Morning Headlines

WA Water joins reverse factoring bandwagon

Western Australia’s Water Corporation has joined the supply chain finance bandwagon, urging service providers to take a financial hit if they want bills paid within 28 days. The Fin

'We are not big tobacco': Woodside

Energy giant Woodside Petroleum has hit back at gas industry critics, insisting LNG producers are not “the cigarette industry” and had unfairly suffered a black eye amid heightened community and investor concerns over global warming. The Aus

Station to get suburb out of Middle ages

The ageing Midland train station will be demolished and replaced with a new station nearby at a cost of about $160 million. The West

Chamber kicks off gloomy start to the year for WA economy

Lack of consumer demand has dragged business confidence to its weakest end-of-year result since 2016, prompting the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA to declare the State economy was entering the new decade in survival mode”. The West

China subsidy shift boosts WA lithium plays

Lithium miners have extended recent gains on news the Chinese Government will slow its planned cuts to subsidies for the electric vehicle industry. The West

Coles, Woolies told to raise milk prices

Woolworths and Coles are under pressure from Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie to increase milk prices for consumers and pass on the mark-ups to fire-ravaged dairy farmers. The Fin

States baulk at PM’s fire inquiry

The states are withholding support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s proposed royal commission into bushfires and oppose him expanding the Commonwealth’s constitutional powers to deploy Defence Force personnel to natural disasters without premiers’ consent. The Fin

Sinking in delay: $50b submarine plans

The navy’s submarine program is officially running nine months late and the Defence Department is unable to show that spending of $400 million on design work has been ‘‘fully effective’’, the auditor-general has found. The Fin

Maxsted hastens BHP exit in retreat from blue chip boards

Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted has hastened his exit from the board of BHP, insulating the miner from the scandals engulfing the bank and adding to his recent pledges to vacate the chairmanships of Westpac and Transurban. The Fin

Health funds fear surge in fire claims

Health insurers are bracing for a rise in claims stemming from the nation’s bushfire crisis as doctors warn of the potential long-term effects of breathing in hazardous levels of smoke. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The states are withholding support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s proposed royal commission into bushfires and oppose him expanding the Commonwealth’s constitutional powers to deploy Defence Force personnel to natural disasters without premiers’ consent.

The chairman of the $166 billion sovereign wealth fund, Peter Costello, has warned that record low interest rates are pushing investors into risky financial products akin to ‘‘collateralised debt obligations’’, which blew up during the 2008 global financial crisis.
Page 3: The navy’s submarine program is officially running nine months late and the Defence Department is unable to show that spending of $400 million on design work has been ‘‘fully effective’’, the auditor-general has found.

Page 4: Woolworths and Coles are under pressure from Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie to increase milk prices for consumers and pass on the mark-ups to fire-ravaged dairy farmers.

Page 8: McDonald’s has been accused of issuing new contracts to thousands of part-time workers that cut their minimum hours, as it prepares for increases in penalty rates and new roster restrictions next month.

Page 13: Fintech companies wanting to use the open banking regime face costs of up to $100,000 to get accredited by the competition regulator to receive data, an amount the industry body says will make it economically unviable for some start-ups to participate.

Superannuation funds will need to fill the vacuum left by the exodus of financial advisers and provide quality affordable advice to the alarming number of Australians worried about retirement, says former super system reviewer and ASIC deputy chairman Jeremy Cooper.

Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted has hastened his exit from the board of BHP, insulating the miner from the scandals engulfing the bank and adding to his recent pledges to vacate the chairmanships of Westpac and Transurban.

Page 17: Western Australia’s Water Corporation has joined the supply chain finance bandwagon, urging service providers to take a financial hit if they want bills paid within 28 days.

The Australian

Page 1: Scott Morrison is preparing to unveil new funding and recovery measures in response to calls to fast-track financial and logistical support for small businesses, tourism operators and key regional industries ravaged by the bushfire disaster.

Page 8: The US wants to reduce its military presence in Africa, Washington’s top military officer said, as France hosts Sahel leaders in its bid to bolster the fight against jihadists in the region.

Page 15: Health insurers are bracing for a rise in claims stemming from the nation’s bushfire crisis as doctors warn of the potential long-term effects of breathing in hazardous levels of smoke.

Energy giant Woodside Petroleum has hit back at gas industry critics, insisting LNG producers are not “the cigarette industry” and had unfairly suffered a black eye amid heightened community and investor concerns over global warming.

Page 16: The Spanish-controlled majority owners of CIMIC could head towards a break-up plan for its subsidiary Thiess should a buyer not be found for the entire business, according to analysts in the market.

The world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, has said it will ditch investments including thermal coal as part of a response to rising climate change concerns.

Page 17: Afterpay’s shares have rallied strongly after Goldman Sachs analysts tipped the buy-now, pay-later platform would deliver positive surprises in its interim profit results.

Iain Nairn, the former chief executive of David Jones who was ousted from his job at the retailer in 2015 in unexplained circumstances, has been named the new boss of Canada’s Hudson Bay department stores.

Page 21: China needs to radically increase its share of renewable energy to offset the dominance of coal in the nation’s power mix amid concern the world’s most polluting country is moving too slowly in tackling climate change.

The West Australian

Page 3: The Morrison Government has been asked to consider potential tax rebates for Australians who holiday in bushfire-recovering communities and cash-flow relief upwards of $20,000 for small businesses impacted by the blazes.

Page 7: Australian water polo captain Aaron Younger is calling for better financial support for elite athletes who are barely recognised until the pointy end of each four-year Olympic cycle.

Page 18: Former West Perth Football Club president Brett Raponi wants to make a move into State politics by nominating to be the Liberal candidate in a key northern suburbs seat.

Former Kalgoorlie MP Megan Anwyl is being courted by senior WA Labor figures to be the party’s next State secretary.

Page 22: The ageing Midland train station will be demolished and replaced with a new station nearby at a cost of about $160 million.

Page 25: Five countries whose citizens were killed when an airliner was shot down by Iran last week will meet in London today to discuss possible legal action, Ukraine’s foreign minister has said.

Business: Lack of consumer demand has dragged business confidence to its weakest end-of-year result since 2016, prompting the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA to declare the State economy was entering the new decade in survival mode”.

Lithium miners have extended recent gains on news the Chinese Government will slow its planned cuts to subsidies for the electric vehicle industry.

New global research has debunked the widespread view that millennials are driving the “experience economy”, crediting instead baby boomers with money and time on their hands.

BHP says its $US3.6 billion ($5.2 billion) South Flank iron ore replacement project in the Pilbara is more than 55 per cent complete.

The American companies most reliant on embracing green technology are outperforming every broad measure of the stock market, delivering a greater return last year than all but two (Russia and Greece) of the world’s 94 leading equity indexes.

Perth’s west end is due for a major shake-up with an application to develop two new skyscrapers next to the city’s RAC Arena stadium.

Karratha’s Tambrey Tavern believed to be the largest hospitality venue in the North West —has sold, with sources revealing a price tag of about $7 million.