Indigenous group delays Buru
Buru Energy has failed to secure the backing of a key indigenous group in Western Australia’s Kimberley region for the company’s plans to explore for shale gas using the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”. The Aus
Healthscope price splits fund managers
Local fund managers have said they are wary of paying too much for private hospital operator Healthscope, which will price its shares this week ahead of its expected $2.5 billion float later this month. The Fin
Bunge sets sail into new grain export era
Global grain trader Bunge will turn its attention to building a supply chain in WA after the historic first shipment of wheat from its new $40 million terminal at Bunbury Port. The West
Rinehart eyes Fairfax takeover
Fairfax Media’s largest shareholder and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart is believed to be considering buying Fairfax if she can find the right leaders to run it. The Aus
Murdoch bid: ‘auction of one’
The daring $US80 billion ($85 billion) bid by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox for television and film producer Time Warner was opportunely timed at a point in the media merger cycle when bidding competition may be limited. The Fin
AWU pulls out of ACTU’s fighting fund
The nation’s biggest blue collar union has withdrawn $250,000 in financial support from the ACTU, as other key unions refuse to commit to paying a levy used to fund the peak body’s political strategy. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Vladimir Putin faces mounting fury from world leaders over his failure to stop Russian-backed rebels from looting and interfering with evidence from the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine.
Australians are condemned to falling living standards unless the nation wakes up to the need for painful reforms to spur the biggest productivity surge in more than two decades, according to some of the nation’s top economic modellers.
Page 5: Environment Minister Greg Hunt has revealed for the first time that he could allow cheap international carbon permits as part of Direct Action.
Page 11: Innovation in Australian schools lags behind other countries and is well below the international average according to a new report from the OECD, Measuring Innovation in Education.
Page 13: Local fund managers have said they are wary of paying too much for private hospital operator Healthscope, which will price its shares this week ahead of its expected $2.5 billion float later this month.
A heavy weighting towards property, infrastructure, hedge funds and private equity helped propel Telstra Super’s balanced scheme to the top of the superannuation fund league table for 2013-14.
Page 15: The daring $US80 billion ($85 billion) bid by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox for television and film producer Time Warner was opportunely timed at a point in the media merger cycle when bidding competition may be limited.
Page 16: Loss of confidence in banks after the global financial crisis and their links to financial planning scandals is aiding the grocery giants’ push into financial services, Coles finance director Rob Scott says.
Page 20: Online flights company Skiddoo is targeting former customers of Helloworld’s now defunct Best Flights website and is looking to expand into new markets in Asia to meet its goal of doubling the size of its business this year.
Page 29: Nine Entertainment Co has bought a minority stake in DVD distribution and streaming business Quickflix in another sign the broadcaster is keen to bulk up its digital entertainment operations.
The Australian
Page 6: Australian uranium sales to India could begin soon, the China free trade agreement negotiations remain on track to be clinched by the end of the year and the Trans Pacific Partnership deal could be signed by mid-2015.
Joe Hockey has invited more investment in Australia from Chinese state-owned enterprises, declaring such deals have won government approvals despite creating some public anxiety.
Page 7: The nation’s biggest blue collar union has withdrawn $250,000 in financial support from the ACTU, as other key unions refuse to commit to paying a levy used to fund the peak body’s political strategy.
The Productivity Commission will put on the agenda whether some of the money being spent on the new paid parental leave scheme be used instead towards expanding childcare options for working parents.
Page 17: French giant Total’s oil and gas chief says Australia should encourage more contractors and let in more foreign workers to make liquefied natural gas projects more competitive and help contain construction costs that are higher than anywhere else in the world.
Industrial energy users have called for a regulatory review of the gas supply industry as a price shock on the east coast threatens to strip nearly $160 billion and thousands of jobs from the manufacturing, mining and agriculture industry.
Global financial markets appeared to regain confidence over the weekend after the tragic downing of a Malaysian flight above Ukraine and Israel’s invasion of Gaza but face an uncertain week of geopolitical tension.
Page 18: Buru Energy has failed to secure the backing of a key indigenous group in Western Australia’s Kimberley region for the company’s plans to explore for shale gas using the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”.
Page 19: Despite talk of a slump in resource investment, the resource states are clinging to the top spots in a new ranking of Australia’s eight states and territories, thanks to strong growth and a boom in retail trade and home-building.
Page 23: Fairfax Media’s largest shareholder and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart is believed to be considering buying Fairfax if she can find the right leaders to run it.
The West Australian
Page 3: Australia will use its seat on the United Nations Security Council to press for an independent investigation into the MH17 crash amid warnings it will be weeks before the remains of Australian victims are returned home.
Page 10: The US aviation authority has widened its fly-zone warnings to eastern Ukraine, Kenya and Ethiopia as countries around the world reassess flight operations over war zones after the MH17 tragedy.
Page 11: The construction union is setting up a slush fund of up to $2 million to cover unlawful strikes by its members in a bold bid to undermine industrial laws.
Business: Global grain trader Bunge will turn its attention to building a supply chain in WA after the historic first shipment of wheat from its new $40 million terminal at Bunbury Port.
Multibillion-dollar Indian outsourcing giant Wipro has made its first serious steps into WA, gobbling up the local IT arm of Canadian utilities and energy specialist ATCO as part of a billion-dollar deal.
The State’s biggest superannuation fund, GESB, was one of the nation’s best performers last financial year.