Morning Headlines

Cartel case nets six bankers

Six of Australia’s highest-powered investment bankers have been charged over alleged cartel conduct, in an explosive criminal case that has rocked the already scandal-ridden finance sector. The Aus

Coca-Cola Kewdale in $50m sale, lease deal

Coca-Cola Amatil is to split its 8.35ha Kewdale site, selling the half with its 24,000sqm manufacturing and bottling facility for up to $50 million — and building a new distribution centre on the portion it retain. The West

Growth to accelerate despite pressures

A bump in exports and infrastructure construction has pushed economic growth towards 3 per cent in the first quarter, say economists, matching or even beating Treasury and Reserve Bank of Australia forecasts for a gradual pick-up through 2018. The Fin

Medicare to share cap pain with hospitals

Medibank Private chief executive Craig Drummond says the private health insurer would crimp what it pays to companies that provide medical care to its 3.7 million members to share the pain of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s proposal to cap annual premium rises. The Fin

Retail Food profit to slump by 54pc, franchisees to speak

New Retail Food Group chief executive Richard Hinson has taken the knife to profit guidance, warning that underlying net profit is expected to fall 54 per cent this year as the troubled food and coffee franchisor closes stores and lifts support for franchisees. The Fin

Argosy battered over grade

Argosy Minerals shares were slammed yesterday after the company failed to meet investor expectations for “battery grade” lithium carbonate from a pilot plant at its Rincon lithium brine project in Argentina. The West

Wesfarmers takes stake in ONTHEGO

Wesfarmers is taking a 5 per cent equity stake and forming a joint venture with online sports apparel start-up ONTHEGO – one of the first investments under chief executive Rob Scott’s push to build the group’s data and digital capabilities. The Fin

Blue Sky winds up domestic hedge fund

Shares in Blue Sky Alternative Investments have taken a further hit following the fund manager’s announcement that it is winding up its retail domestic hedge fund, as questions persist about the company’s future. The Aus

Georgiou in $6m deal for Canning city hub

Georgiou Developments has announced a deal with the City of Canning to buy a $6 million, “catalyst” site just across from the Cannington train station, on which it plans to build a high density, transport-oriented development. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Former Nationals leader and farmer John Anderson has cautioned Malcolm Turnbull against politicising the current drought by attributing it to climate change.

Page 4: Australia’s second-richest person, Harry Triguboff, has warned bank lending is tightening in response to the royal commission, hurting the property market at a vulnerable time, as he hit out at focusing on borrower expenses when determining mortgage approvals.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, is overhauling the way it rewards mortgage brokers to emphasise ‘‘value rather than volumes’’ following bruising disclosures in the banking royal commission about possible conflicts of interest.

Page 5: Winemakers will hold crisis talks on Wednesday amid fears China’s go-slow on letting Australian wine exports into the country could spill over into long-term damage to the local industry.

Page 6: A bump in exports and infrastructure construction has pushed economic growth towards 3 per cent in the first quarter, say economists, matching or even beating Treasury and Reserve Bank of Australia forecasts for a gradual pick-up through 2018.

Malcolm Turnbull has backed Barnaby Joyce’s decision to run again for his seat of New England, saying the beleaguered former Nationals leader still has much to offer regional Australia.

Page 13: CBA’s desire to protect its cherished advanced bank status and ensure access to cheap funding led the bank to ignore more than 100 other data problems which may have included the issues that led to a $700m AUSTRAC fine.

New Retail Food Group chief executive Richard Hinson has taken the knife to profit guidance, warning that underlying net profit is expected to fall 54 per cent this year as the troubled food and coffee franchisor closes stores and lifts support for franchisees.

Page 15: Wesfarmers is taking a 5 per cent equity stake and forming a joint venture with online sports apparel start-up ONTHEGO – one of the first investments under chief executive Rob Scott’s push to build the group’s data and digital capabilities.

The Indonesian company primed to buy Rio Tinto’s stake in the Grasberg copper and gold mine says it has obtained financing to execute the deal, in another sign the long-running sale process is nearing its conclusion.

Page 17: Medibank Private chief executive Craig Drummond says the private health insurer would crimp what it pays to companies that provide medical care to its 3.7 million members to share the pain of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s proposal to cap annual premium rises.

Page 34: ASX-listed crowdfunding and online property investment platform DomaCom has obtained a lending line of $100 million through institutional private lenders, to use towards the future acquisition of $250 million in property.

The Australian

Page 1: Six of Australia’s highest-powered investment bankers have been charged over alleged cartel conduct, in an explosive criminal case that has rocked the already scandal-ridden finance sector.

Telcos and tech service providers including Telstra, Google, Apple and Facebook will be forced to cooperate with Australian intelligence and security agencies seeking access to the encrypted data of suspected terrorists, hackers and cyber-criminals, under what the government claims will be the most comprehensive set of cyber-surveillance laws and a test case for the rest of the world.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce yesterday defended the airline’s decision to bow to Beijing’s demands over referring to Taiwan as part of China on its website, as senior Australian ministers said companies should be free of “political pressure”.

Page 2: The failure of super funds to report the performance of many of their thousands of individual “investment options” and the highly complex nature of many funds are contributing to millions of people remaining in investment products that perform poorly, including some that lose money year after year.

Enrolments in high-level qualifications in the critical Vocational, Education and Training sector are being driven down, exacerbating Australia’s skills shortage because of complexities in the student loan system.

Page 4: A Greens expose of the year-by-year costs to the federal budget posed by the government’s $144 billion personal income tax plan will ramp up pressure on Labor to block the proposal.

Page 5: Apple has taken aim at Facebook and Google by promising to thwart their access to consumer data.

Page 17: Westpac has been knocked off its perch as the world’s most sustainable bank, as the reputational damage caused by the financial services royal commission cuts a swathe through the sustainability rankings of Australia’s big four commercial banks.

Page 19: News Corp Australia has sold three magazine brands to Bauer Media’s local arm, with Inside Out, Country Style and Home-Life.com.au moving to the German publishing house for an undisclosed sum.

Shares in Blue Sky Alternative Investments have taken a further hit following the fund manager’s announcement that it is winding up its retail domestic hedge fund, as questions persist about the company’s future.

Page 20: Online shopping deliveries are getting faster and cheaper, which will boost online retail sales and spur demand for small “last-mile” distribution centres, according to Deutsche Bank research.

The West Australian

Page 5: The boss of Australia’s consumer watchdog says motorists are increasingly “financing the extravagance” of oil-rich nations such as the purchase of a Leonardo da Vinci painting for a world-record $600 million to hang in the UAE’s $2.6 billion version of the Louvre.

Page 9: Perth’s woeful recycling record has worsened, with two-thirds of household waste generated in the metropolitan area being sent straight to the rubbish tip.

Page 13: Seven years after the City of Subiaco crossed swords with the State government over a contentious high-rise development, it is once more facing a potential showdown over density.

Page 15: Homebuyers have been warned to prepare for an out-of-cycle increase in mortgage interest rates as signs grow that a crackdown on lending standards is hitting the profit margins of the big banks.

Page 20: The financial net has tightened further around accused Ponzi princess Veronica Macpherson — who stands accused of owing more than $250 million to thousands of investors in her failed Pilbara property scheme.

Page 24: Local Government Minister David Templeman says country shires may need to work closer together to improve work practices but he rejected calls for some troubled councils to be forcibly amalgamated.

Page 27: Sorting out the Barry Urban scandal will cost WA taxpayers more than $500,000.

Page 28: Emirates, the world’s biggest international airline, is looking at another in-flight revolution with lower, no-frills economy fares at one end and a premium economy product at the other.

Business: Argosy Minerals shares were slammed yesterday after the company failed to meet investor expectations for “battery grade” lithium carbonate from a pilot plant at its Rincon lithium brine project in Argentina.

Analysts have warned Fortescue Metals Group will have to export iron ore from Port Hedland at a record rate this month to meet its 170 million tonnes annual guidance figure.

Property: A rush to open student housing projects in the CBD could help Perth claw back its share of international students, according to StudyPerth chairman Rod Jones.

Coca-Cola Amatil is to split its 8.35ha Kewdale site, selling the half with its 24,000sqm manufacturing and bottling facility for up to $50 million — and building a new distribution centre on the portion it retains.

Georgiou Developments has announced a deal with the City of Canning to buy a $6 million, “catalyst” site just across from the Cannington train station, on which it plans to build a high density, transport-oriented development.

A new $7.5 million Aldi supermarket in Inglewood is about to go ahead as noise control hitches are worked out.

The sale of the serviced apartment hotel component of Finbar’s Aire Apartments to Singapore-based ZACD Group settled last week for $12.5 million.