Medibank sale funds go to roads
Billions of dollars from the sale of Medibank Private will be spent on roads and other infrastructure as the Coalition fires the starting gun on a public share offer within months. The Aus
Westfield secures $22bn line
Westfield Group has moved another step closer to its global restructure, striking funding commitments for $22 billion of financing facilities needed to establish the new Westfield Corporation and Scentre Group. The Fin
NZ watchdog weighs IAG’s $1.84bn bid
Insurance Australia Group chief Michael Wilkins is hopeful New Zealand’s competition regulator will follow in the footsteps of its Australian counterpart and approve the company’s proposed $1.84 billion acquisition of Wesfarmers’s insurance underwriting business. The Fin
Woodside secures Burma permits
On the eve of its self-imposed deadline to finalise a company defining farm-in into the Leviathan gas field off Israel, Woodside Petroleum appears to have had success on another frontier. The West
Shorten set on a new resources tax
Bill Shorten has all but confirmed the Labor Party will propose a new resources tax by the time of the next election. The West
Telstra’s Penn on Optus poach list
Telstra’s highly regarded chief financial officer Andy Penn is being considered by the telco giant’s rival Optus as its next chief executive. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Lachlan Murdoch has been named co-chairman of his father’s two entertainment and media companies, News Corp and 21st Century Fox, in a clear sign that Rupert Murdoch, 83, is finally implementing his succession.
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has signalled he believes the economy is on the cusp of shaking off an 18-month growth slump as a home construction “boom” offsets the high dollar and falling investment in resources.
Page 3: Australia hopes to recoup up to half a billion dollars a year in tax revenue from a global information swap with other countries that will allow them to map the flow of cash through big technology companies.
Page 5: Liberal MPs have called on the government to use the federal budget to revoke a crackdown Labor made to employee share schemes after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten acknowledged the restrictions imposed by the former government had created “a significant dragon innovation’’.
Page 8: The privatisation of Medibank Private, estimated to be worth $4 billion, could invigorate a sharemarket hungry for new opportunities and deliver a temporary boost to the federal budget.
Page 10: Few women are willing to take up frontline combat roles in the military because they fear a backlash from male soldiers and the physical demands of the job.
Page 11: The federal government has recruited one of the leading advocates of a new approach to trade liberalisation to help persuade Group of 20 nation leaders to adopt the approach at this year’s summit in Brisbane.
Page 19: One of Australia’s largest fund managers has warned super funds of the rising exposure of the nation’s banks that are more vulnerable than prudential “stress tests” imply.
Nufarm managing director Doug Rathbone said the balance sheet is a key focus as rising debt and net working capital overshadowed a 77 per cent rise in the crop protection group’s underlying interim profit to $18.8 million.
Murray Goulburn chief executive Gary Helou has lashed out at regulators for stymieing his $500 million-plus bid for Warrnambool Cheese & Butter and has foreshadowed further rationalisation amongst dairy processors.
Page 23: Insurance Australia Group chief Michael Wilkins is hopeful New Zealand’s competition regulator will follow in the footsteps of its Australian counterpart and approve the company’s proposed $1.84 billion acquisition of Wesfarmers’s insurance underwriting business.
Page 29: Banks have been warned that using the fine print to qualify advertisements can mislead customers, after Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was rapped on the knuckles by the corporate regulator for not making qualifications prominent enough.
Page 36: Westfield Group has moved another step closer to its global restructure, striking funding commitments for $22 billion of financing facilities needed to establish the new Westfield Corporation and Scentre Group.
The Australian
Page 1: Billions of dollars from the sale of Medibank Private will be spent on roads and other infrastructure as the Coalition fires the starting gun on a public share offer within months.
Former environment minister Peter Garrett thought it was ‘‘not that hard’’ to install ceiling insulation, a royal commission into the deaths of four workmen heard yesterday.
Page 2: Tony Abbott’s push to remove the shackles on free speech has won crucial crossbench support in the new Senate, with key players flagging they are prepared to back the government’s changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Page 17: Telstra’s highly regarded chief financial officer Andy Penn is being considered by the telco giant’s rival Optus as its next chief executive.
A fresh row has erupted over foreign investment in the rural industry after opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon yesterday accused the Abbott government of favouring US and European investors over those from Asian nations.
The struggle for control of Papua New Guinea’s biggest undeveloped gas resource could be set for another twist, with Oil Search considering legal action to block a deal worth up to $US3.5 billion ($3.8bn) that French major Total has struck with field operator InterOil.
The Australian government’s commodities forecaster expects resources export revenue to grow more than 60 per cent to $284.42 billion in the next five years as boomtime LNG and iron ore expansions supply what is expected to be sustained global growth.
A Federal Court judge has reserved his decision on a case involving fuel discounts by retailers Woolworths and Coles.
Gold producer St Barbara is struggling to find friends after detailing production shortcomings at its Simberi operation in Papua New Guinea and its Gold Ridge mine in the Solomon Islands.
The West Australian
Page 3: The way has been cleared for James Packer’s Crown Limited to start building its $570 million third hotel at its Burswood casino complex within weeks after a Supreme Court challenge to the project failed.
Page 6: Bill Shorten has all but confirmed the Labor Party will propose a new resources tax by the time of the next election.
The Federal Government will today commit $10.8 million to build a waiting bay for road trains to increase productivity at Bunbury Port, as Tony Abbott encouraged States to deploy resources in a smarter way.
The Palmer United Party has asked the Australian Electoral Commission to investigate the Liberal Party’s use of internet memes critical of party leader Clive Palmer.
Page 7: Colin Barnett has encouraged WA voters not to “trash Australian democracy” by voting in the Senate by-election for micro-parties featuring interstate candidates “having a lend of the public”.
Page 9: Perth’s bid to tap into the increasingly lucrative Asian tourist market has been enhanced by confirmation yesterday that the Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel chain will build a 204-room property at Elizabeth Quay by 2018.
Page 17: Colin Barnett has criticised Tony Abbott’s decision to reinstate the titles of knights and dames, saying the move is out of context with a modern Australia.
Business: The liquidators of Forge Group have told shareholders of the collapsed company what most would have already known — they will not get a cent back on their investment.
On the eve of its self-imposed deadline to finalise a company defining farm-in into the Leviathan gas field off Israel, Woodside Petroleum appears to have had success on another frontier.
Alinta Energy has been released from its State restrictions with BHP Billiton in what is seen as another stepping stone to the sale of the business by its US parent.
A marketing collective based around the Shire of Manjimup is targeting Singapore as a stepping stone to other South-East Asian markets just four months after launching its own label covering everything from truffles to the humble potato.
Wesfarmers’ $1.845 billion sale of its insurance underwriting business to Insurance Australia Group has cleared a key hurdle by winning approval from the competition regulator.