Insights

Markets took a breather from their rally overnight, with a big move in crude leading Wall Street into the red.

Local currency weakens following falls on Wall St and commodity prices overnight.

US stocks pull back from recent string of record closes on European weakness, mixed corporate earnings.

The wheels are turning on a sale of Medibank Private, while mooted Pepperstone and Freelancer floats heating up the IPO market.

A quarter of the Abbott government's first term will be spent waiting for the budget and government spending audit. Surely some excesses can be cut sooner?

Telstra's management reshuffle prompts great speculation about David Thodey's successor, while commentators predict the end of rate cuts.

Unwieldy state tentacles are strangling Europe's economic advancement, with government still responsible for over 45 per cent of GDP. If the region wants to grow, it must downsize.

Commonwealth Property Office Fund has increased pressure on suitor DEXUS Property to lift its offer after reporting a rise in asset values, driven by an improved leasing outlook.

Plenty left in the tank for Lowys

Dissident shareholders Perpetual and Mark Carnegie have launched a bold plan to unlock a 45-year cross shareholding between Brickworks and Soul Pattinson that could redistribute billions of dollars of value to investors.

A surprise rise in third-quarter inflation has pushed the dollar to a 4½-month high and all but removed the odds of a near-term interest rate cut.

McAleese Transport has indicated that plans for a $155 million public float will be delayed until after Christmas, as it deals with the fallout from a fatal fuel-tanker crash early this month.

The sharemarket fell for the first time in seven trading sessions after a jump in China's money market rate.

Disputes between customers and banks have fallen for the first time since the global financial crisis.

A caterpillar emerging from its cocoon as a butterfly has nothing on the metamorphosis of Joe Hockey.

Analysts and investors were hanging on every word uttered by Telstra chief David Thodey and his team at Wednesday's annual investor day, looking for justification of the $5-plus share price.