Christopher Niesche: A look at China s punitive tariffs on Australian goods
16 May, 2021 01:00 AM
5 minutes to read
Treasury Wines has accepted the China market is effectively closed to it. Photo / Getty Images
OPINION:
If there was one business that we might have expected would be hardest hit by China s punitive tariffs on Australian goods, it was Treasury Wine Estates. The winemaker had pinned its future to China, in the expectation that the increasingly wealthy consumers of the world s most populous nation would keep buying up its Penfolds wine.
The strategy was working well and Penfolds had established a strong presence in China until last year, when the Chinese government slapped a 200 per cent tariff on Treasury Wine Estates products, along with other winemakers.
Christopher Niesche: Why many Australians say they want EVs, but few buy them
2 May, 2021 05:00 AM
5 minutes to read
Australians often travel long distances every day and there is a lack of public charging ports around the country. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Australians often travel long distances every day and there is a lack of public charging ports around the country. Photo / Michael Cunningham
NZ Herald
OPINION
Australian state governments are torn between encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles and replacing diminishing revenue from petrol and diesel. Their decisions in coming months will have a bearing on how Australia meets its greenhouse gas emission targets.
Christopher Niesche: Rise of exchange traded funds threat to fund managers
18 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
4 minutes to read
Like icecream, exchange traded funds come in an impressive array of flavours . Photo / Michael Craig
Like icecream, exchange traded funds come in an impressive array of flavours . Photo / Michael Craig
NZ Herald
Day traders, short sellers and tech investors usually hog the headlines in the investing and share market pages, but one investment category has been quietly surging over the past year the exchange traded fund.
Australian investors now hold almost A$103 billion ($111.7b) in local exchange traded funds, having added A$8b to their holdings in the first quarter of 2021.
Christopher Niesche: House prices in Australia have come roaring back to life
4 Apr, 2021 05:00 AM
5 minutes to read
Like New Zealand, house prices in Australia are rapidly scaling new heights. Photo / Getty Images
COMMENT:
By any measure the house for sale at 76 Nicholson Parade in Australia s Cronulla is a dump. The derelict two-bedroom home in Sydney s south had been lying derelict for 35 years, is uninhabitable and was in such poor condition the estate agents had to warn potential buyers to watch their footing as they inspected the property.
As the auction got underway in pouring rain last weekend and the buckets the real estate agents placed in the kitchen to catch water from the leaking roof quickly filled up, buyers were unperturbed.
Christopher Niesche: Aussie businesses hold on to wage subsidy despite bumper profits
7 Mar, 2021 03:00 AM
5 minutes to read
Harvey Norman is among a number of big companies in Australia that decided not to return the wage subsidy. Photo / Getty Images
Harvey Norman is among a number of big companies in Australia that decided not to return the wage subsidy. Photo / Getty Images
NZ Herald
OPINION:
For some businesses, such as those in tourism and hospitality, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have been debilitating. But for others, it s as if the pandemic never happened, as Australia s latest earnings season reveals.
In fact, it was the best earnings season – when companies report their annual or half-year profits - in Australia for six years. Some 55 per cent of companies reported an increase in profits, up from 36 per cent in the earnings season six months early.