James Thomson
James Thomson connects boardroom decisions, financial markets and the wider economy through his role as senior Chanticleer columnist at The Australian Financial Review. He focuses on the Australian corporate sector, markets and global business, using analysis rather than straight news to explain what company moves and market signals mean for business and investors. His work sits at the intersection of corporate strategy, market structure and policy, with recurring attention to how these forces land on households and workers.
NACHO and cold chips look like a disastrous recipe for markets
In columns such as “NACHO and cold chips look like a disastrous recipe for markets”, Thomson dissects financial market conditions through concrete themes and vivid framing drawn from current trading patterns. He writes Chanticleer pieces that track equity market swings, concentration in major stocks and investor sentiment, and he uses those to explore the risks embedded in modern markets. His coverage often links trading dynamics to broader concerns such as liquidity, volatility and the impact of central bank and policy decisions on listed companies.
Thomson’s Chanticleer work is regularly positioned as a weekly breakdown of business, finance and markets, and he carries that approach across platforms, including co-hosting a podcast that reviews key developments for the week. Video segments such as his analysis of day one of the Business Summit, focused on themes including Iran, inflation and reform, show him extending his market lens into geopolitical and macroeconomic territory. The result is coverage that treats markets not as isolated price screens but as a reflection of corporate positioning and policy choices.
McKinsey's blunt warning for business
Thomson’s corporate-sector coverage is exemplified by pieces like “McKinsey’s blunt warning for business”, which set out big-picture advisory messages and then test them against conditions facing local companies. In that column he reports on forecasts of a “second wave of productivity” and uses them to frame the pressures and opportunities confronting management teams. His broader output for Chanticleer consistently examines how productivity, investment and strategy debates inside major companies shape profit cycles and competitive dynamics.
His background underpins this focus: he has previously worked as a companies and markets editor at the same masthead and held senior editorial roles at business publications, including a rich list title, a small business outlet and a dedicated corporate news site. Across these roles he has built a specialty in the corporate sector, which now appears in Chanticleer columns that read director decisions, capital allocation and advisory reports for their implications across the wider market.
The idea that AI will create jobs is '100pc crap'. Here's why
In “The idea that AI will create jobs is ‘100pc crap’. Here’s why”, Thomson turns an earnings season into a lens on the arrival of artificial intelligence in business and its consequences for work. He uses profit season data to argue that AI is already changing cost structures and labour decisions, and he focuses on how these shifts are felt by “middle Australia”. This fits a recurring pattern in his work: technology and structural change are assessed not only as strategic issues for companies, but as economic realities for workers and consumers.
His Chanticleer coverage of AI sits alongside earlier pieces on productivity and management, showing a sustained interest in how new tools and business models alter employment, skills and corporate performance. When he writes about AI, he does so through the language of balance sheets, margins and demand, treating it as a business and markets story rather than a standalone technology feature. This makes his work distinctive on the business beat: the focus remains on how executives deploy technology and how that flows into market valuations and societal pressure.
What our top CEOs read, watched and listened to in 2023
Thomson also tracks the culture and thinking of corporate leaders through recurring projects such as “What our top CEOs read, watched and listened to in 2023”. In these features he gathers the books, podcasts and shows consumed by leading chief executives and uses them to map the ideas influencing corporate Australia. Earlier work like “Teams, AI and Hitler: CEOs reveal their top books of 2019” shows that this is a long-running strand of his coverage, with themes ranging from leadership and negotiation to history and technology.
These pieces sit alongside interviews and live conversations with senior executives, including a recent discussion with banking leader Andrew Irvine. Thomson’s role at the Business Summit and his on-camera analysis of its key themes underline his access to decision-makers and his focus on how their views translate into strategy and policy positions. Taken together, the CEO reading lists, interviews and summit coverage mark out a sub-beat within his business reporting: he follows what leaders are thinking, what they are worried about and how those concerns feed back into companies, markets and the economy.
4 more business journalists.
AdNews
AdNews focuses on how corporate decisions, campaigns and industry recognition shape the wider communications market, linking company moves and sector trends to their impact on regional audiences, traditional channels and people working in news and adland. It covers the business of media, marketing and advertising, tying deals, awards and campaigns to how the ecosystem functions day to day. Its reporting follows regional television and restructuring around Nine’s stations, explains why regional TV matters commercially, and combines transaction news with audience and pricing analysis. Long reads track traditional media recovery after COVID‑19 through agency views and budget shifts. AdNews treats journalists, mastheads and awards as business assets and reports on campaigns and marketing aimed at business owners, profiling data tools like Standard Media Index to show how entrepreneurial ideas become industry infrastructure.
Adrian Black
Adrian Black is a business reporter who treats regulation, court action and economic shocks as core business terrain, not side issues. He writes for The Canberra Times, covering corporate conduct, legal and market consequences of misleading investors, and concrete risks from technology, crime and volatile costs. His recent work centres on detailed coverage of the fallout from Regional Express profit forecasts and losses, tracking ASIC’s case, courtroom arguments and continuous disclosure mechanics in the NSW Supreme Court. He follows contested cases over time, parses formal statements, and connects legal developments to reputational damage, shareholder confidence and governance standards. Beyond litigation, he reports on rising fuel and energy costs, unpaid invoices and money mule schemes as operational risks, and examines how AI changes careers, always tying abstract forces back to specific businesses, workers and the choices they face.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung is a technically precise reporter on Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, distinguished by deep coverage of engineering specifications, thermal management systems, and performance metrics often ignored by business media. He writes on Chinese EV makers including BYD, Nio, Leapmotor, Xiaomi, and others, examining their manufacturing strategies, market positioning, and production developments. His Electrical and Computer Engineering background informs detailed analysis of battery thermal management, torque outputs, battery capacities, and thermal performance metrics, including case studies like BYD’s Flash Charging system and e4 motor system. Leung tracks new model launches and refreshes with exact dimensions, pricing, and export timelines, and reports on broader auto industry profits, production volumes, and margins. He also covers battery technology and solid-state battery delays, translating complex chemistry and semiconductor supply chain issues into clear, business-focused insights.
Alex Gluyas
Alex Gluyas is distinct for tracking how investor flows, valuation pressures and structural shifts shape the Australian sharemarket, with a particular focus on equities and the technology sector. He is a markets reporter at the Australian Financial Review covering major asset classes, regularly writing about equities, commodities and currency markets. His core beat is equity markets and ASX trading dynamics, where he follows ASX performance, trading conditions, sector moves and trading behaviour, including record online activity and volatility driven by algorithmic trading firms, hedge funds, passive flows and superannuation funds. He reports live on how local shares respond to global moves, political shocks and company news, using performance data and fund manager commentary. He often focuses on technology stocks, AI and valuation risk, and analyses market structure, including ASX shrinkage and rising concentration in the S&P/ASX 200.