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Eric Johnston is an associate editor of The Australian. He has more than 25 years experience as a finance journalist, including a former business editor of The Australian. He has been business editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and financial services editor with The Australian Financial Review. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

@ejohnno

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CommentaryCompanies

Ross McEwan, chief executive officer of National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB), following a Bloomberg Television interview in London, UK, on Friday, June, 17, 2022. The UK just needs to get back into the marketplace again, McEwan said during the interview. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

Banker Ross McEwan will shape BHP for decades to come

The former NAB chief executive has one major job ahead as he takes on Australia’s most powerful board role.

Eric Johnston

CommentaryCompanies

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos December 11, 2020: Commonwealth Bank Signage at a branch in the Sydney CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

‘Green shoots’: CBA shows we’ve finally hit a turning point

The banking giant is the closest thing Australia has to a real-time measure of the economy. And big investors are now betting on an important shift coming.

Eric Johnston

CommentaryCompanies

14/8/24: Ryan Stokes on SGH results day, John Feder/The Australian.

Stronger together: Behind Ryan Stokes’ billion dollar bet

Where the trend in business is to slim down, spin-off and simplify, Ryan Stokes has been going in the other direction.

Eric Johnston

AnalysisEconomics

(16x9) DONALD TRUMP x ANTHONY ALBANESE SPLIT(4x3) DONALD TRUMP x ANTHONY ALBANESE SPLIT

Blue steel: Australia gets a ticket to Trump’s trade war

The promise of sweeping steep steel tariffs is set to deliver the first big test for Anthony Albanese’s relationship with the White House in the Trump 2.0 era.

Eric Johnston

CommentaryCompanies

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 03: A container ship is docked at the Port of Oakland on February 03, 2025 in Oakland, California. U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to temporarily pause the 25% tariff on Mexico for one month after negotiating with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum. The agreement came shortly after President Trump imposed new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Can Australia expect to win a Trump trade war?

Canada and Mexico are writing the playbook in real time over how to navigate Donald Trump’s trade threats.

Eric Johnston

ExclusiveMarkets

29/09/2023. Geoff Wilson, chairman of Wilson Asset Management and Matt Hauptlead portfolio manager of WAM Leaders fund, photographed in their Sydney office. Britta Campion / The Australian

Founders first: Geoff Wilson bets on market leaders

The stock picker will put to test the notion that smarter investing is about backing the ones with skin in the game.

Eric Johnston

AnalysisFinancial Services

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - January 19, 2022.Former Federal Treasurer and Cbus Super Chairman Wayne Swan poses for photos at his home in Brisbane.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Wayne Swan plans fightback over hits to Cbus reputation

The former treasurer is not going anywhere but has come out firing with a plan for the mega super fund to get its mojo back.

Eric Johnston

CommentaryBusiness

How big tech is recalibrating around the DeepSeek threat

Silicon Valley owes its longevity to its ability to pivot and China’s new AI start-up could set it moving in a new direction.

Eric Johnston

Tech raceTechnology

Meta launches ‘Manhattan project’ to counter DeepSeek threat

DeepSeek will not derail Microsoft and Meta spending a combined $US145bn on AI this year, with Mark Zuckerberg steaming ahead to build a data centre almost the size of Manhattan.

Jared Lynch and Eric Johnston

CommentaryCompanies

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA - January 29, 2025: Chemist Warehouse - From this low rise pub in an industrial strip in Preston a new top 20 ASX company is born. The historic meeting of the founders and shareholders of Chemist Warehouse will tonight vote on a merger with pharma Sigma creating a retail giant worth $30bn. That's twice the size of Qantas and bigger than global names like Brambles and James Hardie. We are aiming to get co-founders founders Mario Verrocchi and Jack Gance who will be at the meeting. Jack Gance middlePicture: The Australian / Nadir Kinani

How Chemist Warehouse passed the pub test

The founders of the retail juggernaut have got bigger by sticking close to their market. Now Chemist Warehouse faces the ultimate test.

Eric Johnston

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/eric-johnston/page/16