Morning Headlines

Trump blames ‘crazy Fed’ for rout

Donald Trump escalated the sell-off sweeping global markets by firing a shot at the US Federal Reserve, laying the blame for the worst losses for shares since February at chairman Jay Powell and saying the central bank has ‘‘gone crazy’’. The Fin

Business tips a bright future for the State

Confidence among WA’s businesses has soared to its highest level in five years as the mining and health sectors grow more upbeat about the economy. The West

Fortescue in $500m share buy-back

Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group believes it has the timing right with a $500 million share buy-back that caught the market on the hop despite a recent tick up in prices for its lower grade iron ore. The Fin

Shorten to shake up bank super

Bill Shorten has flagged giving financial regulators the power to force bank-owned retail superannuation funds to appoint independent trustees to ensure members’ interests are put ahead of profits when dealing with workers’ compulsory retirement savings. The Aus

Investors lose millions as Bux bites the dust

Just $47,000 in cash remains among the paltry assets of the now defunct Bux mobile phone money transfer business, which had attracted $100 million in investments — but yesterday was declared bust. The West

Labor flags flip on small biz tax cuts

Labor has indicated it could move within the next fortnight to support a government plan to fast-track tax cuts for small and medium businesses, and neutralise it as an election issue. The Fin

Merredin solar boost for WA

The State’s biggest solar farm in Merredin could soon produce enough power for 42,000 homes after a Chinese firm bought the project. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Donald Trump escalated the sell-off sweeping global markets by firing a shot at the US Federal Reserve, laying the blame for the worst losses for shares since February at chairman Jay Powell and saying the central bank has ‘‘gone crazy’’.

Politicians should be wary that overloading new regulation on the banking sector in the wake of the Hayne royal commission could harm the economy by exacerbating the housing downturn and making it harder for businesses to borrow, Westpac Banking Corp CEO Brian Hartzer has warned.

Page 2: Australia’s new Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, senior state politicians and the country’s major exporters are scheduled to be in Shanghai next month for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature import expo in the latest sign of a thaw in diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra.

Page 3: Labor has indicated it could move within the next fortnight to support a government plan to fast-track tax cuts for small and medium businesses, and neutralise it as an election issue.

Page 4: Plans to import LNG into Australia’s south-east are building begrudging support across the gas supply chain and among industrial buyers as potentially the only way to head off a damaging shortfall in supply over the next few years, even if prices are too high for some buyers.

Page 7: Employers have called in the competition watchdog to investigate an unusual agreement funding million-dollar class actions over casual entitlements in the mining industry for ‘‘misleading and deceptive conduct’’.

Page 10: Aged care providers are warning of a capital strike slowing down construction of new nursing homes as the sector braces for several years of uncertainty while the royal commission is under way.

Big four accounting firm EY is riding a boom in government consulting and contracting work, with a total of 349 professionals now deployed to Commonwealth projects across the country.

Page 15: Rich Listers holding big stakes in the market’s 10 worst-performing stocks nursed big losses on Thursday, with the market slump wiping a combined $382 million from their wealth.

Page 16: Street Talk understands the family owned BGC has appointed former banker, company executive and Takeovers Panel member Jennifer Seabrook as an independent director, where she is likely to have a big say in how and when the company’s diverse assets are sold.

Page 17: The Navitas board should hold out for an improved offer or alternative bidder, according to investors who have rejected a $2 billion bid from a consortium led by private equity firm BGH Capital as undervaluing the education company.

Page 20: Wesfarmers has appointed Coles executive Sarah Hunter as managing director of its $2 billion office products chain, Officeworks.

Page 25: Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group believes it has the timing right with a $500 million share buy-back that caught the market on the hop despite a recent tick up in prices for its lower grade iron ore.

The Australian                                                                                                                          

Page 1: Bill Shorten has flagged giving financial regulators the power to force bank-owned retail superannuation funds to appoint independent trustees to ensure members’ interests are put ahead of profits when dealing with workers’ compulsory retirement savings.

The sharemarket fell 2.7 per cent yesterday, marking its worst day since February 6 and wiping $50 billion off the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index.

Page 6: Labor tried to claim parliamentary privilege over material seized by the Australian Federal Police after it raided the offices of the Australian Border Force yesterday following leaks in the Peter Dutton.

Page 21: Telstra chairman John Mullen has apologised to shareholders for not meeting their expectations about the size of executive pay packets, but reiterated that there will be no cuts to bonuses.

Morgan Stanley economists are predicting an alarming drop in house prices of up to 15 per cent, marking the largest fall in the market since the early 1980s.

The West Australian

Page 1: Just $47,000 in cash remains among the paltry assets of the now defunct Bux mobile phone money transfer business, which had attracted $100 million in investments — but yesterday was declared bust.

Page 4: Confidence among WA’s businesses has soared to its highest level in five years as the mining and health sectors grow more upbeat about the economy.

Business: Co-operative Bulk Handling will put in place almost one million tonnes of emergency grain storage capacity in anticipation of a reasonable harvest.

The WA community’s massive support for strawberry growers has saved the industry from ruin from the sabotage issues, but tough times remain.

Housing Minister Peter Tinley has pledged to ask Treasurer Ben Wyatt to consider the WA property industry’s pleas to defer the foreign buyer surcharge.

The State’s biggest solar farm in Merredin could soon produce enough power for 42,000 homes after a Chinese firm bought the project.