Morning Headlines

Brookfield to push Rio towards Bishops tower

One of Perth’s largest resources tenants, Rio Tinto, is shifting away from moving its iron ore headquarters to the $2.6 billion Elizabeth Quay precinct, with the group favoured to anchor a long planned second office tower at Bishops See. The Aus

WA accused of blocking GST windfall

Australian retailers are accusing the Barnett Government of standing in the way of $1 billion in extra revenue by blocking reform of a tax loophole allowing GST-free online shopping. The West

BCA argues against G20 tax crackdown

Australian companies will pay more than $70 billion in company tax this year, according to Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott, who has slammed recent debate about the lack of tax paid by multinationals. The Fin

Global tax schemes exposed

Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan is pursuing a global investigation of international and Australian companies exposed by one of the biggest leaks of tax information ever for using Luxembourg to shift profits and avoid tax. The Fin

Foxtel, Discovery hunt wounded Ten

US cable television giant Discovery Communications is weighing up a joint bid for the struggling Ten Network Holdings with local pay TV monopoly Foxtel. The Fin

WA seeks Curtin air base land for crops

The State Government is challenging Canberra to stop talking about developing northern Australia and start acting by releasing 10,000ha of land near Derby for irrigated agriculture. The West

Revealed: Seven Group’s private pricey bid for Nexus Energy

The Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven Group Holdings offered almost three times the value of an eventual bid for Nexus Energy, just days before Seven Group chief Don Voelte stepped down as Nexus chairman and the stock went into a trading suspension it never recovered from. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan is pursuing a global investigation of international and Australian companies exposed by one of the biggest leaks of tax information ever for using Luxembourg to shift profits and avoid tax.

Page 3: Australian companies will pay more than $70 billion in company tax this year, according to Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott, who has slammed recent debate about the lack of tax paid by multinationals.

Page 4: The Abbott government’s rating has taken a dive among company directors who have assessed the Coalition’s performance in its first year in office.

Page 5: Industry superannuation funds should have majority independent boards and the $300 billion sector should be “de-unionised”, leading company director Mark Johnson has said.

Page 8: Incoming Ernst & Young Oceania chief executive Tony Johnson has flagged more acquisitions, alliances, and greater concentration on opportunities in Asia.

Page 15: US cable television giant Discovery Communications is weighing up a joint bid for the struggling Ten Network Holdings with local pay TV monopoly Foxtel.

CSR managing director Rob Sindel said the building products supplier is set to capitalise on years of underbuilding as he handed down a 48 per cent jump in half-year profit to $68.4 million.

Page 17: BHP Billiton has quietly started exporting oil products from North America after finding an apparent loophole in laws that prevent most petroleum exports from the United States.

Page 21: Nine Entertainment Co and Fairfax Media’s video-streaming joint venture is expected to launch in February after announcing its brand name–Stan–and first-run rights to Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul.

James Packer might have to say sayonara to any hopes of opening a casino in Japan in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, after it emerged that legislation needed to open up the country’s market will be postponed and is unlikely to pass in time.

Page 25: Infrastructure investment is likely to pick up from 2015 and but will only go a “tiny” way towards replacing capital expenditure in the resources sector, according to Morgan Stanley.

The Australian

Page 1: Universities will have to prove their teaching graduates improve student learning under tough accreditation standards for education degrees envisaged by the new chairman of the national teachers institute.

Page 2: Australia is seeking a new deal with China on a $50 billion regional bank after turning down an initial request to join the scheme amid US and Japanese fears about growing Chinese influence across the region.

Holden workers will leave the company with average redundancy payouts of $85,000 after union members voted to support the carmaker’s final workplace agreement.

Page 4: Regions should be given the power to manage their own areas of environmental significance and the tax debate should include economic incentives to restore degraded ecosystems, according to a sweeping reform blueprint by leading scientists.

Page 19: The prudential regulator has issued an ominous warning about lower home-lending standards by the banks, as Commonwealth Bank’s $2.3 billion cash profit for the September quarter left the nation’s biggest mortgage lender on target to exceed last year’s record profit of $8.7bn.

The Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven Group Holdings offered almost three times the value of an eventual bid for Nexus Energy, just days before Seven Group chief Don Voelte stepped down as Nexus chairman and the stock went into a trading suspension it never recovered from.

The Australian Taxation Office will next year start estimating how much company tax it is missing out on from the big end of town in a bid to better understand corporate tax evasion and avoidance.

Page 20: The tumble in iron ore has continued, with prices hitting new five-year lows, thanks partly to a move to help the vistas and health of Tony Abbott and other world leaders headed to Beijing this weekend.

Page 21: By announcing an upgrade in its annual earnings, Transfield Services have attempted to bolster their position during a takeover offer by Spanish firm Ferrovial.

Page 28: One of Perth’s largest resources tenants, Rio Tinto, is shifting away from moving its iron ore headquarters to the $2.6 billion Elizabeth Quay precinct, with the group favoured to anchor a long planned second office tower at Bishops See.

The West Australian

Page 3: Doctors and nurses are often threatened, spat on and punched by drunk patients, according to results from the biggest study of alcohol harm in Australian emergency departments.

Page 6: Australian retailers are accusing the Barnett Government of standing in the way of $1 billion in extra revenue by blocking reform of a tax loophole allowing GST-free online shopping.

Page 13: Relations between the Corruption and Crime Commission and its parliamentary overseer have plummeted after the CCC released a special report and held a rare press conference taking aim at the retired judge.

Page 14: The acting boss of WA’s health system said he would like to “blow up” Graylands Hospital, saying the mental health facility was archaic.

Page 17: One of WA biggest mining centres has been the focus of a massive joint operation targeting drugs and involving police from East Pilbara detectives, Customs and Australia Post.

Page 20: The WA Museum has paid higher premiums than it should have to insure its collection because an accounting mistake overstated its value by almost $200 million.

Business: The State Government is challenging Canberra to stop talking about developing northern Australia and start acting by releasing 10,000ha of land near Derby for irrigated agriculture.

Parkerville Children and Youth Care will use the State’s biggest corporate lunch fundraiser to widen its reach with the launch of an Australian-first app.

Leading live exporter Wellard has stopped supplying sheep to Jordan in the wake of the latest complaints about animal cruelty in the Middle Eastern nation.

Neon Energy has secured the friendly embrace of fellow explorer MEO Australia, arguing a $35.4 million scrip merger is a better deal for shareholders than corporate raider Evoworld’s partial takeover proposal.

Perth travel sim-card company Ziptel has received its second price query ticket from the Australian Securities Exchange in three weeks after its shares soared 34 per cent yesterday to a new record high on no news.