Morning Headlines

Inferno saps confidence, shakes economy

The bushfires raging through huge tracts of NSW and Victoria have smashed Australians’ confidence in the economy, which has retuned back to lows plumbed during the global financial crisis. The Aus

Economic growth will take a hit: Goldman Sachs

Economic growth will take a 0.3 percentage point hit over the December and January quarters due to Australia’s bushfire crisis, according to the latest analysis from Goldman Sachs. The Fin

Bushfire claims 'could double'

Insurance Australia Group chief executive Peter Harmer cautioned that claims from bushfires ravaging the country could double at the nation’s largest insurer, although he does not foresee “dramatic” premium rises as industry and government work on a co-ordinated response. The Aus

Mining titans in bitter feud

The relationship between Perth rich listers Chris Ellison and Steve Wyatt has turned sour over a joint venture to develop an innovative rail system to transport iron ore. The West

APRA blasts banks over risk failures

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has described the risk and compliance functions of the nation’s largest financial institutions as in need of urgent overhaul, as it completes a deep dive into the systems that permitted banks to break money laundering laws millions of times and wrongly charge customers billions of dollars in fees. The Fin

Calls grow for rethink of RBA inflation target

A growing number of economists believe the Reserve Bank of Australia should reduce its 2 to 3 per cent medium-term inflation target to bring it into line with global peers but not before it has thrown everything at restoring growth and exhausted the weapon of interest rate cuts. The Fin

Packer heads for home turf, happy to wager on casino win

James Packer has publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the $2.4bn Sydney casino project being built by his company Crown Resorts, ahead of making a surprise visit to Sydney this week to tour the facility for the first time. The Aus

ASX shrugs off Middle East escalation

The Australian sharemarket yesterday shrugged off concerns the tension between the US and Iran could escalate, punching out its best session in more than three weeks and adding $27.3 billion to the ASX boards. The Fin

Equity boom helps ASX offset fall in IPOs

The ASX benefited from buoyant share trading in the final six months of 2019, which helped offset a dearth of new listings and a drop in total capital raised. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has described the risk and compliance functions of the nation’s largest financial institutions as in need of urgent overhaul, as it completes a deep dive into the systems that permitted banks to break money laundering laws millions of times and wrongly charge customers billions of dollars in fees.

Page 2: Baby Boomer home owners in some of the nation’s plushest postcodes could release income from their properties equivalent to three to five times their existing superannuation, according to a new analysis.

Page 3: The country’s top law firms lined their pockets with revenue from regulatory advice last year, and the work they already have in the pipeline suggests this trend will continue into 2020.

Page 4: Some bushfire-hit communities will never be the same despite the federal government’s commitment to rebuilding them, the new head of the $2 billion reconstruction body has admitted.

Page 5: The National Australia Bank has pledged not to foreclose on properties or force the sale of assets owned by customers affected by the catastrophic bushfires as part of the bank’s disaster relief plan.

Page 6: Economic growth will take a 0.3 percentage point hit over the December and January quarters due to Australia’s bushfire crisis, according to the latest analysis from Goldman Sachs.

Page 11: European leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have equivocated in backing their ally the United States in its escalation of tensions with Iran, calling on both sides to ‘‘exercise utmost restraint and responsibility’’.

Page 12: Boeing said on Tuesday (AEDT) that it would reassign 3000 workers to other jobs as it halts production of the grounded best-selling 737 Max jet in mid-January.

Page 13: A growing number of economists believe the Reserve Bank of Australia should reduce its 2 to 3 per cent medium-term inflation target to bring it into line with global peers but not before it has thrown everything at restoring growth and exhausted the weapon of interest rate cuts.

Page 14: Australia’s biggest construction group, CIMIC, will control more of the infrastructure market if regulators approve a $485 million deal for its Ventia joint venture to buy services group Broadspectrum at a time when its accounting is under scrutiny from analysts and investors.

Page 15: A report that Britain’s EG Group is considering a counter bid to Alimentation Couche-Tard’s rejected $8.6 billion offer for Caltex Australia has lifted Caltex’s shares above the proposed offer price despite doubts around funding for any deal.

Page 26: The Australian sharemarket yesterday shrugged off concerns the tension between the US and Iran could escalate, punching out its best session in more than three weeks and adding $27.3 billion to the ASX boards.

Page 27: Australia’s leading economists say infrastructure spending should be a higher priority if the federal government loosens its fiscal agenda, and not just roads and transport, as the economy searches for a boost to counter slowing growth and the negative shock of the bushfire emergency.

Page 29: The number of home listings has fallen sharply over the past year as strong demand absorbed any remaining November stock before the quiet summer, indicating the market recovery is spreading outside Sydney and Melbourne.

The Australian

Page 1: James Packer has publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the $2.4bn Sydney casino project being built by his company Crown Resorts, ahead of making a surprise visit to Sydney this week to tour the facility for the first time.

Page 2: Citizenship applications have plummeted by 42 per cent in a year to their lowest levels since 2014, after a stricter values test was proposed but never put in place.

Page 13: Insurance Australia Group chief executive Peter Harmer cautioned that claims from bushfires ravaging the country could double at the nation’s largest insurer, although he does not foresee “dramatic” premium rises as industry and government work on a co-ordinated response.

Page 13: The ASX benefited from buoyant share trading in the final six months of 2019, which helped offset a dearth of new listings and a drop in total capital raised.

Page 14: The bushfires raging through huge tracts of NSW and Victoria have smashed Australians’ confidence in the economy, which has retuned back to lows plumbed during the global financial crisis.

Page 15: US transportation giant Uber is aiming to have its app used in place of Opal and Myki tickets, with the company confirming it is in discussions with Australian public transport agencies.

Page 16: Rising tensions in the Middle East threaten to make a tough export market for US wheat growers even harder to crack.

The West Australian

Page 1: Highly respected former WA fire boss Wayne Gregson has blasted politicians for underfunding the recommendations of previous fire inquiries, arguing this season’s devastating blazes must prompt proper investment in bushfire readiness.

Page 2: The relationship between Perth rich listers Chris Ellison and Steve Wyatt has turned sour over a joint venture to develop an innovative rail system to transport iron ore.

Page 9: The former Federal police boss appointed by Scott Morrison to lead the national bushfire recovery effort has revealed he is planning to visit WA to see what can be done to support communities hit by fires.

Page 16: Fire broke out at a Cleanaway waste plant yesterday for the third time in less than two months, this time causing dangerous toxic smoke to billow from the southern suburbs facility.

Page 52: A former Fremantle publican who lost his hospitality business when Bankwest called in its loans nine years ago has entered the new year hoping an inquiry by the small business ombudsman will trigger a broader probe of insolvency experts.