Chanticleer

Hosted by Australian Financial Review

Business News

Website RSS feed

Episodes

100

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

Australia's most prestigious business column is now a podcast. Chanticleer is a weekly news breakdown of all things business, finance and markets. Every Friday, Australian Financial Review columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald go behind the doors of corporate Australia to give you their unvarnished analysis.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 16, 202642 min

Firmus fallout goes global, the big energy lie & housing can’t find a bottom

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald look at how the Firmus fallout has spread around the globe and given the AI trade the wobbles, they ask why Australia is telling itself a big lie about the energy transition, and examine whether the property market can find a bottom. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com Further reading: Housing just can’t find a bottom. And one market is crashing Property veteran Louis Christopher is looking for two signs that the property market is bottoming. Neither is emerging, and on the Gold Coast, things are really getting ugly. The pain that killed Firmus’ float is spreading. Here’s a new victim AirTrunk’s decision to delay its Singaporean property IPO is another sign that the rising cost of capital is starting to foster doubts in the global artificial intelligence trade. Australia is in an energy cold war, like it or not Forget the climate wars. Energy security has become national security, and Australia’s policy paralysis is leaving us behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 9, 202637 min

Inside the Firmus fiasco, surcharge ban goes bad & French bond bin fire

This week, Chanticleer columnist James Thomson and companies editor Anne Hyland examine how the $44 billion float of Firmus went bad, they look at how the removal of those debit and credit surcharges turned into a farce and they put on their berets for a look at France’s bond market bonfire. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com Further reading: Firmus farce is a tale of hubris and arrogance Team Firmus seemed sure its true believers would make its IPO a walk in the park. Turns out it was the sceptics who really mattered. France just set the bond market on fire again Fears that the country’s debt crisis could spread across global markets are getting more real. And there are no easy solutions. AI sudden debt wobbles arrive at wrong time for Firmus As the data centre operator scrambles to shut the books on its IPO, investors have again been reminded of the sheer scale of debt that is fuelling the AI boom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 2, 202643 min

Rate hike underlines our scary problems, $44b moment for Firmus & private credit’s house of cards

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald explain why the RBA’s latest rate hike is even scarier that it looks, they ask whether Australia’s private credit sector is in such a mess, and reveal why the debate around Australia’s $50 billion float prospect Firmus is only getting hotter.. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com Further reading: Two pension giants just put Australia on notice. That’s scary Our buy-and-hold-forever dreams are shattered – and it’s time to wake up to what’s really going on. The gulf between Firmus believers and naysayers keeps getting bigger The neocloud is rapidly heading towards the Australian sharemarket, and outsiders want to know which insiders are locked in – and which are free to sell. The market’s betting AI will outrun bond yields, Fed rate hikes We’re in a dangerous twilight zone where the cost of money doesn’t matter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 25, 202642 min

Australia ageing (dis)gracefully, a diesel disaster looming & AI at the Chook lunch

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald look at why the next 40 years could be tougher for investors, businesses and policymakers, they take you inside this week’s special chook lunch to learn the secrets of an AI pioneer and they extract the big lessons from Australia’s great AI hack. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com . Further reading: Australia’s OpenAI hack just exposed a threat to the AI bubble We all think the AI bubble will be popped by debt, overcapacity or a lack of demand. The Aussie hack is a reminder the AI giants have another problem. Want to really fix Australia? Here are five big ideas Escaping Australia’s growth trap starts with a simple idea that we just can’t seem to nail. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 18, 202641 min

Will AI really kill us all, the $50b deal everyone's talking about & $1-a-day Ozempic

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald try and sort out whether AI is actually going to kill us all, they take you in what might be the biggest ASX float in Australian history, and try to figure out what a $1-a-day dose of Ozempic might mean for the economy. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com . Further reading: One way or another, AI’s gods have hit trouble. Firmus isn’t immune Concerns about AI are as surreal as the numbers on the neocloud’s float. And those are the two threats to the story: either it doesn’t work, or it works too damn well. Bigger than BHP: Firmus will be Australia’s most capital-hungry beast The party’s only just getting started for the capital arrangers, who have a new favourite client. Migration mess comes back to the economy, stupid The government’s migration changes reflect the business-like approach that the corporate sector has been calling for. But don’t expect the heat in this debate to fade. Inside the eye-watering numbers Firmus is finally revealing to fundies The neocloud hopeful is talking a huge game, but it takes a dive into the prospectus to get the full picture of its long-term ambitions and profit projections. How $1-a-day Ozempic could unleash a $12b boom The combination of GLP-1 drugs in pill form and expanded access via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme could turbocharge adoption in Australia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 11, 202640 min

Housing recession’s long shadow, Apple iPhone flip out & Trump’s insane cash splash

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald examine the growing sense of panic inside Australia’s property industry, explain why your next iPhone is going to cost a lot more and they look ahead to the next big test for markets. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com . Further reading: Fore! Why the death of LIV Golf is a warning sign f or markets Saudi Arabia has emerged as key funder of the AI boom, the US government and even global M&A deals. But the Iran war is forcing it to make tough choices. Why investors are letting JB Hi-Fi’s golden goose burn JB Hi-Fi is proving itself to be the pin-up of the “softening Australia” sell-off. It’s a lesson all blue-chips should heed. Bond vigilantes will rage at Trump’s bribe. Cracks in ASX could widen After markets taught US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a lesson about who really controls bond yields, Donald Trump unveiled the sort of electoral bribe that vigilantes will hate. Housing won’t go back to ‘normal’ in a world on fire. Maybe that’s OK Bond markets keep screaming that higher borrowing costs are coming. That’s bad news for hopes of a quick turnaround in Australia’s property correction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 4, 202639 min

Ugly choice between stagflation and recession, China's EV shock spreads & Bathla mess grows

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald unveil the surprising purchase propping up Australia’s economic growth, they unpack a truly eventful week in financial markets and ask what is sending one of the world’s best known car makers broke. This podcast is sponsored by Stripe To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com . Further reading: Bathla and bonds just a preview of what’s coming for timid Australia Rising yields, plunging house prices and the prospect of a deep economic slowdown: in the past week, the challenges for the country have become very clear. Housing’s Mr 18.6pc is pure fiction but is still scaring markets The phantom number refuses to go away and is haunting Australia’s economy, investors, boardrooms and government. Private credit is the reason we don’t have a Bathla rescue deal yet Private credit firms tell us it’s how they deal with moments of distress that sorts the wheat from the chaff. The situation at Bathla will put that to the test. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 28, 202645 min

$3b builder collapse sparks drama, Profit season's best and worst & Ooshies grocery battle

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald look at why the collapse of a home builder might create a very big drama for the top end of town, they nominate their best and worst results from four weeks of earnings season and take a fierce question from the West about GST proceeds. This podcast is sponsored by Workday . To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com . Further reading: The $19trn reason this housing slump will run longer than you think Households’ strong balance sheets are supporting strong spending growth. That’s bad news for the central bank, which is not coming to save the property market. Liberman’s CVS Lane suspends fund redemption after Bathla collapse CVS Lane, the private credit firm run by the wealthy Liberman family, has suspended redemptions across two of its funds, citing the collapse of Bathla, the failed Sydney developer to which it had lent significant sums. What we learnt: Ozempic in a pill could change Australia (no, really) Chemist Warehouse rides the Ozempic wave, Wesfarmers leans into a cost of living crisis and Qantas flies through the Iran war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 21, 202642 min

Why your pay's going backwards, dividends surprise & bond market blues explained

This week, Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald take you inside the mysterious world of bond markets, and explain what’s got the world’s most important investors rather grumpy. They ask why many of the country's biggest companies don’t seem that keen on investing in Australia and whether there’s something a bit sick about your health insurance. This podcast is sponsored by Workday . To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com . Further reading: Scott Bessent just panicked. Your savings may be at risk The White House’s stunning intervention in bond markets on Wednesday night will have big ramifications for investors around the world, including in Australia. Economists say wage growth is fine. CEOs see a margin squeeze Economists may be celebrating wage growth as “in line with expectations”, but corporate Australia is quietly pressing the panic button. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 14, 202640 min

The real housing problem, what profit seasons tell us & KPMG cooked again

This week Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald unpick an eventful afternoon at the Reserve Bank of Australia and pull out our most surprising tidbits from reporting season’s first big week. This podcast is sponsored by Workday To ask a question, email chanticleer@afr.com Further reading: KPMG is radioactive. But probe also exposes clubby corporate Australia Matt Comyn just turned the housing crash story on its head Think house price falls are bad? The next shock could be far worse Cleanaway board throws out the $9.4b baby with the bin water See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.