Santos rejects $14.5bn Harbour bid
Santos rejects $14.5bn Harbour bid
Santos has delivered a shock rejection of Harbour Energy’s $14.5 billion bid, ending discussions with the privately owned US suitor on the grounds the bid undervalues the Adelaide oil and gas company and is a private equity structured offer that treats shareholders unequally. The Aus
MP’s China donor bombshell
In allegations levelled last night, the chairman of the joint committee on intelligence and security, Andrew Hastie, told parliament he could reveal that a figure codenamed by the FBI in the bribery case as CC-3 was Australian property developer Chau Chak Wing. The Aus
Coca-Cola Amatil to sell Adelaide, Perth jewels
ASX-listed beverage company Coca-Cola Amatil is preparing to divest major manufacturing sites in Adelaide and Perth as it works through a broader rationalisation of its property book. The Fin
Mine gets Wyatt’s backing
Sheffield Resources’ Thunderbird project between Broome and Derby is expected to generate 220 jobs in construction and as many as 280 local jobs in production over a 42-year minelife. The West
Migration intake heading for a fall
Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has confirmed the Turnbull government is on track to achieve the lowest annual immigration intake for a decade, with 138,086 people being processed in the past 10 months. The Aus
Quadrant’s No.1 fund buys $40m Malaga sites
Property developer Psaros’ syndication unit, Quadrant Investments, has launched its first investment trust with a strategic, $40 million Malaga-based large-format retail property portfolio. The West
Picton falls over
One of WA’s best-known printers, Picton Press, has fallen into administration over a $1.3 million debt to the Australian Taxation Office. The West
Sheep exporter avoids prison term
Garry Robinson was working for live exporter Wellard when he broke the law to clear the way for a shipment of 22,000 sheep to be redirected from Bahrain to Pakistan in 2012. The Fin
Kimberley their oyster as Singapore link starts
There was applause yesterday as the first overseas passenger flight in almost 20 years touched down at Broome International Airport and made its way through a water cannon guard of honour. The West
NAB lifts pay for customer service
National Australia Bank has foreshadowed an overhaul of executive pay practices that will include incentives linked to the treatment of customers, as part of cultural change spurred by revelations at the royal commission. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull insists he will take his company tax cuts to the next federal election amid speculation within Liberal ranks that the government will need to reassess whether to stick with the policy following Pauline Hanson’s latest change of mind and withdrawal of support.
Westpac has urged the royal commission not to recommend regulation that made it harder for guarantors to underwrite business loans for family members, arguing this would cut off a key supply of small business credit to the detriment of the economy.
Page 3: Australia’s business community should back an immediate superannuation guarantee hike to 12 per cent to compensate workers for productivity gains lost through weak wages growth or face a return to ‘‘retrograde’’ centralised bargaining, says Paul Keating.
Page 4: Tensions over live exports have erupted inside the Coalition, with Malcolm Turnbull rebuking a former minister for pursuing a private member’s bill to phase out the trade.
Garry Robinson was working for live exporter Wellard when he broke the law to clear the way for a shipment of 22,000 sheep to be redirected from Bahrain to Pakistan in 2012.
Page 5: Disgruntled CPA Australia members have demanded former CEO Alex Malley and his board have their life membership stripped, Deloitte auditor Mark Stretton be removed and the lossmaking CPA Australia Advice be shut down.
Page 6: The Coalition has endorsed a report calling for an extra 3000 migrants a year to be added to country towns to stop population decline and curb labour shortages.
Page 8: National Australia Bank chairman Ken Henry says unusually high levels of ‘‘corporate complacency’’ gave rise to the behaviour uncovered by the banking royal commission – a process he conceded was not only important but ‘‘necessary’’.
Page 9: Australian Energy Market Operator chief executive Audrey Zibelman is seeking new powers to better forecast and manage extremes of demand that occur more frequently in extreme weather and marshal reserve capacity to avoid blackouts next summer and beyond.
Page 13: Healthscope’s under-pressure board has denied its two suitors access to the data room as it cut profit guidance, but investors are still betting that BGH Capital’s consortium may sweeten its offer for the private hospital operator.
Richard Evertz, the chief executive of scandal-plagued Big Un Limited, has resigned after its main business unit, Big Review TV, was placed into voluntary suspension on Tuesday.
Page 15: Rio Tinto’s copper chief executive Arnaud Soirat has put pressure on Mongolia to support its efforts to develop a $US5.3 billion ($7 billion) mine expansion at Oyu Tolgoi, saying foreign companies will be looking at it as a ‘‘test case’’ for future investment.
James Hardie Industries, the world’s top fibre cement building materials maker, said on Tuesday that net profit in the full year fell 47.2 per cent, hurt by higher asbestos claim settlement costs.
Page 16: John Dixon, the former Marks & Spencer executive charged with turning around department store chain David Jones, has been shown the door after 2 1 /2 years in Australia.
Page 29: ASX-listed beverage company Coca-Cola Amatil is preparing to divest major manufacturing sites in Adelaide and Perth as it works through a broader rationalisation of its property book.
The Australian
Page 1: In allegations levelled last night, the chairman of the joint committee on intelligence and security, Andrew Hastie, told parliament he could reveal that a figure codenamed by the FBI in the bribery case as CC-3 was Australian property developer Chau Chak Wing.
National Australia Bank has foreshadowed an overhaul of executive pay practices that will include incentives linked to the treatment of customers, as part of cultural change spurred by revelations at the royal commission.
Page 2: Federal Labor will look at making it easier for unions to legally enter workplaces and consider more union appointments to the Fair Work Commission but has rejected the call by construction union official John Setka to lift restrictions on strike action.
Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has confirmed the Turnbull government is on track to achieve the lowest annual immigration intake for a decade, with 138,086 people being processed in the past 10 months.
Page 3: The redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse has moved closer to nationwide coverage, with Tasmania opting in, adding to pressure on Western Australia and South Australia to join.
Page 4: Malcolm Turnbull, Bill Shorten, and all state and territory leaders have endorsed a major Australian-Chinese community event organised by Huang Xiangmo, whose dealings with Sam Dastyari led to the Labor senator’s resignation from parliament.
Despite the One Nation leader’s withdrawal of support for tax cuts, big LNG companies are still expecting Petroleum Resource Rent Tax changes, albeit less dramatic ones.
Page 17: It was common practice for Westpac bankers to fill out loan documents with false information, one of the bank’s senior executives has told the financial services royal commission.
Santos has delivered a shock rejection of Harbour Energy’s $14.5 billion bid, ending discussions with the privately owned US suitor on the grounds the bid undervalues the Adelaide oil and gas company and is a private equity structured offer that treats shareholders unequally.
Page 19: Older workers don’t get pay rises, so the growing share of the workforce aged over 65 years is one of the structural reasons why wage growth has slowed, according to a joint University of Queensland and Credit Suisse analysis.
Swedish clothing department store H&M has struck its third consecutive profit since it opened its maiden store in Australia four years ago, and is powering ahead to accumulated sales of nearly $1 billion — much of which was probably stripped from domestic fashion players such as Myer and David Jones.
Page 21: The Turnbull government is set to suspend the operation of the Financial Sector Advisory Council while the financial services royal commission is under way.
The West Australian
Page 4: Australia’s major Middle East trading partners have stepped up diplomatic pressure to prevent bans on the live sheep trade, targeting the WA and Federal governments over possible intervention in the industry.
Page 6: WA Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly will offer subsidies for a shark deterrent device for surfers after the NSW Government released research into its effectiveness.
Page 11: There was applause yesterday as the first overseas passenger flight in almost 20 years touched down at Broome International Airport and made its way through a water cannon guard of honour.
Page 14: The Salvation Army has joined the push to increase the dole by $75 a week, saying many jobseekers are “fighting to survive” on less than $10 a day.
Page 16: The double whammy of Australia’s ageing population and a rise in chronic and incurable diseases is being linked to a surge in demand for palliative care in hospitals.
Page 17: The Labor Party has already been forced to defend its candidate in next month’s by-election for the seat of Darling Range after a claim made through an online resume came under scrutiny.
A multimillion-dollar security upgrade for Parliament House was rejected by the WA Government during Budget processes because of the state of finances.
Business: Prominent Fremantle fisherman Jim Mendolia will next week crank up the first dedicated seafood canning operation WA has seen this millennium.
Sheffield Resources’ Thunderbird project between Broome and Derby is expected to generate 220 jobs in construction and as many as 280 local jobs in production over a 42-year minelife.
One of WA’s best-known printers, Picton Press, has fallen into administration over a $1.3 million debt to the Australian Taxation Office.
Ed Eshuys’ DGO Gold will pay a premium to take up to a 10 per cent stake in fellow Pilbara conglomerate gold play De Grey Mining.
Property: CBRE and its capital markets team played a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in the audacious bid by Kings Square Fremantle developer Sirona Capital to bypass banks for its $190 million project finance package.
A trip to Singapore to promote WA property has led to the off-market sale of a northern Perth shopping centre for $12.5 million.
Property developer Psaros’ syndication unit, Quadrant Investments, has launched its first investment trust with a strategic, $40 million Malaga-based large-format retail property portfolio.
A residential-commercial portfolio — 10 residential apartments in the Fini Group Stirling Cross tower and one commercial ground floor unit leased to the Leukaemia Foundation — is for sale.
The Beach Shack apartment development in Scarborough has already notched up $40 millionplus in sales, making it one of the fastest-selling projects.
Shopping centre, office and hotel and resorts group Hawaiian has decided to exit its Subiaco retail and office complex, The Colonnade, at 388 Hay Street, which is expected to fetch up to $50 million, sources say.