Insights

A new study encourages retailers to use subtle sounds and smells to draw shoppers' attention to particular products, writes Michael Baker.

Trans-Tasman sailing record

SYDNEY Harbour in summer is something else. Not that you have to wait for it this year. Hot sunny days with searing temperatures are upon us already.

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

Our foreign investment gatekeepers face a new challenge in agriculture, writes Peter Cai.

When headlines "Claims corruption rife at Leighton", "Bribe claims hit board", "Going rogue" and "Ex Leighton exec quits as bribe scandal intensifies" were plastered over the front pages of Fairfax Media newspapers earlier this month they wiped 13 per cent off the construction giant's share price and left the investment community jittery about bribery and corruption risks in other companies.

The secretive panel vetting foreign investors

The former attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, has warned the new government not to compromise national security for trade, as it pushes ahead with a review of the ban on Huawei's involvement in building the national broadband network.

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.

AMP has warned that its fourth-quarter earnings could take a hit of up $65 million due to further troubles at its income protection business.

'The refrigerator plant has been under the microscope since February.'

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

Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood says there has been no rise in business sentiment since the federal election, underscoring comments by Australia's top retailers that hopes of a post-election rise in confidence have been disappointed.

BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie has defended the company's environmental credentials in the face of criticism from a former chairman of the Australian Coal Association.

The country's biggest insurers are counting the cost of the NSW bushfires, with losses worth an estimated $138 million and climbing.

The challenges of the online world loom large for the new CEO, writes Eli Greenblat.