Leighton to cash in with sell-off
Leighton Holdings is set to reap billions of dollars in proceeds from the potential sale of up to a quarter of its overall operations, as the Spanish-controlled construction giant moves to drive down debt, lift earnings and position itself to win a lucrative pipeline of government-related work by streamlining the business. The Aus
Vote lost, Nexus collapses
Nexus Energy last night appointed McGrath Nicol as administrator of the debt-laden company after shareholders voted down a $27 million bailout from Kerry Stokes’ Seven Group Holdings. The West
Farmers face Arab trade boycott
WA farmers could be facing their biggest crisis since Labor’s live export ban as Arab nations threaten to block Australian agricultural products amid complaints the Federal Government is pro-Israel. The West
Labor attacks over calls for welfare reform
Australians can claim 20 payments and more than 50 supplements from the federal government, making the welfare system too complex and financially unsustainable, according to the man tasked with working out how to fix the system. The Fin
‘Crisis’ alert for jobless youth
The proportion of young Australians with a job has plunged to its lowest level in two decades, with evidence that fewer than 60 per cent are working sparking calls from employers for the government to respond to an emerging crisis with steps to cut penalty rates and youth wages. The Aus
Revise RET then abandon it, BCA says
The Business Council of Australia is calling for the Renewable Energy Target to be significantly revised and then abandoned altogether once all obligations have been met by 2030. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Warwick McKibbin has attacked the central bank for pushing official interest rates too low in a failed attempt to engage in the European, Japanese and US currency wars.
ANZ Banking Group chief executive Mike Smith wants global Cold War-like protocols established to head off military conflict between China and its neighbours over maritime boundaries.
Page 2: SBS will use its coverage of the soccer World Cup to ditch its “Seven billion stories and counting” tag-line of six years and launch a new one: “Joinin”.
Page 3: Billionaire MP Clive Palmer has accused Queensland deputy premier Jeff Seeney of being a liar, producing documents that he claims prove he was not trying to gain exclusive access to the Galilee Basin.
Page 4: Prime Minister Tony Abbott assured the United States that Australia considered its presence vital to the Asia-Pacific region, as the US warned the stability of the region was one of “the most serious security issues” confronting our nations.
Page 7: Australians can claim 20 payments and more than 50 supplements from the federal government, making the welfare system too complex and financially unsustainable, according to the man tasked with working out how to fix the system.
Page 9: The Business Council of Australia is calling for the Renewable Energy Target to be significantly revised and then abandoned altogether once all obligations have been met by 2030.
Page 13: Mining services and iron ore hopeful Mineral Resources has entered the $1.4 billion fight for Aquila Resources and demanded a role in Aquila’s West Pilbara iron ore project.
Nexus Energy shareholders have rejected a last-minute call from the company to switch their votes to support a 2¢-a-share takeover offer from Seven Group Holdings, sending the oil and gas junior on the path to voluntary administration.
Page 17: Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s initial cornerstone investment in New-York listed Air Lease Corp has more than doubled in value, with the lender’s stake delivering paper profits of $US142million ($151.3million).
Retail giant Wesfarmers has received all the regulatory approvals needed to sell its insurance broking and premium-funding operations to global brokerage group Arthur J Gallagher.
Page 19: Construction contractor Service Stream will continue to help build the national broadband network for another two years after signing a new contract worth $140 million.
The Australian
Page 1: The proportion of young Australians with a job has plunged to its lowest level in two decades, with evidence that fewer than 60 per cent are working sparking calls from employers for the government to respond to an emerging crisis with steps to cut penalty rates and youth wages.
Page 3: The number of Chinese property agents marketing and selling Australian homes to wealthy mainland buyers has increased at least fivefold over the past five years, as investors take advantage of Australia’s tax regime, banking laws and future economic prospects.
Page 4: Tony Abbott has defended the Coalition’s direct action plan in the face of international criticism, saying spending on tackling climate change is substantial in global terms.
Page 19: Leighton Holdings is set to reap billions of dollars in proceeds from the potential sale of up to a quarter of its overall operations, as the Spanish-controlled construction giant moves to drive down debt, lift earnings and position itself to win a lucrative pipeline of government-related work by streamlining the business.
Arrium’s chief executive Andrew Roberts has rejected negative market sentiment around depressed iron ore prices, saying a rebound is on the way as the market digests the current rush of new supply, Chinese port stockpiles move to steel mills and the government works through iron ore credit moves.
Page 20: Western Australian mining millionaire Chris Ellison has dealt himself into Chinese giant Baosteel’s $1.4 billion bid for Aquila Resources with an ambitious plan to develop the target’s key iron ore project.
Page 21: Some of the nation’s largest companies are still over-allocating performance rights to executives through a method that values shares sharply lower than the actual price, with Fairfax Media pinged as the worst offender with its incentives handed to chief Greg Hywood last year.
Page 29: Aviation organisations have urged the government to move quickly on a recommended overhaul of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Australia’s regulatory environment.
The West Australian
Page 1: WA farmers could be facing their biggest crisis since Labor’s live export ban as Arab nations threaten to block Australian agricultural products amid complaints the Federal Government is pro-Israel.
Page 2: The Health Department’s multibillion-dollar-a-year procurement program is vulnerable to rorting amid a systemic failure to manage corruption and fraud, the Corruption and Crime Commission has warned.
Page 4: Julia Gillard’s former boyfriend has been accused of lying to a royal commission after he claimed thousands of dollars of cash poured into a union slush fund paid a now dead colleague to train workers on the Dawesville Channel project in the early 1990s.
Page 9: Colin Barnett says he wishes someone had brought his attention to the limited clinical services to be offered at the privatised Midland Health Campus when the $5 billion contract went through Cabinet.
Page 14: A former State Government planning guru has poured cold water on the prospect of making Burswood Peninsula part of the City of Perth, saying in a report it was “difficult to justify”.
Business: Ownership of construction company John Holland may change hands under a shake-up of Leighton Holdings because the businesses will no longer be operating in the same fields.
Nexus Energy last night appointed McGrath Nicol as administrator of the debt-laden company after shareholders voted down a $27 million bailout from Kerry Stokes’ Seven Group Holdings.
Quickflix founder and executive chairman Stephen Langsford says he feels vindicated and ready to take the company into a new era after its shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a board reshuffle proposal.
Rail experts have delivered a grim warning about the prospects of 509km of WA grain freight network re-opening once they close at the end of the month.
Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s most powerful investment banks, has reversed an erstwhile bullish view about iron ore that has left Fortescue Metals Group as collateral damage.