LNG exports from US are a serious threat
Australia’s new liquefied natural gas ventures are ignoring the far reaching impact that US exports will have in their key Asian markets, with some likely to struggle to make returns from their expensive investments, the Melbourne-based head of the US’s latest LNG export venture warns. The Fin
Continental in last-ditch bid to recapitalise
Troubled junior miner Continental Coal has warned investors it may have to call in a voluntary administrator if it cannot recapitalise the company. The Aus
Miners turned up volume to cash in on price
Expectations the Pilbara’s big iron ore miners are set to deliver bumper results when their firsthalf results are delivered next month are rising. The latest shipping figures from Port Hedland show exports rose at a time of high iron ore prices, despite the late December disruption caused by cyclone Christine. The West
US oil majors campaign to reverse crude export ban
US oil companies have not been allowed to export crude for 40 years, but the industry wants to change that, even though the country still consumes far more oil than it produces. The West
Call to curb minimum wage rise
Business groups are demanding that any increase in the minimum wage be modest or deferred this year, citing a weakening economy and government imposed costs on employers, including increased superannuation contributions and penalty rates. The Fin
Super-golden year as nest eggs return 13.7pc
Australian superannuation fund members enjoyed their best-time since 2007 in the 2012-13 financial year, with an average one-year return for the major funds of 13.7 per cent. The Aus
Emerging markets likely causualties of US oil boom
An early rally on the Australian sharemarket again ran into profit taking yesterday as sentiment was hit by weak domestic data, Chinese growth uncertainty and the deteriorating outlook for emerging markets from the narrowing US trade deficit. The West
The West Australian
Page 2: Petrol prices will jump above $1.60 a litre today for only the second time in Perth’s history.
The price spike means some petrol stations will be selling unleaded fuel 14¢ a litre more than they were yesterday.
Page 10: Wharfies, Catholic school teachers and alumina refinery employees are among the workers to have enjoyed the biggest boosts to their retirement nest eggs over the past decade.
Figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority released yesterday rank the biggest 200 funds by their rate of return over the past year, five years and 10 years.
Page 11: Key WA business groups have warned the Abbott Government the centrepiece of its direct action strategy to combat climate change lacks certainty for industry without showing how it will be funded beyond 2016-17 .
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy have both urged the Government to provide more details on how its Emissions Reduction Fund will work.
Page 62: National carpark operator Wilson Group has added health services to its offering by acquiring a WA medical training and ambulance provider.
Page 63: The new year flurry of gold deals continued yesterday, with Canadian gold producer Monument Mining revealed as the mystery buyer of Kentor Gold’s failed Murchison project.
Financial Review
Page 1: The battle for Royal Dutch Shell’s Australian service stations is heating up with three consortia involving global investors such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council in the final stages of a $3billion auction.
Page 1: Victorian Liberal MP Sharman Stone has reignited a divisive debate within the Abbott government over assistance to struggling businesses, criticising members of cabinet who are resisting a request from SPC Ardmona (SPCA) for $50 million as motivated by free market “dogma”.
Page 3: Economists will be given a clearer picture of the growth in online retail sales when the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes separate data on online purchases for the first time.
Page 3: Australian firms have climbed up the list of the world’s biggest architectural companies after successfully expanding overseas and increasing the number of architects on their books.
Page 4: The Abbott government says Labor should distance itself from the Maritime Union of Australia, which has been accused of organising “covert” industrial action at ports.
Page 5: The Coalition government is yet to decide on changes to tax rules that technology start-ups say are needed to attract talent and keep their businesses in Australia.
Page 6: The gas industry has urged the Abbott government to exempt $200 billion of new LNG projects from the compliance element of the direct action plan for at least five years.
Page 9: The International Monetary Fund will revise upward its global economic growth forecast in about three weeks, managing director Christine Lagarde said.
Page 10: Consumer prices in the euro zone barely increased in December, raising fears of deflation and putting pressure on the European Central Bank to take further action.
Page 12: Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, snagged 6 percent of Bega in a share raid in October and has since crept up to 9 percent of the register.
Page 17: Australia’s busiest port, Port Hedland, recorded another rise in iron ore exports last month, despite a two-day halt in shipments as Cyclone Christine tore through the Pilbara.
Page 17: Sandfire Resources managing director Karl Simich says OZ Minerals would need to exhibit an “obvious value proposition” for the mid-tier miner to consider making a bid and highlighted the group’s immediate focus was identifying nearby high quality deposits.
Page 17: The BHP Billiton board appears unlikely to pursue an unwind of the dual-listed share structure given the associated costs, tax complexities and minor impact on operations, according to analysts.
The Australian
Page 1: Billions of dollars in superannuation will be used to snap up public assets under plans being put to Canberra and the states to force the pace of privatisation despite an escalating political fight over the reforms.
Page 4: South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has spoken to ‘‘high end’’ overseas carmakers about taking over the Holden brand and the Adelaide factory, saying he wants auto-manufacturing to continue in Australia.
Page 10: During the next three years, the last traces of what seemed at the time an extraordinarily generous run of tax cuts will be washed away.
By 2016, individuals will be paying an average of just more than 24 per cent of their income in tax, the same as in 2004, before John Howard and Peter Costello set out to lower the burden of personal taxation.
Page 13: The Business Council of Australia has partnered with mining giant Rio Tinto and policy thinktank the Melbourne Institute to pioneer the launch of a new national economic indicator to rank alongside those used to benchmark activity in the world’s biggest economies.
Page 15: Australian industry superannuation funds now have a heavier weighting to both local and overseas equities than their retail counterparts, according to statistics published yesterday by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Page 16: A booming US energy sector and rising overseas demand brightened the nation’s trade picture in November, sharply boosting estimates for economic growth in late 2013 and raising hopes for a stronger expansion this year.
Page 17: ANZ Bank’s online stockbroking arm Etrade has roared back to profitability after a rise in trading, as optimism builds that the industry is on the mend after five years of pain.
Page 17: Struggling Indian-backed miner Gujarat NRE has finalised new credit facilities and informed the market it has paid all wages and salaries owed to its employees.
