Boost for Pilbara power plan
Boost for Pilbara power plan
The consortium behind a massive renewable energy project proposed for the Pilbara has brought Macquarie Group on board as an investor and bolstered the budget to more than $22 billion. The West
Chinese investments slump 40pc
Chinese investment into Australia slumped 40 per cent last year, twice the drop worldwide, according to new figures that highlight the impact of Beijing’s crackdown on trophy acquisitions and Canberra’s tougher stance on sensitive infrastructure and property. The Fin
Move to tap farmers for water licence fees
Thousands of landholders and farmers face being slugged hefty fees for water licences under a McGowan Government proposal that could raise up to $30 million a year in extra money. The West
Public servants’ huge leave stash
More than 13,000 WA public servants are sitting on at least two years worth of annual leave, raising concerns about their health as well as the huge financial liability to the State. The West
Negative gearing plan ‘threat to market’
The number of loan-approved first-home buyers has hit its highest level since the end of the global financial crisis, with the federal government claiming the credit squeeze on investor lending has begun a turnaround in the property market in favour of owner-occupiers. The Aus
Coles can afford investment, dividends: Scott
Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says Coles’ conservative balance sheet and lack of loss-making businesses – unlike rival Woolworths – will allow it to make big capital investments while paying up to 90 per cent of profits out as dividends. The Fin
Uranium rules ‘cost billions’
A new analysis says Australia’s uranium mining industry is handicapped by outdated 1970s-style regulations, depriving the economy of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of new jobs. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Chinese investment into Australia slumped 40 per cent last year, twice the drop worldwide, according to new figures that highlight the impact of Beijing’s crackdown on trophy acquisitions and Canberra’s tougher stance on sensitive infrastructure and property.
Investor Geoff Wilson says more rises in US bond yields could spell the end of the longest bull market in history.
Page 4: The Productivity Commission will consider the impact of mental health on the Australian economy, with a new inquiry set to review $9 billion in spending nationally.
Page 9: The reach of artificial intelligence into Australian police forces has prompted calls for more effective national regulation, as 41 per cent of employees say AI is being used in their organisation.
Page 15: The chairman of federal parliament’s Standing Committee on Economics, Tim Wilson, has lashed out at the conduct failures of the major banks, saying they must learn from the ‘‘reality check’’ of the Hayne royal commission and change their bonus-led cultures.
Page 17: Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says Coles’ conservative balance sheet and lack of loss-making businesses – unlike rival Woolworths – will allow it to make big capital investments while paying up to 90 per cent of profits out as dividends.
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has left the door open to cutting mobile prices to ensure the gap between its rivals doesn’t get so large it threatens Telstra’s market share.
Page 18: Executives at The a2 Milk Company have hit back at critics who say the infant formula maker may face a sales decline in its English label product online when China’s new e-commerce law kicks in from January, while also defending the recent share sales by a slew of executives.
Page 31: Fairfax Media’s events business is under the microscope with options being explored about how the asset could sit within the Nine Entertainment portfolio.
Page 37: Australia’s largest landholder has turned a $6.2 million profit in the year following its acquisition by Australia’s wealthiest woman Gina Rinehart and her Chinese business partner Cred Pastoral.
The Australian
Page 1: The number of loan-approved first-home buyers has hit its highest level since the end of the global financial crisis, with the federal government claiming the credit squeeze on investor lending has begun a turnaround in the property market in favour of owner-occupiers.
Page 2: Federal Labor’s decision to support the Morrison government on legislation to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is causing such internal upheaval that it could seriously damage the party’s vote at the next election.
Page 3: The main pillar of the Morrison government’s health insurance reforms could miss the planned start date as insurers push for a 24-month transition period amid debate over the clinical definitions used to underpin the policy.
Page 5: A new analysis says Australia’s uranium mining industry is handicapped by outdated 1970s-style regulations, depriving the economy of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of new jobs.
Page 7: The golden wheat fields of Western Australia have yielded an unusual harvest of creatures, including a giant bilby and a rare turtle shaped from wheat stalks.
Page 17: Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott will fly to Britain and the US this month to sell his $20 billion Coles demerger proposal to the conglomerate’s biggest institutional shareholders, and claims to already have received strong local investor support for the supermarket spin-off.
A merger between the $5 billion Maritime Super and the $11bn Mine Super may be on the cards, after advisers were recently appointed to explore a tie-up between the industry funds.
Controversial online betting outlet Lottoland is developing new products and looking for a local “sportsbook’’ partner to reinvent its business to keep it afloat in Australia following a strong campaign to force it to shut its doors.
Page 19: The Australian Taxation Office has settled its 12-year pursuit of the family that helped start Nudie Juice, the Binetters, over a $140 million offshore tax evasion scheme.
Page 24: Betting advertising has smashed all records over the past year, in sharp defiance of predictions it would collapse in the face of recent legislation introducing a “siren to siren” television ad ban.
The West Australian
Page 3: Thousands of landholders and farmers face being slugged hefty fees for water licences under a McGowan Government proposal that could raise up to $30 million a year in extra money.
Page 6: Industrial relations looms as a key battleground in next year’s Federal election as Bill Shorten declares he won’t be a small target in the campaign, and Scott Morrison again unloaded on the Labor leader’s union links.
Page 9: More than 13,000 WA public servants are sitting on at least two years worth of annual leave, raising concerns about their health as well as the huge financial liability to the State.
Business: The consortium behind a massive renewable energy project proposed for the Pilbara has brought Macquarie Group on board as an investor and bolstered the budget to more than $22 billion.
