Fortescue’s bid for $25m debt repayment discount
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group is looking to leverage its improved financial position into a $25 million-plus discount on its annual interest payments, with the iron ore miner hoping to reprice its $US5 billion ($5.3bn) term loan. The Aus
NBN, Telstra butt heads
Telstra is suing NBN Co in the NSW Supreme Court over a financial dispute triggered by a legal oversight by both sides over the timing of when their $11.2 billion deal to rent Telstra infrastructure began. The Fin
Banks told to restrict dividends
Australia’s “too big to fail” banks have been told to limit dividend payouts to investors in order to meet new rules that will require them to hold billions of dollars more capital than expected. The Fin
Northern Star hits coal in Pilbara
A Surprise discovery of coal in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has sparked the imagination of Perth-based goldminer Northern Star Resources, with the company believing it may have stumbled on a valuable source of power for the region. The Aus
CBH, Brookfield dispute off rails
CBH has accused Brookfield Rail of not giving farmers a fair go as their bitter dispute over access to WA’s freight network heads to the powerful Economic Regulation Authority. The West
Sirius throws $83.5m into the kitty
In what could be its final equity raising before the development of the Nova nickel-copper mine, Sirius Resources is expected to emerge from a trading halt as early as today to announce an $83.5 million boost to its coffers. The West
Hotel anchors Perth CBD development
Starwood Hotels is set to plant its second flag in Western Australia by 2017 with a new Westin Hotel on a former fire brigade site in Perth’s central business district. The Aus
Homes left in limbo as NBN is reviewed
Thousands of WA homes due to get super-fast optic fibre cable as part of the rollout of the National Broadband Network have been left in limbo, with the Government removing information from an online rollout and progress map. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Australia’s “too big to fail” banks have been told to limit dividend payouts to investors in order to meet new rules that will require them to hold billions of dollars more capital than expected.
Tony Abbott has instructed his ministers to finalise their submissions to cabinet 10 days before they are scheduled for discussion as he seeks to assure business and others that the days of ad hoc policymaking are over.
Page 3: The corporate regulator has isolated itself from business, developed a “glass jaw” to criticism and unfairly shifts blame to others, leading directors, senior executives and industry bodies say.
Page 4: The competition regulator has gathered “extensive” evidence into allegations of anti-competitive behaviour and unconscionable conduct by the major grocery retailers and will decide early next year whether to take legal action.
Page 5: Telstra is suing NBN Co in the NSW Supreme Court over a financial dispute triggered by a legal oversight by both sides over the timing of when their $11.2 billion deal to rent Telstra infrastructure began.
Page 6: The incoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop, should show no mercy to either side of politics in order to restore dignity to the Parliament, said Tony Abbott.
Page 7: Senior Liberal MPs hit back at a growing National Party campaign against the $3.4 billion takeover of GrainCorp by Archer Daniels Midlands.
Page 8: The federal government has swiftly dismissed a call from a high-powered advisory agency for more ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions.
Page 10: The corporate watchdog will crack down on company directors using commercial prejudice exemptions to keep shareholders in the dark about risks and prospects in financial reports.
Page 13: Port Hedland café owner Ray Sampson has been looking for a one-bedroom unit that his son, who is also the café’s chef, can rent in the post-mining boom property market.
Page 16: Concerns about the impact of Huawei’s continued ban from the national broadband network, on trade relations with China have heightened after Treasurer Joe Hockey removed any doubt about the likelihood of the company’s future involvement in the NBN.
Page 48: Starwood Hotels is set to plant its second flag in Western Australia by 2017 with a new Westin Hotel on a former fire brigade site in Perth’s central business district.
The Australian
Page 1: Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane admits there is a chance Australian car manufacturing cannot be saved amid divisions within cabinet over whether to put extra taxpayers’ money into the beleaguered industry.
Page 2: Construction of the National Broadband Network has slowed dramatically as the earlier asbestos shutdown has flowed on to the ability of construction workers to start the physical rollout of fibre, while NBN Co has temporarily ceased issuing new designs to contractors for the fibre that runs all the way to people’s homes.
Page 3: Two of Australia’s top media bosses, Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner and Ten Network boss Hamish McLennan, have launched a concerted attack on Google, making fresh claims the internet giant is ‘‘gaming’’ the tax system.
Page 8: One of the architects of Labor’s school-funding reforms has criticised the former government’s handling of the issue, saying new Education Minister Christopher Pyne has ‘‘inherited a mess’’.
Page 19: Saputo’s hold on the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter dairy business appears increasingly flimsy, with the entry of beverage giant Lion into the international bidding war setting up a potential blocking stake with rival suitors Bega Cheese and Murray Goulburn.
The rebound in television advertising that many expected after the federal election has not happened, with two of the three free-to-air TV bosses saying the ad market remains ‘‘very short’’.
Page 20: Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group is looking to leverage its improved financial position into a $25 million-plus discount on its annual interest payments, with the iron ore miner hoping to reprice its $US5 billion ($5.3bn) term loan.
A Surprise discovery of coal in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has sparked the imagination of Perth-based goldminer Northern Star Resources, with the company believing it may have stumbled on a valuable source of power for the region.
Construction giant Leighton has vowed to fight a class action filed by shareholders seeking to recover losses stemming from the company’s massive profit downgrade in 2011.
Page 27: GrainCorp suitor Archer Daniels Midland says its third-quarter earnings more than doubled after an accounting credit boosted the US grain processor’s results.
The West Australian
Page 6: Perth lacks a vision for the Swan River and its surrounds, with planning hampered by a lack of co-ordination and the vagaries of the short-term electoral cycle.
Page 7: It has come at a cost but WA is in the midst of a significant housing recovery after recording the country’s biggest number of first-homebuyers and the fastest growth in new homes.
Page 9: The State Government will scrap Statewide tests in science and society and environment that have consistently revealed more than half of public school students failed to reach acceptable levels.
Page 16: Thousands of WA homes due to get super-fast optic fibre cable as part of the rollout of the National Broadband Network have been left in limbo, with the Government removing information from an online rollout and progress map.
Page 17: Coles and Woolworths have been put on notice by the competition watchdog as it warned big shopper discounts on petrol could be in breach of the country’s competition laws.
Business: Northern Star Resources has added coal exploration to its list of activities after the surprise discovery of what could be the Pilbara’s first significant deposit of the fossil fuel.
In what could be its final equity raising before the development of the Nova nickel-copper mine, Sirius Resources is expected to emerge from a trading halt as early as today to announce an $83.5 million boost to its coffers.
Fortescue Metals Group has returned to the US debt markets only a year after securing a company-saving $US5 billion debt reconstruction.
CBH has accused Brookfield Rail of not giving farmers a fair go as their bitter dispute over access to WA’s freight network heads to the powerful Economic Regulation Authority.
While all eyes have been focused on the potential for a rail deal with one of the Pilbara’s existing players, Atlas Iron said its trucking operation could stretch its iron ore export plans well over the existing 12 million-tonne-a-year target if the mine production could be stretched.
The uranium price is in the doldrums. But that has not deterred Enterprise Uranium from striking a deal to become the biggest shareholder in takeover target Energia Minerals.