Budget blowout tops $100bn
Budget deficits will almost double to $100 billion over the next four years as global shocks hit the Australian economy, wrecking hopes that the nation’s finances can improve without unpopular reforms to taxes and spending. The Aus
Telstra may win bigger role in NBN delivery
Telstra is primed to win a bigger role building and maintaining the national broadband network under a deal with the government-owned NBN Co that confirms it will be paid $11 billion over about 30 years. The Fin
‘Opportunistic’ buyer Glencore still on acquisition hunt
The arrival of Glencore chairman Tony Hayward into Australia this week will do little to calm tensions between the Swiss miner and Rio Tinto, amid expectations that a Glencore will make a second tilt at a $190 billion merger with Rio in early 2015. The Fin
US giant in $2bn bid for Recall
Takeover activity is roaring to life ahead of the new year, with data management company Recall Holdings being put in play after receiving a more than $2 billion bid from Boston-based logistics giant Iron Mountain. The Aus
WA’s energy sector worst for reform
WA lags all other States and Territories when it comes to reforming its energy sector, according to a report card by the group representing Australia’s power utilities. The West
First aid bid for ailing Chameleon
Family-owned Chameleon Resources Pty Ltd called in insolvency firm McGrathNicol after succumbing to a cash crisis in part driven by a sharp decline in work in WA’s North West. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government has forecast China’s economic growth to fall below 7 per cent for the first time since 1990, in an indication it expects the revenue fall from commodities to settle in.
Telstra is primed to win a bigger role building and maintaining the national broadband network under a deal with the government-owned NBN Co that confirms it will be paid $11 billion over about 30 years.
A secret deal with the Swiss government negotiated by media group Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd when James Packer was chief executive set a tax rate of less than 2.15 per cent on PBL’s intra-company loans.
Page 6: United States defence giant Raytheon has quit the main defence industry lobby group after the group criticised an Abbott government rescue plan for the Royal Australian Navy’s troubled $8.5 billion destroyer project.
Page 13: A finance company part-owned by Macquarie Group assured Chinese investors they were lending to a “low-risk” and “prudent” property developer four days before it went bankrupt.
The arrival of Glencore chairman Tony Hayward into Australia this week will do little to calm tensions between the Swiss miner and Rio Tinto, amid expectations that a Glencore will make a second tilt at a $190 billion merger with Rio in early 2015.
Page 15: Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford says neither he nor CEO Alan Joyce are “going anywhere” as he defended the board and management’s performance after a turbulent year that saw the airline swing from heavy losses back into profitability.
Australian commercial free-to-air television broadcasters’ share of the advertising market will tumble over the next five years, ending its decade-long immunity to the digital revolution, according to a significant new forecast.
The Australian
Page 1: Budget deficits will almost double to $100 billion over the next four years as global shocks hit the Australian economy, wrecking hopes that the nation’s finances can improve without unpopular reforms to taxes and spending.
Tony Abbott is struggling to quell unrest over the power of his chief of staff as another Liberal MP rebukes him for claiming that criticism of his top adviser was based on her gender.
Page 5: A fresh row has erupted over the national broadband network after the signing of a landmark deal that will give government owned NBN Co ownership of many parts of Telstra’s copper network as well as maintenance responsibilities.
Australians have been scaling back health insurance to save on premiums, a trend some insurers have exploited to boost profits, says the regulator.
Page 15: Ryan Stokes is described by Seven Group executives as a “fearsomely” hard worker who is usually the first to arrive at work at about 6am.
APRA is working on a study to show how Australia’s banks rank against their international peers for capital adequacy, but is unlikely to make keeping them in the top quartile a central target of its prudential policy, as recommended by the Murray inquiry.
Takeover activity is roaring to life ahead of the new year, with data management company Recall Holdings being put in play after receiving a more than $2 billion bid from Boston-based logistics giant Iron Mountain.
Page 17: The peak retail body representing Australia’s biggest and most powerful retailers, such as Coles, Woolworths, David Jones and Bunnings, has come out swinging against Australia Post’s new freight forwarding service, which some claim helps consumers avoid GST and customs duties on online purchases.
Page 19: UBS has mopped the floor with its rivals in the annual East Coles investment banking survey, adding some Christmas cheer after a busy year fighting for dominance in the highly competitive market.
The West Australian
Page 3: Critical days were lost in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 because Malaysian authorities initially rejected evidence from a British satellite company that the plane was in the southern Indian Ocean.
Page 5: Colin Barnett’s office refuses to say why Dean Nalder’s ministerial staffer’s employment was terminated or why it said of her departure on Friday that she had “chosen to seek opportunities elsewhere”.
Page 6: WA Treasury has offered small Government agencies an automatic 2 per cent funding bonus if they opt out of the usual practice of asking for more during the annual Budget process.
Page 12: Aerial water bombing would be suspended if drones are spotted above WA bushfires this summer, robbing ground crews of vital help and potentially risking lives and property.
Page 13: WA lags all other States and Territories when it comes to reforming its energy sector, according to a report card by the group representing Australia’s power utilities.
Business: CBH is ready to start work on a new $27 million grain receival and storage site on the outskirts of Albany in a sign of changing times in WA farming.
Family-owned Chameleon Resources Pty Ltd called in insolvency firm McGrathNicol after succumbing to a cash crisis in part driven by a sharp decline in work in WA’s North West.