Insights

The Holden Commodore has received a timely boost in popularity with its strongest monthly sales performance since September 2011.

Macquarie Bank will finally walk away from Sydney Airport after deciding to offload its cornerstone stake, ending an 11-year tie that has led to it reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and dividends.

Online bookmakers see the TAB as ripe for the picking. Colin Kruger reports. PAGE 8

Plans by Macquarie Bank to give shareholders its $1.4 billion stake in Sydney Airport pushed the bank's shares to four-year highs on Friday, with sentiment also buoyed by optimism of ongoing robust profit growth.

Consumers may face higher prices in coming months due to a rise in business energy costs.

Shareholders in Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill project have tipped in a further $624 million over recent months in a bid to keep the project going until debt funding can be secured.

Paladin Energy shareholders have been urged to reject a controversial share placement that has drastically diluted the value of shares n the uranium miner over the past 11 weeks.

Huawei has broken its silence after the Coalition government decided to uphold a ban on the Chinese telco participating in the national broadband network, saying the company is "extremely disappointed".

To many investors, the stories of an Asia-led Australian agriculture boom are as ancient as our wide brown land. The relatively low valuations of ASX-listed agribusinesses compared with their international peers suggest Australian investors remain cautious about this long-promised bonanza.

The Australian sharemarket has closed slightly higher for the week, after shedding some of its gains following stellar earnings performances by two of the big four banks.

The battle over Australia's dairy assets is set to reach fever pitch, with two local companies now potential takeover targets in a scrum that includes five dairy players - three among the world's largest.

University students are out on the streets protesting about it, but the Abbott government is highly unlikely to sell its $20 billion-plus HECS student loan portfolio. Education Minister Christopher Pyne stirred up a hornets' nest last Monday when he said the government would consider it, but obstacles to a sale are probably insurmountable.

German media major Bauer has expanded its presence in New Zealand, striking a deal to buy a number of high-profile magazine titles from APN.

Wayne Sidwell, the man behind Wellcom Group, took a prominent position on the directors' trades front with his disposal of $13 million of stock.

Melbourne-based MAB Funds Management has moved to take advantage of strong institutional and private-sector interest in non-discretionary retail assets and put a neighbourhood shopping centre on the market.

Commercial office transactions in Melbourne's CBD have reached $1.8 billion and may hit a record $2.25 billion peak by year's end, research from Jones Lang LaSalle shows.