Wesfarmers holds $12b M&A pile
Wesfarmers holds $12b M&A pile
Wesfarmers will have at least $12 billion of firepower for mergers and acquisitions following the $20 billion demerger of Coles, with possible targets including Oil Search, Caltex, Qantas, Brambles and Sonic Healthcare. The Fin
Sandfire soars on price rise
Shares in Sandfire Resources hit an all-time high yesterday as it benefited from a surging copper price and positive assay results from drilling at its recently signed exploration joint venture with Auris Minerals. The West
Don’t overstate China ‘irritants’: Ciobo
Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has cautioned exporters from overstating ‘‘irritants’’ in doing business with China, welcoming progress on the resolution of a Beijing-imposed go-slow. The Fin
Exports revive wage hope
Galloping iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas exports, alongside infrastructure investment and population growth, are generating an economic growth spurt that could start to revive workers’ stagnating wages. The Fin
Bupa in reverse on costs overhaul
Australia’s largest health fund, Bupa, has abandoned plans to remove its medical gap scheme from public hospitals and conceded other contentious policy changes could have been better communicated to members. The Aus
EFD rejects order to buy Taurus slice
The Indonesian stalker of Finders Resources will consider legal action after a review of a Takeovers Panel finding of “unacceptable circumstances” ordered it to accept shares in the target it doesn’t want. The West
Prospa float postponed by ASIC probe
The small business lender that pulled its ASX listing 15 minutes before being scheduled to ring the bell expects one in 20 of its borrowers to default on its loans carrying an average interest rate of 41 per cent. The Fin
Cricket turmoil deepens as Sutherland bails out
Three months after Test captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner received one-year bans over their roles in the ball tampering scandal, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland yesterday revealed he would be ending his 17-year reign. The Aus
$9.5 million stake for Primero boss
Primero Group managing director Cameron Henry will emerge with a $9.5 million stake in the engineering company under a proposed stockmarket listing. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Galloping iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas exports, alongside infrastructure investment and population growth, are generating an economic growth spurt that could start to revive workers’ stagnating wages.
Page 3: Australian universities have been rated No.2 in the world for the way they teach pharmacology, mining and sport in the latest influential ranking survey.
Cashed-up Queensland businessman Clive Palmer says he is planning to reopen his Yabulu nickel refinery in North Queensland, two years after it collapsed with $300 million in unpaid debts, but the Palaszczuk government said they would believe it when it happens.
Page 5: Westpac’s wealth management arm BT Financial Group has thrown its weight behind the Productivity Commission’s proposal to draw up a ‘‘best in show’’ shortlist of the 10 best-performing default superannuation funds in a stark turnaround from its previous position.
Page 6: Marginalised One Nation senator Brian Burston will vote for the government’s entire seven-year income tax cut package, putting himself at odds again with Pauline Hanson, who will support only the first two stages of the $144 billion plan.
Page 8: Australia’s largest pure-play coal miner will on Thursday lash the political class’s mercurial attitude towards the sector and the ‘‘uncoordinated’’ approval processes they have created, while also taking aim at the coal industry’s wasteful attempts to garner public support through television advertising campaigns.
Big US pharmaceuticals companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck, AbbVie and Eli Lilly want to invest more in Australia as a result of the Turnbull government’s efforts to stimulate the medical tech and biotech sectors, Health Minister Greg Hunt has said.
Page 9: Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has cautioned exporters from overstating ‘‘irritants’’ in doing business with China, welcoming progress on the resolution of a Beijing-imposed go-slow.
Human resources management software company PageUp, which services many on the ASX 200, has been forced to alert clients that their data could have been compromised because of a data breach, forcing many big employers across the country to suspend their careers websites.
Page 13: The small business lender that pulled its ASX listing 15 minutes before being scheduled to ring the bell expects one in 20 of its borrowers to default on its loans carrying an average interest rate of 41 per cent.
Page 15: Wesfarmers will have at least $12 billion of firepower for mergers and acquisitions following the $20 billion demerger of Coles, with possible targets including Oil Search, Caltex, Qantas, Brambles and Sonic Healthcare.
The chief executive of meal kits company Marley Spoon says the group has been able to grow the Australian operations faster than any of the other countries in which it operates because of the high prices charged by Woolworths and Coles.
Page 18: Airlines’ claims that higher airport charges raise ticket prices for travellers as they push for tougher regulation are based on ‘‘a false premise’’, says the head of the global body representing government and privately owned airports.
Page 24: BHP Billiton has received first-round bids for its US shale portfolio from oil majors including BP and Chevron, valuing the unit at $US7 billion to $US9 billion ($9 billion to $12 billion), people familiar with the matter said.
Battery materials company Neometals is on the hunt for an off-take partner after selecting a site near Kalgoorlie for the latest lithium hydroxide plant slated for construction in Western Australia.
Page 37: The 4.2 per cent decline in sales of new standalone houses, triggered mostly by falls in WA, NSW and Queensland, pulled the monthly total to 5188, the lowest since September, when a 4.5 per cent drop cut total sales to 5045, the industry association’s latest monthly report showed on Wednesday.
The Australian
Page 1: Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg faces the threat of a public grilling before the Australian parliament’s intelligence and security committee to answer questions about the technology titan’s “backdoor deal” with Huawei, the Chinese technology giant with links to the Communist Party.
Labor’s new political battle against the government’s income tax cuts — claiming gender bias because men will benefit more than women — has been dismissed by Treasury, ridiculed by leading business figures and blasted by Scott Morrison as “nonsense”.
Three months after Test captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner received one-year bans over their roles in the ball tampering scandal, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland yesterday revealed he would be ending his 17-year reign.
Page 2: The fall in house prices will be “quite a bit larger” than expected and a rebound could be delayed, according to the ANZ.
Page 3: Australia’s largest health fund, Bupa, has abandoned plans to remove its medical gap scheme from public hospitals and conceded other contentious policy changes could have been better communicated to members.
Page 17: Morgan Stanley global chief executive James Gorman has mounted a strong defence of Australian banks, declaring “they are well-run” and compare favourably to international peers.
Page 18: Australia is in danger of losing control of one of its biggest and fastest-growing generators — rooftop solar — if regulators and network operators don’t halt the installation of “dumb” technology that can’t be used to stabilise the grid.
The West Australian
Page 1: Campaigning to win this month’s Darling Range by-election has turned nasty with a so-called dirt file being circulated about Liberal candidate Alyssa Hayden.
Page 6: The State Government is blocking the release of information about secret cash-for-access Labor Party fundraising events involving Transport and Planning Minister Rita Saffioti.
Page 11: The last of the Asian money laundering crew who were able to siphon $29 million of criminally earned cash out of the country via Commonwealth Bank branches in Perth has been jailed.
Page 13: WA’s electricity safety watchdog is becoming increasingly concerned about the availability of poorly made and unsafe electrical appliances via online sellers such as eBay and Amazon.
Business: Shares in Sandfire Resources hit an all-time high yesterday as it benefited from a surging copper price and positive assay results from drilling at its recently signed exploration joint venture with Auris Minerals.
Senior bankers charged in an extraordinary cartel conduct case brought by Australian regulators are unlikely to face hefty jail terms, a banking expert says.
Metcash is facing a full-year loss after it announced a $352 million hit due to the loss of one of its South Australian supermarket customers and weakness in WA.
Primero Group managing director Cameron Henry will emerge with a $9.5 million stake in the engineering company under a proposed stockmarket listing.
The Indonesian stalker of Finders Resources will consider legal action after a review of a Takeovers Panel finding of “unacceptable circumstances” ordered it to accept shares in the target it doesn’t want.
