Morning Headlines

Kidman resisting Wesfarmers’ bid

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers could be forced to lift the price of its $776 million takeover bid for Kidman Resources, with shareholders in the target said to be holding out for a higher price. The Aus

Tariff war a boon for gas producers

Australian LNG producers may boost the value of their $17 billion trade relationship with China following Beijing’s retaliatory move to raise tariffs on gas imports from the US, consultancy Wood Mackenzie says. The Aus

Premier warns Palmer

Mark McGowan is poised to take the radical step of rewriting a State Agreement with Clive Palmer’s company to allow a key iron ore project to go ahead in a bid to save 3000 jobs. The West

The flower business

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has rejected Ramelius Resources’ expansion of a Wheatbelt gold mine worth an estimated $115 million and providing 100 jobs to protect a rare native plant. The West

Wage theft: Labor takes on employers

Labor will ramp up its pay push today with a new tribunal to combat wage theft, while at the same time it plans to exploit the Liberal Party’s preference deal with Clive Palmer and his refusal to pay his workers. The Fin

Todd’s vanadium play on block

New Zealand’s Todd Corporation has put its Balla Balla vanadium play on the block, tapping Perth-based PCF Capital to find a buyer for the $100 million-rated project. The Aus

Tax Office comes after Airbnb landlords

Online accommodation giant Airbnb has become the first major sharing-economy brand to agree to hand information about payments made to its users to the Tax Office. The Fin

Galaxy Resources ready to tip into Alliance Minerals

Cashed up listed lithium player Galaxy Resources is set to invest fresh funds into fellow listed miner Alliance Minerals Assets Ltd. The Fin

Online NAPLAN glitch tests patience

Principals and teachers have expressed frustration with the NAPLAN online testing format, with schools across the country reporting technical glitches on day one. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Global shares tumbled yesterday as China declared it is prepared to ‘‘fight back’’ in its escalating trade war with the US, which threatens to derail global growth and demand a return to easier monetary policy settings from the world’s central banks.

Labor will ramp up its pay push today with a new tribunal to combat wage theft, while at the same time it plans to exploit the Liberal Party’s preference deal with Clive Palmer and his refusal to pay his workers.

Page 2: Boral has retrenched almost 100 staff in a bid to cut costs against the backdrop of a weakening construction market.

Page 3: Online accommodation giant Airbnb has become the first major sharing-economy brand to agree to hand information about payments made to its users to the Tax Office.

Page 8: Property investors who use negative gearing and capital gains tax deductions end up paying almost three times more tax than the subsidies they receive from government, new modelling shows.

Page 13: Donald Trump has repeatedly portrayed the punitive tariffs he has imposed on China and other countries as tools to create leverage and draw them into new trade deals that benefit the US.

Page 14: A California jury on Tuesday (AEST) awarded more than $US2 billion ($2.9 billion) to a couple who claimed Bayer glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused their cancer, in the largest US jury verdict to date against the company in litigation over the chemical.

Page 18: Cashed up listed lithium player Galaxy Resources is set to invest fresh funds into fellow listed miner Alliance Minerals Assets Ltd.

Page 19: Woolworths has slashed the prices of more than 1000 products by as much as 50 per cent in an online super sale, opening a new front in the supermarket wars.

Page 24: Takeover target Automotive Holdings Group has warned profits for 2018-19 will be weaker than expected because of a downturn in new car sales and a soft performance from the refrigerated logistics business it is trying to sell.

The Australian

Page 4: Indonesia has vowed to crack down on the smuggling of household rubbish from Australia, Britain and other Western nations after environmental audits found 50 per cent or more of supposedly recyclable material imported was contaminated with non-recyclable waste.

Page 6: Christian schools say Labor’s plan to wind back religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws will effectively require religious institutions to implement a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Page 10: Principals and teachers have expressed frustration with the NAPLAN online testing format, with schools across the country reporting technical glitches on day one.

Page 19: Business conditions deteriorated sharply in April, reversing all the gains for March, with a sharp fall in hiring intentions adding to the case for the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates as early as next month.

Australian LNG producers may boost the value of their $17 billion trade relationship with China following Beijing’s retaliatory move to raise tariffs on gas imports from the US, consultancy Wood Mackenzie says.

Page 20: Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers could be forced to lift the price of its $776 million takeover bid for Kidman Resources, with shareholders in the target said to be holding out for a higher price.

New Zealand’s Todd Corporation has put its Balla Balla vanadium play on the block, tapping Perth-based PCF Capital to find a buyer for the $100 million-rated project.

Page 22: Ruralco boss Travis Dillon has credited the company’s diversification strategy for delivering stable results in a drought.

The West Australian

Page 6: Bill Shorten has vowed he won’t be beholden to any sector as prime minister in a direct rebuke to Scott Morrison’s attack that unions will grow under Labor’s watch.

Page 7: Mark McGowan is poised to take the radical step of rewriting a State Agreement with Clive Palmer’s company to allow a key iron ore project to go ahead in a bid to save 3000 jobs.

Page 23: Australians are deluded about their health, with many rating it as “good” or “excellent” despite failing to eat a nutritious diet or be physically active, according to a survey.

Business: Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has rejected Ramelius Resources’ expansion of a Wheatbelt gold mine worth an estimated $115 million and providing 100 jobs to protect a rare native plant.

US lithium expert Joe Lowry says WA should stick to producing chemicals for the emerging electric vehicle battery sector and avoid trying to push too far downstream with its processing ambitions.

The local head of German industrial manufacturing giant Siemens says Australia risks being left behind in a “fourth industrial revolution” tipped to add $21 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

WA’s workers have endured the worst real wage decline in Australia since 2012-13, and the wage erosion has been particularly acute in WA’s five Federal marginal seats.

Institutional investment into the childcare asset class would jump under a Labor government, particularly in WA, according to property consultancy Urbis.