Coles profit up, $235m set aside for underpaid staff
Coles booked a $235 million charge for underpaying its own store managers and still reported underlying profit of $1.26 billion, up 13.7 per cent, with the dividend lifted 13 per cent.
52 articles by Marcus Hale
Ampol profit up 376pc as import fuel prices surge
Ampol's replacement cost profit rose 376 per cent to $857.2 million as the Middle East conflict lifted imported fuel costs. Shareholders get $441 million.
GYG books a $26.7m loss and calls FY26 a record
Guzman y Gomez lost $26.7 million on a statutory basis after quitting the United States, and is returning about $200 million to shareholders.
TPG lifts dividend as 41,000 NBN customers leave
TPG Telecom raised its interim dividend to 10 cents as mobile revenue grew 3.1 per cent. Its NBN base fell by 41,000 and broadband revenue went backwards.
Super penalties up twentyfold after $1b collapses
Maximum civil penalties for core trustee breaches go from 2,400 penalty units to 50,000. Self-managed funds will help pay for failures elsewhere.
JB Hi-Fi lifts dividend 22.5% as profit rises 6%
Group sales hit $11.06 billion and net profit $489.9 million. The payout to shareholders grew almost four times as fast as the profit behind it.
Daintree still on diesel four years after grant
About 700 Daintree residents run generators on diesel above $3 a litre. An $18.75 million microgrid was funded in 2022. Only $1.55 million was paid.
Mastercard payments restored after global outage
Mastercard card payments failed across Australian retail on Saturday. Tyro logged the fault at 3.03pm AEST and declared the network normal at 4.10pm.
US travel down 37pc as Japan trips more than double
Australians took 12.7 million trips overseas in 2025-26. Trips to the United States were 37 per cent below 2018-19. Japan was up 105 per cent.
Investor home lending falls 10.2pc in June quarter
New investor loans fell more than five times faster than owner-occupier loans in the June quarter, ABS figures show. The average new loan is $731,000.
Average weekly earnings growth weakest since 2022
Full-time earnings rose 3.7 per cent in the year to May, the smallest annual increase since 2022 and slower than the pace of consumer prices.
Governments commit $2.5b to Tomago aluminium smelter
The Commonwealth and NSW will put $2.5 billion into the Rio Tinto-led smelter, Australia's single largest electricity user, to keep it running past 2028.
No car insurer explained its price rises, ASIC finds
None of the eight car insurance brands ASIC reviewed told customers why their premium changed. Motor premiums rose 8 per cent against 3 per cent inflation.
ASIC bans hit a five year high as 150 removed
ASIC removed 150 people and businesses from finance, credit and company management in 2025-26, up 42 per cent and the most in five years.
Home prices are falling. So is borrowing power.
Canstar puts the loss in borrowing capacity since January at $35,400 for a single earner and $70,800 for a couple. The price falls have not been that large.
BHP and Rio called to Trump minerals talks
Both miners were on the invitation list for a White House critical minerals roundtable on Friday, with copper supply and Chinese processing on the agenda.
RBA faces Tuesday call with inflation at 3.8pc
The board meets Monday and Tuesday with the cash rate at 4.35 per cent, June inflation at 3.8 per cent and Brent crude back above US$82.
Gold hauls the trade balance back to surplus
Australia's goods balance swung $4.3 billion to a $1.9 billion surplus in June. Almost all of the improvement came from one line item: non-monetary gold.
Household spending up 0.8pc as fuel prices fell
Spending rose 0.8 per cent in June on new car sales and cheaper petrol, ABS figures show. The excise discount that carried the quarter expired on Sunday.
National home values fall 0.7pc in July
Cotality's index fell 0.7 per cent in July, the steepest monthly drop since December 2022. The correction is landing on the top of the market, not the bottom.
Job mobility falls to 7.2 per cent, ABS finds
One million people changed employer in the year to February, down from 7.7 per cent. Retrenchments fell too, so the people staying put are staying by choice.
ACMA sues Optus over failed Triple Zero calls
The regulator alleges 1,005 breaches over the September 2025 outage, when 455 of 605 Triple Zero calls failed to connect. Maximum exposure is $251 million.
Governments fund study into Karratha oil refinery
Canberra and Perth will split a $4 million pre-feasibility study into a Perdaman refinery at Karratha, the first new build proposed since the 1960s.
ASX 200 jumps 1.4pc as Brent crude falls 9.6pc
The ASX 200 closed at 8,894 on Monday, its best session in six weeks, after the United States paused its strikes on Iran and oil fell away.
Origin yet to say how many customers were exposed
Origin Energy confirmed a customer data breach on Thursday but has not said how many of its 4.8 million customers were affected.
Brent tops US$96, lifting ASX energy and gold stocks
Brent crude traded above US$96 a barrel on Thursday, a six-week high, lifting Australian energy and gold stocks and the ASX 200, and setting up higher petrol prices just as the government's fuel excise relief ends.
Petrol set to rise again as fuel excise relief ends
Petrol hit 170.1 cents a litre in early July and will rise again on August 1, when the government's fuel excise relief ends and the tax returns to full rate.
Brent tops US$91 as ASX energy rises, travel falls
Brent crude hit US$91.07, its highest since 11 June, splitting the ASX between rising energy producers and falling travel stocks as petrol nears $2 a litre.
Petrol faces double hit as oil surge meets excise end
Brent's 14 per cent weekly surge to US$88.10 reaches bowsers within a fortnight, just before the halved fuel excise discount ends on 2 August.
Deepfake stock tips cost 16 Australians $2.7m
ASIC says 16 Australians lost $2.7 million in two weeks to pump-and-dump schemes using WhatsApp groups and AI deepfakes of trusted finance names.
BHP's record year runs into a strike and a selloff
BHP posted record iron ore output and 2Mt of copper, and still fell almost 5 per cent on a copper downgrade and the first Port Hedland strike since 2000.
China growth slows to 4.3pc, missing Beijing's target
Q2 growth of 4.3 per cent fell below Beijing's target floor, the weakest since 2022. Property fell 18 per cent while the ASX rose on an iron ore beat.
Petrol relief ends August 2 and oil is not waiting
Petrol is at $1.68 a litre, Brent settled at US$84.73, and the 16 cent excise discount ends on August 2. A call on extending it is due within weeks.
Oil tops US$83 and the bowser is next
Brent crude jumped 9.5 per cent to US$83.25 after Washington demanded a 20 per cent charge on Hormuz cargoes. Petrol was already up 16 cents in nine days.
Hormuz closure upends Canberra's $416b export forecast
The Commonwealth's forecast of record $416 billion resources and energy exports assumed the Strait of Hormuz reopened in late June. Nine days after it was published, Iran declared the strait closed. Australian gas producers gain from the shock. Motorists and airlines pay for it.
FDC shares up 16pc since $969m ASX debut
FDC Consolidated Holdings shares closed at $3.48 on Friday, up 16 per cent on the $3.00 offer price, three days after the construction and fitout company's ASX debut, the biggest Australian float of 2026 so far. The $400 million IPO valued FDC at $969 million on listing day, when the stock touched $3.50 in early trade before closing 12.3 per cent higher at $3.37.
Westpac tips two more hikes before 2027 rate cuts
Westpac has pulled its first rate cut forward to August 2027. The catch is what comes first: two more hikes, and about $229 a month added to an average mortgage.
NEXTDC signs $2.3bn debt deal to fund AI data centres
NEXTDC has signed $2.3 billion in new senior debt, taking total facilities to $8.7 billion to fund its AI-driven data centre build-out.
Wharfies demand 28-hour week as DP World automates
The Maritime Union of Australia wants a 28-hour week on full pay for wharfies affected by DP World's rollout of remote cranes, driverless vehicles and AI rostering across four terminals.
WiseTech's Richard White quits chair, shares jump
WiseTech Global co-founder Richard White stepped down as executive chair on Tuesday, handing the role to independent director Raelene Murphy. Shares in the logistics software company rose as much as 10.6 per cent.
Genesis lobs $5.6b rival bid for gold miner Vault
Genesis Minerals' binding $5.6 billion bid for Vault Minerals tops the agreed Regis merger and gives Regis until Friday night to match.
Petrol climbs as fuel excise discount halves
Capital-city petrol jumped 6.6 cents a litre the day the fuel excise discount was halved, ACCC monitoring shows, and with wholesale prices up 15 cents, more of the increase lands at the pump this week.
Australia posts first goods trade deficit since 2018 as exports drop
Australia's goods exports fell $3.2 billion in May and the trade balance swung into a $3 billion deficit, the first on the Bureau of Statistics' original measure since January 2018, as sales of gold and iron ore dropped away.
Dwelling approvals fall as apartments drop and houses hit four-year high
Total dwelling approvals fell 1.1 per cent in May to 17,019, the ABS said, as a 10.4 per cent slide in apartment and unit approvals outweighed a rise in detached houses to their highest level since September 2021. The mix keeps the National Housing Accord target of 240,000 homes a year out of reach.
Earnings above $3m in super to be taxed at 30% as new financial year lands
From July 1, earnings on the part of a superannuation balance above $3 million will be taxed at about 30 per cent under the Division 296 law passed in March. The same day brings higher contribution caps, an income tax cut, and a requirement that employers pay super on every payday.
Negative gearing restricted to new builds as parliament returns to tax reform standoff
The Albanese government has returned to parliament with legislation limiting negative gearing to new residential builds from 2027-28, scrapping the 50 per cent CGT discount in favour of an inflation-adjusted equivalent, and imposing a minimum 30 per cent tax on investment gains. The Greens are withholding support over grandfathering that shields existing investors entirely from all three changes.
Unemployment falls to 4.4% in May as 40,000 jobs added, complicating RBA's rate outlook
The ABS released May labour force data showing the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent, down from 4.5 per cent in April, with 40,000 jobs added. The resilient result keeps alive the possibility of a further RBA rate rise.
Headline inflation falls to 4% but the RBA's preferred measure heads the other way
Australia's CPI fell to 4 per cent annually in May, driven largely by an 11.9 per cent drop in fuel prices from the temporary excise cut. But the trimmed mean, which strips out volatile items and is what the Reserve Bank watches, rose from 3.4 to 3.6 per cent.
ASX 200 slides to two-week low of 8,749 as inflation data and rate caution weigh on sentiment
The benchmark index fell 60 points on June 23, its worst session in three weeks, dragged by healthcare and technology stocks. Miners provided the only support as BHP and Rio Tinto gained on rising copper prices.
Home auction clearance rates fall to lowest since COVID as buyers pull back
Fewer than half of homes offered at auction sold last week, with the national clearance rate of 47.4 per cent the weakest reading since the pandemic's first lockdowns in April 2020, as federal budget changes to negative gearing reduce investor appetite.
RBA holds at 4.35% in unanimous decision after three consecutive rate rises this year
The Reserve Bank board paused its 2026 hiking cycle at its June meeting, keeping the cash rate at 4.35% after increases in February, March, and May. Governor Michele Bullock said the decision does not rule out further tightening.
Sydney and Melbourne home values slide as national market records first monthly stall of the cycle
The national home value index recorded zero growth in May, the first stall in the current cycle, as three RBA rate rises in 2026 compound affordability pressures. Sydney is down 2.1 per cent from its November 2025 peak; Melbourne is down 3.2 per cent.
