Just how much money will the government’s revised mining tax end up raising from the big players, ask Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane?
Business / Companies
Latest circulation figures: read all about it … or not
The latest 2011 circulation figures indicate that it was a mixed-to-good December quarter for some titles, an average half-year for others and another miserable 12 months for the majority of newspapers and magazines.
NotW: the latest from the Levenson Inquiry
Heather Mills, the editor of the Daily Mail and a PR veteran all fronted up to the Levenson Inquiry on its 40th day of investigating phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
Weak prices, outlook pressure Alcoa — not the dollar
Blaming the value of the Australian dollar for all the problems and ills in manufacturing has become the easy option, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
Tweeting Rupert skips earnings grilling from analysts, hacks
For the second straight quarter, News Corp’s executive chairman and controlling shareholder Rupert skipped the quarterly earnings call with analysts and journalists this morning.
Our banks are too big to fail, too few to be competitive
Mark Bouris and Christopher Joye of Property Observer say policymaking around Australia’s banking system has been predicated on a flawed and risky paradigm.
The issue of interns
Many workplaces have interns, helpful young students who volunteer in return for some practical experience (the Crikey intern gets our coffee!). But what are the legal issues of an intern in the office? Anthony O’Donnell explains.
A simple copyright amendment? Sports chiefs don’t understand
Our copyright law is a wondrous complex beast, and even apparently simple tweaks carry the potential for significant unintended consequences, writes Kimberlee Weatherall, an associate professor in Sydney University’s Faculty of Law.
Bolt, Day reveal why ACMA should move on Lachlan Murdoch
Perhaps the most striking recent example of Australia’s supine cross-media ownership laws was the decision by ACMA to allow Lachlan Murdoch to remain as a director of News Corp while clearly influencing Network Ten.
L-3: the $15b defence contractor that will be scanning us
The company that will get $28 million for providing airport body scanners is a huge US defence contractor with a scandalous history.
Come in Spinner: Come in Spinner: why we make dumb choices
Why do political pundits, company directors, stockbroking analysts, investors, policy people, governments and just about every one you can think of make dumb choices?
Gottliebsen: productivity problems? Call IT
Australian businesses and US businesses are adopting totally different strategies for the year ahead. Our chief executives are going down a dangerous path, says Robert Gottliebsen of Business Spectator.
Frustration not fear keep farmers mum on retail wars
The ACCC has offered protection to whistleblower farmers and grocery supplies if they report price gouging by supermarkets. But for those on the land it’s still easier said than done.
When is a property expert not a property expert?
Move over Henry Kaye. Step aside Bruce Yardney. There’s a new property expert back in town.
Wayne Swan causing a credit squeeze? Get real
Claims that Wayne Swan could hurt the banks by pressuring them to pass on rate cuts are rubbish.
Rates cut expected: will banks pass it on?
Crikey media wrap: The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to cut the cash rate by 0.25% to 4% today, putting pressure on banks to pass those savings onto its customers.
Rinehart will lose, and take Fairfax with her
Is Gina Rinehart a media dilettante and not the threat that many suppose her to be? Or rather, is she a cheapskate and unwilling to stump up the sort of money (more than $1.7 billion) that would guarantee control of Fairfax by buying it outright?
Best ads from the Super Bowl
Millions are spent not just on the airtime but on the production of epic advertisements that screened today during half time of the US Super Bowl. Mumbrella wraps up the best of them.
Plenty of light in the doom-and-gloom retail figures
The headline fall of 0.1% in the seasonally adjusted value of retail sales for December got the “rate cut looms” mob back on the hunt this morning.
HBO injects $10 million into Quickflix
American television network HBO has invested $10 million in DVD and online rental business Quickflix, which will ramp up marketing efforts as its subscriber base grows beyond 100,000, reports Patrick Stafford.
aviation industry 
Qantas mixes oil surcharges and carbon pricing as agents continue doing deals
It is intriguing to see the media regurgitate announced Qantas surcharges for oil prices and carbon taxes when deals have made them irrelevant in terms of international flights, writes Ben Sandilands.
Can Zuckerberg keep his Facebook baby afloat?
Reading Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to investors in the Facebook prospectus, which was released this morning, you get the distinct impression that taking the business public is really the last thing he wants to do, given the choice.
Mayne: now’s not the time for Rinehart to be be saying ‘look at me’
Journalists love nothing more than speculating about the future of media companies, so Gina Rinehart has created an avalanche of commentary with her high-profile raid on Fairfax Media.
AFL, NRL appeal likely, but Optus TV ruling the right call
Justice Rares in the Federal Court yesterday cut a large chunk out of the value of sports broadcasting rights in new media by ruling that Optus is allowed to offer its TV Now Service, writes Kimberlee Weatherall.
Farmers will attack the govt but not their supermarket giant customers
Farmers appear to have no qualms about attacking the government, but the raised fist turns into a cat’s paw when the time comes to criticise their largest customers, the retail giants, writes Matthew da Silva.
