Hancock wants fair share of assets’ profits
John Hancock, the estranged eldest child of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, says while he supports his mother’s investment strategy, he wishes she’d stop using his money to pursue it. The Fin
Big shopping centres discount long trading
Many of Perth’s major shopping centres including Westfield Carousel and Garden City will snub WA’s new Christmas trading hours by opening at 9am rather than 7am. The West
Curtin courts big business
WA business heavyweights descended on Curtin University yesterday for the opening of Wesfarmers Court — an interactive space designed to bring a taste of St Georges Terrace to the Bentley Campus. The West
Barnett rebuke lifts pressure on Nalder
Pressure was mounting on Dean Nalder last night after Colin Barnett declared his besieged minister’s nomination of business associates to attend a diplomatic meeting was an “error of judgment”. The West
Oil price dive foils M&A
The rout in global crude oil prices has derailed M&A activity in the sector, with an offer by Oil Search for assets in Papua New Guinea taken off the table while Apache’s multibillion-dollar sale of its Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia is expected to be deferred. The Fin
Miner predicts hunt for gold to move underground
Legend has it Barrick Gold was about to drill a gold prospect near Kalgoorlie called White Feather just days before the order came through from Toronto HQ demanding a spending freeze ahead of a sale of its Australian assets. The Fin
Auto industry cuts helped seal trade deals: Hockey
Joe Hockey has linked the government’s tough line on industry assistance to its success in signing free-trade agreements with China, South Korea and Japan. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government has vowed to try again after its proposals to slash higher education funding and uncap fees were defeated by the Senate last night, creating a $5 billion budget hole.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has hardened its rhetoric on why the dollar must fall further and officially scrapped its view that commodity prices are historically high.
Page 2: Regulators and investors are divided in their opinion on the merits of a rush of early stage technology stocks coming to market through “backdoor listings” but they can be sure the trend will continue in 2015.
Page 3: John Hancock, the estranged eldest child of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, says while he supports his mother’s investment strategy, he wishes she’d stop using his money to pursue it.
Page 10: Dairy and beef producers are far from the only winners from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement with the expected benefits to be derived across the economy.
Page 11: The rout in global crude oil prices has derailed M&A activity in the sector, with an offer by Oil Search for assets in Papua New Guinea taken off the table while Apache’s multibillion-dollar sale of its Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia is expected to be deferred.
The major banks will spend $100 million each to build a $1 billion, real-time payments network and upgrade internal systems to cope with instant, 24-hour-a-day transactions.
Page 14: Rio Tinto coal boss Harry Kenyon-Slaney has said green shoots are emerging in the thermal coal market after a dire run for more than two years that has seen prices crash to languish near six-year lows of about $US62 a tonne.
Page 15: It’s been dubbed ‘CrapCo’, ‘HaggisCo’ and ‘Billiton’ by sceptical onlookers, and branding experts say the sooner BHP Billiton gives a name to its corporate progeny the better.
Page 16: Legend has it Barrick Gold was about to drill a gold prospect near Kalgoorlie called White Feather just days before the order came through from Toronto HQ demanding a spending freeze ahead of a sale of its Australian assets.
Page 25: Low oil prices are here to stay, Citigroup said, predicting an overall benefit for the global economy despite pain in some countries.
The Australian
Page 1: Frustrated backbench MPs have blocked an attempt to fast-track the Abbott government’s $20 billion medical research future fund in a show of strength amid growing despair at the way their leaders are communicating their economic strategy.
Page 6: Joe Hockey has linked the government’s tough line on industry assistance to its success in signing free-trade agreements with China, South Korea and Japan.
Page 7: Plunging mineral prices are causing havoc for wealthy Aboriginal corporations, many of whose executives have become used to the income generated by their boomtime royalty cheques.
Page 19: The corporate regulator abandoned advanced plans to overhaul education standards in the financial planning industry following confidential, behind-the-scenes lobbying by the entire financial planning and banking industries.
Page 20: The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, says the rapid decline in the price of oil is good news for the global economy — on a “net net basis” — but has warned that the fall could have serious consequences for oil exporting countries.
Page 21: Gold equity investors have been urged to reset valuation metrics to take account of the dramatic shift in the industry from one based on low-grade open-cut mines to one based on the more selective mining of higher-grade ores in underground mines.
Page 23: The nation’s largest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, has appointed US giant Principal Real Estate Investors to hunt for office towers in five east and west coast cities as it moves aggressively build a $10 billion property portfolio by 2016.
Page 31: Attempts to use the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to monitor deregulated university fees would be a “waste of time” because it lacks the power to stamp out excessive prices, former ACCC commissioner Stephen King has warned.
The West Australian
Page 3: Internet speeds for iiNet customers could be slower for days after an underwater internet cable connecting Perth to Singapore was cut late on Sunday.
Page 5: Pressure was mounting on Dean Nalder last night after Colin Barnett declared his besieged minister’s nomination of business associates to attend a diplomatic meeting was an “error of judgment”.
Page 7: Many of Perth’s major shopping centres including Westfield Carousel and Garden City will snub WA’s new Christmas trading hours by opening at 9am rather than 7am.
Page 8: The Abbott Government has promised to persist with an overhaul of the nation’s universities after the Senate killed off its first higher education package last night.
Page 11: Australians travelling overseas could be refused help from embassies if they behave like idiots, the Government has warned.
Page 18: The owner of a Fremantle pub says it does not make sense to allow 2am trading in Northbridge but not in the port city after being denied an extended trading permit.
Page 27: WA business heavyweights descended on Curtin University yesterday for the opening of Wesfarmers Court — an interactive space designed to bring a taste of St Georges Terrace to the Bentley Campus.
Business: Peter Meurs will stand down from his executive role at Fortescue Metals Group, with the iron ore miner shedding other senior executives only days after slashing capital spending plans.
Former Federal health minister Michael Wooldridge has been banned as a company director for more than two years and fined $20,000 over his role in the $550 million collapse of retirement investment scheme Prime Trust.
Peace has broken out at Pluton Resources, with warring investors and creditors of the iron ore miner reaching a settlement over the appointment of rival receivers at the struggling company.