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James Thomson

This Month

The Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix went down well with Coles CEO Leah Weckert.

What our top CEOs read, watched and listened to in 2024

From business books to crime thrillers and podcasts, here’s what our CEOs did in their spare time this year.

Macquarie’s Viktor Shvets says investors face plenty of uncertainty in 2025, but not as much risk as they think.

Macquarie’s Viktor Shvets nailed 2024. Here’s what he thinks will come next

No economic cycles? No mean reversion? Macquarie’s top global strategist’s radical view of markets challenges investors to consider how the world has changed.

Robin Khuda, Julie Coates, Shayne Elliott, Chris Ellison, Richard White,  Mike Sneesby.

The good, the bad and the ugly of corporate Australia in 2024

Big deals, big names, big disasters. From AirTrunk to Woolies to our own Nine Entertainment, here are the biggest moments of the year.

Plenty of CEOs have been to the US to consider how AI could change their businesses this year.

How CEOs are using AI, from driverless forklifts to bird counts

Everyone’s doing it, but are they doing it properly? Here is a fascinating snapshot of what Australian companies are doing with artificial intelligence.

ANZ boss Shayne Elliot has taken another hit from angry investors.

Elliott’s bonus hit shows how grumpy ANZ investors really are

Local fund managers are clearly unhappy with the board’s approach to risk management. Shayne Elliott is wearing a lot of their grief. 

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US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell was recast as The Grinch.

The Fed just killed the Santa rally

Jerome Powell gave investors a rate cut. But what sent Wall Street plunging was his message for 2025.

Jim Chalmers won’t help ASX investors in the long run.

MYEFO has short-term gain and long-term pain for investors

Growing government spending will help prop up tepid ASX profits. But investors should fear the longer-term issues that are being created. 

Lendlease chief executive Tony Lombardo says senior leaders should be back in the office.

WFH is a mess for ASX giants. It will only get messier

While Australia’s biggest companies have accepted hybrid work is here to stay, they remain uneasy about its impact. The debate is far from settled.

Charlie XCX’s album title became an adjective.

The 10 best albums of 2024 (if Taylor Swift isn’t your jam)

Soulful singer songwriters, rising indie superstars, Australian up-and-comers and a floor-filling techno god. Welcome to the year’s best sounds.

The focus on unlisted assets in super has been growing in recent years.

Super’s $500b unlisted asset problem isn’t going away

APRA has found another area where near enough just isn’t good enough for Australia’s large and systemically important super sector. 

Residential mortgages are increasingly the preserve of the wealthy.

The 3 housing charts that should make young people furious

New data shows how housing is slipping even further out of the reach of younger people. The election will kick off a new debate on the problem.

Healthscope chief executive Greg Horan has been trying to secure deals with insurers.

Only one thing can end the $22b private health war

Brookfield’s latest fund injection into Healthscope is more evidence of the need for the government to step in to try to resolve a desperate and messy issue.

The private credit sector is hot, but its local pioneers are selling out.

There’s a private credit boom, but Australian pioneers keep selling out

The sale of Wingate to CapitaLand marks the third big buyout of a private credit shop this year. Are founders picking the top of the market or is it a play for bigger growth?

 Tim Pallas has overseen a sharp rise in Victoria’s debt.

Business won’t miss Pallas, but there’s no easy fix for Victoria

With two years before the next state election, it seems likely that Tim Pallas’ exit will mean a shift in messaging rather than a shift in fiscal strategy.

10 curveballs for investors (and no, they’re not all bad)

The market is heading into 2025 with a spring in its step. But Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid sees risks to both the downside and the upside.

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Vanessa Hudson, Vik Bansal and Andrew Irvine.

Profit-bashing won’t help Australians become better off, CEOs warn

Politicians and regulators going after big business was one of the features of 2024. Has it gone too far, and if so, what can be done to restore the balance?

Chemist Warehouse founders Jack Gance, Mario Verrocchi and Sam Gance.

Clause that could bite $30b Chemist Warehouse dream

The scale of insider family deals at Chemist Warehouse meant transactions had to be handled carefully as it merged with Sigma. Have the firms got the balance right?

CBA boss Matt Comyn, Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayke and Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott.

‘Australia is falling behind’: 55 CEOs demand election action

Top chief executives say the next federal government must make the nation’s crippling regulatory burden and housing supply top priorities.

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CEOs are keeping a close eye on RBA governor Michele Bullock’s interest rate calls and press conferences.

CEOs say you cannot bank on falling interest rates

The big banks are telling customers that interest rate cuts are coming. Their big business clients are less sure.

Australia’s top CEO were polled

Why top CEOs are having a Make Australia Great Again moment

As Trump looks to attack bureaucracy and welcome investment, Australian business leaders say the country is going in the opposite direction.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/james-thomson-1446yx