December 2019
The extraordinary change of the past decade
The special Christmas bumper edition of AFR Weekend reviews a decade of disruption including the people, deals and demagogues that shaped the world - to the films, music and even beers that stood out from the crowd. Here's our pick of the best reads.
- Andrew Burke
- Opinion
- Opinion
Max Allen's top 10 beers of the decade
The number of craft beer brands and the diversity of styles on offer has has exploded. Get festive with these great beers.
- Updated
- Max Allen
The defining films of the past decade
The most rewarding movies of the past 10 years weren't the popcorn blockbusters, but those that twisted genres, defied conventions and celebrated diversity.
- John McDonald
How the decade's biggest health breakthrough saved a US president
Little understood only 10 years ago, immunotherapy is having a "penicillin moment" and fundamentally changing the way cancer is managed.
- Jill Margo
How private equity kept its head in 2019
Trillions of dollars in dry powder and rising asset prices threatened to swamp private equity in 2019. But local players have maintained discipline.
- Jemima Whyte and James Thomson
Strongmen Trump, Xi and Johnson end year on a high
Surviving impeachment, defusing the Hong Kong protests and finally bedding down Brexit are on the to-do lists for the three strongmen of world politics. What will the Trump, Xi and Johnson decade look like?
- Jacob Greber, Hans van Leeuwen and Michael Smith
- Analysis
- Julia Gillard
Australia needs a new way
The past 10 years have been marked by unprecedented change and ‘disruption’ and it is time to stop yelling at each other and find a different way forward.
- Andrew Clark
People of the decade
A look at 10 Australians, who have helped to define this decade and will remain etched in our memories for better or worse.
- Matthew Drummond
- Opinion
- Investing
Deals of the decade: who won and lost
It was a decade for betting on coal, a2 milk, stallions and avoiding private equity deals.
- Angus Grigg, Anthony Macdonald and James Thomson
There's a shakeout coming to the Millennial lifestyle
Get ready to pay more for app-based services ranging from ride-sharing to meal-kit delivery.
- Yolanda Redrup and Natasha Gillezeau
The best 10 albums of the decade – plus our top picks of 2019
These 10 records tell the story of a dynamic, genre-twisting decade in music where old industry models were abandoned or made over.
- James Thomson
A billionaire's plan to turbo-charge his private city
Rich Lister Maha Sinnathamby survived financial ruin to build Australia's biggest private city. But the 80-year-old is far from done.
- James Thomson
Investors fail to learn bitter lessons of Storm's $1b bill
Ten years after the collapse of Storm Financial, investors and retirees - trying to keep ahead in a low-interest rate environment - are taking the same risk.
- Duncan Hughes
Investing lessons from the decade
The 2010s have been dominated by strong returns across multiple asset classes but strategists warn that's unlikely to continue.
- William McInnes
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Australia survives decade of disruption, just
Even after the global financial crisis, few people at the start of this decade could have imagined the political shocks to come. But they mark tensions that must be resolved in the 2020s.
- The AFR View
Iron ore's decade of living large keeps copper in the shadows
China's slow shift from a construction-driven economy to one fuelled by consumption has let iron ore shine longer and delayed copper's golden era.
- Peter Ker
How the smartphone has changed our world (for better or worse)
In little more than a decade, the smartphone has become a ubiquitous presence in our lives in ways that were predictable, and in ways that nobody saw coming.
- John Davidson
The looks that defined the decade in fashion
Men wearing whatever they want, women leading couture houses, Rihanna's Met Gala triumphs: fashion has – largely – grown up over the past 10 years
- Lauren Sams
- Opinion
- Life & Leisure
The most beautiful cars of the 'teens
Opinions around car designs can be polarising. But we're willing to risk it: here are our picks for the style champions of the past decade.
- Tony Davis
Welcome to the age of digital detoxes and undersea hotel suites
As our appetite for leisure travel boomed this decade, high-end travel operators got truly adventurous.
- Fiona Carruthers