 | + 0.19% |
| NASDAQ | 2,833.95 | + 2.37 | + 0.08% |
| Wilshire 5000 | 14,193.72 | + 19.40 | + 0.14% |
| FTSE 100 | 6,082.99 | - 4.39 | - 0.07% |
| CAC 40 | 4,157.14 | + 4.83 | + 0.12% |
| SMI | 6,717.25 | + 10.78 | + 0.16% |
| DAX | 7,426.81 | + 21.30 | + 0.29% |
| HANG SENG INDEX | 23,595.24 | + 293.40 | + 1.26% |
| STRAIT TIME INDEX | 3,086.92 | + 4.09 | + 0.13% |
| Nikkei 225 | 10,842.80 | + 6.16 | + 0.06% |
| SSE COMPOSITE/d | 2,899.79 | - 27.17 | - 0.93% |
Industry Reports
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Electricity, gas and Water Supply
- Construction
- Wholesale Trade
- Retail Trade
- Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants
- Transport and Storage
- Communication Services
- Finance and Insurance
- Property and Business Services
- Government Administration and Defence
- Education
- Health and Community Services
- Cultural and Recreational Services
- Personal and Other Service
Economy
Big sister knows what’s best for you
Capital idea | The government has failed to properly account for lifting the compulsory superannuation contribution to 12 per cent.
WA seeks to raise uranium royalties
The West Australian government is considering lifting royalties on uranium as the state gears up for a wave of yellowcake mines.
Politics
Big sister knows what’s best for you
Capital idea | The government has failed to properly account for lifting the compulsory superannuation contribution to 12 per cent.
Education
Get ready for extra beer money
The High Court ruling over student expenses could have generous implications, writes Joanna Mather.
Government secures House vote for flood levy
Updated | Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says he will support the federal government's proposed flood levy, telling reporters in Hobart the government had agreed to his proposals on the solar flagships program and an education program that were flagged for budget cuts.
Legal Affairs
Full bench finds Forrest misled investors
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest faces being banned from running the company he founded after a full bench of the Federal Court overturned a decision clearing the billionaire of having misled investors.
Forrest faces ban
Updated | Mining magnate Andrew Forrest faces being banned as a company director after the full bench of the Federal Court in Perth overturned a 2009 decision clearing Mr Forrest and Fortescue Metals Group of misleading investors.
Workspace
A winning personality
Whether your CEO is shy, neurotic, extroverted or genial can have a substantial impact on company performance.
Showing emotion highlights double standards
Corporate woman | When women are leaders there is an extra set of standards that can make the job that little bit more tricky.
Arts & Saleroom
Cyndi’s cool with the blues
Almost 30 years on, quirky ’80s pop darling Cyndi Lauper rediscovers her spiritual home, writes Hannah Tattersall.
Film
Recommended films
If mountaineering tales, classic Western remakes, animation parodies and period pieces attract, then now is a good time to turn off the TV and head to the cinema.
Government Business
Time to increase accountability
It would be nice to imagine that, in among all the political huffing and puffing, the new parliamentary order might bring more accountability to public administration.
Patrol boat contract stalled
The Defence Materiel Organisation has put on hold a tender award for refit and support of the flotilla of Pacific patrol boats supplied to a list of Pacific Island nations to help them enforce their 200 nautical mile offshore fishery economic zones.
Professional Services
Big four expand debt advisory practices
The global financial crisis has intensified the push by the big four accounting firms to expand their debt advisory services.
AICD launches new director program
PwC, Westpac, Woolworths and IAG have partnered with the Australian Institute of Company Directors in a new leadership program that aims to fast track senior executives into directorships and broaden the number and diversity of executives ready to move to the board room.