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Anthony Macdonald

This Month

David Dubner, global head of M&A at Goldman Sachs.

How Goldman Sachs will keep deals ticking over in volatile times

The beauty of M&A is that it comes in all shapes and sizes – and Goldman Sachs’ bankers are not afraid to pivot.

April

The new battleground is how quickly the RBA cuts rates this year.

The RBA’s rate cuts are coming, but hold the avalanche

There’s one data point between Australians and a May rate cut and economists are tipping it should be fine. But what happens next is ripe for debate.

Australia’s big four banks are back in favour with offshore investors.

Banks can’t afford to bust the defensive myth propping up share prices

It’s amazing how we all get sucked into short-term market narratives. Do we really think highly leveraged banks are safe havens? Surely, it’s a fad.

Former Virgin boss Jayne Hrdlicka will be serving drinks – albeit in a completely different capacity.

Jayne ‘Hard Liquor’ has a big job ahead at drinks empire

Jayne Hrdlicka is jumping from one fix-up job at Virgin to the next at Endeavour, and she’s going to have to put some noses out of joint – again.

Even if Donald Trump does a complete about-face on tariffs, it will still take at least a month to get trade between the US and China going again.

Trump’s turbulence is hurting Australian earnings more than expected

From Flight Centre to Brambles, boards are starting to get enough firm data to realise the US president’s tariff threats are more than just noise.

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Bally’s chairman Soo Kim outside the Star’s Sydney casino last week.

Has Bally’s met its match in an impossible Star turnaround task?

The American giant has turned around plenty of casinos in the past. Now it is turning its attention to tackling its most daunting challenge yet.

Standards Australia’s new CEO Rod Balding and the chair of its quantum committee Cathy Foley.

It’s time for Australia to double down in a global quantum arms race

Former chief scientist Cathy Foley reckons — whether by design or luck — Australia could be among a handful at the forefront of the next great tech innovation.

The guts of Mineral Resources and WiseTech’s issues is who, if anyone, can replace founders Chris Ellison and Richard White.

WiseTech and MinRes’ founder troubles are now succession problems

With their leaders’ power galvanised by scandals, the two companies are trying to get on with life. But what does the future really look like?

Star Entertainment CEO Steve McCann fronted investors for the first time since he picked up a $300 million rescue deal. He got three questions – that’s it.

Star accounts reveal Bally’s is trying to catch a falling knife

The gaming group isn’t out of the woods. If its shares are worth much, you have to squint really hard to see it.

China’s President Xi Jinping still needs to fire a stimulus bazooka.

China’s economy – not tariffs – is the big risk to Australia

Despite the trade war, the iron ore price has barely blinked. But big global investors doubt that’s sustainable, and that means a big hit on our miners.

Healthscope’s owner Brookfield has one last chance to win confidence of the group’s lenders, and will take bids for the group in the coming month.

Ramsay Health Care doesn’t want to waste a Healthscope crisis

The ASX-listed hospitals group is trying to fly below the radar with Healthscope, but the door is ajar. There is blood in the water and sharks come in all varieties.

The sell-off we had to have is only part-way done

In an environment when the market could drop 5 per cent on any given day and throw off opportunities, investors have to go back to basics.

Trying to predict what US President Donald Trump will do next is impossible.

Trump’s big problem didn’t go away this week, it got more urgent

For Australian investors who live and work outside the US political cycle, it is easy to forget that the president is working under considerable time pressure.

Equities roared back to life on Thursday following Donald Trump’s tariff backdown.

Buckle up for next 90-days as tariff talks play out

Sentiment turned on a dime on Thursday as investors piled back into equities. We spoke to one of the country’s top wealth investor shops to find out why.

Bond markets smacked Trump’s tariff plan. He had to back down

Markets are recovering, but the scars from Trump’s tariff saga will run deep.

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The day a market rout turned into something scarier for investors

What looked like a standard and orderly sell-off – overpriced equity markets reacting to an economic growth shock or the prospect of a US recession – is starting to look leaky.

Australia’s home of the only $US1 billion plus cash M&A bid since Liberation Day.

This $US1b-plus cash bid is a real test of valuations in jumpy markets

Who would have thought Australia would be home to the only $US1 billion-plus cash M&A deal globally since ‘liberation day’?

Whipsawing Wall Street puts ASX back in a tailspin

Investors and traders start the day doing one thing, and finish it doing the opposite. Welcome to markets in the Trump-tariffs era.

Sell-offs can be good (for some). Here’s what top funds are buying

Volatility, dispersion and a market on sale – as passive funds go into hiding, this could finally be a stock pickers’ game and a chance to prove themselves.

Composite of Star and Bally’s Soo Kim.

Star as we know it will be over, top execs cleaned out: Bally’s

Star Entertainment’s new controlling shareholder says there is still money to be made in gambling but the company had been badly managed for years.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/anthony-macdonald-j7gcx