WA stocks top $190bn
WA stocks top $190bn
The value of WA’s listed companies soared 26.8 per cent over the 2017-18 financial year to $193.6 billion, its highest since 2011. The West
Public service wages blow out
In Western Australia, where Labor Premier Mark McGowan has irked unions by resisting some of their demands for more jobs and higher wages, there was an 8.6 per cent rise. The Aus
Perth picks up as east coast auctions stuck in doldrums
In Perth, the weekly clearance rate was 62.5 per cent, up from 47.1 per cent a year earlier, CoreLogic data said. The Aus
Spotlight falls on super complaints
Australia’s $2.6 trillion superannuation industry is bracing for two weeks of damaging public hearings as data shows the number of disgruntled retirement savers has doubled over the last five years. The Fin
Shake-up on the cards for debit
The Productivity Commission has stepped up its call for a major shake-up of the way credit and debit card systems work, including forcing banks to scrap hidden charges that are estimated to generate $530 million in fees a year. The Aus
Australia may win with China LNG tariffs
A threat by China to slap 25 per cent import tariffs on liquefied natural gas from the US, the world’s strongest growing exporter, may hand an edge to rival exporters such as Australia and Papua New Guinea in winning new long-term sales deals, experts say. The Fin
Cashed-up gold sector ripe for M&A
The Australian gold industry is primed for a surge in mergers and acquisitions as cashed up miners look to buttress their reserves of the precious metal as this week’s Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie brings together some of the industry’s biggest deal makers. The Fin
Independence charging ahead on battery metals
Mid-tier miner Independence Group has started eyeing sites for a large-scale processing plant to produce nickel sulphate for battery manufacturers. The Fin
Amcor in $7b buyout of US rival
Amcor is poised to become the world’s largest maker of flexible plastic packaging products as it finalises a $7 billion-plus buyout of US-based rival Bemis Company after more than than a year of negotiations in an industry which is under pressure from rising raw materials prices. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Business leaders and the Turnbull government are warning the Labor states they will be blamed for inflicting higher power prices on consumers and industry if they kill off the National Energy Guarantee, as the prospect of an end to the nation’s energy wars fade.
Amcor is poised to become the world’s largest maker of flexible plastic packaging products as it finalises a $7 billion-plus buyout of US-based rival Bemis Company after more than than a year of negotiations in an industry which is under pressure from rising raw materials prices.
Page 3: Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has welcomed the imminent milestone of Australia’s population reaching 25 million, and endorsed it heading towards 30 million.
Page 4: Australia’s $2.6 trillion superannuation industry is bracing for two weeks of damaging public hearings as data shows the number of disgruntled retirement savers has doubled over the last five years.
Australia’s 47 per cent top rate of personal income tax is ‘‘way too high’’, former Labor prime minister Paul Keating says, drawing a stark contrast to Labor’s policy of lifting the top marginal rate even higher.
Page 7: The federal government announced an extra $190 million to help rural communities, taking its drought relief spending to almost $600 million.
Page 8: Qantas has struck an agreement with the Turnbull government to get around new restrictions on skilled visa workers and recruit overseas pilots for long-term stays.
Page 9: Preschool and early-learning education for more than a quarter of a million Australian children is under threat as the federal government prepares to cut nearly half a billion dollars of spending on the sector.
Page 13: The Australian gold industry is primed for a surge in mergers and acquisitions as cashed up miners look to buttress their reserves of the precious metal as this week’s Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie brings together some of the industry’s biggest deal makers.
Page 15: The chief executive of the ASX’s newest funeral homes company, Propel Funeral Partners, says it is staying highly disciplined in assessing acquisition opportunities as $1.6 billion industry giant InvoCare increasingly moves on to its turf.
A threat by China to slap 25 per cent import tariffs on liquefied natural gas from the US, the world’s strongest growing exporter, may hand an edge to rival exporters such as Australia and Papua New Guinea in winning new long-term sales deals, experts say.
Page 16: Mid-tier miner Independence Group has started eyeing sites for a large-scale processing plant to produce nickel sulphate for battery manufacturers.
Page 32: ASX-listed minnow Parkd has completed the country’s first prefabricated car park in half the time of a traditional concrete build and a 35 per cent saving.
The Australian
Page 1: In Western Australia, where Labor Premier Mark McGowan has irked unions by resisting some of their demands for more jobs and higher wages, there was an 8.6 per cent rise.
Page 2: In Perth, the weekly clearance rate was 62.5 per cent, up from 47.1 per cent a year earlier, CoreLogic data said.
Page 5: The shop assistants union is pushing for pay rises for tens of thousands of casual retail workers employed on Saturdays and weeknights, prompting employer claims that higher labour costs will force businesses to cut trading hours and reduce work available to young people.
Page 17: Super funds that don’t make the “best in show” list proposed by the Productivity Commission could suffer medium-term liquidity and sustainability problems and face winding-up, the prudential regulator has warned in a letter that also hit back at criticism of its supervision of the industry.
The US-China trade war is the single biggest risk facing the global economy, according to business leaders surveyed by Oxford Economics.
Page 19: The Productivity Commission has stepped up its call for a major shake-up of the way credit and debit card systems work, including forcing banks to scrap hidden charges that are estimated to generate $530 million in fees a year.
Page 24: Nine has opened the door to selling non-core Fairfax assets on an investor roadshow including the New Zealand business as part of its $4.06 billion merger with the 177-year-old publisher.
The West Australian
Page 3: Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has lashed “bleeding heart” city dwellers opposed to the live sheep trade, saying their focus on the Australian arm of the trade shows they do not care about animal welfare.
Page 5: Health fund premiums are being driven up by as much as $1400 a year by the creation of products that exclude cover for items such as childbirth, the Senate has been told.
Business: Artificial intelligence has a dubious rap courtesy of Hollywood blockbusters such as the Terminator films but Optus and Curtin University are backing its application in telecommunications and higher education.
The value of WA’s listed companies soared 26.8 per cent over the 2017-18 financial year to $193.6 billion, its highest since 2011.
