Trade war worse than 2009 recession
A global trade war would be worse than many imagine, tipping much of Europe, the UK and Canada into recession and costing as many as 285,000 Australian jobs in an economic shock likely to last longer than the global financial crisis. The Fin
China’s rubbish rule to lift rates
China’s crackdown on taking foreign recycled waste will cause council rates to rise for households across the nation, in some cases at more than double the rate of growth previously forecast, experts warn. The Aus
Trump tariff on Simcoa rejected
A Trump administration attempt to slap a 51 per cent tariff on West Australian silicon metal producer Simcoa has been blocked, after an independent US trade tribunal rejected the need for protectionism. The Fin
Property buyers face interest rate increases
Lenders are increasing property borrowing rates in response to rising wholesale and regulatory costs, despite Reserve Bank of Australia cash rates being likely to remain static at this month’s board meeting. The Fin
Backbench test for PM on energy
Malcolm Turnbull faces a challenge to his signature energy policy from a group of Coalition backbenchers, including Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews, who have formed a lobby group to promote government support for the construction of new coal-fired power stations. The Aus
Morrison slaps double tax on investors afar
Australia will double the tax bills of some foreign investors and limit tax breaks for others, in a move Treasurer Scott Morrison says will prevent billions in lost revenue. The Fin
Windimurra hopes rise again
The historically-cursed Windimurra vanadium project near Mt Magnet could return to production courtesy of an Indonesian billionaire and nine-year high vanadium prices. The West
Wesfarmers may stem UK retreat costs
Wesfarmers could reduce the cost of exiting the British home improvement market by as much as $1 billion if it can find a buyer for the Homebase chain rather than shutting it down. The Fin
Shorten forced into retreat on health rebates
Bill Shorten says Labor has no plans to scrap the private health insurance rebate, after his health spokeswoman, Catherine King, refused to rule out changes. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Commonwealth Bank was being pressured by the prudential regulator to appoint external consultants and fix its flawed home lending data almost 2 1/2 years before the Hayne royal commission began exposing the big four for sloppy administrative errors and irresponsible lending.
Page 3: Labor is planning to apply the superannuation guarantee to taxpayer-funded paid parental leave to help address the imbalance in the retirement savings between men and women.
Page 5: The Gonski 2.0 review of education will recommend an evidence-based teaching system for schools, ranking the most successful actions teachers can take to improve student learning, although the main teaching union has warned it will resist any attempt to turn this into a performance league table.
Page 6: Even a modest barrage of retaliatory measures against the Trump administration by target countries such as China would see Australia’s economy shrink as trade flows are squeezed and global demand is suppressed, according to trade modelling by KPMG.
Page 7: A Trump administration attempt to slap a 51 per cent tariff on West Australian silicon metal producer Simcoa has been blocked, after an independent US trade tribunal rejected the need for protectionism.
Page 8: Australia will double the tax bills of some foreign investors and limit tax breaks for others, in a move Treasurer Scott Morrison says will prevent billions in lost revenue.
Page 9: Disgraced Gold Coast businessman Michael Issakidis has been sentenced to a decade in jail for his involvement in a $135 million tax evasion case, the largest successfully prosecuted in Australia.
Page 10: Lenders are increasing property borrowing rates in response to rising wholesale and regulatory costs, despite Reserve Bank of Australia cash rates being likely to remain static at this month’s board meeting.
Page 13: The Chinese government hit back on Monday at President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum by acting on a threat to put tariffs as high as 25 per cent on imports of 128 US-made products, including pork and seamless steel pipes.
Page 15: Wesfarmers could reduce the cost of exiting the British home improvement market by as much as $1 billion if it can find a buyer for the Homebase chain rather than shutting it down.
Page 17: Investors are questioning the future strength of retailing profits at powerhouses AGL Energy and Origin Energy as aggressive players such as Alinta Energy and government-owned Snowy Hydro work to lure customers away while oil major Shell waits in the wings to re-enter the sector.
Page 18: The rapid expansion of Asian banks into the Australian marketplace took a breather in calendar 2017, but experts remain convinced they will soon eclipse their more established European rivals.
Page 19: US tech giant Microsoft will cut the ribbon today for its most significant play to dominate the hugely lucrative market for providing cloud-computing infrastructure and services to the Australian government, and will announce it has signed on a slew of big agencies and institutions to its Azure platform.
Page 20: Airtasker has responded to growing calls to regulate safety and minimum worker conditions on its platform by introducing universal personal accident cover, although its 1.9 million casual job workers and posters will be hit with a higher maximum commission at the same time.
The Australian
Page 1: Malcolm Turnbull faces a challenge to his signature energy policy from a group of Coalition backbenchers, including Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews, who have formed a lobby group to promote government support for the construction of new coal-fired power stations.
China’s crackdown on taking foreign recycled waste will cause council rates to rise for households across the nation, in some cases at more than double the rate of growth previously forecast, experts warn.
The billion-dollar aged-care company Regis Healthcare is one of the most frequent users of a legal grey area where residents are “dumped” in hospital emergency departments for basic care, saving providers significant money in a move that has become part of their “business model”.
Page 2: Bill Shorten says Labor has no plans to scrap the private health insurance rebate, after his health spokeswoman, Catherine King, refused to rule out changes.
Page 3: The players’ association is demanding an inquiry into Cricket Australia and its role in presiding over a culture in the men’s team which led to the ball tampering fiasco in South Africa.
Page 15: David Murray has called for reform across all categories of the tax system in contrast to the “ludicrous” bidding war over tax cuts now emerging between the Turnbull government and Labor.
Page 17: The Chinese owners of the $US12 billion ($15.6bn) Sino Iron mine in Western Australia say they are paying Clive Palmer a stunning $US10 per tonne royalty after a January court loss and that this is the project’s major barrier to profitability.
Hewlett Packard Enterprises is developing a blockchain system for motorists to monetise the data produced by their car.
Page 18: The lobby group for the union and employer-backed industry super fund sector has produced what it believes could be a circuit breaker in the debate over the government’s quest to crack open the $500 billion default super fund market.
The West Australian
Page 3: More than 10,000 West Australians on welfare face losing payments under a Federal Government crackdown beginning this week, as new data shows the 10 worst areas in the State for dole cheats who repeatedly break the rules.
Page 9: A widespread car-sharing network in Perth could finally become a reality, with the City of Fremantle to help underpin a proposed local operation.
Page 14: Exmouth recorded the biggest accommodation price rises last year, according to a survey of Australia’s 50 most popular destinations.
Page 15: WA’s racing industry has poured cold water on claims by the McGowan Government that it wants the TAB to be sold, saying there was still no detail about what privatisation would mean.
Business: The historically-cursed Windimurra vanadium project near Mt Magnet could return to production courtesy of an Indonesian billionaire and nine-year high vanadium prices.
Stone Axe Pastoral’s new managing director Scott Richardson is confident the business can fulfil its ambition of building WA’s biggest ultra-premium full blood wagyu breeder herd at Kojonup.
The Woodside Petroleum-led North West Shelf LNG project wants to sell its ageing fleet of seven export carriers, a report says.