Gold royalty rebels unshaken
The gold sector claims the looming threat of an increase in royalties could undermine immediate investment, despite the State Government’s recent decision to keep rates steady. The West
Fortescue clams up over talk of foreign suitors
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group has refused to comment on whether it is a primary target of foreign buyers said to be circling Australian iron ore miners. The Fin
Newcrest ‘ready to buy out Harmony’
Newcrest Mining chief Sandeep Biswas says he would be willing to buy out his 50 per cent partner in the $US2.3 billion ($2.9bn) Golpu copper and gold development in Papua New Guinea if the stake came on to the market. The Aus
Don’t hoard super, says Morrison
Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has told retirees hit by tougher pension rules that they must run down their superannuation savings to maintain their incomes and can’t expect to pass on to their children large sums of cash accumulated with the help of generous tax concessions. The Fin
LNG projects risk start delays
Japan’s Inpex Corporation is thought to be struggling to keep its $US34 billion ($43.5 billion) Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in northern Australia on schedule because of bottlenecks at a South Korean shipyard that is manufacturing a massive offshore platform. The Fin
Calibre on track for passenger projects
Calibre will for the first time join the fray bidding for passenger transport projects as the Perth-based engineering group diversifies away from the resources sector to boost profits. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has told retirees hit by tougher pension rules that they must run down their superannuation savings to maintain their incomes and can’t expect to pass on to their children large sums of cash accumulated with the help of generous tax concessions.
The Abbott government is considering allowing foreign airlines to fly domestic routes in northern Australia, a change that could promote economic development but incur the wrath of the Australian airline industry and unions.
Page 3: The ACTU plans to amass a $13 million war chest to mobilise union activists in marginal electorates under a two-pronged strategy designed to turn voters against Prime Minister Tony Abbott and arrest the long-term decline in union membership.
Page 4: Advice from accountants to hold off spending until legislation enacting the $20,000 small business tax concession passes through Parliament is raising concerns within the Abbott government that the incentive might not deliver as big a boost to the economy as hoped.
Page 5: Families understand the trade-off between paid parental leave and childcare is necessary and fair, says the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Michaelia Cash.
Page 7: The rooftop solar boom has come at a cost of more than $9 billion to the public via subsidies that need to be radically overhauled to ensure the expected surge in battery storage use doesn’t entrench more waste, according to the Grattan Institute.
Page 13: Japan’s Inpex Corporation is thought to be struggling to keep its $US34 billion ($43.5 billion) Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in northern Australia on schedule because of bottlenecks at a South Korean shipyard that is manufacturing a massive offshore platform.
Page 15: Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group has refused to comment on whether it is a primary target of foreign buyers said to be circling Australian iron ore miners.
Page 18: Calibre will for the first time join the fray bidding for passenger transport projects as the Perth-based engineering group diversifies away from the resources sector to boost profits.
The Australian
Page 4: Families with children still face a net cut in welfare payments despite proposals for new childcare spending that have helped the Abbott government’s second budget win a warm reception.
Page 5: Workers will gain more scope to choose their own retirement funds as the Abbott government breaks open a Labor workplace regime that channels $10 billion a year into a select group of funds listed in industrial awards.
Page 7: One of Australia’s biggest unions will be banned from speaking or voting at this week’s ACTU congress because it failed to pay a $2per-member levy to the peak union organisation to be spent on campaigning against the Abbott government.
Page 19: Chinese investors are becoming increasingly sophisticated about their knowledge of Australia, according to Foreign Investment Review Board chairman Brian Wilson.
Upmarket department store David Jones has unveiled an ambitious strategy to carve up the fast-growing $44 billion specialty retail sector, repositioning its stores, staff and merchandise as it steals more customers from rival Myer and targets 1.3 million “dormant customers’’ interested in affordable fashion but not shopping at its stores.
BHP Billiton has defended its continued investment in the $15 billion ($19.2bn) Jansen project in Canada while acknowledging that first production of the food crop nutrient potash from the project would not occur until the 2020s.
Banks are increasingly combing through portfolios heavily exposed to mining regions as the fallout from the collapse in commodity prices raises concerns that pain is spreading across loan books.
Page 20: A Melbourne-based start-up venture is emulating wagering giant Tabcorp with a foray into the nascent but lucrative e-sports gambling sector.
Pepper Group is on track to debut as a $1 billion company on the Australian Securities Exchange as soon as August, according to sources, as it gets set to finalise the timetable for its initial public offering over the next fortnight.
Page 21: Newcrest Mining chief Sandeep Biswas says he would be willing to buy out his 50 per cent partner in the $US2.3 billion ($2.9bn) Golpu copper and gold development in Papua New Guinea if the stake came on to the market.
Page 27: The battle for Network Ten has moved into high gear, with major global investor Lazard increasing its stake as higher ratings put the squeeze on rivals Seven and Nine, and threatens to take a major bite out of their revenues.
Page 29: The new digital boss of Seven West Media has made e-commerce a bigger strategic imperative to avoid being at the mercy of a soft advertising market.
The West Australian
Page 3: Australian schools put too much emphasis on what students are and not enough on who they are, according to the former principal of a private Perth junior school.
Page 6: The Department of Local Government has confirmed it is making inquiries into Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi’s acceptance of BHP Billiton’s corporate hospitality at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Page 7: Some low-income families will be up to $6165 a year worse off under the combined effect of welfare and childcare changes in the Abbott Government’s first two Budgets, according to an analysis.
Page 11: WA Treasury officials are worried that public assistance to embattled mid-tier miners might not be repaid if the iron ore price keeps falling.
Business: The gold sector claims the looming threat of an increase in royalties could undermine immediate investment, despite the State Government’s recent decision to keep rates steady.
The slowdown hitting WA’s mining sector makes right now the best time to get out and sell the WA resources industry to offshore investors, according to Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion.
On Wednesday, Pura Vida and its partners Freeport McMoRan and the Moroccan Government hope to spud (the industry term for starting to drill) the MZ-1 well.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s Super Pit has turned in its worst quarterly performance in more than a decade, slipping to fifth on a list of Australia’s biggest-producing gold mines.
