QBE chair takes the fall
QBE Insurance Group chairman Belinda Hutchinson has stepped down after another shock profit downgrade, preventing a possible investor backlash against chief executive John Neal and the board of Australia’s biggest insurer. The Fin
Qantas wants level playing field, not bailout
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has categorically rejected a government bailout, declaring that Qantas "is not Holden" and urging the Abbott government to adopt a suite of legislative and regulatory changes to level the aviation playing field. The Aus
Call to ease ‘daunting’ mine hurdles
Australia needs to overhaul its “daunting” approvals system for major projects, which in one case required a gold mine in Western Australia to obtain 66 separate approvals before it could go ahead, according to the Productivity Commission, the government’s independent research adviser. The Fin
Coles and Woolies slam ‘copycat’ Aldi
Woolworths has stepped up pressure on rival Aldi to sign the grocery code of conduct, alleging the discount retailer’s private label products may be infringing on the intellectual property of leading national brands. The Fin
Each Holden staffer costs taxpayers $50k
Taxpayers are covering about $2500 of the cost of each Australian-made car with subsidies equivalent to as much as $50,000 for every employee directly involved in their manufacture. The Aus
Lobby seeks funding solution
WA Farmers president Dale Park has admitted the cash-strapped organisation must find new sources of income to survive after being rocked by the loss of its chief executive and his deputy in the past few weeks. The West
IOH moves step closer to Buckland sign-off
Iron Ore Holdings has ticked another box on development of its $800 million Buckland iron ore project, with the Environmental Protection Authority yesterday recommending approval of the mine and planned haulage route. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: QBE Insurance Group chairman Belinda Hutchinson has stepped down after another shock profit downgrade, preventing a possible investor backlash against chief executive John Neal and the board of Australia’s biggest insurer.
Page 3: Australia needs to overhaul its “daunting” approvals system for major projects, which in one case required a gold mine in Western Australia to obtain 66 separate approvals before it could go ahead, according to the Productivity Commission, the government’s independent research adviser.
Investment bank UBS and private equity funds have poured $3.4 million into ingogo , which offers a mobile-phone taxi-booking app, valuing the two-year old Australian start-up at $25million as it prepares to list on the Australian Securities Exchange next year.
Page 4: Australia’s largest steelmaker, Blue-Scope Steel, will lose at least $33 million in revenue a year if GM Holden shuts down local car manufacturing from 2016.
Page 5: Freed from the shackles of a public debt ceiling, the Australian Greens will establish a parliamentary committee to challenge the findings of the federal government’s audit commission and buttress their plans to oppose savings measures.
Page 6: Economists and business groups have called for faster changes to Australia’s workplace laws, including more flexibility and less scope for bargaining claims, citing the danger of economic downturn and higher unemployment.
Page 7: The coming policy white paper on agriculture will examine ways to get a better return for farmers, thereby stimulating production, as well as how to capitalise on Australia’s regional advantage, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce says.
Page 8: Technology leaders have called for the Coalition government to go ahead with accelerating rollout of the national broadband network (NBN) but blasted its plan of relying on Telstra’s ageing copper for much of the network.
Page 11: Woolworths has stepped up pressure on rival Aldi to sign the grocery code of conduct, alleging the discount retailer’s private label products may be infringing on the intellectual property of leading national brands.
Page 13: Lion chief executive Stuart Irvine said the foodandbeveragesgiantwilluseits10per cent stake in takeover target Warrnambool Cheese & Butter to protect its cheese business as the three-way take-over battle for WCB intensifies.
Page 14: Woodside Petroleum has outlined an option to the Timor-Leste authorities for the onshore development in Timor of gas from the Sunrise field, according to petroleum and mineral resources minister Alfredo Pires.
Page 16: Investors will be able to start buying and selling managed funds on the ASX from early next year with the local bourse hopeful that it will receive the green light from the securities regulator and the federal government in the coming weeks.
Page 18: Metcash has taken the first step towards rebuilding its food and grocery distribution and convenience operations, unwinding a merger of the divisions put in place almost two years ago.
Page 19: Chief executives from Australia’s technology sector have called on the government to speed up its deliberations on changes to rules governing employee share schemes, flagging restrictive policy as a key issue hampering the local industry.
The Australian:
Taxpayers are covering about $2500 of the cost of each Australian-made car with subsidies equivalent to as much as $50,000 for every employee directly involved in their manufacture.
Tony Abbott and the Liberals have lost their three-year carbon tax advantage over Labor, with support for the Coalition dropping to its lowest since 2011 to leave the opposition leading on preferences for the first time since the election of the Gillard government.
The allocation of Labor's $300 million fund for wage rises for childcare workers was deeply unfair and the sector's peak union used it to boost its membership, an independent report has found.
QBE Insurance chief John Neal has drawn a line in the sand to turn around the group's troubled US operations, after the global insurer warned its dismal performance would result in the group's first annual loss in 12 years.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has categorically rejected a government bailout, declaring that Qantas "is not Holden" and urging the Abbott government to adopt a suite of legislative and regulatory changes to level the aviation playing field.
The operators of a uranium mine inside World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park have been told not to resume processing in the wake of a spill of more than a million litres of acid-laced radioactive material.
He helped bankroll Fortescue Metals Group when no one else would back its founder Andrew Forrest. Now, New York money man Eddie Sugar is getting behind another resources play with big ambitions, big funding needs and big challenges.
Shares in TPG Telecom surged towards record highs yesterday as the company swooped in to buy Telecom NZ's struggling subsidiary AAPT for $450 million.
Amid calls for bailouts for Holden and Qantas, the gas industry has made a rare move to fly in a delegation of workers and supporters to Canberra for a briefing blitz of newly elected politicians today.
The scion of the billionaire Canadian dairy family has long eyed Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory as an asset that could be the springboard for Saputo in Asia.
National Australia Bank has recruited David Boyle from Ernst & Young to the role of chief information officer, as the bank continues to roll out its technology transformation program.
The West Australian
Page 14: The likely repeat WA Senate election next year will be one of the most high-tech and high-security exercises in democracy in the Western world.
Glenn Stevens has warned Australians not to get cocky about its record economic expansion as fresh signs emerge the jobs market has turned the corner in WA.
Treasurer Joe Hockey is continuing to take an uncompromising line on Holden, as the car maker’s parent company signalled it would stop building Australian-made vehicles in 2016.
Page 17: A confidential report into allegations that Corruption and Crime Commission officers rorted their expenses is expected to be handed to a committee of Parliament this week.
Page 18: Labor will seek to filibuster to prevent a vote on the Abbott Government’s carbon tax repeal Bills before Christmas.
Business: WA Farmers president Dale Park has admitted the cash-strapped organisation must find new sources of income to survive after being rocked by the loss of its chief executive and his deputy in the past few weeks.
Iron Ore Holdings has ticked another box on development of its $800 million Buckland iron ore project, with the Environmental Protection Authority yesterday recommending approval of the mine and planned haulage route.
Ramelius Resources has lowered gold production guidance for its Mt Magnet project after recent problems with the mill, but says it has a plan to deal with a pit wall slip.
Fremantle’s beer-carrying winged cherub has well and truly taken flight, with Little Creatures finding a second home in another port city on the other side of the country.