Morning Headlines

Labor’s bold $1b quantum start-up bet

Australia will invest $940 million in Silicon Valley start-up PsiQuantum, in a big bet that it will build the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer in Brisbane. The Fin

Government baulks at hard caps on foreign students

The Albanese government is shying away from a Canadian-style hard cap on foreign student numbers and will opt for more nuanced measures to control their influx, in an attempt to avoid causing long-term damage to a crucial export industry, sources say. The Fin

Optus parent writes off billions; deal with TPG

Optus’ woes, compounded by a weakening Australian economy, have forced parent company Singtel to write off billions of dollars on the telecommunications group, which has struck a $1.6 billion deal with rival TPG Telecom to bring in cash. The Fin

Taxpayers in quantum leap of faith

A massive $1bn taxpayer investment fill be funnelled into a world-first quantum computer that will be designed and owned by an American company, despite the project being used to promote Anthony Albanese’s Made in Australia agenda aimed at boosting the nation’s sovereign control of future industries. The Aus

‘Evidence of tryst’, execs claim

Lawyers representing four executives working for shopping giant Super Retail Group claim an external informant has come forward with new details of an affair between its chief executive and human resources boss, claiming its board were aware of the secret relationship as far back as December last year. The Aus

Court date shock for Higgins

The ongoing defamation battle between outgoing senator Linda Reynolds and her former staffer Brittany Higgins will return to court for an unscheduled hearing on Tuesday. The West

Major changes at Seven West Media

WA Newspapers Editor-in-Chief Anthony De Ceglie has stepped into a new role as the director of news and current affairs and Seven West Media Editor-in-Chief, based in Sydney. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Rugby Australia will need to find another two board members before the end of the year after frustrated shareholders decided to vote against the reelection of a board director.

Page 3: Australia’s open-cut coal mines could be emitting more than twice as much methane as official disclosures suggest, casting doubt on national carbon emissions data and efforts to fight climate change, says Superpower Institute chairman and former competition regulator Rod Sims.

Page 4: Tens of billions of dollars of extra federal and state government spending have added to inflation pressures and must be cut to limit the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate increases, economists say.

Page 5: Anthony Albanese has flagged tougher treatment of men who act violently against women, pointing to possible bail law reform moves and action on misogynistic content online, ahead of emergency talks with premiers.

Page 7: Employers have lashed a union push for a 9 per cent minimum wage increase for female-dominated industries as ‘‘divorced from reality’’ and one that could keep interest rates higher for longer and require more government funding.

Page 7: The Albanese government is under more pressure to come up with a bailout package for the nickel industry in the May budget after the axe fell on another 530 workers yesterday.

Page 15: ASX-listed wealth manager Perpetual is in exclusive talks with buy-out giant KKR to sell its corporate trust and wealth management units as part of a break-up of the 137-year-old group.

Page 17: The world’s largest miner, BHP, has been warned not to lob a ‘‘value destructive’’ improved bid for Anglo American and risk over-paying to secure the coveted copper assets contained in the beleaguered London-listed target’s empire.

Page 18: Crown Resorts will cut up to 1000 jobs across its three casinos in a major restructure designed to offset weak economic conditions and ensure the group remains viable to compete with the best casinos in Asia.

Page 19: One of Australia’s largest private hospital groups, Healthscope, has written down the value of its business by $919 million because of the dire state of the private hospital sector, which is battling steep cost rises.

Page 19: Japan Inc will back the development of one of the world’s biggest nickel deposits in Western Australia in a move that casts further doubt on whether the Albanese government will bail out BHP and its struggling operations.

Page 21: Former Labor adviser and Afterpay executive Damian Kassabgi has been appointed chief executive of the Tech Council of Australia, beginning the role as government talks tough on big tech.

Page 28: Australia’s sharemarket bounced yesterday from a sharp sell-off in the previous session, as traders continued to balance a murky interest rate outlook for Australia and the US.

Page 29: Bond traders are pricing in a 50 per cent chance of another rate increase in Australia before Christmas to keep a lid on inflation, but some pundits say the fears are overblown and the next move in the cash rate still likely to be lower.

Page 31: Stockland said consumers needed a stable, or falling, interest rate environment for sales to increase in Australia’s housing market, even as it said new home sales had jumped by 18 per cent in the three months to March 31 and new inquiries were up strongly.

The Australian

Page 2: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has called time on his five-year rule of the Pacific nation after losing his majority in parliament, in a move which may reset the Solomon’s pro-China direction.

Page 3: Brittany Higgins and her fiancé, David Sharaz, will ask the West Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday to vacate the July 24 trial date set for the defamation battle with former Liberal defence minister Linda Reynolds.

Page 6: Dairy farmers say tougher measures to punish retailers using intimidation and predatory practices to drive down produce prices are needed to end the exodus of milk suppliers.

Page 7: Australia’s second biggest telco, Optus, failed to grasp the scale and severity of a massive network outage in November last year, with a government-appointed review taking aim at the Singapore-owned company over its communications and complains handling for affected customers.

Page 7: Seven West media director of news and current affairs Craig McPherson has quit after weeks of turmoil at the network including the naming of the wrong man as the Bondi Junction killer and scandal surrounding the Spotlight program.

Page 13: Qantas is making twice as much revenue as Virgin Australia on one of the world’s most lucrative routes, raising questions over the airline’s mid-market strategy as it continues to search for a new CEO to replace Jayne Hrdlicka.

Page 14: The Australian equities market appeared to be back in full force on Monday night after investment banks Goldman Sachs and Citi launched what could be the largest block trade of this year.

Page 15: Cost and margin pressures, the war for talent and cyber security are the top concerns of mid-market businesses, with prospects for growth during the cost-of-living crisis a further strain, according to a new survey from KPMG.

Page 15: The corporate regulator has baulked at Commonwealth Bank’s defensive move to officially scrap best-practice bonus caps for home loan bankers in an effort to stop defections to brokers and become more competitive against aggressive rivals.

Page 16: Another West Australian nickel producer has called it quits, with First Quantum Minerals confirming on Monday it will wind down the processing plant at its Ravensthorpe mine in the state’s southwest.

The West Australian

Page 7: Overworked junior doctors in WA could soon launch a class action in an effort to recover unpaid wages after a landmark court ruling in NSW.

Page 11: Property prices could rise by as much as 20 per cent this year, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA.

Page 20: The State’s nickel producers are falling apart at the seams but  junior explorer, Ardea Resources, has managed to cut a potentially huge deal with two of Japan’s industrial giants.

Page 20: First Quantum Minerals has fallen victim to the ongoing price bloodbath, with 530 local roles from the Ravensthorpe mine in the State’s south-east set to be wiped out.

Page 21: Nutrien Ag Solutions has won court orders stopping Fremantle Port Authority from evicting the major fertiliser supplier from its fire-ravaged Kwinana dockside operations.

Page 22: Woodside Energy’s share price would tank if the company changes strategy to appease ESG-driven investors after losing a major climate vote last week, MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic says.

Page 22: Liontown Resources has hit the home straight to bring online Australia’s next major lithium mine within coming months.