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Foreign students row is political kryptonite

The government accuses Peter Dutton of hypocrisy for rejecting its foreign student caps, but the Opposition Leader is not about to do Labor any favours this close to an election.

Xi got his message across, but calls to oppose protectionism are a bit rich

Australia is right to rail against Donald Trump’s tariffs, but we should also make our voice heard on Xi Jinping’s “China First” policies.

China should practise what it preaches on free trade

The best way Beijing can persuade the US it is playing fair is to open up its domestic market so America can share in its success.

The AFR View

Editorial

The AFR View

Trump’s demolition of the US state

You measure a leader by his actions not by his heart. To judge from what Trump has done within a fortnight of winning the presidency, his path is destruction.

Edward Luce

Columnist

Edward Luce

Cut foreign student numbers with a levy, not a cap

A levy is an economically sensible alternative policy that will create a revenue stream for governments and deliver more financial resources to universities.

Economists must climb down from ivory tower to win the tax debate

Only once the electoral popularity of taxation reform is improved can we expect politicians to stake their political capital for change.

Trump’s foreign enemies are about to get a significant boost

The president-elect is threatening to gut the institutions that make America great, which can only benefit Russia and China.

Why the world’s biggest climate conference is a cynical scam

The COP process is now worse than superfluous: it has become a cynical exercise in moral blackmail against the West.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Global economy commentator

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
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Even government sources point out that urban areas have suffered from bank closures as well.

Home borrowers will pay for the rural bank branch levy

Treasury has come up with a radical but rushed plan to make all banks fund those with the biggest rural businesses. But there is no guarantee that it will work.

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  • John Kehoe
Property construction is under pressure due to high costs.

The next three property shortages have already started

Charter Hall boss David Harrison says the supply shortages and lack of developer confidence we’re seeing in the housing market are playing out across the property sector. 

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  • James Thomson
Issues which once stopped with the CEO or the chair now engulf the whole board.

Three things directors must learn from a time of scandals

A board director’s job is getting more complex. But they need to maintain their own clear lines of sight into the businesses they oversee.

  • Mark Rigotti
Jakob Stausholm says Rio’s Everyday Respect program is also about driving better performance.

Rio Tinto’s push to protect women is making both sexes angry

The attempt to address sexual harassment and bullying captures the collision of the push for increased diversity and another against so-called wokeness.

  • James Thomson

Hot is cold and strong is weak with this new espresso maker

We made a mistake testing the KitchenAid KF8 fully automatic coffee machine. We failed to test our assumptions about what words mean.

  • John Davidson
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Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Why Putin might be making nuclear threats now

Escalating the conflict in Ukraine could reinforce Donald Trump’s argument for direct dialogue and ending the war.

  • Roland Oliphant
The growing power of the super sector raises some big questions.

CFMEU’s return to Cbus board shows it’s time for change

Appointing union officials as directors at a time when super fund boards are screaming out for specialist skills raises questions about the need for change.

  • James Thomson
The DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator at the Goodyear Simulation Centre in Luxembourg.

What it feels like to drive a multimillion-dollar simulator

The DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulator is fully sick, in the best way.

  • Tony Davis
Packaging group Amcor is good for a big deal every decade. This decade is its biggest yet.

Amcor’s whopper $76b tie-up shows it’s ready to rule the world

It’s one of the biggest deals of the year – and the financial numbers are eye-catching. Imagine $US650 million in synergies.

  • Anthony Macdonald

Yesterday

The activists are targeting News Corp’s dual-voting share structure, saying battle for succession among Rupert Murdoch’s children has left the media company at risk.

Why Perpetual wants to maintain Murdoch control at News Corp

News Corp shareholders have been asked to vote on whether the company’s dual-class share structure should be collapsed this week.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher’s promising shareholders a smoother ride.

Santos swears it will end the boom and bust years

It’s one thing to preach discipline, it’s another to practice it.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Gary Weiss has five decades in Australian capital markets.

Meet corporate Australia’s top bulldust detector

With nearly five decades of experience in the markets, Gary Weiss has seen it all. Here’s how he spots corporate BS, and his No. 1 rule as a director.

  • James Thomson

Accounting firms bullish about the future

Automation technology and ever-growing demand for advice are keeping the top firms optimistic about the years ahead.

  • Theo Konstantas
Not only have American stock markets hit record highs but other risk assets have also surged, with bitcoin jumping to its own record high of $US90,000.

How to invest in the Trump era

From bitcoin to navigating the new president’s Tudor court, investors should bear the following in mind.

  • Gillian Tett
Telstra chief financial officer Michael Ackland says businesses are stuck with a difficult dilemma.

This is why Australia is stuck in a rut

Low investment and productivity growth has left the country’s economy in the doldrums. The short-term challenges are large, but we can’t forget the long term.

  • James Thomson
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America got the world driving. Now it’s going home

The US car industry is turning inwards again for the first time in a century. Detroit got the world on the road. BYD will inherit the earth.

  • David Fickling
MinRes chairman James McClements will face shareholders on Thursday.

MinRes board fails the pub test. Again

The $45 million transaction revealed by the Financial Review – not by the company – underscores questions over the miner’s governance.

  • James Thomson

Meet the cargo bike that other riders will envy

When it comes to storage capacity, Tern’s Orox is more like a small car than an electric bicycle.

  • John Davidson
The Department of Government Efficiency could go a long way to determining whether sovereign and institutional investors would rather lend to cash-rich US corporates than Uncle Sam.

Bond investors may bet on Silicon Valley over Uncle Sam

The US tech sector, which is sitting on a cash balance approaching $US1 trillion, is well-placed to reward – and protect – creditors and shareholders.

  • Todd Hoare

This Month

Red card for super fund bosses more effective than fines

Readers’ letters on appropriate punishment for super fund director breaches; Zionism v Judaism; kicking our coal habit; and Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/opinion