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Then President Donald Trump speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as President in Washington on January 6, 2021.

US Supreme Court rules Trump has official immunity

The conservative-dominated court ruled former presidents enjoy immunity for official, but not private, actions as Donald Trump tried to avoid charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Wall Street.

ASX to slip; US megacap techs rally to start quarter

Australian shares are set to open lower. On Wall Street, Apple, Amazon and Tesla paced an advance. US bond yields spiked higher. Iron ore and oil were higher.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday.

Albanese quietly frees up funds for election fight

The prime minister has implemented a shift in budget strategy that allows him to free up funds for election priorities, causing some dismay among senior officials.

‘A cruel joke’: Why AUKUS might leave Australia stranded

A group of defence experts says that the Albanese government is on course for a financial and strategic AUKUS disaster, in the final part of an exclusive series.

Small caps’ wild EOFY ride exposes market’s dirty little secret

Monday’s list of worst performers looked like Friday’s best performers turned upside down. It was laughable. 

France teeters towards dysfunction as vote puts far-right at ‘gates of power’

Emmanuel Macron’s gamble looks set to usher in a populist government or a paralysed parliament, unless voters rally to him in the poll’s July 7 second round.

We’re not coming for your job, AI companies say

A report funded by the AI industry says artificial intelligence will create 200,000 jobs in Australia by 2030.

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Edition

AFR Magazine – July 2024

Read all the stories in our Culinary & Travel issue.

tuesday tech

Sendle chief executive James Chin Moody said he was excited about the capital raise.

The untold story of struggling start-up survival rounds

Delivery company Sendle raised almost $90 million in good times, but venture capitalists have likened the terms on its latest raise to payday lending.

Research conducted by the eSafety Commissioner found the average age when Australian children first
encounter pornography is around 13.

Big tech ordered to develop solutions to stop kids finding porn

The eSafety Commissioner has given internet companies six months to find a plan to stop kids stumbling across porn while searching for sites such as YouTube.

Joshua Suntup, the founder of NDIS software start-up Caresquare, and investor Michael Frazis.

Frazis unveils venture capital fund, makes first investments

The Gen Y tech investor has nabbed stakes in a dozen start-ups in tech, health and e-commerce, thanks to $10 million raised from wealthy investors.

Financial adviser tech firm $20m richer after funding dash

Dash Technology, a Sydney fintech that sells software to financial advisers, has secured $22 million funding, with $20 million coming from ASX-listed VC firm Bailador.

How Kim Teo pulled off a mega-merger with her start-up’s biggest rival

The co-founder of restaurant ordering app Mr Yum is now the boss of its former competitor me&u, after the heavily backed Aussie start-ups merged to survive.

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Companies

National Australia Bank has been growing mortgages the slowest of the majors, with annualised growth of just 0.5 per cent.

Rising interest rates are bad news for bank stocks

Another cash rate increase would do more damage to arrears than it would help net interest margins, according to Morgan Stanley.

A solar farm near Gunnedah, NSW.

Power prices to surge amid sluggish rollout of clean energy: UBS

Wholesale power prices could be almost 50 per cent higher than last year, the investment bank’s analysts warn, as renewables project development has stalled.

Dr Shrey Viranna

I-MED snaps up US teleradiology player StatRad

Aussie imaging giant I-MED is hoping to recreate its fast-growing teleradiology business in the US with a major acquisition.

Former Fortescue iron ore chief executive Fiona hick has joined the board of evolution Mining.

Fortescue’s ex-iron ore boss joins Evolution board after abrupt exit

The long-time resources executive has become a director of the gold and copper producer almost a year after leaving Andrew Forrest’s iron ore and energy group.

NSW productivity agency queries whether PEXA plays with pricing

In a report, the NSW Productivity Commission says the Commonwealth Bank-backed fintech’s monopoly must be swiftly ended so it does not gain too much data.

Transurban denies employee fired for whistleblowing

The toll road group has asked courts to dismiss a claim by a former employee who alleged he lost his job after alleging coercion, manipulation of records and safety failings.

Baby Bunting plots expansion on the back of HMC’s property portfolio

The retailer fell on tough times but its new CEO is expanding the network into fresh areas with smaller formats and exclusive products.

Companies in the News

Search companies

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Markets

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president.

European stocks rise after first round of French vote

France’s blue-chip CAC 40 index jumped 1.1 per cent to lead gains among regional markets. The European banking index had its best day in more than a year.

Trump.

Wall Street maps out what a Trump victory would mean for bonds

Wall Street strategists are urging clients to position for sticky inflation and higher long-term bond yields.

Nvidia founder Jensen Huang: Analysts have set a high bar for US corporate profits which is expected to be largely driven by big tech.

Shares to rally as profits grow at fastest clip in years

Analysts have set the bar high for the second-quarter reporting season on Wall Street, with US companies tipped to post the fastest quarterly earnings growth since 2021.

Investors hunt for diamonds among ASX dogs

With the new financial year kicking off, funds are busy hunting through the sharemarket’s bargain bin for oversold names, betting on a rebound.

Inflation has no chance of hitting Chalmers’ forecasts: survey

Higher-than-expected inflation will take at least 12 months to fall anywhere near the Reserve Bank’s target, casting doubt on Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ more optimistic forecast.

Opinion

AUKUS ‘moonshot’ may be a tragically expensive failure

It is alarming that both Coalition and Labor politicians fail to acknowledge the risk that Australia could be left with no submarine capability by the end of the 2030s.

James Curran

International editor

James Curran

The public sector is the key to Australia’s productivity puzzle

There is some cause for cautious optimism for increased productivity in health if outcomes can be more accurately measured, writes Alex Robson.

Alex Robson

Productivity Commission deputy chair

Alex Robson

On AUKUS, Australia must catch up, not start again – yet again

Australia’s political, diplomatic and defence chiefs need to work with AUKUS counterparts in America and Britain to find a way through the gridlock.

The AFR View

Editorial

The AFR View

Labor’s identity politics tensions exposed

Senator Fatima Payman is also now part of the Greens’ political weaponisation of the Gaza war to try to win Muslim votes in Labor-held seats.

The AFR View

Editorial

The AFR View

Why you should vote at the ballot box and not with your portfolio

Election uncertainty looks to increase volatility, but investors should be cautious about over or underestimating the impact of political change.

Andrew McAuley

Managing Director at UBS Global Wealth Management Australia

Andrew McAuley

Why central banks are in two minds on the private credit boom

The US Fed is not worried about the systemic risks of private credit, but the BoE and the ECB are not so sure.

Howard Davies

Former deputy governor of the Bank of England and chair of Natwest group.

Howard Davies

Reports

Powering our energy future

With our renewable energy capacity needing to increase ninefold to meet our net-zero commitments, electrification is critical to our energy and economic future.

Sponsored

  by Ausgrid
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Politics

The private hospital “health check” is due to be completed next month.

Private hospital operators to hand over profitability data

Data about break-even points and investability will be handed to the Health Department by next week, The Australian Financial Review has learnt.

The University of Queensland’s chancellor has backed caps on international students.

Overseas students cap will protect integrity of universities: Varghese

While the university sector reels from a raft of measures designed to limit net migration, there is growing support for caps on overseas student numbers.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says the federal government wants to ensure more skilled migrants are going to the states that need them.

Queensland to cop skilled migrant cut amid boost to smaller states

Queensland will be the only Australian state to suffer a reduction in the number of skilled migrant allocations this financial year.

‘I’ve been exiled’: Payman threatens to quit Labor

The WA senator has hinted she may quit the Labor Party after claiming to have been “exiled” in a bid to force her resignation from parliament.

How Fatima Payman is defying political traditions

In the era of identity politics, are rules requiring Labor MPs to bind behind collective decisions out of step with the views of younger voters?

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World

Residential buildings in Shanghai, where the cap on prices of new homes has been relaxed.

China’s home sales downturn slows after cities ease policy

The turn in the trajectory of new home sales may offer some relief for China’s economy, which is on track to undershoot the official growth target this year.

An artist’s impression of Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara.

Indonesia’s remote new capital looks like a disaster

President Joko Widodo’s plan to create a city on an old timber plantation is late and over budget.

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip walk through a street market in Khan Younis.

Israel to test Hamas-free ‘bubbles’ in postwar Gaza plan

The pilot scheme for the “humanitarian enclaves” – a template for what Israel imagines would follow the war – will soon be launched in northern Gaza neighbourhoods.

Victory no certainty for Marine Le Pen as France faces second vote

Sunday night was a major victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. However, round two of this lightning contest is far from an electoral slam dunk for the right.

Macron’s reckless gamble leaves French voters with invidious choice

Thanks to Macron’s miscalculations, the eurosceptic, anti-immigration RN has a shot at securing an absolute parliamentary majority in the second round of voting on July 7.

Property

Changing hands: Family housing units in the military base at Fort Cavazos in central Texas, previously named Fort Hood. 

Lendlease sells US military housing business for $480m

The divestment of its contract to maintain and manage 40,000 military housing units is the latest part in the $4.5 billion divestment and global retreat.

240 Queen Street in Brisbane has just under 25,000 sq m of office space.

Quintessential’s $250m Brisbane office deal confirms valuation slump

Quintessential Equity $250m purchase of 240 Queen Street in Brisbane from Brookfield crystallises a 17pc fall in the tower’s value from its peak.

The three-bedroom townhouse at 3/29 Wheatleigh Street in lower north shore Sydney’s Crows Nest sold by private treaty for $2,915,000.

The unusual move that made this seller $4.8m

Most people with a large block to offload would do just that, but this vendor developed it – and made a much bigger profit in the process.

Kevin Maloney on selling Segenhoe and bringing Kentucky to the Hunter

Kevin Maloney on why he’s selling elite equine stud Segenhoe, and why the Upper Hunter is ripe for Kentucky-style tourism.

Meet the mayor who sees Airbnb as an agent for good

It’s better to have a short-term rental in a house that’s been refurbished than to have a ruin, says the head of Portugal’s second-largest city.

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Wealth

AFR

‘I had my bank account cleaned out and $5000 is all I got back’

With scammers getting increasingly sophisticated, don’t rely on your bank to bail you out.

What to do if you have big wins in your share portfolio

It’s easier to manage concentration risk if you hold direct shares, but not so simple if you’re an ETF investor.

Litigation funder touts 165pc returns in bid to sign up more clients

Pitched as an “ESG asset”, Sydney-based funder CASL aims to raise a further $150 million on top of the $156 million in its first fund.

Technology

Mina Radhakrishnan is in the early stages of building a new start-up after :Different collapsed.

What this start-up founder learned from the public death of her company

Mina Radhakrishnan, the only founder of a collapsed start-up brave enough to speak at the Financial Review Entrepreneur Summit, hopes the industry values battle scars as she tries again.

iKOU founders Naomi and Paul Whitfeld.

Adore Beauty acquisition is a great deal … for the other company

Adore Beauty’s $25m purchase of Aussie brand Ikou doesn’t come cheap, and poses questions about whether it has overpaid, and used up too much of its cash.

Joshua Suntup, the founder of NDIS software start-up Caresquare, and investor Michael Frazis.

Frazis unveils venture capital fund, makes first investments

The Gen Y tech investor has nabbed stakes in a dozen start-ups in tech, health and e-commerce, thanks to $10 million raised from wealthy investors.

Work & Careers

Why underperforming executives need to be worried

It’s about doing more with less and finding leaders who can operate in that environment, says the managing partner at an executive search firm.

Aged care pay rise delayed due to Labor funding decision

Pay rises for 250,000 aged care workers of up to 14 per cent – likely costing up to $5 billion extra in government funding – have been delayed until next year.

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Life & Luxury

Kensington House by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler.

Beware the chop: What your home’s cushions reveal about you

Do yours have the right filling and requisite roundness? Or do they have ‘bunny’s ears’ and unspeakable foam? Here is a purist’s guide.

I drank like a Boomer. Here’s what it did to my body

A tot before breakfast, a brightener here, a livener there – the older generation has perfected the art of perma-imbibing. Could I keep up?

Toddy McKenney (left) plays neat-freak Felix Ungar, and Shane Jacobson the slovenly Oscar Madison, in a revival of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.

This 59-year-old play about broke divorcees oddly suits the times

Two of Australia’s great comedic actors make this revival of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple a funny, relatable affair.

Among three major Brett Whiteley artworks owned by the late Melbourne businessman Ron Walker is Her, 1967. In oil and mixed media on plywood, and measuring 183 x 237.5 cm, the work is estimated at between $1.8 million and $2.4 million in Smith + Singer’s July 24 sale catalogue.

Fine art collection of late Ron Walker to fetch up to $8m

He helped build modern Melbourne but the works that hung in his Toorak mansion, and are now for sale, had a very Sydney flavour.

Noosa gears up to show off some of the world’s most collectable cars

From Ferrari to Porsche, ultra-luxury and rare cars will take over the main drag next Saturday for its Concours d’Elegance.

From the gallery

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