Round two: EY to slash more jobs | ‘T ruths and straight talking’: Aussies to pay more for energy | Property investors return to the big city hotspots

Good afternoon,

EY Oceania is set to cut more than 100 roles, in the latest round of lay-offs to hit the services industry, amid a pullback in consulting and audit spending.

Australians will pay more for their power in the coming years as the country struggles to build adequate replacements for coal, and even if the industry can – the cost of new sources of power and transmission lines are soaring, Alinta Energy boss Jeff Dimery has warned.

Despite better recent price action in regional Australia, property investors are sticking to the same big city suburbs they always have, writes James Kirby.

The Australian sharemarket rose for a third straight day , with broad gains, led by property and health care stocks. The ASX 200 gained 0.3 per cent to 7,848.5 points on Wednesday, while the broader All Ordinaries jumped nearly 0.4 per cent to 8,109.7 points.

The Big Read

Macquarie Bank is in the sewer, as its former infrastructure investment Thames Water — that the bank loaded up with debt during its ownership — looks on the brink of financial collapse.

And to make matters worse, the utility has quadrupled the number of sewage spills into London’s famous river.

Macquarie owned as much as 48 per cent of Thames Water before selling its stake seven years ago. It’s still a significant debt holder and the Queensland government’s wealth fund, QIC, is currently a 5.35 per cent equity holder.

By Tansy Harcourt

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