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China hits back at US with 125pc tariffs
Beijing escalated the trade war with the United States by again raising tariffs and accusing the Trump administration of “unilateral bullying and coercion”.
China hikes tariffs, says Trump’s trade war ‘has become a joke’
China’s commerce ministry said Donald Trump’s use of excessively high tariffs has become little more than a numbers game.
Trump’s trade ructions will end up disrupting banking and payments
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has lamented an almost exclusively American financial infrastructure. Others feel the same way.
Trump goes all-in for his biggest deal ever: China
Amid the ruins of the rules-based global trading system, the US president has bet the house on Xi Jinping playing along with his art of the deal, writes Michael Stutchbury.
Voters deserve better than empty slugfests dressed up as debates
The closer we get to May 3, substance is being swiftly usurped by banal talking points and shrill attack lines whenever politicians step up to a microphone.
Trump’s big problem didn’t go away this week, it got more urgent
For Australian investors who live and work outside the US political cycle, it is easy to forget that the president is working under considerable time pressure.
Dutton marches into hostile territory: a Perth business breakfast
Peter Dutton told a business crowd that their worries were very different to those of millions Australians around their kitchen tables.
Find out everything you need to know before Australians go to the polls on May 3.
Federal election
Inside the well-heeled battle for Kooyong
There are wealthy backers on both sides of this blue-ribbon Melbourne seat, which was long the jewel in the Liberal crown.
Central Coast could send Albo to the Lodge – or early retirement
Cost of living is king in the lead-up to the election but Trump is also causing trouble for the Liberals as they try to snatch the seats of Dobell and Robertson.
Labor’s housing fund may need bailout after stock slump
Taxpayers could be forced to top up the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund if financial markets do not recover in the next three months.
Who spent the most time in marginal seats this week?
See where Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have campaigned since the election was called.
This is everything you need to know about the federal election
Find out everything you need to know before Australians go to the polls on May 3.
TRUMP'S TARIFFS
Trump isn’t kowtowing to the market – he’s doubling down
Investors need to be bold during these dark days. You want to be buying when the crowd is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
The bond market teaches Trump the art of the squeal
The US president is not easily humbled, but he’s learnt to respect a bond market that has grown far more powerful and consequential than ever.
China’s $2trn market rescue is just the start as trade war intensifies
State-linked funds stepped in to rescue Chinese stocks this week as the battle with the US intensified. But it’s an expensive exercise.
Xi to bolster regional alliances in Trump’s trade war
The Chinese president is under pressure to shore up relationships with South-East Asian allies who are trying to appease Donald Trump and escape his tariffs.
There is no cunning theory behind Trump’s tariff plan
The White House cited my classmate’s economic research to justify its reciprocal tariffs – it got the maths wrong. But it gets worse.
Companies
Rio says Australian dividends at risk if investors back activist fund
ASX shareholders will vote on whether to force the miner to review its dual-company structure and end its primary London listing next month.
Dexus forced to sell $830m stake in Macquarie Centre to super giants
The Supreme Court of NSW has rejected a last-minute bid from the ASX-listed landlord to stave off the transaction, having found it was required to sell.
Greens flag $30m to lure Aldi to Tasmania
As part of an election pitch, the Greens are seeking to lure the discount supermarket chain to the Apple Isle to help boost competition and lower grocery bills.
These women are conquering Aussie dinner tables, one lasagne at a time
The Dinner Ladies began with two women selling home-cooked meals to friends. It now delivers 40,000 meals a week and is expanding in a $2 billion market.
Armaguard, banks seek independent price-setter for cash delivery
Resolving the cash transport drama is one step closer, with a callout this week for an expert to set contract prices – at a fair margin for Linfox.
Australian exports safe from Trump’s ‘beautiful coal’ dream
The president’s push to reinvigorate the US coal industry will not seriously affect Australia dominance of exports to China, experts say, but prices are likely to fall further.
Rio Tinto and Mitsui target billionaire Creasy’s Pilbara iron ore
The giant miner and Japanese trading house have bid $75 million for the legendary prospector’s iron ore tenements.
Markets
Trump’s trade ructions will end up disrupting banking and payments
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has lamented an almost exclusively American financial infrastructure. Others feel the same way.
Bond markets left reeling as epic week scars traders
The wild swings across bond markets this week were reminiscent of the biggest crises in modern history. Battered traders are now moving to more reliable havens.
Eight ideas on how to play a roller-coaster sharemarket
Uncertainty abounds – will global tariffs make a return? How far will a China trade war go? But some of our biggest investors are seeing big opportunities.
A ‘classic emerging market crisis’ as investors flee US assets
The usual flight to safety toward long-term US government bonds occurred at first but has since very much reversed. The reversal shows no signs of slowing.
Investors find refuge on ASX as Wall Street giants lose their lustre
The slump in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq has been far more pronounced than the local market this week, just as traders dump the US government bond and greenback.
Opinion
Labor’s efforts to link Dutton to Trump are proving effective
Like the rest of the world, WA politics has been upended by Donald Trump’s reckless tariff war, which has a sharp edge in a resources-dependent economy closely intertwined with China’s growth.
Columnist
Trump isn’t kowtowing to the market – he’s doubling down
Investors need to be bold during these dark days. You want to be buying when the crowd is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Columnist
Voters deserve better than empty slugfests dressed up as debates
The closer we get to May 3, substance is being swiftly usurped by banal talking points and shrill attack lines whenever politicians step up to a microphone.
Canberra Bureau Chief
Hawke and Keating were wrong. There is a strong case for tariffs
The Hawke-Keating-Howard era got rid of tariffs. But in their place, they brought in a range of imposts that never existed before, or at least not to the same degree.
Who won the second week of the election campaign?
With week two done, we asked two former political staffers which leader had edged ahead on the election trail.
Nine rules for investors to navigate the trade war
Trade wars, like pandemics, have the potential to break traditional correlations in financial markets. But do not despair: trade wars also have their logic.
Strategic thinker
Reports
BOSS Best Places to Work
The BOSS Best Places to Work awards celebrate the achievements of the best small, medium and large organisations and nine sector winners.
Politics
Labor’s housing fund may need bailout after stock slump
Taxpayers could be forced to top up the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund if financial markets do not recover in the next three months.
RBA awaits China stimulus to protect Australia
The Reserve Bank and Treasury are pinning their hopes on infrastructure assistance from Beijing to shield the nation from a deepening trade war.
Dutton says Ro Knox will be minister. She needs to win Wentworth first
The Liberals want Wentworth’s rich and powerful to put Knox into government – and a ministry – but independent MP Allegra Spender remains popular there.
Who won the second week of the election campaign?
With week two done, we asked two former political staffers which leader had edged ahead on the election trail.
AusSuper breach losses grow to $750,000
AustralianSuper chief executive Paul Schroder says the number of members affected by last week’s industry-wide cyberbreach has grown from four to 10. How the day unfolded.
SPONSORED
World
China’s $2trn market rescue is just the start as trade war intensifies
State-linked funds stepped in to rescue Chinese stocks this week as the battle with the US intensified. But it’s an expensive exercise.
Xi to bolster regional alliances in Trump’s trade war
The Chinese president is under pressure to shore up relationships with South-East Asian allies who are trying to appease Donald Trump and escape his tariffs.
EU warns of taxing US big tech if Trump trade talks fail
The European Commission president says she wants a “balanced” deal but could hit US services in retaliation.
The man who got Trump to do a ‘liberation day’ U-turn
Scott Bessent, described by the president “as one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street” helped change Trump’s tariff stance. His next moves will be crucial.
Europe could end up more like 1980s Qld than 1930s Germany
There’s a problem with being on the lookout for a rerun of the 1930s: you could miss what’s actually happening.
Property
How ‘least likely to succeed’ Simon Cohen cracked the eastern suburbs
The real estate guru introduced a buyer’s advocacy model to Australia with a desk above a pub. Now he has 100 staff and offices across the country.
Darling Point penthouse with royal connection offered for $160m
A yet-to-be-built Darling Point boutique apartment block could soon be home to Australia’s most expensive penthouse.
This top agent says luxury property will weather the market storm
Property veteran Ken Jacobs, who has been selling premium homes for 50 years, says the sector is one of the safest investments amid sharemarket chaos.
Dexus forced to sell $830m stake in Macquarie Centre to super giants
The Supreme Court of NSW has rejected a last-minute bid from the ASX-listed landlord to stave off the transaction, having found it was required to sell.
Blackstone decides time is right to exit big Sydney mall
Blackstone is looking to check out of Sydney’s Top Ryde City, one of the last malls left in the $3 billion portfolio it once earmarked for a float or mega trade sale.
Wealth
I’m 72 with $2.3m in super. How much more can I contribute?
There is a lifetime limit on the amount of super that can be transferred into your tax-free pension accounts.
How markets just got real for these 4 Millennial investors
Meet four young investors who this week experienced their first major market shock (albeit a very quick one). Here’s what they plan to do next.
The best (and worst) PMs in house price history, and what it tells you
Residential property values have surged almost five times as much under Coalition governments than Labor ones over the past 35 years. Here are the reasons.
Technology
Canva makes its pitch to take on Microsoft with an AI Excel rival
Canva has launched its biggest product update, including a move to take on the industry giant with a re-imagining of the Excel spreadsheet.
Minecraft’s creator sold it for a fortune. Then things got strange
Markus ‘Notch’ Persson built the world’s biggest video game. He sold it for billions for the sake of his “sanity”.
For a revealing insight into Nvidia, this book is unrivalled
Jensen Huang’s brainchild, Nvidia, has had astronomic success making microchips. Stephen Witt’s “The Thinking Machine” tells the inside story.
Work & Careers
BHP taken to umpire for ‘bad faith bargaining’ in the Pilbara
Mining unions accuse BHP of cancelling meetings as part of the first union talks for iron ore workers in the Pilbara.
‘We’re not allocating talent’ and that makes us all poorer
Not enough men working in education is holding back the sector’s productivity, just as much as the lack of women in mining does.
Life & Luxury
This epic but intimate Aussie war series deserves to be a hit
Justin Kurzel’s five-episode adaptation of fellow Tasmanian Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize winner, Narrow Road to the Deep North, is storytelling at its best.
Welcome to capitalism (Taylor’s version)
Swift is a self-made billionaire and the most profitable live musician in history. A new book asks what her ascendance can teach us.
Could this be the author of the funniest book ever written?
The cult following for J.P Donleavy’s self-help manual from 1975 deserves to be much bigger, especially in dark times like these.
Singing in English a ‘blessing and curse’ for Oz music: Grammy boss
The president of the Recording Academy says singing in English can be a disadvantage outside America – but Australia’s music industry can conquer it.
Which crisis sent markets down 57 per cent? Take our quiz
Have you been paying attention this week? Test your knowledge across politics, business and world news.
