Morning Headlines

New rules to keep your kids in class

COVID isolation rules for school students, teachers and a range of other “critical workers” will be substantially relaxed from Thursday in response to growing Omicron cases. The West

Forrest inks Airbus hydrogen deal

Fortescue Metals boss Andrew Forrest has bagged another partner in his quest to develop hydrogen-powered planes, trains and automobiles, after jetting to the French city of Toulouse to sign a deal with aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus. The Fin

Vimy tips uranium price to scale past heights

The boss of Vimy Resources says uranium could be on its way back to previous highs above $US100 a pound amid supply concerns and the push to reduce carbon emissions, as the developer gets away an equity raising despite heightened market volatility. The Fin

RBA inflation vow as fuel prices soar

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has pledged to "do what is necessary" to keep inflation from getting out of control, with oil and gas executives saying Australians could be stuck with very high prices "for some time" as Western nations continued to turn the screw on Russian oil exports. The Aus

Carney throws down challenge to AGL board

Brookfield vice-chairman Mark Carney has thrown down a challenge to AGL Energy’s board to prove that its demerger is a better option than the Canadian giant’s takeover offer with Mike Cannon-Brookes, warning that those who move slowly on the energy transition will destroy value. The Fin

Huge boost for defence amid risks

Australia’s military will grow by a third to almost 80,000 uniformed personnel by 2040 amid rising tensions with China, with the recruitment drive needed to provide manpower to complement the arms build-up of more advanced and lethal weapons. The Fin

Questions over Beach's future direction hinder the search for a new boss

There are rumblings in the market that Beach Energy's search for a new chief executive to replace Matt Kay may have hit a stumbling block. The Aus

Unis call for end to ministerial veto on grants

Federal ministers should not have the power to veto research grants, a Senate committee has heard, since the practice is out of step with other scientifically advanced nations and undermines a core pillar of how liberal democracies work. The Fin

Dan's curated wines target younger crowd

Dan Murphy's is aiming to dominate the wine subscription market in Australia, launching its new brand Dan Picked targeting millennial and Gen Z consumers looking to enjoy a curated wine experience. The Aus

Corporate giants to come clean on climate change actions

Australia's largest companies, accounting for almost 26 per cent of the nation's annual greenhouse emissions reported to the Clean Energy Regulator, will publicly disclose their use of carbon offsets and renewable electricity to increase transparency around climate change performance. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page S1: Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific signal an end to the benign geopolitical environment and a new era of political and economic uncertainty, chief executives have been warned.

Page S7: Brookfield vice-chairman Mark Carney has thrown down a challenge to AGL Energy’s board to prove that its demerger is a better option than the Canadian giant’s takeover offer with Mike Cannon-Brookes, warning that those who move slowly on the energy transition will destroy value.

Page 1: Australia’s military will grow by a third to almost 80,000 uniformed personnel by 2040 amid rising tensions with China, with the recruitment drive needed to provide manpower to complement the arms build-up of more advanced and lethal weapons.

Page 6: Federal ministers should not have the power to veto research grants, a Senate committee has heard, since the practice is out of step with other scientifically advanced nations and undermines a core pillar of how liberal democracies work.

Page 10: McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Starbucks stopped sales of their best-known products in Russia on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), offering a united rebuke of the war on Ukraine by companies that define America for much of the world.

Page 14: The war in Ukraine will not slow the march away from coal-fired power, Origin Energy chief executive Frank Calabria said, as he unveiled a refreshed strategy emphasising the abundant opportunities from the transition to clean energy.

Fortescue Metals boss Andrew Forrest has bagged another partner in his quest to develop hydrogen-powered planes, trains and automobiles, after jetting to the French city of Toulouse to sign a deal with aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus.

Page 17: Emerge Gaming, an ASX-listed penny stock that derives 98 per cent of its revenue from funnelling cash for a global multi-level marketing scheme, will sell its main gaming platform to a sister company of the controversial scheme operators.

Page 18: Demand for gas on the east coast could crash by 60 per cent by 2050 if the rapid growth in renewables eats into the profitability of gas power generation, according to a report by global energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Lenders may try to seize control of BHP’s Samarco business this week amid signs they are poised to reject a debt-restructuring proposal that would make them wait until 2041 to receive less than a quarter of the billions of dollars they are owed by the iron ore business.

Page 19: The boss of Vimy Resources says uranium could be on its way back to previous highs above $US100 a pound amid supply concerns and the push to reduce carbon emissions, as the developer gets away an equity raising despite heightened market volatility.

The Australian

Page 1: Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has pledged to "do what is necessary" to keep inflation from getting out of control, with oil and gas executives saying Australians could be stuck with very high prices "for some time" as Western nations continued to turn the screw on Russian oil exports.

Page 2: Explorer Ernest Shackleton’s famous vessel of discovery Endurance has been found east of the Antarctic Peninsula, with maritime experts describing it as one of the most “brilliantly  preserved” shipwrecks in naval history.

Page 4: Australia's largest companies, accounting for almost 26 per cent of the nation's annual greenhouse emissions reported to the Clean Energy Regulator, will publicly disclose their use of carbon offsets and renewable electricity to increase transparency around climate change performance.

Page 6: West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and his Attorney-General, John Quigley, privately ridiculed Clive Palmer as a “big fat liar” and “the worst Australian not in jail” as they worked to enact legislation to kill off the magnate’s $30bn legal action against the state.

Page 13: The nation's top oil and gas executives have warned "off the charts" energy prices are set to remain high, given the inability of producers to quickly bring on new production, with sanctions and restrictions on Russia sparking a global hunt among buyers to secure supplies.

Page 14: There are rumblings in the market that Beach Energy's search for a new chief executive to replace Matt Kay may have hit a stumbling block.

Page 15: Dan Murphy's is aiming to dominate the wine subscription market in Australia, launching its new brand Dan Picked targeting millennial and Gen Z consumers looking to enjoy a curated wine experience.

Businesses are seeing a greater sense of "confidence and optimism" among consumers, but also see inflationary pressures on the rise, according to Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott.

The West Australian

Page 3: Petrol stations are reporting a surge in drive-offs amid a record-breaking run for fuel prices, which has now reached a new average high of 212.4¢ a litre across Perth.

Page 7: COVID isolation rules for school students, teachers and a range of other “critical workers” will be substantially relaxed from Thursday in response to growing Omicron cases.

Page 16: The emergence of eco-activist mobs making expensive cars and SUVs undriveable is the latest shock tactic they claim will stop global warming.

Business: The looming Omicron wave will “dent, not derail WA’s strong economic trajectory” with the State poised for at least two more years of boomtime conditions and near record low unemployment rates.

Thermomix is certainly the latter for its exclusive Australian distributor Grace Mazur and daughter Bianca, this year marking 21 years in business and generating them a multimillion-dollar fortune.

Bain Capital Ventures — one of the world’s biggest startup investment firms — is launching a $US560 million ($765m) fund focused exclusively on crypto-related efforts.

Lululemon is venturing into footwear, marking a new product category for the maker of leggings and sports bras and deepening its rivalry with giants such as Nike and Adidas.