Morning Headlines

D-day for PM as allies desert

Malcolm Turnbull is expected to face his second leadership challenge within 48 hours today after supporters of Peter Dutton last night circulated a petition demanding the Prime Minister call a partyroom meeting and again put his job on the line. The Aus

Dutton’s GST idea could kill WA deal

The fix to WA’s long-running GST woes could be at risk under Peter Dutton as prime minister after he suggested taking the tax off household power bills. The West

BCI may look to sell iron ore assets

Kerry Stokes-backed BCI Minerals is tipped to be eyeing a sale of its entire Pilbara iron ore assets, which analysts estimate could fetch more than $100 million. The West

NBN names finance chief Rue to replace Morrow as CEO

NBN Co’s board has opted to hand over the keys to the $50 billion National Broadband Network to its chief financial officer, Stephen Rue, who will replace outgoing chief executive Bill Morrow next month. The Aus

Seven fleet first on infrastructure

Seven Group Holdings is boosting its Coates Hire fleet to continue cashing in on a prolonged boom in Australia’s infrastructure sector and gearing up for a rebound in sales of new equipment as mining companies are forced to relax their purse strings. The Fin

Charter Hall to take over Folkestone in $205m deal

Charter Hall is set to take over the listed Folkestone funds management platform built up by Greg Paramor and his partners over the past eight years in a $205 million cash deal. The Fin

Kuwaitis poised to snare exports

A Kuwaiti company could fill the void left by a Federal Government ban on live sheep exporter Emanuel Exports as farmers warn that the political crisis in Canberra could further damage the industry. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Guy Debelle offered a number of reasons inflation has been so low in recent years, but little confidence that the forces that have weighed on consumer prices are set to ease any time soon.

Adriano Zumbo’s dessert empire may have been trading insolvent since at least mid-2017, raising questions about the dessert king’s breach of obligations as a company director.

Page 4: The Coalition will promise to accelerate tax cuts for small businesses irrespective of the outcome of the current leadership turmoil after confirming it would refashion its company tax package following defeat in the Senate.

Page 5: Senior Nationals believe a threat by a ginger group of dissident MPs to defect to the crossbench if the Liberal Party switches leaders is credible.

Page 20: Santos has secured $US1.2 billion in new debt commitments to help fund its $US2.15 billion ($2.92 billion) bid for West Australian major gas supplier Quadrant Energy.

Page 21: The new chief executive of The a2 Milk Company, Jayne Hrdlicka, says she is firmly focused on the big opportunities in China and the United States, leaving some question marks about the future of the business in the United Kingdom.

Australia’s biggest supplier of car parts to mechanics expects profits to grow by up to 14 per cent in 2018-19 as the nation’s 18 million car owners diligently get their vehicles serviced, which will keep the business ticking over regardless of political instability or rising interest rates.

Page 23: Seven Group Holdings is boosting its Coates Hire fleet to continue cashing in on a prolonged boom in Australia’s infrastructure sector and gearing up for a rebound in sales of new equipment as mining companies are forced to relax their purse strings.

Page 30: One of Australia’s biggest food producers, Chicken processor Ingham, has warned the drought gripping large parts of Australia will bite into household budgets for the next six months and longer without substantial rainfall.

Page 35: Blackstone has sweetened its bid to take over the listed Investa Office Fund to $3.26 billion after the takeover target’s biggest shareholder, a separate unlisted Investa Fund, rejected the original offer.

Page 36: Charter Hall is set to take over the listed Folkestone funds management platform built up by Greg Paramor and his partners over the past eight years in a $205 million cash deal.

The Australian                                                                                                                         

Page 1: Malcolm Turnbull is expected to face his second leadership challenge within 48 hours today after supporters of Peter Dutton last night circulated a petition demanding the Prime Minister call a partyroom meeting and again put his job on the line.

A Dutton government would block any bid by China’s Huawei to build Australia’s 5G network and a bid by Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings for the country’s gas pipelines, former Turnbull minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has suggested.

Page 2: Family lawyers could be hit with personal costs orders if they fail to help resolve disputes as “quickly, inexpensively and efficiently” as possible and if their fees become disproportionate to the issues in dispute, under laws to be introduced to parliament today.

Page 10: Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen has directly implicated the President in the illegal payment of hush money to two of Mr Trump’s alleged former lovers to influence the 2016 election.

Page 19: TPG Telecom shares have jumped over 21 per cent as investors strongly backed the potential tieup between the telco and Vodafone Hutchison Australia that could create the third integrated telco in the market worth more than $10 billion.

Page 23: NBN Co’s board has opted to hand over the keys to the $50 billion National Broadband Network to its chief financial officer, Stephen Rue, who will replace outgoing chief executive Bill Morrow next month.

Optus is cutting another large chunk out of its workforce, with more than 400 jobs to go over the next two months.

The West Australian

Page 5: The fix to WA’s long-running GST woes could be at risk under Peter Dutton as prime minister after he suggested taking the tax off household power bills.

Page 9: A Kuwaiti company could fill the void left by a Federal Government ban on live sheep exporter Emanuel Exports as farmers warn that the political crisis in Canberra could further damage the industry.

Page 16: Fremantle had a record $313 million of building approvals in the past year, thanks largely to the $270 million Kings Square project finally getting the green light.

Business: Kerry Stokes-backed BCI Minerals is tipped to be eyeing a sale of its entire Pilbara iron ore assets, which analysts estimate could fetch more than $100 million.

Shares in Western Areas fell sharply yesterday after the nickel miner became the latest WA resources company to issue a warning on inflationary pressures and higher costs.

Land developer Cedar Woods posted a $43 million full-year net profit for the year to June 30, 6 per cent lower than a year ago.

Apartment developer Finbar reported a 170 per cent annual net profit surge to $14 million.

Two costly contract disputes have contributed to GR Engineering Services reporting a 10 per cent fall in annual profit to $11.6 million.

Shareholders of engineering firm SRG have overwhelmingly backed a $285 million merger with Global Construction Services.