The Fin

This week on The Fin podcast, Australian Financial Review contributor and former diplomat Geoff Raby on Trump’s world and what it means for Australia and why China and Russia are less close than you might think.

This podcast is sponsored by UNSW

Further reading: 
Xi is thumping Putin in the Great Game
Former Australian ambassador to China Geoff Raby takes a deep dive into the “Chussia” partnership. His conclusions about a rising Sinostan would not please the Kremlin.
Civil servants to flee as Trump ‘drains the swamp’ (again)
Everyone knew Trump’s cabinet picks would be provocative and a purge of government workers was coming. But they have arrived with stunning speed.
G20 goes soft on Russia as Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons
The G20 has ended with a whimper with watered-down statements on Russia, climate change and the Middle East.

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This week on The Fin podcast, investigative reporter Neil Chenoweth and Rear Window columnist Mark Di Stefano on how Chris Ellison’s secret deal with the tax office came to light, why some investors want the founder to stay on and whether Mineral Resources can draw a line in the sand.

This podcast is sponsored by UNSW

Further reading:
Inside the two-week unravelling of Chris Ellison’s hold on MinRes
Monday’s attempt to draw a line in the sand still leaves unanswered questions for shareholders and investigators about the goings-on at Mineral Resources.
Meet Chris Ellison’s personal accountant
Yenna Ong, the number cruncher who managed the Mineral Resources founder’s private affairs, rapidly gained great power. Then just as suddenly, she was gone.
MinRes paid a 70pc mark up to rent Chris Ellison-owned properties
Independent valuations that the owners of the four industrial facilities commissioned themselves indicated that the leases were well in excess of market rates.

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This week on The Fin podcast, senior reporter Simon Evans and Rear Window editor Myriam Robin on Sanjeev Gupta’s flashy property purchase, his financial troubles and the South Australian town caught in the middle.

This podcast is sponsored by UNSW

Further reading:
Whyalla steelworks running out of options as taxpayer rescue resisted
The SA premier says it’s time Sanjeev Gupta took some action, with governments wary of taxpayer funds being siphoned off to overseas parts of GFG Alliance.
The town bearing the brunt of Sanjeev Gupta’s financial nightmare
The British industrialist’s steelworks looms over Whyalla, population 21,900. There’s plenty at stake if things go south.
Sanjeev Gupta buys on Sydney waterfront
The steel magnate is cutting jobs and salaries at the Whyalla steelworks one week, and splashing out for prime Sydney waterfront property the next.

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This week on The Fin podcast, Joe Aston, former Rear Window editor and author of The Chairmain's Lounge, discusses what went wrong for the Qantas, its oversized influence in Canberra, and the extraordinary perks of a Qantas board seat.

Editors note: On Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denied ever contacting Alan Joyce to seek a flight upgrade.

This podcast is sponsored by UNSW

Further reading:
The incredible financial value of a Qantas board seat
The lavish and fudged flight perks of the airline’s executives are revealed in this extract from Joe Aston’s “The Chairman’s Lounge”.
The zombie chairman: How Goyder let Joyce trash Qantas’ reputation
An exclusive extract from Joe Aston’s book The Chairman’s Lounge tells the inside story of how Richard Goyder and his board allowed Alan Joyce to fly Qantas into a reputational disaster.
Albanese faces calls for probe into flight upgrades
David Pocock and Peter Dutton have both called for a probe into whether Anthony Albanese breached the ministerial code of conduct while he was transport minister.

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This week on The Fin podcast, International editor James Curran and US correspondent Matthew Cranston on how Trump has managed to claw back Harris’ lead in the final weeks of the campaign and what Canberra is worried about.

This podcast is sponsored by IG

Further reading:
Trade wars, market jolts: What a Trump win means for Australia
The tax and economic policies of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will have profound effects for Australian investors, exporters and US subsidiaries.
Trump works a McDonald’s fry station as election goes off colour
The former president served up fries in an apron as he poked fun at rival Kamala Harris’ story of working there in the 1980s.
America’s new Asian alliance network will survive beyond Trump
No matter who is in the White House after November 5, the US’ carefully structured latticework of alliances that underpins its regional primacy will continue.

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This week on The Fin podcast, senior reporters Jonathan Shapiro and Jemima Whyte discuss the rise of an unusual tech billionaire, what happens when personal matters become public, and what it means for his listed company, Wisetech.

This podcast is sponsored by IG

Further listening:

How I Made It Podcast: Why Richard White avoids risk at all costs

Further reading:
Richard White’s alleged lover claims he expected sex for investment
In documents filed with the Federal Court, the wellness entrepreneur said a business trip to New York changed when the billionaire booked only one hotel room.
WiseTech board decides White’s alleged affair strictly ‘personal’
The legal stoush between software billionaire Richard White and Sydney wellness entrepreneur Linda Rogan is a “personal” matter according to WiseTech’s board.
Billionaire Richard White attempts to bankrupt alleged former lover
Lawyers acting for Double Bay wellness entrepreneur Linda Rogan say WiseTech Global founder’s legal claim against her is an “abuse of process”

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This week on The Fin podcast, economics correspondent Michael Read and political correspondent Tom McIlroy discuss whether winding-back the two big tax advantages to buying property – negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount – will help solve Australia’s housing crisis.

This podcast is sponsored by IG

Further reading:
These Australians are most likely to negatively gear their properties
The housing policy choices facing voters
We’re more nuanced on negative gearing than five years ago
A quick guide to the politics of housing tax breaks

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This week on The Fin podcast, political editor Phillip Coorey and AFR Magazine editor Matthew Drummond discuss what was behind this year's power moves. And AFR cartoonist David Rowe tells us who is his favourite prime minister to draw.

This podcast is sponsored by IG

Further reading:

• Election season and rates angst are behind this year’s power shifts

Someone wasn’t happy to be on this year’s Power list. But even Power listers have no say in the process.

• Power list reveals diminished influence of Australia’s corporate sector

This year’s list reflects the fading voice of CEOs and the growing size, scale and power of the superannuation sector.

• The Gaza conflict ripped through the arts and ripped it apart

The conflict in Gaza hangs heavily over theatres and galleries, as animosities lead to a wave of resignations, donor withdrawals and boycotts.

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This week on The Fin podcast, BOSS deputy editor Patrick Durkin and senior reporter Max Mason discuss the legal fight over the Pratt packaging fortune.

This podcast is sponsored by IG

Further reading:

• Family trust: Inside the Pratts’ legal soap opera

Richard Pratt carefully designed a succession plan for his three children, Anthony, Heloise and Fiona. But even the best-laid plans can wind up in court.

• Anthony Pratt a witness to father’s love for half-sister: court claim

Billionaire Anthony Pratt and his sisters were witness to the “bonds of love and affection” between their late father and his “love child” Paula Hitchcock, claim new court documents.

• Pratt played Trump better than most, new recordings reveal

Despite privately comparing Donald Trump to the mafia, Anthony Pratt entered an administration whose policies lowered his taxes and benefited his business.

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This week on The Fin podcast, senior writer Neil Chenoweth and media and marketing reporter Sam Buckingham Jones on why Lachlan’s position as successor is in doubt, what Rupert is trying to do about it and whether he can win.

This podcast is sponsored by IG

Further reading:
The three headaches of Rupert Murdoch in his battle for control
A bombshell lawsuit between Rupert, Lachlan and his other children begins in Reno, Nevada, next week. Meanwhile, shareholders want change and Foxtel’s for sale.
The Murdoch succession saga is far from over
Two weeks after turning 52, Lachlan Murdoch is facing the worst of worlds. After three difficult decades he’s finally won the race to be Rupert’s successor at the head of News Corp and Fox Corporation. At last, he has the reins, he’s finally the man. Except that his father is still around.
Trouble in the Murdoch trust fund
If you think you’re doing it tough in the COVID-19 lockdown, spare a thought for Rupert Murdoch’s family – they really don’t get on but they’re locked together in a family trust … forever.

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