Insights

Joe Hockey's health and education cuts will be extremely difficult to sell - and the sweeteners he relies on to win over voters are comparatively small.

The latest budget is different … but it's really just more of the same.

No direct changes for investors… but there are some big clues.

The budget contains shocks for some retirees … and working Australians will have to work longer.

Beyond the domestic belt tightening, we must budget for China's pain.

Growth forecasts outlined in the budget should be taken with a grain of salt. The prospect of a collapse in mining investment and an increasing reliance on exports are growing risks.

A series of new business strategies woven into Joe Hockey's budget will have huge implications for companies.

Australand has lifted pressure on suitor Stockland after buying a land parcel in Melbourne's Burwood for $65m.

Newmont Mining has agreed to sell its Jundee gold mine in Western Australia to Perth-based gold producer Northern Star for $82.5m.

Activist private equity fund Quantum Pacific has had a win in its long battle to gain control of Intrepid Mines, winning a push to establish a new board.

The halving in Universal Biosensor's share price this week is harsh but understandable as management has shocked the market with news that an exit clause exists for LifeScan to walk away from making royalty payments to the medical device developer.

Buying in resources buoys local market, volumes below average ahead of budget.

Ramsay has hired Lazard, the first time it has hired the investment bank, to help it acquire Generale de Sante, a French health care provider.

The $1.4bn bid for PanAust by state-owned Guangdong Rising signals China's confidence in its own economic outlook and a conviction it can shift that economy's emphasis towards consumption.

Guangdong Rising has offered $2.30 cash per share for mining exploration company PanAust.

BSkyB's plans to consolidate 21st Century Fox's pay-TV businesses in Germany and Italy make commercial and strategic sense for Rupert Murdoch, who has seen the benefits of a purer play.