Insights

The former chief executive of crisis company Boart Longyear has spoken for the first time since his sacking, and expressed his sadness at the mining services company's recent struggles.

Three of Australia's biggest banks are tipped to churn out profit growth of up to 10 per cent alongside higher dividends when they report their annual earnings over the next two weeks, despite the weakening trend engulfing much of the economy.

Competition tsar Rod Sims is confident police will arrest fugitive conman Peter Foster, who boasted on the weekend that he had fled to Fiji.

The curse of CBD has struck down the Australia's Worst Journalist website run by disgraced former doctor Geoffrey Edelsten.

The last car rolled off the assembly line at PSA Peugeot Citroen's factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois on Friday, marking the end of four decades of production at the plant on the outskirts of Paris.

Pernod Ricard, the world's second-biggest drinks company and owner of the Jacob's Creek label, is the latest beverages group to warn that consumer demand for premium brands in China is being punctured by the government's clampdown on banquet spending and other austerity measures.

A ruling by a Cayman Islands judge may stop the Australian Tax Office investigating assets secretly held in the tax haven, experts say.

Most Australians think companies should pay their fair share of tax and support new regulation to improve transparency and reduce profit-shifting by multinationals.

Stocks in three of the big four banks have hit record highs ahead of their earnings season, boosting the local sharemarket as it looks set to start the week above its five-year peak.

• The secretive panel vetting foreign investors.

The three-way fight over prized Victorian dairy group Warrnambool Cheese and Butter looks set to continue despite another knockout bid from Canadian dairy company Saputo.

The FIRB must weigh up the national interest against the country's need for capital investment, writes Peter Cai.

Transfield Services has warned of continued tough trading conditions as it works to cut debt amid continuing weak revenue generation.

The federal government has criticised General Motors' decision to promote Holden managing director Mike Devereux to a new international position during crucial funding negotiations with the local car maker.

Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood said there has been no pick-up in business sentiment since the federal election, underscoring comments by Australia's top retailers that hopes of a post-election rise in conditions are yet to materialise.

The sharemarket closed on a five-year high this week as investors welcomed news of better-than-expected quarterly earnings by US companies and that the Reserve Bank was confident non-mining investment could soon pick up.