Morning Headlines

Wheatstone auction part of energy sector’s $10b merger wave

Mergers are set to sweep through Australia’s oil and gas sector with close to $10 billion of assets currently on the market, as international players head towards the exit and local operators seek out new partners in an effort to stave off mounting cost pressures. The Fin

Bunfight for grain ship slots

CBH and a battery of international big guns have started a bidding war over the export of this season’s grain harvest, which will see millions of dollars gambled to secure individual shipping slots. The West

CITIC adds $495m to Sino pot

China’s CITIC poured another $495 million into its Sino Iron magnetite project in the first half of the year, with figures released yesterday showing the company lost at least $21 a tonne on iron ore exports in the six months to June 30. The West

Fortescue bets on China beef sales

As iron ore prices languish at their lowest levels in five years, the chairman of the world’s fourth-largest miner of the commodity is betting on another big Chinese market: food. The Aus

Lew looks to expand offshore

After pocketing a $190 million profit on the $420 million sale of his stakes in David Jones and Country Road, Mr Lew has overcome increased competition from overseas retailers and weak consumer sentiment to restore growth at Just Jeans, Portmans and Jacqui E while becoming one of few Australian retailers to successfully expand overseas. The Fin

FIRB hits back over foreign buyers

Foreign Investment Review Board chairman Brian Wilson has defended the regulator against criticism that it is inept at stopping wealthy foreigners illegally buying property. The Fin

WA has more in piggy bank       

Savers in Western Australia have at least $20,000 more cash stashed away in their bank accounts than those in other states courtesy of windfalls from the mining boom, new research shows. The Aus

Barnett has not given up on shark drum lines

Colin Barnett appears to have left the door open to reintroducing drum lines after this summer, declaring the WA Government “reserved the right” to deploy them. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking legal action against Woolworths for selling faulty products such as deep fryers, drain cleaners, folding stools and safety matches.

The introduction of an “effects test” into competition law will not be among the provisional recommendations of the government’s wide-ranging competition inquiry, which could be published as early as Monday.

Page 4: Foreign Investment Review Board chairman Brian Wilson has defended the regulator against criticism that it is inept at stopping wealthy foreigners illegally buying property.

Page 5: Tony Abbott has co-opted Labor leader Bill Shorten to help make the case for the constitutional recognition of indigenous people after plans to hold a referendum were shelved for the second time in as many years.

Page 6: The Australian Workers Union will launch a campaign to convince Australians that 15 per cent to 20 per cent of gas production should be set aside for domestic use, a move that could lower local prices but cut producers’ profits.

Page 7: The aluminium sector could win a reprieve from the Renewable Energy Target with both sides of the debate sympathetic to the energy-hungry sector’s unique circumstances.

Page 8: Treasurer Joe Hockey remains committed to seeking a commitment from Group of 20 finance ministers to a 2 per cent economic growth target but admits it is “ambitious”.

Page 11: Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan has warned against over-regulating self-managed super funds, saying investors who legally use the system and manage to “hit the jackpot” are doing nothing wrong.

Page 15: After a highly successful Australian sharemarket listing, Bellamy’s Australia chief executive Laura McBain wants to use social media to drive sales of infant nutrition products in China.

Page 21: After pocketing a $190 million profit on the $420 million sale of his stakes in David Jones and Country Road, Mr Lew has overcome increased competition from overseas retailers and weak consumer sentiment to restore growth at Just Jeans, Portmans and Jacqui E while becoming one of few Australian retailers to successfully expand overseas.

Page 23: Mergers are set to sweep through Australia’s oil and gas sector with close to $10 billion of assets currently on the market, as international players head towards the exit and local operators seek out new partners in an effort to stave off mounting cost pressures.

Page 27: The viability of Aurizon’s plans to build a new rail and port network in the Pilbara to transport iron ore is being questioned as weaker iron ore prices raise fears over costs.

Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power has denied the miner owns any iron ore stocks at China’s ports and has also not ruled out the possibility its cash position could fall to $US700 million in December.

The Australian

Page 1: The Abbott government will today push for an “urgent overhaul” of the nation’s shipping freight trade, aiming to change what it calls Labor’s “flawed, bureaucratic and protectionist” licensing system for ships moving cargo from one port to another.

Page 3: Apple’s two new iPhones are well crafted and delightfully thin, and their bigger screen sizes and modern looks put them back in the fight against the ever-improving Android opposition.

ABC management plans to use budget cuts to further centralise power at its Sydney headquarters and boost the sway of the increasingly dominant news and current affairs division, staff at the broadcaster warn.

Page 4: Australia should consider nuclear energy when it builds its next generation of power stations in about 2030 and faces the doubling or tripling of electricity prices.

Holden is moving rapidly to jettison hundreds of engineers under its decision to axe production in Australia from 2017.

Page 5: A baby suffered chemical burns and a woman broke her back after Woolworths knowingly sold dangerous “home brand’’ products, the consumer watchdog alleges.

Page 6: Clive Palmer and his senators have been urged not to agree to a deal that would reduce the amount of time people under 30 have to wait for the dole, ahead of a debate in the Senate next week.

Page 17: Shares in Premier Investments surged 8 per cent yesterday on the back of a strong annual result, as executive chairman Solomon Lew dampened speculation of a Myer takeover by revealing that he doesn’t own shares in any department store business in Australia or elsewhere.

The sharemarket-listed premium milk company backed by Sydney’s Perich family is in advanced negotiations to sell fresh Australian milk on the booming Alibaba online retail platform in China after striking a deal to supply fresh milk direct to homes in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Page 18: As iron ore prices languish at their lowest levels in five years, the chairman of the world’s fourth-largest miner of the commodity is betting on another big Chinese market: food.

BHP Billiton’s coal chief Dean Dalla Valle has rejected suggestions that China’s crackdown on the use of low-quality coals would be would be a negative for the Australian coal industry, the nation’s second biggest export earner. Instead, he said it would benefit the local industry.

Page 19: Savers in Western Australia have at least $20,000 more cash stashed away in their bank accounts than those in other states courtesy of windfalls from the mining boom, new research shows.

Page 23: Boral almost doubled the pay for its managing director Mike Kane to $4.6 million in the 2014 financial year, when the country’s largest building materials provider turned around from a loss to post a $173m net profit.

Page 25: Shopping centre giant Westfield Corporation has added France to its list of shopping centre plays after talks with multiple parties to get into the French market, including commercial property developer Immochan.

The West Australian

Page 3: Six Perth suburbs — Ellenbrook, Huntingdale, North Lake, Piara Waters, Pickering Brook and Wandi — have become million dollar neighbourhoods for the first time in the past year, notching up property sales over $1 million.

Fly-in, fly-out workers are more overweight than the average Australian man and at greater risk of chronic diseases because of their on-site diet, research reveals.

Page 10: Colin Barnett appears to have left the door open to reintroducing drum lines after this summer, declaring the WA Government “reserved the right” to deploy them.

Page 11: A prominent Karratha real estate agent has questioned whether the State Government did its due diligence before it paid up-front for 50 apartments in the town’s second high-rise residential complex.

Page 15: WA’s top judge has thrown his support behind a trial of a system that would allow petty offenders to escape prosecution by signing a contract that pledges they will stay out of trouble.

Page 18: Environment Minister Albert Jacob approved a Pilbara iron ore mine based on advice from the State’s environment watchdog he suspected may have been tainted.

Business: CBH and a battery of international big guns have started a bidding war over the export of this season’s grain harvest, which will see millions of dollars gambled to secure individual shipping slots.

Around the time entrepreneur Rick Hart was launching Kitchen Headquarters in a blaze of publicity four years ago, a competitor quietly gained a foothold in the WA market.

China’s CITIC poured another $495 million into its Sino Iron magnetite project in the first half of the year, with figures released yesterday showing the company lost at least $21 a tonne on iron ore exports in the six months to June 30.

The State Government expects to save millions of dollars a year after bringing forward the closure of the Kwinana power station at the same time as announcing it had replaced its longstanding supplier of electricity to much of the Mid West.