The Edition

The corporate dealmaking community was hoping for a better year after a difficult 2023. An early M&A flurry suggests that optimism may not be misplaced.

ANZ will finally know tomorrow whether it will be allowed to buy Suncorp's bank. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will be among those watching closely.

Two Australian tech companies, and two wildly different stories, have lessons for us all. Including for Capital Brief.

The departure of the design software company's CFO under the cloud of an internal investigation adds a fresh layer of uncertainty to its highly anticipated IPO.

Commonwealth Bank's share price took a hit today after disappointing half-year results, and some analysts think it's still too high — but CEO Matt Comyn says the bank's scale gives it an enduring competitive advantage.

As Indonesia's economy grows, so too do Australia's incentives to build closer ties with its neighbour.

Amid growing warnings of American decline and pessimism about this year's presidential election, the Super Bowl is a reminder that the US is still an economic and cultural powerhouse.

The media industry is among the first to face a real threat from the generative AI boom. News Corp and The New York Times are taking very different approaches to the problem.

After decades of complacency and at times outright condescension, Australia is finally taking its Pacific Island neighbours seriously.

An $80 billion Woodside-Santos merger made little sense from the beginning — including from an energy transition perspective, with the companies pursuing very different net zero strategies.

Now that the Coalition has resolved to wave through changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts, attention turns to how Peter Dutton will take the fight to Labor at the next election.

The Reserve Bank is counting down the hours until it lifts the curtains at Martin Place for its revamped monetary policy decision.

The social media giant's latest earnings mark a dramatic turnaround for the company and have once again made Mark Zuckerberg the darling of Wall Street.

A US judge who voided Elon Musk's US$56 billion Tesla pay package also took a swipe at Australian chair Robyn Denholm, whose decision to accept the role in the first place was always a risky one.

Shares in some of the world's biggest tech companies are hitting new highs. At the same time, they're cutting thousands of jobs. Is it all because of AI?

Weak retail sales data is just the latest sign that the economy is struggling, but investors are still pushing the ASX to new heights in anticipation that rate cuts will come sooner rather than later.

As the country's economic problems grow, so does the doom and gloom among investors in its shrinking stock markets.

Equity markets are flying globally, but is the exuberance justified?

If death and taxes are the only two certainties in life, then broken promises in politics surely runs a close third.

The crash in prices for metals that are crucial to the energy transition is testing the fortitude of Australian miners.

A big payday is coming for the design software giant's early employees and investors — and well before its expected IPO.

Chinese stocks keep falling, despite a push by Beijing to talk up the world's second largest economy at Davos. Is this a signal of trouble ahead, or a buying opportunity?

Debate about the performance of private companies is healthy and a sign of maturity. But it relies on access to data.

Ed Husic's newly revealed plan to regulate AI nods to the EU's strategy but also aligns Australia with some of its APAC neighbours.

After Donald Trump's decisive victory in the Iowa Republican caucuses, the Australian government must start preparing for a possible return to the White House.

China has expressed displeasure over Taiwan's presidential vote and reiterated its view that 'reunification' is inevitable. That doesn't mean near-term military conflict is now more likely.

The nation's biggest supermarket chains are an easy target for those seeking to score political points during the depths of summer.

The biggest immediate winners from the SEC's Bitcoin ETFs approval were people holding its smaller rival.

The enormous and growing cost of misconduct by cryptocurrency and digital payments companies goes beyond the billions they're paying in fines.

A battle between the titans of media and AI over copyright could have a significant impact on the future of both sectors.

In his first press conference of the new year, the treasurer highlighted Australia’s wage growth as he cautioned that progress in the fight against inflation isn't a 'straight line'.

As the year comes to a close, our editor in chief reflects on what it's been like to launch Capital Brief — and what lies ahead in 2024.

Some on Wall Street are predicting the biggest of the tech giants will become the first company with a market cap of US$4 trillion — in the not-to-distant future, and for unexpected reasons.

The attacks on Red Sea shipping, which have now triggered a US-led response, could deliver a blow to the global economy — and Australia — at a delicate time.

The collapse of the US$20 billion takeover is a Christmas gift for Australia's startup darling.

After a quiet year for deals, bids are suddenly flying around like days gone by.

Influential VC firm Andreessen Horowitz says it will back any politician who supports an “optimistic technology-enabled future” — and oppose those who don’t.

The RBA probably won’t be too far behind the US in the switch from tightening to an easing cycle. But, to quote the Fed's Jerome Powell, it's "far too early to declare victory”.

Australia has split with the US over a Gaza ceasefire, but the issue is also causing division within Labor caucus.