Featured Opinion
An RBA tightening bias is called for
It’s hard not to interpret the governor’s press conference and the board’s statement as at least a mild tightening bias that will keep the cash rate where it is at least until near the end of 2024.
Editorial
Australia’s ‘dumb’ budget luck in one extraordinary chart
Treasurers have been extremely lucky to receive big tax revenue windfalls from the China-driven mining boom, but none have been as lucky as Jim Chalmers.
Economics editor
Reforms rather than rate rises
Supply side deregulation to drive productivity is the other half of the policy armoury that should be deployed to help curb inflation and keep employment full.
Columnist
‘Vigilant’ RBA puts home loan borrowers on notice
Governor Michele Bullock has issued a fresh warning to mortgage holders, two years after the Reserve Bank of Australia began raising interest rates.
Economics editor
Victoria must get a grip
The heavily indebted state has at least stopped whacking its private sector. But there is little sign of resolve on its debts.
Editorial
Why data-driven Bullock has her eye on the budget
RBA governor Michele Bullock says it’s too early to declare victory over inflation as she avoids the markets’ frenzied guessing game on interest rates.
Columnist
The Reserve Bank’s bleak news on housing
The central bank sees little respite for struggling home buyers and renters for years to come, as demand in the nation’s housing market continues to outstrip supply.
Columnist
Labor dodges difficult debt decisions
Treasurer Tim Pallas has not delivered the “horror budget” he prepared the ground for, nor a clear path back from the state’s crippling debt levels.
BOSS Deputy editor
More From Today
- Opinion
- Digital Life
Will Apple’s new iPad Pro finally replace your laptop?
Apple says its new M4 iPad Pros will have better AI, better performance and better battery life than laptops. But don’t throw away your laptop just yet.
- John Davidson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
‘I’m not Buffett’: Druckenmiller on Nvidia, Trump and the Fed’s error
Wall Street legend Stan Druckenmiller has profited from the Federal Reserve’s dovish pivot, though he says it could get harder for investors to time AI’s boom.
- James Thomson
- Driving With Tony Davis
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This tiny EV is cute and cool – but is it worth $59k?
The battery-powered Fiat Abarth 500e is a fun way to zip around town. And you can park it pretty much anywhere.
- Tony Davis
Yesterday
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The chart that gives Goldman confidence M&A is on the up
Be wary of bankers talking deal pipelines. But what you can rely on them for is a good chart. Goldman Sachs’ M&A boss Marissa Freund didn’t disappoint.
- Updated
- Anthony Macdonald
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
RBA is still betting on Goldilocks. Investors shouldn’t follow suit
With the ASX 200 back near record levels, investors are betting Michele Bullock is right on a soft landing. But with uncertainty high, a more all-weather approach looks sensible.
- Updated
- James Thomson
Qantas must atone for all old baggage
Readers’ letters on the Qantas settlement; franking credits for retirees; the Coalition push for nuclear power; and Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera.
- Opinion
- Quantum Computing
Quantum leap to secure first-mover advantage for Australia
The government’s chief scientific adviser says the investment in PsiQuantum may be high risk, but it’s also high reward.
- Cathy Foley
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The sneaky bad news in the banks’ $4.5b buyback bonanza
ANZ joined the bank buyback party on Tuesday. Investors love getting excess capital back, but do these buybacks show the banks are short of growth options?
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Energy transition
Keeping coal but excluding gas is an irrational path to net zero
Including gas-generation in the back-up electricity mechanism will help avoid taxpayer funds being used for paradoxical cross-purposes.
- Steve Davies
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The four key themes dominating Macquarie’s talkfest
Macquarie chief Shemara Wikramanayake is the perfect person to open the biggest investor conference of the year with the last of her issues a sleeper for a lot of us in Australia.
- Updated
- Anthony Macdonald
- Opinion
- Big four accountants
Why can’t top auditors find fraud?
US regulators have put forward a series of proposals to clarify and extend responsibilities to spot wrongdoing.
- Stephen Foley
- Opinion
- India
India is starting to look like a Central Asian dictatorship
As the country holds its national election, Narendra Modi’s government is undermining democratic institutions and building a cult of personality around the PM.
- Debasish Roy Chowdhury
- Opinion
- Investing
The investment shift that could undermine your wealth plan
Whether to invest for income or growth is not the right question to ask for those in or moving to retirement.
- Tim Mackay
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Ken Moelis on Trump, interest rates and Ozempic
The billionaire investment banker thinks Donald Trump has his nose in front in the US presidential race, and that could have ramifications for interest rates.
- James Thomson
It’s bigger and brighter, but is it Samsung’s best TV?
We pit Samsung’s “pinnacle” TV against a lesser model. The results won’t surprise you.
- John Davidson
This Month
Big four’s reformation moment
Engaging with the Treasury process is an opportunity for the consulting giants to help modernise the partnership-based model founded in the 19th century and unfit for today.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Why didn’t ACCC litigate Qantas?
Is what might be seen as regulatory brand ransom to force companies to admit to lesser charges and avoid the need to litigate, the way the watchdog should seek to uphold Australia’s consumer protection and competition law?
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Aviation
Qantas’ Hudson takes the chance to shed some Joyce baggage
Vanessa Hudson has finally accepted reality by making a deal with the competition watchdog over ghost flights.
- Jennifer Hewett
- Opinion
- Letters to the Editor
Reinstate HECS discount to recover debt
Readers’ letters on the reduction in indexation rates for HECS debt; the crackdown on the big four accountancy firms and lobby groups making submissions to the government ahead of the budget.
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Interest rates are the only tool for managing inflation
Economists are looking for other ways of braking inflation. But the impact of interest rates on housing costs is still the most reliable means.
- Luke Hartigan and Stella Huangfu
