The resources boom ‘should have delivered more’
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has said heavy foreign ownership of Australia’s resource sector has not prevented massive benefits flowing throughout the economy, but suggests they could have been greater still with different tax arrangements. The Aus
Coalition vows to get tough on Palmer
The Abbott Government has vowed to take a stronger line with maverick billionaire Clive Palmer, warning the public will be infuriated if crossbenchers do not make good on their promise to kill the carbon tax. The West
Teekay, union in tug of war
A long-running dispute between Port Hedland tug boat workers and Teekay Shipping is reaching a tipping point as key unions push for a resolution to their pay claims before their rights to take protected industrial action lapse. The Fin
Karoon plans buybacks with Origin’s cash, farm-in deals
The $640million is not yet in the bank, but Karoon Gas Australia already has plans for its cash warchest and is set to announce buy backs worth up to 20 per cent of the company’s issued capital. The Fin
BHP on track to beat iron ore export target
BHP Billiton looks set to easily beat its iron ore export target for the 2014 financial year, after data published by its Port Hedland neighbours indirectly shed light on BHP’s performance. The Fin
Northern Star on billionaires doorstep
Bill Beaumont’s bold move to consolidate the gold mining assets of international majors keen to exit the State has put Northern Star Resources on the brink of the State’s billion-dollar club. The West
Community elders call for investment in infrastructure
Business leaders have urged the B20 Australia summit to endorse changing the way companies engage with their shareholders to help investors and financiers commit to bankrolling urgently needed multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects. The Aus
The Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government has cut a deal with Clive Palmer which it believes removes any more excuses to block the repeal of the carbon tax, the Coalition’s No.1 election promise.
Page 1: Eighty per cent of private companies file accounts that are of limited use to the public and a quarter of these are unreliable, the Australian Accounting Standards Board found.
Page 3: National Australia Bank says the cost of complying with regulation has tripled in three years to an estimated $265 million in 2014.
Page 5: While his Palmer United Party was bargaining with the government over the repeal of the carbon tax last week, Clive Palmer’s lawyers were busy opening a new front in the billionaire’s mammoth legal war with his Chinese partner Citic Limited.
Page 8: Treasury Wine Estates failed to register the Chinese name for Penfolds and is now locked in a protracted legal battle with a notorious trademark squatter in an effort regain ownership of the iconic name.
Page 10: Alibaba, China’s online shopping giant, has boosted its estimated value to $US130 billion ($138 billion) ahead of what is expected to be one of the largest initial public offerings ever seen.
Page 11: The National Tertiary Education Union is claiming victory after winning average pay rises of 3.5 percent a year for the bulk of the nation’s university staff.
Page 13: Air New Zealand wants Virgin Australia Holdings to remain a listed company even though its free float has shrunk dramatically through purchases by large airline shareholders, says the Kiwi carrier’s chief financial officer, Rob McDonald.
Page 13: David Jones is expecting overwhelming support from minority shareholders when they meet on Monday to consider Woolworths $2.2 billion offer, but Australia’s oldest department store will not know until a court hearing later this week whether the takeover will proceed.
Page 13: Former Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief executive Ralph Norris has labelled the advisers involved in the bank’s financial planning scandal as “rogue people” and denied any conspiracy to defraud customers.
Page 14: Privately owned training, recruitment and labour hire business Ashley Services Group will launch a $300million float this week, with brokers Canaccord Genuity and Evans & Partners arranging meetings with institutions ahead of the ASX listing.
Page 15: Korea-based Hyundai Steel has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding for an offtake agreement and investment in resources hopeful, TNG.
Page 15: The most acquisitive mining boss of 2014 has revealed that his recent buying spree was partly inspired by a dislike of single mine companies among the world’s biggest mining investors.
Speaking after his company hit its highest-ever share price on Friday, Northern Star managing director Bill Beament said balance sheet caution, last year’s gold price slump and his own knowledge of Western Australian goldmines had enabled the company to acquire five new mines in three separate transactions over the past six months.
Page 17: Investment bankers are preparing pitches to win work on scoping studies for the privatisation of the Royal Australian Mint and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s registry unit.
Page 18: SEEK co-founder and chief executive Andrew Bassat says investors will need to be patient with the company, as it beds down the acquisition of Asian group JobStreet and the float of its Chinese business, Zhaopin.
Page 20: Australian shares are expected to edge higher as trading resumes on Monday ahead of a quiet week for economic data, but one that should see interest rate fears and concerns about a further market correction come to the fore.
Page 21: Steven Goh, the entrepreneur originally from Perth and best known as founder of Australia’s first online stockbroking firm Sanford Securities, will return to the local market later this month when his mobile gaming company MigMe completes a backdoor listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Page 22: Transfield Services has this month replaced Downer EDI as Shaw Stockbroking’s number one pick in the contracting sector.
The Australian
Page 1: Former competition chief Allan Fels has slammed a key legal shield for the $41 billion National Broadband Network as “the biggest anti-competitive arrangement ever in Australia”.
Page 2: Trade Minister Andrew Robb has played down Chinese concerns about Australia’s closer ties with Japan, as Bill Shorten cautioned the Abbott government against being seen to “contain” Beijing.
Page 4: Baby boomers worn out by working should be allowed to retire early at taxpayers’ expense, says Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan.
Page 6: The inventor of “green” steelmaking, which uses discarded tyres as a raw material in minimills, aims to transform other industries through a $2.2 million research grant from the federal government.
Page 19: David Jones shareholders will at last have their say on whether to accept South African retailer Woolworths Holdings’ $2.15 billion takeover offer today, but the outcome still appears to be in the hands of Solomon Lew and the corporate regulator.
Page 20: Regulators and governments need to ensure that consumers are protected amid the explosion of technology companies around the world seeking a share of big bank profits, according to the global consulting head of accounting giant KPMG.
Page 20: Australia’s great rival in the global liquefied natural gas trade, the tiny Gulf state of Qatar, is considered unlikely to expand its export capacity in the next few years beyond its current 77 million tonnes a year (mtpa).
Page 20: Exporters are shrugging off concerns about the stubbornly high Australian dollar and feeling increasingly optimistic about selling to Asia, the Middle East and North America.
Page 21: Former Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris has described CBA’s current predicament as “unfortunate” but backed his successor’s strategy for addressing the crisis.
Page 23: Germany’s upper house of parliament on Friday passed an ambitious renewable energy law which aims to mitigate the effects of the move away from nuclear and fossil-fuel generated power.
Page 23: Reynolds American is nearing a deal to acquire Lorillard that, if successful, would transform the US tobacco industry and put more corporate muscle behind the already hot electronic-cigarette market.
Page 25: The ABC will confirm a wave of job cuts today, with Radio Australia’s services the first major victim.
The West Australian
Page 3: The Barnett Government needs to sell $200 million of State-owned land within three years to meet it’s current Budget projections – and that’s before it pays down a single dollar of State debt from its planned program of asset sales.
Page 11: The taxpayer-owned power company accused of price gouging in Albany has issued a veiled threat that it could stop propping up the south coast city’s vulnerable electricity supplies.
Page 14: WA’s housing market may be the strongest in the country but it is losing momentum, according to the Housing Industry Association’s latest snapshot of the residential building industry.
Page 21: Tran’s shipping companies are targeting Port Hedland port’s major players as well as mining juniors as a part of their push to win a toe-hold at the world’s biggest iron-ore terminal.