Morning Headlines

Minerals scant sales info under gun

Fund manager John Abernethy has accused regulators of allowing listed companies to release unclear or scant information to the market to the detriment of small investors.

The criticism follows a market release by Perth-based Mineral Resources on Monday concerning the sale of two ore processing facilities to Fortescue Metals Group. The Fin

New safety probes rock FMG

Safety standards at Fortescue Metals Group are again under scrutiny after the Department of Mines and Petroleum yesterday confirmed it was investigating another four potentially serious incidents at one of the company’s Pilbara mines. The West 

Pilbara pipeline deal a gas for miner

Fortescue Metals Group has underwritten development of the biggest gas pipeline to be built in the Pilbara in the past decade, without having secured the volumes of gas needed to power its Solomon iron ore mining hub. The West

Duet builds up WA gas with Fortescue deal

Duet Group has notched up a second success in its strategy of building business on the back of its major Western Australian gas pipeline, sealing a deal with Fortescue Metals for the construction of a new line that will cut costs at the iron ore miner’s Pilbara works. The Fin

Tax boost for Woodside

An unexpected tax benefit to be recorded by Woodside Petroleum and a surge in LNG revenues have raised hopes for a healthy dividend payout, out weighing news of up to $US400 million ($454million) in write-downs. The Fin

Leasing deals boost DEXUS

Lease renewals at key office towers in Melbourne and Perth have driven a $60million rise in the book value of commercial assets controlled by the burgeoning DEXUS Property Group. The Fin

Growth in jobs worst for 20 years

Jobs growth has collapsed to its lowest level in more than 20 years and the jobless rate is poised to hit its highest in a decade after more than 5000 Australians a month joined the ranks of the unemployed last year. The Aus

The West Australian

Page 13: The building union is facing a backlash for cutting staff jobs, with the redundancies linked to multimillion-dollar fines, legal costs incurred for unlawful conduct and spending on refurbishments and properties.

Page 74: Woodside Petroleum has ended a record-breaking year fuelled by the performance of the $15 billion Pluto LNG plant by writing off the remnants of erstwhile expansion plans for its star asset. 

Page 75: WA’s peak farming body has backed calls for heavy fines for exporters who breach animal welfare rules amid outrage over the heat-related deaths of thousands of sheep on a voyage from Fremantle to the Middle East.

Page 75: Bega Cheese will sell its stake in Warrnambool Cheese and Butter to Canadian dairy giant Saputo, putting Saputo in prime position to win control of WCB.

Page 75: Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh has put investors on notice to expect improved returns from the global mining giant, with his first year in charge beating predictions on both production and costs.

Page 76: Local advertising agencies have a chance to bring one of WA’s most prestigious creative accounts back to the State, with tenders for the lucrative Tourism WA account opening on Monday.

Page 77: The falling Australian dollar, weak employment data and the accelerating US economy moulded the market’s mood yesterday, with local shares surging for the second straight day of solid gains.

Page 77: Shares in Iluka Resources jumped 7.6 per cent yesterday after the company said sales of its mineral sands products had recovered markedly from a poor September quarter.

Page 77: The domino effect from the falling Aussie dollar meant big US-currency exporters, such as miners and oil and gas companies, were the big winners yesterday, with almost all blue-chip resource plays finishing the day in the black.

The Financial Review

Page 1: The corporate regulator is cracking down on controversial surveys of investment bank research analysts, requiring the results to be made more widely available and stamping out the practice of asking potentially market sensitive questions.

Page 1: The Business Council of Australia is strongly backing the $3 billion privatisation of Australia Post, warning that its ownership is squandering taxpayers’ dollars.

Page 3: The Abbott government’s plans to cut budget spending risks pushing the unemployment rate to a 10-year high, economists warn.

Page 9: Debt owed to the Australian Taxation Office has risen to almost $18 billion, with small-business taxpayers accounting for more than 60 per cent of the money owed.

Page 13: Rio Tinto shareholders have declared they are ready to increase their stakes in the company following Sam Walsh’s first year as chief executive as the miner wins plaudits for its stronger emphasis on cost savings and improved productivity.

Page 13: Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin says a successful $533 million takeover bid by Canadian dairy giant Saputo of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter will prompt further consolidation of the local industry as it seeks to compete with big international players.

Page 14: Swiss trading house Gunvor Group is believed to be involved in a bid for Royal Dutch Shell’s Australian downstream assets, and has been linked to Macquarie Group’s consortium.

Page 14: BHP Billiton’s Nickel West is a potential deal on every resources bankers’ watch list. The miner has been struggling with the West Australian nickel unit for years and most bankers will tell you that it should’ve been sold years ago, much like Telstra’s Sensis.

Page 17: Fund managers who ditched resources companies in favour of income-producing stocks gleaned some of the biggest returns for investors over the last three years.

Page 17: Djerriwarrh Investments expects public floats, mergers and acquisitions to heat up among Australian companies this new year as management scours for growth avenues amid a low interest rate environment.

Page 20: Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh is expected to ramp up the group’s focus on repaying debt and improving cash flow amid record iron ore production and a strong spot price for the steel making commodity. 

Page 21: Australian shares have followed the overnight lead of overseas markets and recorded a second day of gains, underpinned by the latest set of economic data that suggest the United States economy is accelerating.

Page 28:  On this day one year ago, the global mining industry was reeling after Rio Tinto dumped chief executive Tom Albanese as punishment for presiding over $US14 billion ($15.9 billion) in impairments, one of the biggest writedowns in Australian corporate history.

Page 28: The Australian asset-backed securities market roared back to life in 2013, with total issuance almost doubling to $29.5 billion with strong support from local and European investors in search of relatively safe, high yielding investments.

The Australian

Page 2: The nation’s peak business lobby is calling for greater scrutiny of $5.1 billion in annual industry handouts, amid a growing fight over where to slash outlays in the May budget.

Page 4: Changes had been made to the size and shape of a bund wall as part of the $35 billion Curtis Island LNG project in an effort to preserve mangrove trees and migratory and threatened species habitat, the federal environment department has confirmed.

Page 15: Canada’s Saputo is on the verge of gaining control of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter after major shareholder and one-time bidder Bega Cheese begrudgingly accepted its $9-a-share offer.

Page 15: The Australian dollar looks likely to remain under pressure after falling to a four-year low below US88c on a surprisingly weak jobs number that highlighted the slow transition of the economy from the mining boom and fanned hopes for a cut in official interest rates this year.

Page 15: Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh has delivered a strong December quarter report that beat company guidance but failed to meet some expectations.

Page 15: Telstra chief David Thodey has championed a new regional if not global revenue profile for Australian companies as our national champions look further afield for growth.

Page 16: A surprisingly large tax credit and bonus payments from its liquefied natural gas customers could see Woodside Petroleum deliver a bigger-than expected dividend at its upcoming full-year results. 

Page 16: Fortescue Metals Group has taken the first steps towards the development of a Pilbara gas network that will reduce the iron ore miner’s production costs, committing to support a $178 million pipeline project.

Page 16: It is starting to get down to the nitty-gritty for Rio Tinto in terms of just what cash rewards it will hand out to shareholders now that chief executive Sam Walsh has delivered the magic pudding of record production volumes in the commodities that matter, massive cost reductions, and falling capital commitments. 

Page 17: The banks are reaping the windfalls of a sharp drop in term deposit rates, setting the course for further record profits as the easing in funding costs offsets strict new regulation and a likely tick-up in bad debts.

Page 17: A sweeping review by new AMP chief executive Craig Meller will result in job cuts as the financial services giant strives to slash duplication and boost efficiency.

Page 19: General Motors says it will use expected profit gains in the US and China this year to offset restructuring costs elsewhere, leaving its overall earnings modestly above those of 2013.

Page 19: A Chinese consortium is the front-runner to buy Glencore Xstrata’s Las Bambas copper mine in Peru for $US5 billion ($5.7bn) or more, setting up a takeover that would be one of the largest foreign acquisitions ever by a Chinese company.

Page 21: The stockmarket extended morning gains yesterday, pushing 1 per cent higher after reports of production lifts among miners and bargain hunting in materials stocks.

Page 21: The boom in off-the-plan apartment construction in 2013 has driven a recovery in new home building, with 163,250 homes begun in the year to September, an increase of 6.5 per cent.

Page 21: Mineral sands producer Iluka has been rewarded for a better-than-expected sales performance in the December quarter, with its shares pushed 7.6 per cent higher to $8.89.