Morning Headlines

China trade war threat ratchets up

Donald Trump has doubled down on his widening trade war, threatening tariffs on effectively every item China exports to the US, just 60 days out from mid-term elections that polls indicate would leave him facing a hostile Congress. The Fin

PM approval offers hope but rout looms

Scott Morrison has emerged as the favoured prime minister over Bill Shorten and a more popular leader than Malcolm Turnbull after just two weeks in the job but he leads a decimated Coalition that faces an election wipeout with the potential loss of up to 30 seats. The Aus

Life insurance client churn in inquiry sights

Insurance companies that look the other way as financial advisers churn customers through life insurance policies for a quick buck are set to be named and shamed by the Hayne royal commission as it begins its sixth round of hearings on Monday. The Fin

Court strikes out Wilson claim against Quintis

A defamation action brought by Quintis founder and former boss Frank Wilson against his former directors was struck out on Friday in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which also awarded costs against Mr Wilson. The Fin

Spring auction market proving slow to bloom

Adelaide returned the strongest preliminary clearance rate of 64.8 per cent, while only 18.8 per cent of homes sold across Perth. The Aus

Mortgage stress is slowly on the rise

Mortgage stress has risen as a new record high level of household debt against income is set across Australia, new data by research and analysis group Digital Finance Analytics shows. The Fin

Huge travel bill for Gold Corp

Jet-setting executives from WA’s Gold Corporation have amassed one of the biggest overseas travel bills of any State Government agency, despite being among the smallest. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Donald Trump has doubled down on his widening trade war, threatening tariffs on effectively every item China exports to the US, just 60 days out from mid-term elections that polls indicate would leave him facing a hostile Congress.

Page 3: Insurance companies that look the other way as financial advisers churn customers through life insurance policies for a quick buck are set to be named and shamed by the Hayne royal commission as it begins its sixth round of hearings on Monday.

Page 4: Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has defended his decision to support striking steel workers, claiming it was symptomatic of big business thinking more like the progressive left.

Page 6: Malcolm Turnbull has endorsed former Business Council of Australia director Andrew Bragg for preselection in Wentworth, while local Liberals report diplomat Dave Sharma is gaining ground.

Page 8: The Coalition is putting pressure on the northern Australia infrastructure fund to spend more of its $5 billion budget ahead of the federal election as it struggles to find significant projects to back.

Page 9: A study of trade union financial statements has found they increased their revenue after inflation by 42 per cent in the past 14 years, even as their private sector membership declined by 41 per cent.

Page 15: Australian stocks are threatening to stumble to their longest losing streak since the Global Financial Crisis as anxious investors fret about the growing trade dispute between the US and China, the rout in emerging markets, and baulk at the hefty valuations of high flying market darlings.

A string of private equity and trade buyers have expressed interest in the past fortnight about potentially buying the $3 billion-plus IFCO reusable plastic containers business from logistics giant Brambles, making it increasingly likely the IFCO operations might not make it onto a stock exchange in a demerger.

Page 17: Cheung Kong Infrastructure’s proposed $13 billion takeover of gas pipeline owner APA Group would create a giant energy infrastructure monopoly but it will be difficult to knock back on strict competition grounds, experts say ahead of a critical ruling from the antitrust regulator this week.

Page 18: A defamation action brought by Quintis founder and former boss Frank Wilson against his former directors was struck out on Friday in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which also awarded costs against Mr Wilson.

Page 19: Gina Rinehart-backed Sirius Minerals has put the spotlight on her Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto in suggesting a white knight could emerge to help finance the burgeoning cost of its plans for a potash mine in Yorkshire.

Page 31: Mortgage stress has risen as a new record high level of household debt against income is set across Australia, new data by research and analysis group Digital Finance Analytics shows.

The Australian                                                                                                                          

Page 1: Scott Morrison has emerged as the favoured prime minister over Bill Shorten and a more popular leader than Malcolm Turnbull after just two weeks in the job but he leads a decimated Coalition that faces an election wipeout with the potential loss of up to 30 seats.

Page 7: Adelaide returned the strongest preliminary clearance rate of 64.8 per cent, while only 18.8 per cent of homes sold across Perth.

Page 17: The number of Chinese companies looking to list in Australia has collapsed as more mainland entities are removed by the stock exchange for not meeting the nation’s strict corporate governance and liquidity rules.

Page 18: The Australian Banking Association has wrong-footed smaller lenders after the lobby group’s chief executive, Anna Bligh, was accused of suggesting the standards of credit unions and mutual banks were not up to scratch.

Page 24: After being fined billions of dollars for anti-competitive conduct in Europe, Google is facing an international revolt by mainstream media seeking a regulatory crackdown and possible break-up of its business empire.

The West Australian

Page 3: Jet-setting executives from WA’s Gold Corporation have amassed one of the biggest overseas travel bills of any State Government agency, despite being among the smallest.

Business: Since last weekend, RNC Minerals has been tallying the bonanza haul from a single cut of rock blasted about 500m underground at the 45-year-old Beta Hunt gold mine near Kambalda, 600km east of Perth and 50km south of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

WA’s pork industry has made some progress in reducing its massive oversupply problem, but there is still a long way to go before prices recover.

The new operator of the Landsdale Farm School plans to maintain and build on its current services while keeping its focus on students with disabilities.