Morning Headlines

PM throws JobSeeker lifeline

Scott Morrison will extend JobSeeker coronavirus payments at a reduced rate to the end of March, delivering a pandemic lifeline for more than 1.5 million unemployed Australians. The Aus

COVID-19 jab 90% effective

Scientists are said to be “near ecstatic” after a coronavirus vaccine was found to be 90 per cent effective against the deadly bug. The West

Morrison to join forces with Japan

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to sign a defence pact with Japan during a planned visit to Tokyo aimed at sending a strong message on the importance of alliances in the Indo-Pacific amid tensions with China. The Fin

Fortescue forging more deals in China

Australian agricultural, coal and copper exporters are still waiting nervously on developments in China’s trade stoush with Canberra, but Fortescue Metals says it has $US4bn ($5.5bn) worth of new business in the pipeline that underlines the fundamental strength of its relationship with the world’s second-biggest economy. The Aus

Stan, Nine set to snare French Open, Wimbledon

Nine and Stan are expected to lock in broadcast rights for the French Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments as part of the media company’s new sports strategy across both free-to-air television and on-demand subscription video. The Fin

Global stockmarkets cheer Biden era

Global stocks rallied and the Australian share market closed at an eight-month high as the world’s investors eyed the prospect of four more years of easy money conditions under US President-elect Joe Biden, keeping the bull market on Wall Street alive. The Fin

ASIC protects identity of misleading funds

The corporate regulator has kept secret the identities of 10 fund managers who were rebuked for labelling their products in a way that could mislead investors, after the perpetrators warned public disclosure might make them less likely to co-operate with the corporate cop in future. The Fin

Quarantine ‘could be cut to eight days’

The standard 14-day mandatory quarantine to stop the coronavirus from entering Australia could safely be cut to eight or nine days for international arrivals from lower- risk nations, boosting travel and adding about $86bn a year to national income. The Aus

Libs ask voters if Harvey is best to lead ahead of crunch meeting

The WA Liberals has been asking voters if it should ditch Liza Harvey as Opposition leader ahead of today’s crunch party room meeting. The West

Government ticks put scarborough back on track

The Federal Government has promoted the Scarborough gas project’s role in a post-coronavirus economic recovery after pushing the proposed $US11.2 billion ($15b) development through another key hurdle yesterday. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to sign a defence pact with Japan during a planned visit to Tokyo aimed at sending a strong message on the importance of alliances in the Indo-Pacific amid tensions with China.

Global stocks rallied and the Australian share market closed at an eight-month high as the world’s investors eyed the prospect of four more years of easy money conditions under US President-elect Joe Biden, keeping the bull market on Wall Street alive.

Page 4: Scott Morrison says he would like Australia to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 but that it would be deceptive to set the target without first detailing how to reach it.

Page 6: Labor and key crossbenchers are pressuring the Morrison government to widen eligibility for the JobMaker hiring credit, arguing thousands of workers will miss out as they try to re-enter the labour force following the coronavirus-induced recession.

Page 8: Productivity gains by moving to more re-use and recycling could unlock $23 billion in gross domestic product and create tens of thousands of jobs by 2025, according to a new report.

Page 9: A Trump administration appointee is refusing to sign a letter allowing President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team to formally begin its work this week, in another sign the incumbent President has not acknowledged Mr Biden’s victory and could disrupt the transfer of power.

Page 12: The Chinese state news media reacted with cautious optimism to former vice-president Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election, expressing hope he would stabilise the fast-deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Page 14: The NSW casino inquiry commissioner has expressed her surprise at Crown Resorts’ lawyers’ assertion that footage of large cash transactions in a private room at its Melbourne casinos was not evidence of money laundering.

Coca-Cola Amatil is canvassing the views of investors and crunching shareholder numbers amid growing opposition to Coca-Cola European Partners’ $9 billion takeover offer.

The corporate regulator has kept secret the identities of 10 fund managers who were rebuked for labelling their products in a way that could mislead investors, after the perpetrators warned public disclosure might make them less likely to co-operate with the corporate cop in future.

Page 16: Nine and Stan are expected to lock in broadcast rights for the French Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments as part of the media company’s new sports strategy across both free-to-air television and on-demand subscription video.

Page 17: A massive rise in the number of transactions reported to financial crimes agency AUSTRAC has been partly driven by institutions submitting unnecessary reports of varying quality because they are petrified of being handed billion-dollar fines.

Page 18: The ATO’s latest results from its Justified Trust program – where companies are evaluated on four key criteria for tax compliance – found 20 per cent of the top 100 companies received low overall assurance scores.

The Australian

Page 1: Scott Morrison will extend JobSeeker coronavirus payments at a reduced rate to the end of March, delivering a pandemic lifeline for more than 1.5 million unemployed Australians.

Australia has agreed to lend Indonesia up to $US1bn ($1.37bn) to help stave off an extended financial crisis in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, amid surging coronavirus cases and the nation’s first recession in 22 years.

Page 2: China’s coal imports last month plunged 47 per cent from a year earlier, reflecting strict import quotas and raising fresh concern over the outlook for one of Australia’s biggest export earners.

Page 4: Older working Australians have been hardest hit by the pandemic, suffering a greater fall in working hours than any other age group, according to a new ANU research paper that also finds the average employed Australian has lost $5900 in earnings as a result of the recession.

Page 5: The standard 14-day mandatory quarantine to stop the coronavirus from entering Australia could safely be cut to eight or nine days for international arrivals from lower- risk nations, boosting travel and adding about $86bn a year to national income.

Page 13: Australian agricultural, coal and copper exporters are still waiting nervously on developments in China’s trade stoush with Canberra, but Fortescue Metals says it has $US4bn ($5.5bn) worth of new business in the pipeline that underlines the fundamental strength of its relationship with the world’s second-biggest economy.

Page 15: The boss of one Australia’s largest family-owned wineries, De Bortoli Wines, believes exporters of everything from wine and beef to barley and coal are paying the price for the federal government “overreacting” when it came to China’s handling of COVID-19, with wine exporters likely to struggle to find customers for their wine to replace lost Chinese orders.

The West Australian

Page 1: Scientists are said to be “near ecstatic” after a coronavirus vaccine was found to be 90 per cent effective against the deadly bug.

Page 5: Morrison Government minister Alan Tudge last night said he “regretted his actions” after a young female staffer appeared on TV to reveal their long-running extramarital affair.

Page 7: Scott Morrison will extend an invitation for president-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill to visit Australia.

Page 9: Young Australians are bearing the brunt of the COVID mental health slump with 18 to 24-year-olds facing the highest levels of psychological distress.

Page 10: Andrew Forrest’s commercial property arm Fiveight has officially entered the office block market, buying a tower in the heart of Perth’s CBD.

Page 12: The WA Liberals has been asking voters if it should ditch Liza Harvey as Opposition leader ahead of today’s crunch party room meeting.

Page 20: WA’s peak P&C group has called for a ban on fast food outlets near schools.

Page 23: Despite sweeping to power vowing “gold standard” transparency, the McGowan Government has already refused more requests for the public release of information to Parliament than predecessor Colin Barnett during his entire two-term reign.

Business: Fashion queen Alice McCall has waved the white flag ahead of a make-or-break festive season for thousands of somewhat less chic outlets.

The number of contracts awarded to Aboriginal businesses by the State Government grew substantially last financial year, according to the latest procurement policy report.

China’s move to halt Ant Group’s massive stock debut could reduce the fintech giant’s value by as much as $US140 billion ($192.12b), according to analysts’ revised estimates.

A Joe Biden presidency is expected to be largely beneficial for Australian businesses — particularly WA companies operating in the renewable energy space, according to trade experts and analysts.

The Federal Government has promoted the Scarborough gas project’s role in a post-coronavirus economic recovery after pushing the proposed $US11.2 billion ($15b) development through another key hurdle yesterday.

The Perth founder of a carpooling app that promises to offer trips for almost a quarter of the price of an Uber wants to raise $1.5 million to get the technology off the ground.