Morning Headlines

Funds not tempted by iron ore drop

Another ugly dip in the price of iron ore will not tempt Australia’s fund managers back into the sector, with investors saying conditions are still too poor even for bargain hunting. The Fin

Heat is on for port contest at Fremantle

Having closed expressions of interest for new long-term leases over Fremantle’s two container terminals on December 5, the port authority is assessing responses, with the aim of finalising a short list for the second round by February 27. The West

Don’t cut rates, says ANZ chief

The Reserve Bank of Australia should resist calls to cut official interest rates, according to ANZ Banking Group chief executive Mike Smith, who argues Australia can weather falling commodity prices and a global currency war. The Fin

Iron ore set for $6bn in writedowns

Australia’s iron ore sector is likely to come under continued pressure, with more than $6 billion of potential writedowns on the cards, and Goldman Sachs, one of the few banks still trading commodities, tipping prices have further to fall and will stay low until at least the end of the decade. The Aus

Australia hardest hit by climate

Australia could be one of the countries hardest hit by global warming at the end of this century, according to the latest projections by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology. The Fin

Alcoa resists bauxite export demand

Increased demand for Australian bauxite has not tempted Alcoa to join the export rush, with the aluminium giant saying it will stick with its model of turning bauxite into finished products. The Fin

Embattled PAID pulls the plug

Perth-founded online lender PAID International has been put into administration, just a month after most of the company was sold to east coast rival Money3. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Reserve Bank of Australia should resist calls to cut official interest rates, according to ANZ Banking Group chief executive Mike Smith, who argues Australia can weather falling commodity prices and a global currency war.

Page 3: Major banks Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ have urged the government to repeal a law which allows activist investors, unions and environmental groups to pursue fringe causes by forcing companies to hold costly shareholder meetings.

Page 4: Any significant changes to minimum wage earners’ conditions recommended by the government’s independent economic adviser would have to be taken to voters at the next election, Treasurer Joe Hockey said.

Page 5: China is cutting out thermal coal faster than previously thought, in a blow to struggling coal exporters, says top economist Ross Garnaut.

Australia could be one of the countries hardest hit by global warming at the end of this century, according to the latest projections by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology.

Page 6: Apple reported Australian sales fell 1 per cent to $5.86 billion in the year ended September 27 – the first time since at least 2000 that revenues have fallen.

Page 11: Another ugly dip in the price of iron ore will not tempt Australia’s fund managers back into the sector, with investors saying conditions are still too poor even for bargain hunting.

Page 13: Qantas remains under investigation by the competition regulator over whether it has been misleading or deceptive in its use of fuel surcharges, which have been in place for years.

Page 14: Increased demand for Australian bauxite has not tempted Alcoa to join the export rush, with the aluminium giant saying it will stick with its model of turning bauxite into finished products.

Page 17: Sirius Resources managing director Mark Bennett said the highly competitive nature of the mining services sector has allowed the company to save $30 million on the projected development costs for its flagship Nova project.

The Australian

Page 1: The father of the modern university system, former Labor minister John Dawkins, has backed fee deregulation and urged the party not to lock itself out of sensible reforms it has owned for 30 years.

Claims of “systemic bias” within the Australian Human Rights Commission would be tested by a parliamentary inquiry being considered by the federal government.

Page 5: Energy kingpin AGL has suspended fracking operations at its pilot coal-seam gas project in northern NSW after toxic chemical traces were detected.

Page 17: Australia’s iron ore sector is likely to come under continued pressure, with more than $6 billion of potential writedowns on the cards, and Goldman Sachs, one of the few banks still trading commodities, tipping prices have further to fall and will stay low until at least the end of the decade.

The falling dollar will remain a plus for Qantas even if it stays below US80c, the airline’s CEO Alan Joyce said yesterday.

Investors flocked to high-yield blue chip stocks yesterday to send the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to a record high and shares in Telstra to their highest levels since 2001 as mining and oil stocks continued to slump.

Toll Holdings has defended its tax payments ahead of being called to front a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance, saying its subsidiaries in Luxembourg, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands are the result of acquisitions.

Page 19: Cabcharge faces a further $4 million erosion in its fee income after the Western Australian government proposed a 5 per cent cap on the surcharge for electronic payments.

The West Australian

Page 1: Coalition ministers have distanced themselves from Tony Abbott’s unpopular decision to bestow a knighthood on Prince Philip, warning privately that the Prime Minister could face a real leadership test should the May Budget fall flat.

Page 3: Children are regularly attending suburban primary schools hungry and without lunch money or food in their schoolbags, according to the State’s biggest food relief charity.

Page 4: Motorists are likely to be slugged extra in the May State Budget for a no-fault insurance scheme, or a car tax, but not both.

Page 5: For the first time in six years, a handful of service stations across Perth will sell petrol for below $1 a litre.

Page 6: The grave of WA’s founder Capt. James Stirling has fallen into disrepair and could be dug up, but the State Government has pledged to honour him with a memorial.

Page 9: About 200 patients from Royal Perth and Fremantle hospitals will be transferred to Fiona Stanley Hospital in a massive operation that will involve a cavalcade of ambulances leaving every three minutes.

Business: First Quantum Minerals has delivered some post-Christmas cheer to 600 WA workers at Ravensthorpe, confirming yesterday it will restart the operation after a burst acid tank forced it to close last month.

Fremantle Ports has completed the first stage of what is expected to be a hotly contested battle for the port city’s container trade.

Having closed expressions of interest for new long-term leases over Fremantle’s two container terminals on December 5, the port authority is assessing responses, with the aim of finalising a short list for the second round by February 27.

The proposed backdoor listing of IT company Cirrus Networks through explorer Liberty Resources is set to go ahead once shareholders back the deal.

The Department of Mines and Petroleum inspected the Buru Energy Yulleroo 2 valve after footage taken by anti-fracking movement Lock the Gate showed a hand-held gas meter reading high levels of methane.

Perth-founded online lender PAID International has been put into administration, just a month after most of the company was sold to east coast rival Money3.