The closure of Ford in Australia, announced today, is overdue and says little other than that a protected company lost touch with consumers. The eventual cessation of taxpayer bribes to Ford to maintain an uncompetitive production line is welcome news.

The Lowy family still continue to draw millions from Westfield, which is extraordinary. But now shareholders are thinking about putting a stop to it.

Joe Hockey wants to shake up the Australian Taxation Office. It’s welcome news to accountants and taxpayers, but he’ll need more than rhetoric to fix the ATO’s problems.

Plenty of Apple’s biggest money makers don’t pay taxes to any government, and the ones that do can pay as little as 0.05% on profits. The US loopholes and Ireland haven used by the tech giant.

iSelect has dominated the Australian market and is a tasty prospect for stockmarket players. But don’t believe all of the hype you’re reading in the nation’s financial daily.

Seven West Media has another CEO — the second in less than a year. TV man Tim Worner will take over from Don Voelte in July, the company announced to the ASX today.

The corporate watchdog is putting two directors of collapsed retirement fund Prime — Bill Lewski and Michael Wooldridge — into the dock. Their answers on the dramatic downfall are intriguing.

Engineering and mining contractor UGL has slashed its profit forecasts by 40% this week. But chief executive Richard Leupen remains in the chair long after his contract expired.

JPMorgan continue to press Bloomberg on allegations of invasion of privacy. For many in the markets, the snooping scandal is a big worry — and the company has a work to do to restore its reputation.

The baby bonus has been thrown out with the bath water, as part of Treasurer Wayne Swan’s “sensible, calm and responsible” cuts.

What do the political and economic analysts make of the 2013 federal budget? Crikey wraps the commentary from the websites and newspapers.

Australia’s business leaders spout the same pre-budget talking points about the economy over and over again, and The AFR happily parrots them, argue Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane. Bottoms up!

The fight for control of the Parramatta Eels got rough on the weekend, with allegations of dirty tricks and even a death threat to one director. Crikey lifts the lid on a grubby boardroom battle.

The American TV networks have announced what they are picking up for 2013-14, and Australian networks will be hoping to get some ratings winners.

The Coalition has finally unveiled its IR policy, a minimalist document that is not without its concerns for trade unions — and anyone walking past a building site.

Rural media giant APN, with a new CEO finally on board, is making a comeback. But shareholders and media analysts worry the journey from digital to print will still be a rocky road.

Australian publishing assets are dragging News Corp down, and hiving them off can’t come soon enough for shareholders. Plus, some shareholders want to ditch chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Australia’s largest companies say they’re using social media, but they’re not using the networks most Australians use. Twitter rules, ahead of Facebook.

While we’re assuming there’ll be further interest rate cuts, the big banks have a more optimistic view of how the economy is travelling. Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report.

Tom Waterhouse has to be stopped, according to one gambling industry insider. His pervasive brand of promotion is giving everyone in the gambling game a bad name. Now Tony Abbott is on the case.

The new Penfolds Grange wine has been given a “perfect” rating by a prominent critic. But as you won’t get much change out of $800 for it, Crikey intern Sasha Petrova wonders: how do you put a price on taste?

Today’s Defence White Paper has gaping holes — like how to replace fighting vehicles, a decision on submarines, and how on earth the government will boost funding. The Lowy Institute’s James Brown takes a look.

Levies have played a significant role in the Australian economy in recent years, and the Financial Review’s reflexive support for Bernie Brookes does its readers no favours.

New estimates of the structural budget balance sit poorly with opposition claims about the Gillard government’s poor fiscal mismanagement. Turns out things might not be so bad after all …

The Treasury Secretary’s discussion of what has gone wrong with revenue forecasting in recent years provides a context for the coming challenges on fiscal policy. Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer report.

News Ltd columnists were quick to proclaim that the RBA had cut rates to combat the high Aussie dollar. Turns out, that was a crock — but where are their heartfelt apologies?

What’s in for me? Today’s Essential Report finds a curious response from voters to last week’s budget — voters think they’ll be worse off from the budget, but want the government to do more to cut spending.

The Coalition’s sudden enthusiasm for spending cuts is rather hypocritical — but a welcome embrace of fiscal responsibility. Both major parties are lifting their game, improving the dire standards in political debate.

The Chinese economy is no longer growing at a rate of knots. Will the new leadership succeed with economic reform — and what would happen to Australia if they don’t?

Budget week in Canberra highlighted the economic constraints facing an Abbott government — and gave a hint that the Coalition may be Labor lite when it comes to future budgets. Crikey deputy editor Cathy Alexander talks with Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane.

Tony Abbott’s budget reply speech suggests that, despite a “budget emergency”, a Coalition government’s fiscal policy would be broadly similar to Labor’s. His rhetoric is austere, but his promises are not.

This year has demonstrated that the Opposition can produce policy without too much risk. The budget reply is an opportunity to continue that.

If Wayne Swan had had a couple more budgets like last night’s, he might have faced a different electoral fate.

The Reserve Bank’s surprise rate cut in May is likely to prove the most significant economic event of the year, not the budget. Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report.

Crikey examines how media and culture organisations fared in this year’s budget. The ABC and SBS are smiling — and the ghost of Simon Crean lives on.

The budget has axed $2.4 billion from climate programs as the government compensates for a likely big drop in revenue from the carbon price from 2015. And there might be much bigger cuts to come next year.

Treasury always gets it wrong — but is the margin of error acceptable? History shows it has a variable record, and suggests what Wayne Swan’s deficit might end up being.

The baby bonus is gone and the record of this Labor government robbing from the poor is a profoundly disappointing one. There wasn’t much for those struggling in the federal budget.

A new-found conservatism in Treasury estimates means the economy could grow faster than expected, especially if the Australian dollar continues to fall. Former Labor economic adviser Stephen Koukoulas comments.

What went down in the press gallery lock-up for the budget? Crikey joined the pack of journalists hungry for budget news — and party pies.

The baby bonus has been thrown out with the bath water, as part of Treasurer Wayne Swan’s “sensible, calm and responsible” cuts.

The digital community radio sector needed $1.4 million in funding from the federal budget, but all it got was radio silence.

A transcript of the speech Wayne Swan delivered to Parliament in handing down the 2013-14 federal budget.

Wayne Swan jostled with journalists at the traditional budget lock-up press conference. Crikey was there to see who asked what — and how the Treasurer hit back.

The government is turning the screws on bureaucrats, reducing office space as part of savings measures in the 2013-14 federal budget.

At least the Treasurer is protecting Australia from UFOs. Crikey dug deep into the budget papers to find the detail you won’t read in the papers.

Crikey looks at the key 2013-14 budget numbers: unemployment, GDP growth, inflation, the deficit and more…

A key graph from the budget papers explains the challenge Wayne Swan has faced as Treasurer — one he has failed to address despite having the power to, writes Australia Institute executive director Richard Denniss.

The closure of Ford in Australia, announced today, is overdue and says little other than that a protected company lost touch with consumers. The eventual cessation of taxpayer bribes to Ford to maintain an uncompetitive production line is welcome news.

Ford has decided to quit manufacturing in Australia in October 2016 after unveiling a $141 million loss for 2012-13.

Millions of Australians would walk away from their private health insurance if the Gillard government means-tested the rebate, the industry warned — and they produced “research” to prove it. Nine months after the means test started, freelance writer Ben Westcott tests that “research”.

Clearly the savings measures outlined in the 2014 financial year budget have offset any consumer joy flowing from the May RBA rate cut. Some 44% of survey respondents said they would be worse off due to the budget while only 5% said it would improve their lot.

The Russell 2000 index traded above the 1000 level for its first time ever, and the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high.

The war over real estate advertising in Geelong is hotting up, with a News Limited executive offering to help pay the legal fees of an estate agent to defend himself against claims made by a publication part-owned by Fairfax.

US consumer sentiment was up from 76.4 to a six-year high of 83.7 in May, beating the forecast of 78.0.

Europe’s low carbon price hit Australia’s budget last week in a big way. Erwin Jackson from the Climate Institute explains why, and looks at what might happen next.

The Chinese economy is no longer growing at a rate of knots. Will the new leadership succeed with economic reform — and what would happen to Australia if they don’t?

US year-on-year housing starts were down 16.5% to 853,000 — well below expectations of 985,000.

A change to the way Australia’s emissions are accounted for could make it a lot easier for us to meet our 2020 emissions reduction target. It may prove to be a big gift to the Coalition.

US industrial production was -0.5% in April, missing the forecast of +0.1%, with March’s gain revised down to 0.3%.

The budget has axed $2.4 billion from climate programs as the government compensates for a likely big drop in revenue from the carbon price from 2015. And there might be much bigger cuts to come next year.

The budget is largely irrelevant, the story is that the prospect of a further fall in the A$ is seeing international equity investors sell to avoid the currency risk.

A new-found conservatism in Treasury estimates means the economy could grow faster than expected, especially if the Australian dollar continues to fall. Former Labor economic adviser Stephen Koukoulas comments.

This is likely to be Wayne Swan’s last budget. What legacy will he leave behind — and is he really “booby trapping” the budget ahead of a likely Coalition takeover later this year?

Better than expected economic data was outweighed by an article in The WSJ that stated that the Federal Reserve had started to map out a plan to slow the pace of its asset purchase plan (third round of quantitative easing), generally seen as bad news for the equity market.

Australia’s business leaders spout the same pre-budget talking points about the economy over and over again, and The AFR happily parrots them, argue Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane. Bottoms up!

The US Federal budget deficit was US$112.9 billion in April — missing a forecast of US$106.5 billion,

Good US weekly jobless numbers were down by 4000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 last week — the lowest level since January 2008.

Chinese trade numbers beat expectations. Jan-Apr iron ore Imports were 250 million tonnes up 3.9% on year. The Aussie dollar rose to US$1.0192 from US$1.0165.

Yesterday’s surprise rate cut is designed to address both the strong dollar and a domestic economy struggling as governments slash spending, say Crikey writers Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.

The market is down 20. Dow Jones finished down 5 on well below average volumes. The Dow was up 15 at best and down 33 at worst with no economic data overnight. Best sectors — financials, technology. Worst sectors  — consumer staples, utilities. Apple jumped 2.4% after Barclays lifted their target price to $525 from $465. Eurozone retail sales […]

While we’re assuming there’ll be further interest rate cuts, the big banks have a more optimistic view of how the economy is travelling. Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report.

The Lowy family still continue to draw millions from Westfield, which is extraordinary. But now shareholders are thinking about putting a stop to it.

Plenty of Apple’s biggest money makers don’t pay taxes to any government, and the ones that do can pay as little as 0.05% on profits. The US loopholes and Ireland haven used by the tech giant.

Seven West Media has another CEO — the second in less than a year. TV man Tim Worner will take over from Don Voelte in July, the company announced to the ASX today.

Bill Gates has overtaken Carlos Slim as the world’s richest man. Who? The Mexican civil engineer turned telecommunications king has extraordinary market penetration and a deep cash pool.

The corporate watchdog is putting two directors of collapsed retirement fund Prime — Bill Lewski and Michael Wooldridge — into the dock. Their answers on the dramatic downfall are intriguing.

Engineering and mining contractor UGL has slashed its profit forecasts by 40% this week. But chief executive Richard Leupen remains in the chair long after his contract expired.

Life can be tough being young and wealthy in China — especially if you’re a descendant of Chairman Mao. And with exposure on the country’s new rich lists it’s getting tougher.

The fight for control of the Parramatta Eels got rough on the weekend, with allegations of dirty tricks and even a death threat to one director. Crikey lifts the lid on a grubby boardroom battle.

Tom Waterhouse has to be stopped, according to one gambling industry insider. His pervasive brand of promotion is giving everyone in the gambling game a bad name. Now Tony Abbott is on the case.

Women make up just 7% of the people on BRW’s Rich List. Most Rich Listers made their money from businesses, rather than inheriting their wealth, so why are women so woefully underrepresented?

Corinne Namblard and eight others will front court over fraud charges relating to a proposal to enlarge the Siena airport.Rome-based freelance journalist Desmond O’Grady investigates.

Some of our true-blue sporting heroes seem to be taking up residency in countries with favourable tax arrangements. But how easy is it to do? Crikey intern Kylar Loussikian finds it may not work for him.

Tom Waterhouse is everywhere, but will his business go the distance? The ubiquitous online bookmaker has a high-risk business strategy mirroring the dot-com legacy.

For years, the rich and their money have flocked to Zurich. Not any more. Asian tax havens are now in vogue, led by the friendliest of all in Singapore.

With the Aussie dollar refusing to fall, it’s important we make sure fiscal policy can effectively respond to economic challenges. And even the pollies are finally facing up to that difficult reality.

Australia is getting a new pavilion at the Venice Biennale, largely funded by private donors. But very few of us will ever see it. The rich are spending more on art, but do we really benefit?

The key to ending homelessness lies not in the homeless themselves but in society as a whole, writes St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia CEO Dr John Falzon.

Has the Business Council of Australia got a vision for Australia? Has anyone? Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane takes Crikey editor Jason Whittaker through the business agenda. Plus should we really give a Gonski?

How to lose $25 billion in a year? You talk a big game and watch your remarkably bullish predictions fail. Eike Batista bankrolls much of Brazil, but his fortunes are on the wane.

Why is The Australian Financial Review spruiking a book by one of its writers on the death of Fairfax? There’s a slew of such books coming out — it may test Fairfax’s tradition of openness.

The market didn’t want a bar of Billabong’s latest takeover offer. And no wonder — the former surfwear giant might end up selling for less than it’s ever traded.

The Ten Network has reported a loss of close to $300 million as the group pays the price for dud programming in late 2012.

It’s not often that Stephen Mayne and Gina Rinehart agree. But they’ve found common ground in urging mining giant Rio Tinto, which has recently slashed its Melbourne workforce, to relocate its headquarters from London to Australia.

From what has appeared in print and from talk among brokers, there’s a fear in the Murdoch camp that many investors, especially his big US supporters, don’t want to be found owning a print-skewing company.