This week on The Fin podcast, resources reporter Peter Ker discusses whether Andrew Forrest's green hydrogen dream was a fantasy and what his retreat means for the government’s green energy plans and Fortescue’s future.

This podcast is sponsored by Team Global Express

Further reading:

• Green hydrogen too ‘expensive and inefficient’: Finkel Former chief scientist Alan Finkel – who devised Australia’s first clean hydrogen strategy – now says we are “unlikely to use hydrogen for storage of electricity”.
• Forrest says Element Zero execs burned bridges ‘like Nazis’ Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest has distanced himself from surveillance tactics used against former employees, but fully supported the IP lawsuit against them.
• Labor’s hydrogen dream stalls as Fortescue slims down H2 vision Fortescue will cut 700 jobs and slow its push into green hydrogen in a blow to the Albanese government’s plan to make Australia a hydrogen superpower supported by more than $8 billion of taxpayer funded incentives.

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This week on The Fin, Financial Review workplace correspondent David Marin-Guzman on what was uncovered in his nine-month investigation into the CFMEU, why the response shocked union insiders and whether this time, there might be lasting change.

This podcast is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Further reading:

• ‘The dam is breaking’: Setka resignation blow to culture of fear The CFMEU boss’ departure was a shock even to his own officials, but it is a watershed moment for the culture of silence and intimidation that has ruled the construction industry.
• Caught on film: How Setka and the CFMEU wield their power Videos show John Setka delivering a suitcase message to a rival’s home, and other officials issuing threats and boasting of the union’s total control.
• Albanese to push aside CFMEU bosses The Albanese government will seek to appoint an external administrator to clean up the CFMEU, sidelining its national and state leaders. The MUA is also considering whether to split from the CFMEU.

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In this special bonus episode of The Fin, United States correspondent Matthew Cranston on why Joe Biden pulled out of the presidential race, what happens next and whether Kamala Harris is the candidate to take on Donald Trump.

This podcast is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Further reading:

• Harris is younger and fitter than Biden, but that’s the easy bit The vice president is a more physically and mentally capable campaigner who might cut through to some voters who Biden didn’t reach, but is that enough to beat Donald Trump?
• Biden urges unity to beat Trump after stunning race exit The US president ended his re-election campaign after fellow Democrats lost faith in him. Kamala Harris, 59, immediately accepted his endorsement.
• Trump skips reset moment, doubles down on MAGA magic Donald Trump had the chance of a lifetime to reinvent himself following an assassination attempt. But why on earth would he do that?

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This week on The Fin, economics correspondent Michael Read explains why inflation has proved stickier than expected and raised the stakes for the Reserve Banks's big policy gamble.

This podcast is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Further reading:

https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/inflation-hits-six-month-high-raising-risk-of-a-rate-rise-20240626-p5jot7
Investors say there is now a one-in-three chance of an August interest rate rise after inflation accelerated to its highest rate in six months and economists warned price pressures remained too strong.

https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/rba-won-t-be-influenced-by-europe-and-canada-on-rate-cuts-20240607-p5jk4z
The Reserve Bank of Australia will not be swayed by interest rate cuts in Canada and Europe, says deputy governor Andrew Hauser, as he warns that high inflation is having “toxic” effects on households and preventing businesses from expanding.

https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/rba-board-split-in-doubt-as-libs-dig-in-20240509-p5in16
Treasurer Jim Chalmers could be forced to shelve his signature plan to create a specialist interest rate-setting board at the Reserve Bank of Australia after a breakdown in talks with the Coalition.

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This week on The Fin podcast, senior reporters Jonathan Shapiro and Aaron Weinman on why private credit is booming, who’s making money from it and what happens if the golden age comes to an end.

This podcast is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Further reading:

‘Marking their own homework’: Inside Australia’s $200b unregulated private credit boom
Credit products are being launched a mile-a-minute, promising plenty of returns buoyed by high rates. But behind the euphoria, there’s plenty of disquiet.

Fortunes to be made as the private credit boom is going public
Once a cottage industry, private credit is now attracting billions of dollars, reshaping the financial system and minting new fortunes.

Wylie’s Tanarra eyes $1b for new credit fund, snares ex-HSBC banker
The firm’s latest tilt at private credit will provide long-term loans for investment-grade companies that typically raise capital in overseas bond markets.

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This week on The Fin, International editor James Curran on why a group of former navy commanders, defence officials and submarine officers believe AUKUS has been set up to fail.

This podcast is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Further reading:

‘A cruel joke’: Why AUKUS might leave Australia stranded
A group of defence experts says that the Albanese government is on course for a financial and strategic AUKUS disaster, in the final part of an exclusive series.
AUKUS ‘moonshot’ may be a tragically expensive failure
It is alarming that both Coalition and Labor politicians fail to acknowledge the risk that Australia could be left with no submarine capability by the end of the 2030s.
Morrison’s ‘longest night’: Inside the making of AUKUS
The military agreement is a mess and risks leaving Australia with no submarine capability at all by the late 2030s. The cloak of secrecy that secured the deal could now be its undoing.3:50Lisa Murray

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Inside the most talked-about stock market float in over a decade.

This week on the Fin, Chanticleer columnist Anthony Macdonald and senior reporter Primrose Riordan on the story behind Guzman y Gomez, why it was one of the most talked-about floats in years and whether the hype is justified.

This podcast is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Further reading:

Guzman y Gomez IPO pop to $3b lifts hopes for listings
The Mexican-themed restaurant chain’s value topped $3 billion on its debut, and there are hopes this will rekindle a stagnating market for local sharemarket listings,

Can Guzman y Gomez’s New Yorker frontman prove everyone wrong?
Managers say the IPO is too riddled with cushy perks for insiders to offer value. Founder Steve Marks disagrees.

Guzman y Gomez float a bet on a maverick founder and his grand plans
The Mexican-themed restaurant chain’s founder is pitching big growth. He’s not an overnight success story, but the riches are there if he can make it work.

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This week on The Fin podcast, Europe correspondent Hans van Leeuwen on why Emmanuel Macron has rolled the dice and whether politics is being dragged to the right.

Further reading:

Macron has poured on the petrol. Someone will get burnt
The President hopes to prove that votes for the right in Europe were just voters venting steam. If he’s wrong, the consequences will be felt far beyond France.

UK’s likely next PM copies Albanese election playbook
Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled a policy manifesto containing almost no new policies, confirming just a handful of tax tweaks if his party is elected on July 4.

What Aussie business can expect from Europe’s far-right shift
Both sides of politics in Europe will back industrial policies designed to onshore or diversify supply chains – and that’s the space where Australia plays.

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