Morning Headlines

RBA nails 0.1pc cash until 2024

The Reserve Bank of Australia has nailed record low interest rates to the floor until 2024 at the earliest and extended its bond-buying program by another $100 billion, despite upgrading its employment and inflation forecasts. The Fin

Iron ore ‘still a chance’ to top $US200 per tonne

Iron ore could yet top $US200 a tonne this year and deliver bumper returns for another three years, according to a “stronger for longer” price scenario pitched by one of the world’s leading investment banks. The West

Nationals wary of PM’s net zero plans

Nationals outlier Barnaby Joyce said his party was wary of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s likely embrace of net zero emissions by 2050 and may only accept it if it had no negative impact on power prices or farmers. The Fin

Telstra teams up with Kayo in shake-up of live sports streaming

Telstra and Foxtel have announced a new commercial partnership that will involve Foxtel’s streaming service Kayo Sports replacing the telco’s incumbent AFL and NRL Live apps. The Fin

Bosses, staff disagree on return to offices

A battle looms as CEOs, banks and major companies step up expectations for employees to return to the office but a majority of staff maintain they are happier and more productive working from home. The Fin

Pain in the hip pocket

Health fund members could face exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses for devices like hip and knee replacements, stents and pacemakers under major reforms being considered by the Federal Government. The West

Odds shorten for carve-up of Tabcorp

London-listed global betting firm Entain has confirmed it has lodged a takeover proposal for Tabcorp’s wagering business, which would break up the Australian $9bn gambling giant. The Aus

DDH1 sets IPO at $1.10 a share

DDH1 has priced its initial public offering at $1.10 a share as it looks to raise $150m. The Aus

Guards not forced to ALWAYS mask up

Security guards in Perth’s quarantine hotels were not required to wear face masks at all times — even when sitting outside the room of guests infected with COVID-19. The West

$2.3m back pay for dusk staff

Decor and gifts retailer Dusk has joined the unenviable list of companies to reveal it has been underpaying staff for several years. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Reserve Bank of Australia has nailed record low interest rates to the floor until 2024 at the earliest and extended its bond-buying program by another $100 billion, despite upgrading its employment and inflation forecasts.

Federal Labor has opted for a fight on industrial relations and will oppose the government’s omnibus bill of reforms, a move the government says will result in Labor voting against measures such as criminalising wage theft and terminating workplace agreements left over from WorkChoices.

Page 2: Australia is talking to other countries about a co-ordinated response to the military seizing control in Myanmar and detaining pro-democracy figures including leader Aung San Suu Kyi, amid growing calls for sanctions against the generals.

Page 3: Senior West Australian business leaders are fuming over the McGowan government’s handling of the state’s hotel quarantine system after a hotel worker infected with COVID-19 triggered a five day lockdown across Perth and the state’s South West.

Hundreds of firefighters battling a blaze that has destroyed at least 56 homes on Perth’s outskirts are being told to limit numbers in fire trucks, wear masks and exercise social distancing as part of the WA government’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Page 5: Nationals outlier Barnaby Joyce said his party was wary of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s likely embrace of net zero emissions by 2050 and may only accept it if it had no negative impact on power prices or farmers.

Page 7: Australia has taken another step in breaking China’s near monopoly on the critical minerals required to build weapons, electric vehicles and fighter jets, with $10 million in government funding to reopen a tungsten mine on King Island.

Page 9: Telstra and Foxtel have announced a new commercial partnership that will involve Foxtel’s streaming service Kayo Sports replacing the telco’s incumbent AFL and NRL Live apps.

A battle looms as CEOs, banks and major companies step up expectations for employees to return to the office but a majority of staff maintain they are happier and more productive working from home.

Page 13: Privacy rules and the use of diamond and rocket ship emoji-laden slogans such as ‘‘$GME to the moon!’’ to direct multibillion-dollar capital flows are thwarting the corporate regulator’s efforts to step up its surveillance of the boom in social trading.

Page 14: Former investment banker John Wylie has been working with a group of industry superannuation funds to consider making a play for Tabcorp and its wagering business.

The Australian

Page 1: The economy will return to its pre-pandemic size by the middle of this year, six months earlier than expected, according to new Reserve Bank forecasts.

Security guards working in Perth hotel quarantine have not been required to wear masks despite working near infectious returned travellers, West Australian health officials have admitted.

Page 2: Billionaire Chau Chak Wing has been awarded $590,000 in damages after he won his Federal Court defamation case against the ABC and Nine over an “indefensible” joint story that “besmirched” his reputation and “struck at the heart” of the businessman’s good name.

Page 5: Liberal MP Craig Kelly says Australians need to weigh all the evidence before being vaccinated against the coronavirus and will not commit to getting a jab himself.

Australia’s craft distillers have for the first time joined with big spirits companies to demand an overhaul of the “unfair” spirits tax, warning it is preventing them from expanding overseas and is harming their COVID-19 recovery.

Page 6: Australia’s medicines regulator says there is no causal link between the deaths of about 30 very frail elderly people in Norway and the Pfizer vaccine.

Page 7: A federal government proposal to stop people with a disability from claiming sex services using the National Disability Insurance Scheme has been rejected by state and territory ministers, who say it is an overreach and inconsistent with the scheme’s core purpose.

Page 8: A new coronavirus variant from the Amazon is alarming scientists and overwhelming overcrowded hospitals in northern Brazil, raising the prospect of a prolonged outbreak in a country that has secured only a fraction of the vaccines it needs.

Page 13: London-listed global betting firm Entain has confirmed it has lodged a takeover proposal for Tabcorp’s wagering business, which would break up the Australian $9bn gambling giant.

Page 14: DDH1 has priced its initial public offering at $1.10 a share as it looks to raise $150m.

The West Australian

Page 4: Perth’s north-east has been left reeling with confirmation that 59 properties had been destroyed by the worst bushfire to ravage the capital city in decades, with fears numbers were likely to rise.

WA’s most senior fire officer has denied the State’s tough COVID-19 lockdown measures hampered firefighting efforts as residents in Perth’s northeast were told to prepare for the worst.

Page 7: The next 24 hours will be crucial in determining if the mutant British strain of COVID-19 is spreading in Perth, with laboratories processing a record number of virus tests.

Page 9: The Perth security guard who contracted coronavirus while working in hotel quarantine — sparking a five-day lockdown — is distraught about the situation and worried that case numbers will spiral.

Page 11: Security guards in Perth’s quarantine hotels were not required to wear face masks at all times — even when sitting outside the room of guests infected with COVID-19.

Page 14: Local businesses are hopeful the “short, sharp” COVID-19 lockdown will be enough to prevent the kind of economic damage wrought by extended shutdowns in other parts of the world.

Page 20: Health fund members could face exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses for devices like hip and knee replacements, stents and pacemakers under major reforms being considered by the Federal Government.

Business: Business owners and staff in Ellenbrook have fled their shops as raging bushfires that destroyed at least 59 homes came dangerously close to commercial property.

Iron ore could yet top $US200 a tonne this year and deliver bumper returns for another three years, according to a “stronger for longer” price scenario pitched by one of the world’s leading investment banks.

Some of WA’s small-business owners felt they were prepared heading into Perth’s shock five-day lockdown but others are set to bleed $11,000 over the week.

Business owners in Maylands are pleading with shoppers not to boycott their stores after a hotel quarantine security guard who tested positive for coronavirus was active in the area.

Decor and gifts retailer Dusk has joined the unenviable list of companies to reveal it has been underpaying staff for several years.