Morning Headlines

Telstra follows Rio in scrapping reverse factoring

Telstra has followed Rio Tinto in abandoning its controversial use of supply chain financing, in a dramatic backdown that follows months of intense media scrutiny of the controversial payment practice in The Australian Financial Review. The Fin

Forrest lines up plans to invest in Indonesia

Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest is planning a series of investments in Indonesia as the bilateral relationship warms up before the visit to Australia by Indonesian President Joko ‘‘Jokowi’’ Widodo next month. The Fin

Brexit trade deal may be just the job for WA

Australia’s future trade deal with Britain could result in thousands of jobs in WA. The West

Fresh ACOSS call to raise Newstart

The nation’s peak welfare body has urged Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to spur the national economy with $16 billion in new spending, stimulus which it says will boost wages and employment. The Fin

PM strikes $2b gas deal with NSW

The federal government and NSW have reached a $2 billion energy deal which will require the state to free up huge amounts of gas for domestic use in return for the construction of interconnectors, the underwriting of new non-coal power generation, and funding for emissions reduction projects. The Fin

Mining industry data cruelled rangelands bid

WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan has described the snub of WA’s pastoral regions in a recently announced multi-million dollar drought assistance package as bizarre and without logic. The West

Porter: It is our way or Huawei

Attorney-General Christian Porter has ruled out any Federal Government review of the decision to ban Huawei from Australia’s 5G network. The West

NBN gives in to retailers in enterprise war

NBN Co says it will stop cutting deals directly with enterprise customers, in a surprise surrender to groups such as Telstra and Vocus that will end months of fighting. The Fin

The Di is cast

Perth’s lord mayoral race is officially away with an election date set and two media personalities firming up as the main contenders to lead the city. The West

Chinese New Year party off

The State’s peak body promoting trade and investment between Australia and China has cancelled its flagship event in a cautious response to the coronavirus outbreak. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The federal government and NSW have reached a $2 billion energy deal which will require the state to free up huge amounts of gas for domestic use in return for the construction of interconnectors, the underwriting of new non-coal power generation, and funding for emissions reduction projects.

Page 4: Investment in renewable energy projects collapsed by more than 50 per cent last year, according to fresh data from the Clean Energy Council that counter Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s claim of ‘‘record’’ spending in the area.

Page 11: The banking industry lobby wants Treasury to ensure consultation on Hayne legislation is thorough and robust to avoid ‘‘knee-jerk’’ responses that could create a ‘‘ripple effect across the entire economy’’.

Page 15: Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest is planning a series of investments in Indonesia as the bilateral relationship warms up before the visit to Australia by Indonesian President Joko ‘‘Jokowi’’ Widodo next month.

Page 17: Newcrest Mining says its flagship Cadia mine, the biggest and most lucrative gold mine in the country last year, may have to curtail production before Christmas if rainfall remains near the low levels of 2018 and 2019.

Telstra has followed Rio Tinto in abandoning its controversial use of supply chain financing, in a dramatic backdown that follows months of intense media scrutiny of the controversial payment practice in The Australian Financial Review.

Page 21: NBN Co says it will stop cutting deals directly with enterprise customers, in a surprise surrender to groups such as Telstra and Vocus that will end months of fighting.

The Australian

Page 1: Scott Morrison will move to finalise a free-trade deal with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson before the end of the year as the divorce between Britain and the EU unlocks the potential to lower tariffs, quotas and barriers for Australian farmers, winemakers and investors.

Page 3: Major deficiencies in the management of people with chronic disease have been exposed by the Productivity Commission in a new report that also reveals that only about half of older people are regularly screened for breast and bowel cancer.

Page 6: Qantas will not pull flights out of China unless the federal government says it has to, despite a number of other airlines withdrawing services in the face of the fast-growing coronavirus outbreak and associated plunging demand.

Page 17: Commonwealth Bank has trebled its investment in Swedish buy now, pay later group Klarna to $US300m ($445m), as the partnership launched on Thursday with a swipe at rivals like Afterpay over high merchant fees and a promise to undertake full credit checks on customers.

Page 22: Tesla has vowed to increase its vehicle sales by more than a third this year while posting upbeat fourth quarter results, giving investors more reason to believe the electric-car maker has put past problems behind it.

The West Australian

Page 4: Australia’s future trade deal with Britain could result in thousands of jobs in WA.

Page 7: Perth’s lord mayoral race is officially away with an election date set and two media personalities firming up as the main contenders to lead the city.

Page 11: Attorney-General Christian Porter has ruled out any Federal Government review of the decision to ban Huawei from Australia’s 5G network.

Business: The State’s peak body promoting trade and investment between Australia and China has cancelled its flagship event in a cautious response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Creditors will today consider the future of the failed group of companies behind the ageing Northern Endeavour oil production vessel in the Timor Sea, potentially triggering a $200 million clean-up bill for the Federal Government.

WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan has described the snub of WA’s pastoral regions in a recently announced multi-million dollar drought assistance package as bizarre and without logic.

Online shoppers will face a new wave of buy-now-pay-later offers after Australia’s largest bank partnered with a cashed-up Swedish provider to take on on the likes of Afterpay, Zip Money and Latitude.