Medibank pressure to perform
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has sold Medibank Private for a higher than expected $5.7 billion, putting pressure on the insurer’s management team to satisfy demanding investors who bought in at the lofty valuation. The Fin
BREE caught out by iron ore price plunge
Australia’s top official resources forecaster plans to lower its short-term iron ore price outlook in December after being caught out by the fall to a five-year low of $US70 a tonne. The Fin
Faith in Fortescue helps Forrest build an empire
Two of Fortescue Metals Group’s most senior executives have spoken candidly about their famously strong religious beliefs and explained how their faith shapes their business dealings. The West
Rinehart pledges $175m to lure medical tourists
Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has pledged $175 million to develop a state-of-the-art health facility in Darwin as part of her wider vision to develop Northern Australia. The Aus
ABC’s WA program cut, 400 jobs to go
Up to 400 ABC staff will be axed and the WA edition of 7.30 will be dumped when the broadcaster details how it will respond to Federal Government budget cuts. The West
Dockers backers bid for schools
Contracting companies Programmed Maintenance Services and Decmil Group have joined forces to bid for a public-private partnership that will build and maintain eight government schools in Perth. The West
Barminco’s back in Tassie
Underground miner Barminco has wrested back a Tasmanian job it lost last year by winning a contract worth $110 million. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has sold Medibank Private for a higher than expected $5.7 billion, putting pressure on the insurer’s management team to satisfy demanding investors who bought in at the lofty valuation.
Media groups Discovery Communications and Foxtel plan a dual-class shareholder structure for Ten Network Holdings to convince billionaire Bruce Gordon and other resistant shareholders to sell the TV network.
Australia’s top official resources forecaster plans to lower its short-term iron ore price outlook in December after being caught out by the fall to a five-year low of $US70 a tonne.
Page 4: Rogue senator’s departure from PUP set to further complicate the Coalition’s legislative agenda.
Page 9: More new homes will be built this year than in 20 years, but a high household savings rate and fears about the health of the domestic economy are discouraging home owners from renovating.
Page 10: Australia’s suburban airports, such as Sydney’s Bankstown, Melbourne’s Essendon and Perth’s Jandakot, should be exempt from expensive federal laws governing the much larger main city airports, says the Australian Airports Association.
Page 15: The dual forces of the first interest rate cut in two years from China and a hint of bigger stimulus from the European Central Bank have lifted global equities markets and stoked optimism that ultra-easy policy can alleviate a slowdown in global growth.
Page 20: A year on from taking the reins at iiNet from founder Michael Malone, David Buckingham is targeting market share growth in NSW but admits the fast-growing telco faces a challenge from incumbents Telstra and Optus.
Page 31: ABC managing director Mark Scott is preparing to brief staff at the public broadcaster on 400 job cuts and other savings on Monday amid an ongoing row with the Abbott government over the timing of budget cuts enforced by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week.
The Australian
Page 1: A senior editor at Fairfax Media has been caught in a major computer security breach, after obtaining the membership list of the journalists’ union with thousands of confidential contact details so he could use them for a personal political campaign.
Police are investigating Clive Palmer’s allegedly fraudulent siphoning of more than $12 million in Chinese funds that he used to bankroll his political party into last year’s federal election.
Page 3: Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has pledged $175 million to develop a state-of-the-art health facility in Darwin as part of her wider vision to develop Northern Australia.
Page 6: Senators will be urged to vote for some of the federal government’s university reforms in a show of force by the tertiary education sector that could help the budget savings get through the upper house this fortnight.
Page 17: The success of the $5.68 billion Medibank Private float is likely to create competition to host the next big-ticket privatisation, as the NSW and Queensland governments jostle to take advantage of the current, favourable climate.
US warehouse retailer Costco is expecting Australian sales to expand by more than 50 per cent to $1 billion next year, as it continues to open local sites and Australians take to its low-cost, bulk-buying approach.
The price of Australia’s top export commodity, iron ore, has continued its slide and dipped below $US70 a tonne, adding a new blow to domestic producers, as industry leaders warn that wider market conditions are the worst they have seen in 25 years.
Page 20: Mitsubishi Corporation, which is expanding rapidly into Australia’s agriculture and energy distribution sectors, has become one of just a handful of Japanese companies to issue bonds in Australia by raising $300 million last week.
Page 25: Online advertising spend continued to grow at a rapid rate, according to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia (IAB), as 16 per cent year-on-year growth pushed expenditure for the September quarter to $1.2 billion.
The West Australian
Page 3: The Federal Government will build its own cone of silence in a bid to stop foreign powers listening in on sensitive meetings.
Page 7: Up to 400 ABC staff will be axed and the WA edition of 7.30 will be dumped when the broadcaster details how it will respond to Federal Government budget cuts.
Page 10: WA’s fledging quinoa industry is growing at an incredible rate as a group of growers continue to unlock the secrets of the ancient South American food.
Page 13: The chief of the world’s biggest international airline has grave concerns that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be given up as lost as part of an international cover up.
Page 14: The housing sector will drive the domestic side of the WA economy through the coming year as prospective homebuyers take advantage of record low interest rates and improving affordability.
Business: Contracting companies Programmed Maintenance Services and Decmil Group have joined forces to bid for a public-private partnership that will build and maintain eight government schools in Perth.
Two of Fortescue Metals Group’s most senior executives have spoken candidly about their famously strong religious beliefs and explained how their faith shapes their business dealings.
Underground miner Barminco has wrested back a Tasmanian job it lost last year by winning a contract worth $110 million.
Infrastructure services provider OTOC has flagged another step towards its goal of a national footprint in surveying.
