Race on for Fortescue after offer fails
Fortescue Metals Group is facing a race against time to refinance part of its $US8.8 billion ($11.5 billion) debt pile after it was forced to pull a $US2.5 billion bond issue on Tuesday. The Fin
Abbott loses the plot on debt
Business and economists fear the government has dropped the ball on economic reform after Tony Abbott promised voters a ‘‘dull’’ May budget and is content for now with current forecasts of a net debt equivalent to 60 per cent of the economy and no surplus for 40 years. The Fin
Synergy monopoly to end
Households would be able to choose their electricity supplier for the first time under a revamp the State Government is likely to announce. The West
Alcoa’s cuts raise Kwinana concerns
Questions are being asked about the future of the Alcoa-managed Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia. The Aus
Local investors get behind BHP demerger
BHP Billiton’s local investors have signalled support for the structure of its $US13 billion ($17 billion) demerger of South32, but speculation about a possible takeover of the low-debt spin-off will not go away. The Fin
Repo tactics trigger farming backlash for banks
A Western Australian grain grower has been left traumatised, a community is outraged and a hire car is missing after police were forced to intervene when receivers appointed by the ANZ Bank tried to forcibly repossess a wheat farm. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Business and economists fear the government has dropped the ball on economic reform after Tony Abbott promised voters a ‘‘dull’’ May budget and is content for now with current forecasts of a net debt equivalent to 60 per cent of the economy and no surplus for 40 years.
Page 3: The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union faces penalties totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars after the Federal Court upheld legal action by the national building watchdog over its conduct during the bitter Grocon dispute in Victoria.
Page 4: The federal government remains determined to deregulate university student fees, even though the Senate has rejected the plan twice, and is seeking advice from the universities’ lobbyist.
Page 8: A pair of ex-Commonwealth Bank of Australia technology executives exchanged panicked emails when it became apparent to them that investigators had uncovered a scam that allegedly saw them receive over $2 million for awarding lucrative deals to a US software company.
Page 10: Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung wants Australian companies including Telstra Corp to buy stakes in a number of his country’s telcos, including one of the largest in southeast Asia, MobiFone, as part of an ambitious privatisation program.
Page 14: The Tax Office will act more swiftly to recover unpaid tax and initiate bankruptcy procedures as outstanding annual debt climbs beyond $20 billion.
Page 19: Fortescue Metals Group is facing a race against time to refinance part of its $US8.8 billion ($11.5 billion) debt pile after it was forced to pull a $US2.5 billion bond issue on Tuesday.
Page 21: BHP Billiton’s local investors have signalled support for the structure of its $US13 billion ($17 billion) demerger of South32, but speculation about a possible takeover of the low-debt spin-off will not go away.
Boral has joined the rush of Australian corporates returning capital to investors through share buybacks with its launch of a program to buy up to $236 million of its own shares.
Page 24: New Beach Energy chief executive Rob Cole isn’t putting any faith in a rebound in oil prices from current six-year lows to make his first few months in the role any easier.
Page 25: Chinese ‘‘golden ticket’’ visa money is looking for a home in Australian mining assets, with local private firms sounding out advisers on copper and gold assets to on-sell to visa hopefuls, often at a hefty premium.
Page 29: Australian Fund Manager hall of fame member John Murray says the lofty yields from BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Woodside Petroleum make them all worthy investments, despite plunging commodity prices and earnings.
The Australian
Page 1: Targets for resources exports have been slashed by $100 billion over the next two years, with growing stresses in the global economy casting a shadow over Tony Abbott’s plan of crafting a “dull and routine” budget.
Page 2: Taxpayers are set to call time on Norfolk Island’s 36-year experiment in self-government, with a $136 million federal takeover plan to end the remote territory’s crippling fiscal crisis.
Page 3: A Western Australian grain grower has been left traumatised, a community is outraged and a hire car is missing after police were forced to intervene when receivers appointed by the ANZ Bank tried to forcibly repossess a wheat farm.
Page 4: Business and employer groups are pushing to abolish labour market testing requirements under the 457 skilled visa program after the government announced changes to improve the integrity of the scheme.
Page 6: Health Minister Sussan Ley will move to reshape Australia’s medical training system after a warning that recent attempts to address a doctor shortage may lead to a poorly distributed and ineffective workforce.
Page 19: Orica managing director Ian Smith’s successful effort to transform the explosives maker has not been enough to save the notoriously confrontational Broken Hill-born miner after an aggressive outburst this year led to the resignation of two senior staff.
The gold price could top $US2400 an ounce by 2030 on the back of the growing wealth of Asia’s populations, with Australian producers set to benefit from increased demand.
Page 19: The salad days are over for business travellers on Australia’s busiest route as the cost of last-minute bookings on a return Sydney-Melbourne economy flight are now capable of topping $1100.
Page 20: Questions are being asked about the future of the Alcoa-managed Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia.
Page 31: Fortescue Metals’ failed debt refinancing attempt magnified a dive in its shares as iron ore slumped again, but while its future depends on the US bond market as well as the iron ore price and the Australian dollar, the world’s fourth-largest iron ore miner does have some time on its side.
The West Australian
Page 3: Households would be able to choose their electricity supplier for the first time under a revamp the State Government is likely to announce.
Page 4: WA will have a road safety commissioner with key performance indicators possibly linked to the road toll under sweeping changes to road safety governance.
Business: Fortescue Metals Group, already one of Australia’s most heavily shorted stocks, played into the hands of the rising number of bears circling the iron ore miner after yesterday axing a $US2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) debt raising that was to have given it fiscal breathing space.
Tight margins in the construction industry have been blamed for the failure of a prominent family-owned builder which had been in business for 57 years.
After spending the past year scouring West Perth for a home, US company BrainChip has found a partner on the Australian Securities Exchange care of struggling Madagascar-focused explorer Aziana.
Gold demand in Asia is set to double by 2030 and boost prices to a record high as investment and jewellery purchases climb, according to the ANZ Bank.
Singapore-listed contractor Civmec has blamed a collapse in its stock price on at least one significant shareholder selling down his stake.
A fortnight after taking up the role of iiNet’s new chief financial officer, Michael Howard, has quit in the wake of TPG Telecom’s $1.4 billion takeover bid for the Perth telco and returned to his old job at Officeworks.
Iluka Resources managing director David Robb and senior executives have had their pay packets cut after the mineral sands miner suffered a steep loss and share price rout last year.