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    Today

    Orora went big with an offshore M&A deal right as its core business was softening.

    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
    Perpetual chief executive Rob Adams. The company has been running a strategic review of its operations for several months.

    Perpetual to be broken up, name sold to KKR in $1.5b deal

    The transaction will give the private equity giant the rights to the 138-year-old brand and leave the ASX-listed group as a pure-play funds management business.

    • Anthony Macdonald and Aaron Weinman
    Westpac’s Mr Miller said that manufacturing was a clear stand out for credit growth.

    Westpac’s business boss eyes fast-charging financing demand

    Anthony Miller says “business credit growth will be as good, if not better than in the first half” after three banks talked up their business lending pipelines.

    • Lucas Baird
    Perpetual CEO Rob Adams is edging closer to a deal with KKR.

    Perpetual boss Rob Adams looks for the exit as KKR takes control

    Last month we reported that KKR had secured exclusivity, and was working through a range of complexities and ownership of the 138-year-old brand name.

    • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
    ANZ’s chief executive, Shayne Elliott, at the bank’s half-year result presentation on Tuesday. He expects interest rates to begin to fall next year.

    ANZ says it can reward shareholders and grow lending

    The bank said profits were down in its retail business with conditions “more competitive than ever”, but lending to large companies was stronger.

    • Updated
    • Lucas Baird and James Eyers
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    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.

    • Updated
    • Karen Maley
    Shayne Elliott says ANZ can pursue growth and return capital to investors at the same time.

    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
    Tim Meurer at Invesco’s sydney office.

    Lowy-backed Assembly names new chief investment officer

    The real estate investment firm has elevated former Invesco head of acquisitions Tim Meurer to head up its investment strategy.

    • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
    Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake’s a hard act to beat.

    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
    Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake opened the bank’s annual conference with a presentation on how AI development would require more data consumption.

    Macquarie bets big on data centres in AI revolution

    Shemara Wikramanayake expects the biggest tech companies to consume more data in their quest to sharpen AI platforms.

    • Aaron Weinman
    Silicon Valley Bank failed in March last year.

    Good banks today want to be seen as boring

    Regional US financial institutions are promoting themselves as stodgy, stuffy and dull in response to industry failures.

    • Bre Bradham

    Yesterday

    Fund manager Geoff Wilson.

    Geoff Wilson buys 6pc of Australian Unity Office Fund; Bells on ticket

    WAR paid $1.20 a share, a small discount to the traded price but circa 30 per cent lower than the NTA.

    • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
    Diversity in the workplace has become increasingly important for companies over the past decade.

    Financy in cash call for workplace equality SaaS platform

    Its clients, according to the flyer, include Bega, Netwealth, NGS Super, SG Hiscock & Company and NSW Land Registry Services.

    • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
    Westpac CEO Peter King says the banking sector has competed away three rate rises.

    Westpac shows how banks are mortgage war casualties

    Peter King says Westpac is hunting growth. But he won’t find it in old-fashioned mortgages and deposits, where returns have been brutally competed away. 

    • James Thomson
    Westpac said its first half profit of $3.3bn was down 16 per cent on the first half last year.

    Westpac deflects downturn with special dividend

    The Westpac boss says the return of $1.5 billion to shareholders is a sign of confidence in the Australian economy and the outlook for bad debts.

    • Updated
    • James Eyers and Lucas Baird
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    The Financial Review understands Macquarie decided to continue with PwC given its long-standing relationship with the company, and its familiarity with its complex global structure.

    PwC survives Macquarie audit review

    PwC has audited the Millionaires’ Factory since 1993, and it is one of its most lucrative ASX contracts.

    • Lucas Baird
    Wayne Byres has joined the board of ASX as a non-executive director. The former APRA chairman is also a NED at Macquarie Bank.

    Former APRA chairman Wayne Byres joins ASX board

    His appointment comes as the exchange faces a range of governance questions after its failure to replace ageing clearing and settlements infrastructure.

    • James Eyers

    This Month

    Talal Yassine, of Crescent Wealth, welcomes the “new era of sharia-compliant personal wealth creation products”.

    Stephen Jones boosts dud Islamic super fund

    The minister in charge of the super sector still provides tacit endorsement to a fund that performs so badly it is being regulated out of stand-alone existence.

    • Myriam Robin
    Ruslan Kogan, CEO and founder of Kogan.

    Ruslan Kogan, tell ’em the price son

    Blessings never cease for the founder-CEO who keeps getting a great deal from his board.

    • Mark Di Stefano
    The banks balance sheets are sitting pretty, paving the way for returns to shareholders.

    Big banks hand out the treats to keep investors sweet

    The banks have a few lollies for shareholders. NAB’s was capital management, Westpac is likely to follow suit.

    • Anthony Macdonald

    The Australian Financial Review Magazine

    BOSS Financial Review

    An Australian National University study has found that the gender of board appointees does not impact firm financial performance.

    Life & Leisure

    Rich List

    Cettire chief executive Dean Mintz earlier this year. He rarely makes public appearances and did not allow his photo from the Macquarie Australia Conference to be published.