$4b tax cut
$4b tax cut
Treasurer Scott Morrison will unveil a Low and Middle Income Tax Offset in today’s Budget and lift the third-highest tax bracket from $87,000 to $90,000 in a sweeping tax package worth more than $4 billion a year. The West
WA business restores confidence
The Turnbull Government has been given a big economic boost on the eve of its preselection Budget today with key measures showing business confidence soaring to its highest level on record, led by WA firms. The West
Boomers’ budget bonus
A scheme enabling people of pension age to borrow against the value of their homes will be significantly boosted in today’s federal budget as part of a multibillion-dollar package to ease the economic strain and aged-care crisis set to be caused by the impending retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. The Fin
Northern Fund pledges $500m spend by June
Up to $500 million in taxpayers’ money will be invested in new infrastructure projects by the middle of the year under the Turnbull government’s revised $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, with plans for $1 billion worth of projects by the end of the year. The Fin
Hold-out senators set test for tax bill
Senator Patrick told The Australian that the budget must show a path back to a healthy surplus, and evidence that social services will not be cut in later years to fund the business tax cuts. The Aus
InSight joins radiology giant
InSight Clinical Imaging yesterday told staff it had agreed a buyout by I-MED Radiology, the private equity-owned group accounting for about 20 per cent of Australia’s $3.6 billion diagnostic imaging market. The West
BHP bullish on iron ore, coal
BHP marketing boss Arnoud Balhuizen says the short-term outlook for iron ore and coking coal, the nation’s two biggest exports, is strong and that prices paid for higher-grade iron ore mined by BHP and Rio Tinto are set to remain at a premium. The Aus
Urban quits ahead of report
Embattled former Labor MP Barry Urban will quit Parliament today ahead of a report into the fake medal scandal that has engulfed his political career since late last year. The West
Reece doubles its size with $1.9b US buyout
Peter Wilson, the chief executive of Australia’s largest plumbing and bathroom products company, the ASX-listed Reece Group, says the $1.91 billion acquisition of MORSCO Inc in the US is a ‘‘transformational opportunity’’ that will drive returns for the next generation of shareholders. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: A scheme enabling people of pension age to borrow against the value of their homes will be significantly boosted in today’s federal budget as part of a multibillion-dollar package to ease the economic strain and aged-care crisis set to be caused by the impending retirement of the Baby Boomer generation.
Westpac Banking Corp has hit out at the banking royal commission’s release of documents suggesting its lending controls were ineffective, saying a report by PwC had been taken out of context and confused the market, the bank’s chief financial officer, Peter King, said.
Page 3: Women need more experience running large businesses and to improve their financial skills if more are to be promoted to chief executive roles and onto boards, lead recruiter Korn Ferry and the Australian Institute of Company Directors say.
Page 4: Households, and whether a small tax cut is enough to get them spending, could determine the fate of Scott Morrison’s plan to return the budget to surplus by 2021, economists said.
Page 5: There is a strong case for reversing incentive-sapping effects of income tax ‘‘bracket creep’’, but Treasurer Scott Morrison’s pledge to limit taxes to no more than 23.9 per cent of gross domestic product is mostly a political move, say leading economists.
Page 6: Up to $500 million in taxpayers’ money will be invested in new infrastructure projects by the middle of the year under the Turnbull government’s revised $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, with plans for $1 billion worth of projects by the end of the year.
Page 10: Swiss-based food giant Nestle will pay Starbucks $US7.15 billion ($9.5 billion) in cash for the rights to sell the US coffee chain’s products around the world in a global alliance aimed at reinvigorating their coffee empires.
Page 11: Blue Sky Alternative Investments’ credibility crisis has deepened after the embattled fund manager revealed that undrawn loans accounted for up to 20 per cent of its disputed $4 billion fee-earning assets under management claim.
Peter Wilson, the chief executive of Australia’s largest plumbing and bathroom products company, the ASX-listed Reece Group, says the $1.91 billion acquisition of MORSCO Inc in the US is a ‘‘transformational opportunity’’ that will drive returns for the next generation of shareholders.
Page 13: JB Hi-Fi has received a rap over the knuckles from the sharemarket operator for burying an earnings downgrade in a presentation to an investment conference last week.
Orica believes it is through the worst of its business cycle, with the explosives manufacturer promising ‘‘a significant jump’’ in earnings over the next six months and beyond despite ongoing problems at its new Burrup ammonium nitrate plant in Western Australia.
Page 20: Start-ups conducting initial coin offerings to raise funds have been put on notice by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, with the regulatory body establishing an internal taskforce to police the increasingly popular method of raising capital.
The Australian
Page 1: The best business conditions in a generation are boosting confidence and paving the way for much-anticipated wage rises, according to a closely watched survey that foreshadows more good news for the Turnbull government.
Page 2: A “respected” senior executive at state-owned Horizon Power told a colleague he wanted to “rape as much as I can” out of the utility, Western Australia’s Corruption and Crime Commission has been told.
There has been no progress on major pledges made during Malcolm Turnbull’s meeting last year with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang amid strained ties between Australia and China.
Page 4: Senator Patrick told The Australian that the budget must show a path back to a healthy surplus, and evidence that social services will not be cut in later years to fund the business tax cuts.
Page 6: Malcolm Turnbull has been challenged over whether the $24.5 billion infrastructure spending in today’s budget represents a significant increase in “hard-dollar funding”, with fresh calls for another $7.5bn to be provided over the next four years for major projects.
Page 7: Bill Shorten has been caught out “exaggerating” the impact of his dividend imputation crackdown on the wealthy after new costings reveal fewer than five super funds in Australia claimed $2.5 million in excess franking credits in 2014-15.
Page 17: Pleas from AMP’s emergency leadership team for investors not to vote out three directors are falling on deaf ears, with one of the big proxy advisers reversing its previous support and recommending institutional clients vote against three directors facing election this week.
Page 19: BHP marketing boss Arnoud Balhuizen says the short-term outlook for iron ore and coking coal, the nation’s two biggest exports, is strong and that prices paid for higher-grade iron ore mined by BHP and Rio Tinto are set to remain at a premium.
The West Australian
Page 1: Treasurer Scott Morrison will unveil a Low and Middle Income Tax Offset in today’s Budget and lift the third-highest tax bracket from $87,000 to $90,000 in a sweeping tax package worth more than $4 billion a year.
Page 4: Embattled former Labor MP Barry Urban will quit Parliament today ahead of a report into the fake medal scandal that has engulfed his political career since late last year.
Page 7: The Turnbull Government has been given a big economic boost on the eve of its preselection Budget today with key measures showing business confidence soaring to its highest level on record, led by WA firms.
Page 15: WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan is pushing for sheep to be flown to the Middle East to help fill the void that would be created by a proposed pause on seaborne live exports during the northern summer months.
WA’s lucrative rock lobster industry is threatening to break away from a longstanding Federal funding model over claims the State’s exports are at risk from a GST-style short-changing of local producers.
Page 16: A young Perth father who says he was underpaid almost $75,000 when he was employed by popular franchise San Churro has become embroiled in a legal fight to reclaim some of the money.
Business: InSight Clinical Imaging yesterday told staff it had agreed a buyout by I-MED Radiology, the private equity-owned group accounting for about 20 per cent of Australia’s $3.6 billion diagnostic imaging market.
The Australian boss of controversial lotto betting company Lottoland has threatened a High Court challenge to Federal legislation that would ban the company from operating in Australia.
Australian grain growers will for the first time be able to insure their crops specifically against frost and crop establishment failure.
Annual losses at CITIC’s Sino Iron project in the Pilbara have ballooned to $US1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) on the back of its latest writedowns.
