Apache deal would fill Woodside growth gap
Woodside Petroleum would see a return to production growth in 2017 if it buys Apache Corporation’s stake in the $29 billion Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, but analysts assess the US player’s stake in a Canadian LNG venture as a much longer-term and less certain prospect. The Fin
BHP tug plans thwart rivals
BHP Billiton has moved to stave off a threat to its dominant position at Port Hedland, bringing in a second operator to expand its tug fleet at the harbour. The West
Iron ore drop spooks investors
Sliding iron ore prices are rattling some of Downer EDI’s investors amid concerns over the contractor’s exposure to the iron ore market though a $3 billion contract for Fortescue Metals Group. The Fin
Fremantle job losses escalate port war
Job losses at Fremantle Port and the threat of further industrial disruption have escalated the protracted stand-off between the Maritime Union of Australia and the operator of the country’s biggest container terminals. The West
PM reboots Medicare co-payment
Doctors will face pressure to pass on to patients a $5 cut to their Medicare rebates as Tony Abbott reshapes one of his most hated budget policies by replacing a mandatory GP co-payment with an alternative scheme. The Aus
CBH expands horizons to grab east coast grain
CBH will push ahead with bigger and better plans to set up a sister grain co-operative in the Eastern States, according to chairman Wally Newman. The West
Cyber squatters nab South32, poke their tongue at BHP
BHP Billiton has been stumped by cyber squatters who bought the web address for its new South32 business and tried to charge $10 million for it. The Fin
Regulation triple threat hits lenders
Banks are facing a triple-whammy of regulatory scrutiny, with David Murray’s financial system inquiry joined on Tuesday by heightened oversight by both the corporate and prudential regulator on residential mortgage lending. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will clamp down on lending to property investors, increasing the Reserve Bank of Australia’s scope to cut official interest rates in the face of a faltering economy without risking a housing bubble.
The Abbott government told hostile voters it has heeded their anger as it dumped the unpopular $7 GP tax for a system that spares pensioners and others on low incomes and which appears to have the initial support of the Senate.
Page 3: BHP Billiton has been stumped by cyber squatters who bought the web address for its new South32 business and tried to charge $10 million for it.
Page 8: The Australian Taxation Office will demand the Swiss tax authorities provide the records of up to 120 wealthy people with undeclared offshore bank accounts the day after a 10-month tax amnesty ends.
Page 9: Households are set to shoulder unfair cross-subsidies of up to $650 a year and see electricity network tariff hikes five times higher than necessary, unless the tariff structure for connecting to the grid is overhauled.
Page 15: Banks are facing a triple-whammy of regulatory scrutiny, with David Murray’s financial system inquiry joined on Tuesday by heightened oversight by both the corporate and prudential regulator on residential mortgage lending.
Page 17: Qantas Airways will continue its push to get more flying hours out of each of its aircraft to help boost its profitability even though three flights were turned back due to mechanical issues within a 24-hour period this week, says chief executive Alan Joyce.
Sliding iron ore prices are rattling some of Downer EDI’s investors amid concerns over the contractor’s exposure to the iron ore market though a $3 billion contract for Fortescue Metals Group.
Page 18: Woodside Petroleum would see a return to production growth in 2017 if it buys Apache Corporation’s stake in the $29 billion Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, but analysts assess the US player’s stake in a Canadian LNG venture as a much longer-term and less certain prospect.
Rio Tinto chief financial officer Chris Lynch has said the sharp fall in the iron ore price in 2014 has caught the mining giant by surprise but he rejects claims the company is flooding the market with excess supply.
Page 28: Local stocks dived nearly 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, led down by a rout in the energy sector as the oil price tumbled again and pushed mining giant BHP Billiton to a five-year low.
The Australian
Page 1: Doctors will face pressure to pass on to patients a $5 cut to their Medicare rebates as Tony Abbott reshapes one of his most hated budget policies by replacing a mandatory GP co-payment with an alternative scheme.
Page 2: The nation’s banking regulator and corporate cop have stepped up policing of the banks’ property lending, installing new guidelines to ensure the cocktail of low rates and hot competition doesn’t entice lenders to recklessly chase growth.
Page 4: Health consumer advocates have warned that bulk-billing rates will fall and patients will inevitably pay for the government’s Medicare savings.
Page 5: Clive Palmer’s political party is resisting demands to have its annual financial return audited as required under law as the federal MP faces investigation over an undeclared $6 million donation ahead of the last federal election.
Banks are unlikely to provide finance to new wind farms and large-scale solar plants even if the impasse between the government and Labor is resolved, meaning the Renewable Energy Target cannot be reached by 2020.
Page 6: Older Australians are receiving more government benefits than they did a decade ago in a trend that is putting more pressure on the budget as the government tries to scale back the deficit.
Page 19: The plunging oil price continues to drain value from the nation’s energy sector, slashing $35 billion of market value in the past two weeks and spurring analyst calls for equity raisings, despite shares having undergone value destruction not seen since the global financial crisis.
Woodside Petroleum’s hunger for growth appears to have overshadowed any fear stemming from plummeting oil prices, with a multi-billion-dollar offer putting it in the box seat to acquire assets from US-based Apache Energy.
The West Australian
Page 3: Homeowners and investors may find it tougher to get a loan after the banking watchdog revealed tough measures to stop banks chasing profits by lowering their lending standards.
Page 6: The tax office is to use an informer’s tip that some of the nation’s richest people use offshore havens to avoid Australian tax.
Page 7: Six years of national literacy and numeracy testing have failed to make any significant difference to students’ overall results, while the increasing rate at which children are being withdrawn from sitting the tests is ringing alarm bells.
Page 9: Colin Barnett has tipped Scarborough beach to become “the most visited beach in Western Australia” as details of a planned $26 million beachside pool were unveiled yesterday.
Page 11: WA Police have argued tourists visiting the State’s premier theatre centre in Northbridge should not be served alcohol outside performance times because the venue could not be compared with major attractions such as the Sydney Opera House.
Page 12: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has insisted that heavy emitters take more responsibility to curb global warming, as negotiators at climate talks in Lima pored over draft outlines for a United Nations pact.
Page 13: Colin Barnett is yet to release a report from a probe into the business affairs of Transport Minister Dean Nalder that the Premier said formed part of the basis of his decision to remove Mr Nalder from the Finance portfolio.
Page 14: Qantas chief Alan Joyce is adamant the airline is one of the safest and most reliable in the world despite four turn-backs in two days.
Page 16: Deputy Premier Kim Hames said yesterday he “might have dropped a few hints” to Colin Barnett that he wanted his cherished Tourism portfolio back, 18 months after he lost it for wrongfully claiming entitlements.
Page 20: Movie pirating websites such as Pirate Bay could be blocked in Australia under a plan being considered by the Federal Government to crack down on copyright theft.
Page 24: Tensions between developers who want to make Point Peron the “Hillarys of Rockingham” and residents who say it could be the “Kings Park of the south” are growing as protesters step up their campaign.
Business: BHP Billiton has moved to stave off a threat to its dominant position at Port Hedland, bringing in a second operator to expand its tug fleet at the harbour.
Job losses at Fremantle Port and the threat of further industrial disruption have escalated the protracted stand-off between the Maritime Union of Australia and the operator of the country’s biggest container terminals.
CBH will push ahead with bigger and better plans to set up a sister grain co-operative in the Eastern States, according to chairman Wally Newman.
Construction and maintenance company Central Systems has finalised the acquisition of a failed oil and gas contractor.