‘Billion-dollar’ floods; $1.2b Link buyout; Wild end to 2023?

Stockland to buy 12 Lendlease masterplanned communities for $1.3b
The deal involving two of Australia’s largest property developers and investors boosts the buyer’s land bank and will help the seller focus on investment.

Lithium heavyweights on cusp of sealing Azure partnership
The battle for control of explorer Azure Minerals is expected to become clearer this week as big investors get close to a cooperation pact.

EY cuts poor performing, misbehaving partners
More than 40 partners have left the big four consulting firm in the second half of this year, more than half due to poor performance or behaviour issues.

Around the world

Inside the Hamas tunnel network
Running 50 metres deep in places and emerging just shy of the Erez Crossing at Gaza’s northern tip, it is believed to have been designed for a wider invasion.

‘Thank you’: How Putin turned a Western boycott into a bonanza
While Ukraine is preoccupied with short-term imperatives, the relative resilience of the Russian economy has enabled Vladimir Putin to play a long game.

The top London mansions that are struggling to sell
The city’s luxury housing market is usually insulated from property market problems, but high interest rates and taxes are finally taking a toll.

How to become a billionaire by the time you’re 30
Little more than 10 years ago, Gymshark founder Ben Francis was making and selling muscle vests online from his parents’ garage in England’s West Midlands.

Matter of opinion

Why it might be time to strap in for a wild end to 2023 on markets
Shares have rallied hard in the past six weeks, but more big moves in the dog days of December aren’t out of the question, writes Chanticleer.

These are the factors complicating investment decisions in 2024
Economic reality next year is likely to be far less binary, and much more nuanced, than many market participants and policymakers believe, writes the Financial Times’ Rana Foroohar.

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Business life

‘Psychology and hand-holding’ get $7.3m sale over the line
A downsizer selling his home of 32 years had his concerns about how it should play out – and so did his children.

Up for a challenge? This CEO starts every day in an ice bath
“The pain when I first hit the water is excruciating,” says frntlne founder Mark John. So why on earth does he do it?

Where Perth’s top dealmakers love to lunch
Wining and dining in the Wild West is remarkably different – and cheaper – from the east coast hubs of Melbourne and Sydney.