Morning Headlines

Perth’s DRA Global in float fever queue

Perth-based engineering and asset maintenance contractor DRA Global, which counts BHP, Anglo American and steelmaker ArcelorMittal among its clients, has called in the bankers and lawyers for a listing by June 30. The Fin

GDP to bounce back further

Australia has bounced out of recession, recording a 44-year high in quarterly economic growth which is set to continue into the new year as Victoria’s reopening and government budget stimulus recharge consumer spending and business investment. The Fin

ALP abandons unity on China

Labor has split with the Coalition over China in a rare divide on foreign affairs, accusing Scott Morrison of presiding over a “complete breakdown” of relations with Beijing. The Aus

Coalition’s tax policies to cost $54b in revenue

The Morrison government’s personal income tax cuts will lead to a drop in tax revenue of as much as $54 billion, or 1.8 per cent over the medium term, according to new economic modelling. The Fin

Nasdaq’s surprise board tilt

Australian directors have reacted with surprise to a push by one of the world’s biggest stock exchanges that could see companies delisted unless racial minorities or LGBTQ+ individuals are represented on their boards. The West

AMP ensnared in yet another ASIC inquiry

The corporate regulator has opened yet another case investigating misconduct at embattled wealth giant AMP after an aggrieved financial planner blew the whistle on alleged breaches of its financial services licence and widespread compliance audit failures. The Fin

Macmahon digs in for funds

Mining services group Macmahon is set to unveil a new debt-funding package, which is expected to be worth about $150 million and involve participation from the big local banks. The Fin

Virgin’s capacity share on the skids

Virgin Australia’s share of the domestic air travel capacity will dip below 20 per cent this week even as borders reopen, UBS analysts said in a research note that raised fresh doubts over the airline under new owner Bain Capital. The Fin

Rockpool slides to $80m loss as Covid closures bite

The private equity-owned Rockpool Dining Group best known as the one time home of famed chef Neil Perry plunged to a heavy loss in the face of the coronavirus pandemic with its auditors noting there was a “material uncertainty” about its ability to continue as a going concern. The Aus

Tense wait for potash raising

Shareholders of Salt Lake Potash are enduring a nervous wait after the company flagged an unexpected capital raising associated with a $US138 million ($A186m) debt drawdown to fund the bulk of its Lake Way project near Wiluna. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Australia has bounced out of recession, recording a 44-year high in quarterly economic growth which is set to continue into the new year as Victoria’s reopening and government budget stimulus recharge consumer spending and business investment.

Perth-based engineering and asset maintenance contractor DRA Global, which counts BHP, Anglo American and steelmaker ArcelorMittal among its clients, has called in the bankers and lawyers for a listing by June 30.

Page 3: The ACTU has given in-principle support for one of the planks of the government’s planned industrial relations changes but is less enthusiastic about plans to increase the flexibility of the safety net which underpins workplace agreements.

Page 4: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has urged consumers to start spending ‘‘as normal’’ amid the COVID-19 recovery after an 8 per cent rebound in household consumption drove the biggest quarterly jump in GST receipts on record.

Page 6: The Morrison government’s personal income tax cuts will lead to a drop in tax revenue of as much as $54 billion, or 1.8 per cent over the medium term, according to new economic modelling.

Page 11: The world’s 20 biggest economies have provided far more cash for fossil fuels than clean energy in COVID-19 recovery packages, with major fossil fuel producers, including Australia, continuing on a course to bust the temperature limits set in the Paris climate agreement by extracting more coal, oil and gas than should be burned in the next decade, a United Nations study shows.

Page 15: The corporate regulator has opened yet another case investigating misconduct at embattled wealth giant AMP after an aggrieved financial planner blew the whistle on alleged breaches of its financial services licence and widespread compliance audit failures.

Page 16: Mining services group Macmahon is set to unveil a new debt-funding package, which is expected to be worth about $150 million and involve participation from the big local banks.

Page 17: Accounting experts say auditing firm Deloitte should explain why it signed off on an accounting strategy that treated substantial expenditures incurred by Freedom Foods as capital assets, enabling the cereal maker to report steadily growing profits instead of huge losses.

Page 18: Virgin Australia’s share of the domestic air travel capacity will dip below 20 per cent this week even as borders reopen, UBS analysts said in a research note that raised fresh doubts over the airline under new owner Bain Capital.

Page 19: Rio Tinto will be forced to endure an independent review of its failure to meet cost and schedule guidance on Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi copper mine expansion, after the mining giant’s less powerful partners united in an extraordinary show of defiance.

Page 21: Ellerston Capital has acquired a significant minority position in an 18-yearold data management business, Prospecta, investing $20 million through its JAADE fund in the previously unfunded company.

The Australian

Page 1: Labor has split with the Coalition over China in a rare divide on foreign affairs, accusing Scott Morrison of presiding over a “complete breakdown” of relations with Beijing.

Page 2: National security agencies will be given unprecedented authority to launch cyber attacks targeting pedophiles, terrorists, drug-traffickers and organised crime gangs operating in the darkest reaches of the internet under new laws.

Page 3: More than one in five electronic cigarette liquid mixtures contain nicotine, despite it being illegal in Australia, and people who vape are being exposed to an array of harmful chemicals that could be acutely toxic.

Page 4: RBA governor Philip Lowe said the prospect of Victoria losing its AAA credit rating “doesn’t concern me”, and maintaining the top debt grade from global agencies had “more political symbolism than economic importance”.

Page 13: The Reserve Bank has rejected suggestions it should be keeping the heat out of the housing market as it pours billions of dollars into quantitative efforts to keep the cash rate low and turn around the nation’s economic retreat.

Page 15: The private equity-owned Rockpool Dining Group best known as the one time home of famed chef Neil Perry plunged to a heavy loss in the face of the coronavirus pandemic with its auditors noting there was a “material uncertainty” about its ability to continue as a going concern.

Page 17: Legal jobs at the nation’s top law firms have been slashed over the past six months, with the worst-hit firms cutting one in five non-partner legal roles since July.

Page 18: Australia has been urged to use its comfortable standing as an influential mid-sized regional economic power to foster closer trade ties and attract “nervous and skittish” foreign capital in the post-pandemic era.

The West Australian

Page 6: Australia has moved one step closer to rolling out a coronavirus vaccine, with the Federal Government last night briefed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Britain becoming the first country to approve the company’s COVID vaccine.

Premier Mark McGowan has praised WA’s “absolutely outstanding” economic growth, saying the result was further vindication of his decision to shut the State’s border during the coronavirus pandemic.

Page 11: Neither Mark McGowan nor any of his Cabinet ministers will attend a community safety forum in the crime-plagued town of Broome, having rejected an invitation from the tourist mecca’s council.

Murdoch University has flagged plans to axe or significantly change many of its science and maths-based courses from next year.

Page 18: Sky News commentator Kristy McSweeney says she wants to be part of the Liberal Party’s “generational change”, confirming her bid to replace the retiring Dean Nalder.

Wheel clamping will be banned in WA in less than two weeks, removing the “un-Australian” practice from the State’s parking lots in time for the busy Christmas shopping season.

Business: Australian directors have reacted with surprise to a push by one of the world’s biggest stock exchanges that could see companies delisted unless racial minorities or LGBTQ+ individuals are represented on their boards.

Prominent WA fisherman and farmer Michael Thompson says it is time to plan business without China, with Australia’s deteriorating relationship with the economic powerhouse unlikely to be repaired soon.

Aware Super will pursue opportunities in the unlisted space in areas such as housing affordability and renewable energy after its merger with WA Super, set to be finalised today.

Shareholders of Salt Lake Potash are enduring a nervous wait after the company flagged an unexpected capital raising associated with a $US138 million ($A186m) debt drawdown to fund the bulk of its Lake Way project near Wiluna.