Miners at risk of iron ore price fall
A sudden drop in iron ore prices to six-month lows as China heads into New Year holidays with its steel mills fully stocked has led to predictions of further steep falls in Australia’s biggest export. The Aus
Judge declares no real reason to stand aside
A Supreme Court judge yesterday refused to step aside from the retrial of wealthy mining contractors Peter Bartlett and Ron Sayers despite defence lawyers attacking the way he summed up the case last year. The West
Industry funds fight trustee plan
Industry superannuation funds are using what they argue is their superior performance to fight the federal government’s plan to force them to appoint independent trustees. The Fin
Perth Airport defies slump in air travel
Air traffic through Perth Airport continues to climb despite a nationwide decline in domestic air travel of about 11 per cent, highlighting that WA appears to be immune to the worst of the economic slowdown. The West
Coalition eyes multinational tax avoidance
The Abbott government has brushed off suggestions that a global crackdown on tax avoidance by companies such as Google and Amazon will not work, and will press ahead with plans to halt multinational profit-shifting as a key focus of its G20 presidency. The Fin
Greens left with big bill after court petition loss
The cash-strapped Greens had a costly day in the High Court yesterday, where their legal response to the bungled Senate vote count was thrown out and they were ordered to pay other parties’ court costs. The West
Saputo finally gets 50pc of WCB
Saputo appears to have secured victory in the prolonged three-way battle to buy Warrnambool Cheese & Butter after key shareholders yesterday sold their interests in the company to the Canadian dairy giant, taking its stake beyond the 50 per cent barrier. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Industry superannuation funds are using what they argue is their superior performance to fight the federal government’s plan to force them to appoint independent trustees.
The Abbott government plans to use its constitutional powers to override all existing parental leave schemes, according to briefings given to independent experts.
Page 3: Telstra has decided to limit the amount many of its customers pay for mobile phone calls.
Page 4: The Abbott government has brushed off suggestions that a global crackdown on tax avoidance by companies such as Google and Amazon will not work, and will press ahead with plans to halt multinational profit-shifting as a key focus of its G20 presidency.
Crumbling cities are weighing on the economy and causing major headaches for the country’s leading chief executives, sparking calls for a massive injection of infrastructure spending.
Page 5: South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says he is making a “modest call’’ on the federal government with a formal request for $333 million to help the state’s economy transform in the lead-up to the closure of GM Holden’s car manufacturing plant in 2017.
Page 11: Bank of Queensland chief executive Stuart Grimshaw says regulations designed to ensure banks can deal with defaults, excessively penalise smaller lenders and should be changed to allow second-tier banks to better compete with their larger rivals.
Macquarie Group, alongside mining goliath Glencore Xstrata , is one of two remaining bidders still in the running to buy Royal Dutch Shell’s Australian refining and marketing business after a third group led by private equity firm TPG pulled out.
Page 13: Qantas Airways may be more likely to sell a minority stake in Jetstar to a third party investor than to pursue a float of the budget airline as a possible outcome of its strategic review.
Page 14: The head of Coopers, Australia’s third largest brewer, says it will take Coca-Cola Amatil years to achieve its targets inthe$11 billion beer market, despite its strong sales presence in pubs and clubs.
Copper miner Sandfire Resources is still inclined to pay its first ever dividend later this year, despite publishing a set of December quarter results that underwhelmed investors on Tuesday.
Page 20: A strong 2013 production performance from Tiger Resources Kipoi copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, combined with a substantial increase in ore reserves announced by the company last week, prompted a share price re-rating in the order of 10percent.
Page 25: Investment experts are forecasting a fall in the price of iron ore towards $US100 a tonne this year with further declines possible in 2015.
Telstra has made itself a pile of cash over the past two months through the sale and floating of assets, resulting in share price growth of 6.7 per cent in the past six months alone.
The Australian
Page 1: The International Monetary Fund has warned the world’s central banks against being too quick to raise interest rates, saying such a move could undermine a weak global economic recovery and spark a damaging bout of deflation, with prices and incomes falling.
Page 4: The Coalition has rubbished an ambitious claim from the South Australian Labor government for $2.8 billion in funding to respond to Holden’s 2017 exit.
Australian superannuation funds posted their best performance on average for the past 20 calendar years in 2013, according to new figures.
The Abbott government has ruled out changes to the Age Pension as part of an urgent push to rein in welfare spending, saying its focus will be on the Disability Support Pension and unemployment benefits, as Labor mounts a scare campaign that retired Australians will not be spared.
Page 17: A sudden drop in iron ore prices to six-month lows as China heads into New Year holidays with its steel mills fully stocked has led to predictions of further steep falls in Australia’s biggest export.
The competition watchdog is investigating brewing giants CUB and Lion over their use of ‘‘tap contracts’’ to prevent hotel owners from selling rival beers, after a number of small operators complained that they could not sell their beer to pubs.
Saputo appears to have secured victory in the prolonged three-way battle to buy Warrnambool Cheese & Butter after key shareholders yesterday sold their interests in the company to the Canadian dairy giant, taking its stake beyond the 50 per cent barrier.
Page 18: Saracen Mineral Holdings has pounced on the old Thunderbox goldmine in a $23 million acquisition that reflects the gold sector’s renewed appetite for acquisitions.
Resources giant BHP Billiton has signed a final agreement to pay $US3 million ($3.42m) to Otto Energy to withdraw from an exploration joint venture in The Philippines.
Page 19: The tax office has been denied access to view the court file in the Rinehart family trust battle, including controversial tax advice created for Gina Rinehart by accountants PwC.
Page 23: Singapore Airlines is keeping its cards close to its chest after Etihad chief executive James Hogan and Air New Zealand boss Christopher Luxon both confirmed they will nominate for the Virgin Australia board.
The West Australian
Page 4: The State Government has committed to its shark catch-and-kill policy only until late April, fuelling doubts about whether it will be rolled out next summer.
The man responsible for an attack on Colin Barnett’s electoral office has described his actions as an “emotional outburst” borne out of frustration.
Page 6: The Australian Workers Union has blasted as lazy and short sighted yesterday’s Qantas decision for maintenance of its 747 fleet to be done offshore.
Page 7: A major union plans legal challenges against mining contractors who use urine samples for drug and alcohol tests after a court upheld a decision to allow only the saliva method.
Page 13: The cash-strapped Greens had a costly day in the High Court yesterday, where their legal response to the bungled Senate vote count was thrown out and they were ordered to pay other parties’ court costs.
Page 14: The Federal Government will consult with start-up companies that have expressed concerns over laws relating to employee share schemes.
Page 16: Disability pensioners could bear the brunt of changes to slash the nation’s welfare bill, facing new requirements to find part-time work and possibly a lower growth rate in their payments.
Page 21: Air traffic through Perth Airport continues to climb despite a nationwide decline in domestic air travel of about 11 per cent, highlighting that WA appears to be immune to the worst of the economic slowdown.
Clive Palmer is going on an early recruitment drive to find candidates to stand for his party in the next Queensland election.
Business: A Supreme Court judge yesterday refused to step aside from the retrial of wealthy mining contractors Peter Bartlett and Ron Sayers despite defence lawyers attacking the way he summed up the case last year.
The live export industry is bracing for more fallout as Federal authorities prepare to reveal another batch of findings from investigations into alleged breaches of animal welfare standards.
Sandfire Resources managing director Karl Simich has described the copper miner’s quarterly results as a precursor to a strong second half, with a drop in production an “aberration” that would correct itself over the next six months.
The State Government has suspended a popular occupational health and safety program for small business at a time when a WA worker is killed on the job every 21 days.
Resolute Mining shares firmed slightly yesterday after its solid quarterly production report. However, the gold producer warned of further impairment losses on its acquisition of Noble Mineral Resources’ Bibiani mine in Ghana.
