Corporates hand out the cash
Andrew Forrest will receive another $103 million from the once cash-poor iron ore miner he founded, Fortescue Metals Group, which declared a second consecutive 10¢-a-share dividend, adding to $53.7 billion in payouts by the ASX 200. The Fin
Status quo as Coles lifts Wesfarmers
Supermarket giant Coles has once again bailed out Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers as the group’s coal, energy, chemical, insurance and industrial safety divisions underwhelmed investors. The Aus
Woodside, NWS hope Fortuna plays its part
Woodside Petroleum and the North West Shelf partners have embarked on the venture’s biggest-ever seismic program as part of efforts to find more gas and extend the operating life of the Karratha gas plant by another two decades. The West
Coalition prepares Qantas changes
The federal government has started drafting changes to the Qantas Sale Act in a move it says is designed to provide every option available when cabinet decides how to assist the airline. The Fin
Medicare costs set to rise under Dutton revamp
Health Minister Peter Dutton has signalled the Coalition is planning a major revamp of Medicare to address an “unsustainable” blowout in health costs that is likely to include co-payments for medical services. The Fin
David Jones trades flagged to board
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has revealed that David Jones directors Steve Vamos and Leigh Clapham notified the board a week before buying 32,500 shares in the company, killing the regulator’s prospect of a successful insider trading case. The Fin
Mount Gibson revenue record hurt by profit dip
Iron ore miner Mount Gibson has hit record sales revenue but it was punished by the market after reporting a lower-than-expected profit.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Andrew Forrest will receive another $103 million from the once cash-poor iron ore miner he founded, Fortescue Metals Group, which declared a second consecutive 10¢-a-share dividend, adding to $53.7 billion in payouts by the ASX 200.
Seek has agreed to pay $580 million to assume full ownership of JobStreet, a deal that will make it one of the biggest employment websites in five Asian countries with a potential market of 140 million professionals.
Page 3: The federal government has started drafting changes to the Qantas Sale Act in a move it says is designed to provide every option available when cabinet decides how to assist the airline.
Health Minister Peter Dutton has signalled the Coalition is planning a major revamp of Medicare to address an “unsustainable” blowout in health costs that is likely to include co-payments for medical services.
Page 4: The union representing Alcoa’s workers flagged industrial action at the Point Henry smelter the day before the plant’s closure was announced.
Page 5: Wages grew less than inflation last quarter for the first time in half a decade, triggering fresh calls for a national productivity push to boost living standards.
Page 7: Schools will send more students on the path to becoming carpenters, electricians and plumbers under Abbott government plans to overhaul vocational education and training.
Page 8: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has revealed that David Jones directors Steve Vamos and Leigh Clapham notified the board a week before buying 32,500 shares in the company, killing the regulator’s prospect of a successful insider trading case.
Page 13: A Treasury analysis has found the increasing popularity of wine is responsible for up to $500 million in lost tax revenue a year.
Page 19: Wesfarmers is counting on Coles food and liquor stores, Bunnings and discount chain Kmart to underpin profit growth this year as the outlook deteriorates for its coal and industrial businesses and Target remains in the mire.
Page 21: Woodside Petroleum is eyeing a fast-track development of its targeted Leviathan gas venture in Israel, as chief executive Peter Coleman talks up opportunities for growth.
Page 22: Investors who bought shares in Dick Smith’s $520 million float in December are in the red amid fears the consumer electronics retailer may miss its full-year prospectus forecasts despite better than expected profits in the December half.
The Australian
Page 1: The Abbott government has hit back at Facebook and Google amid a growing political storm over regulation of the internet, insisting parents need tough legal sanctions within months to prevent children from being bullied online.
Families should be given HECS-style loans to pay for their childcare costs, with the money to be paid back when they are earning more, under a controversial proposal from a peak business group.
Page 3: Gina Rinehart has paid out $1.5 million to each of her two eldest children in dividends from the family company just a day before the legal battle between Australia’s wealthiest person and her family returns to court.
Page 4: Annual wages growth has fallen to the lowest level on record, failing to keep pace with inflation and prompting Labor and unions to demand the Abbott government retract its warning that the economy risked a wages explosion.
Page 17: Supermarket giant Coles has once again bailed out Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers as the group’s coal, energy, chemical, insurance and industrial safety divisions underwhelmed investors.
Royal Dutch Shell is closing in on a sale of its Geelong refinery and Australian petrol stations, with speculation growing that the oil major will sell to oil trader Vitol and Abu Dhabi Investment Commission for $2.4 billion.
Page 18: Iron ore miner Mount Gibson has hit record sales revenue but it was punished by the market after reporting a lower-than-expected profit.
Page 26: The $US 3 billion ($3.3bn) Bangkok-based Minor Hotel Group is pressing ahead with plans to expand further into Australia’s hospitality sector despite the Thai government’s 60-day state of emergency, which the listed company admits is driving down revenues in the Thai capital.
The West Australian
Page 3: Most West Australians support tougher laws to limit teenagers’ access to alcohol, market research shows.
Page 6: Working class children in China outperform Australia’s brightest students as education systems in developed countries struggle to keep up with emerging ones.
Page 13: Colin Barnett has given a strong indication the Government could abandon its shark drum-line policy in Perth but flagged making it permanent in the South West.
Page 17: The WA public service lost its confidence after high-profile Corruption and Crime Commission and other public inquiries, causing it to lapse into risk-averse decisions that harmed the public interest.
Business: Woodside Petroleum and the North West Shelf partners have embarked on the venture’s biggest-ever seismic program as part of efforts to find more gas and extend the operating life of the Karratha gas plant by another two decades.
Couriers, long seen as a key unofficial barometer of business confidence, are doing it tougher.
Former Fortescue Metals Group operations director David Woodall has found a new home, accepting the job of turning around Newcrest Mining’s troubled Lihir operations as part of a management shake-up associated with the departure of Newcrest managing director Greg Robinson later this year.
Inpex yesterday celebrated a key milestone on its road to becoming Japan’s first operator of an LNG project, with the laying of the keel for the Ichthys venture’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.