Dealmaking is ramping up, but don't expect a stellar year
After a short hiatus, confidence returned to Australian dealmaking this month. And although that's positive, it more likely indicates improved volumes of mergers and acquisitions involving Australian companies in the second half of 2025, rather than bumper or boom-time activity levels.
Getting transactions across the line as valuations rebound and regulatory scrutiny intensifies will still prove tough, particularly coming off 2024, which was marred by the highest annual tally of withdrawn transactions in 14 years.
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Motor racing-Russell fastest in first Austrian GP practice as Dunne shines
Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - June 27, 2025 Mercedes' George Russell before practice REUTERS/Gintare Karpaviciute SPIELBERG, Austria (Reuters) -Mercedes' George Russell kept Max Verstappen off the top of the timesheets with the fastest lap in first Friday practice for the Austrian Grand Prix while Ireland's Alex Dunne made an impressive F1 debut with McLaren. The Briton, winner from pole position in Canada two weeks ago, lapped the Red Bull Ring with a best time of one minute 05.542 seconds. Red Bull's reigning world champion Verstappen, five times a winner at Spielberg and without regular race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase for the weekend due to personal reasons with Simon Rennie taking over, was 0.065 slower. McLaren's Formula One leader Oscar Piastri was third, 0.155 off the pace. Formula Two leader Dunne, taking Lando Norris's McLaren for the season as part of the team's obligation to give track time to young drivers, was fourth fastest and only 0.069 slower than Piastri. Dunne, still only 19 and the first Irish driver in 22 years to take part in a grand prix weekend, thanked the team over the radio as the chequered flag fell. "A little boy's dream came true, and this is definitely the best day of my life," he said. "Thank you everyone for letting me do this, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with his car." Norris, 22 points behind Piastri after 10 of 24 races, will be back for the second session -- his first time on track since he collided with his Australian teammate in Canada while challenging for fourth place. Austria has the shortest lap of the year in terms of time and all but 20th-placed Haas driver Oliver Bearman were within a second of Russell. Pierre Gasly was fifth for Alpine with Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto sixth for Sauber and Alex Albon seventh for Williams ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz. Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth as Ferrari had a difficult start to their preparations with both cars in the garage during the session with mechanics working on floor and gearbox. Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc sat out the session with Swedish reserve Dino Beganovic getting some track time and finishing 18th. Isack Hadjar made it seven different teams in the top 10 with the 10th fastest lap for Racing Bulls. Fernando Alonso had a big spin in his Aston Martin but kept the car out of the barriers. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)
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19 minutes ago
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Russell fastest in first Austrian GP practice as Dunne shines
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India.com
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Pat Cummins Breaks Richie Benaud's Long-Standing 63-Year-Old Record As Test Captain During WI vs AUS 1st Test
Australia skipper Pat Cummins has made history by surpassing Richie Benaud's long-standing record for the most Test wickets by an Australian captain. During the first Test against the West Indies, Cummins dismissed Keacy Carty on Day 1, leveling Benaud's tally of 138 wickets, before overtaking it with the wicket of Brandon King on Day 2, despite controversy surrounding the decision. Most wickets for the Australia Test captain: 1 - Pat Cummins: 139 wickets 2 - Richie Benaud: 138 wickets 3 - Bob Simpson: 41 wickets 4 - Ian Johnson: 39 wickets 5 - Monty Noble: 31 wickets Pat Cummins As Skipper Cummins has led Australia by example in the last few years with two ICC titles under his belt. Apart from the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship Match in 2023, Cummins has also been in charge of Australia's Ashes retention and the Border-Gavaskar series win at home. Why This Matters Benaud's record had stood since the early 1960s, cementing him as one of Australia's greatest all-round leaders. Now, Cummins has eclipsed this feat, underscoring both his leadership and bowling excellence across varied conditions and formats. What Comes Next Pat Cummins isn't just breaking records, he's rewriting captaincy standards for fast bowlers. With a growing haul, it'll be fascinating to see how far he can extend this tally, especially with Australia touring challenging venues like South Africa and India ahead. Meanwhile, Cummins is now the second-highest wicket-taking captain in Test cricket. He has 139 scalps to his name as skipper and is only behind Imran Khan, who had taken 187 wickets as captain.
