Morning Headlines

Hundreds of positions at Woodside Petroleum will be made redundant and pay levels frozen across the company as the local oil and gas champion comes to grips with the savage fall in energy prices. The West

Fortescue’s Power calls for strategic back-up investor

Fortescue chief executive Nev Power said a strategic investor could ‘‘free up’’ the company and prevent it getting ‘‘bogged down’’ with debt repayments, as the iron ore price languishes at a six-year low. The Fin

Iron or bust? Palmer’s fortune shrinks daily

Clive Palmer’s wealth is being slashed almost daily by the dramatic collapse in the iron ore price as his Chinese business partner Citic prepares today to reveal what is expected to be another huge loss from its Sino Iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara. The Aus

Woodside bets big on Myanmar blocks

Woodside Petroleum has emerged as the largest holder of exploration acreage in Myanmar’s promising Rakhine Basin, formalising contracts with the government that will give it large interests in four additional permits. The Fin

Historic workplace deal cuts penalty rates

The country’s largest union has agreed to slash weekend penalty rates for the retail sector in a breakthrough deal in South Australia that could affect up to 40,000 workers and be replicated across the nation. The Aus

Crop cover plan for farmers

Farmers would be asked to take out income protection insurance under a Federal Government proposal to prevent taxpayers being exposed to massive payouts in times of natural disaster. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The founder of internet takeover target iiNet, Michael Malone, is gathering support from fellow shareholders to try to scuttle TPG Telecom’s $1.4 billion takeover bid for his former company, stating the offer is undervalued and calling for all but two of the board to be sacked.

Page 5: The Abbott government is under pressure to ditch a centrepiece of its budget, a company tax cut for small business.

Page 6: NSW Labor’s pledge to kill off Santos’ $2 billion Narrabri coal seam gas project is set to come under fire from former federal Labor resources minister Martin Ferguson in an escalation of the debate over the controversial fuel in the lead up to next Saturday’s state poll.

Page 9: Airline passengers, cargo and meat inspections face disruption next week after Department of Agriculture employees voted to join workers from nine federal agencies threatening industrial action.

Page 10: Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says companies such as Netflix need to pay GST when they come into the country, and the issue will be considered in next week’s discussion paper on tax reform.

The federal budget should include plans for an amnesty on the cash economy including landlords who fail to disclose rental income, which could boost revenue by more than $3.5 billion a year.

Page 15: Orica chairman Russell Caplan said he was wrong to keep ousted chief executive Ian Smith in the job while searching for his replacement after Orica hastily changed its plan, and fired Mr Smith immediately on Monday.

Fortescue chief executive Nev Power said a strategic investor could ‘‘free up’’ the company and prevent it getting ‘‘bogged down’’ with debt repayments, as the iron ore price languishes at a six-year low.

Page 17: Besieged commodity trader Noble Group has named a person it believes to be behind a series of anonymous attacks on its financial credibility, and has vowed to pursue legal action against him.

Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments says it’s optimistic about its prospects this year, as investors embraced its increased dividend and better-than-expected result for its stationery brand Smiggle, which has attracted more than 1000 franchise inquiries from overseas.

Page 20: South32’s heavy reliance on South Africa for earnings is proving troubling for some investors given the political and operating risks in the country, while there are also concerns about its exposure to China, compared with BHP Billiton.

Woodside Petroleum has emerged as the largest holder of exploration acreage in Myanmar’s promising Rakhine Basin, formalising contracts with the government that will give it large interests in four additional permits.

The Australian

Page 1: The country’s largest union has agreed to slash weekend penalty rates for the retail sector in a breakthrough deal in South Australia that could affect up to 40,000 workers and be replicated across the nation.

Clive Palmer’s wealth is being slashed almost daily by the dramatic collapse in the iron ore price as his Chinese business partner Citic prepares today to reveal what is expected to be another huge loss from its Sino Iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara.

Page 2: The benefits of lower interest rates are flowing mainly to younger, better-off households at the expense of older Australians dependent on savings accounts, new analysis shows.

Page 5: Older Australians will fail to get the help they need and community aged-care providers will struggle to survive if fees suggested by the government for its $1.7 billion aged-care home support scheme go ahead as planned.

Page 7: The powerful Northern Land Council has signalled “a new path”, moving to end an era of costly litigation often involving its own constituents.

Page 19: ANZ chief Mike Smith has warned that investors are wrongly assessing risk as record low interest rates and global money-printing distort prices, saying the rampant “hunt for yield” could spark the next meltdown.

Page 20: Australia’s new generation of liquefied natural gas projects are unlikely to generate a return on investment for the foreseeable future, one of the world’s foremost energy experts has warned.

Page 22: Vikram Pandit, the former chief of Citigroup when it was bailed out during the global financial crisis, says clients’ trust in banks is worsening in the wake of ongoing scandals, opening the door for new technology players to take profits.

The West Australian

Page 4: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will seek to stare down any new threat to cut foreign aid, which has already been gutted by more than $11 billion.

Fresh conflict of interests questions have arisen over a Barnett Government minister, this time Treasurer Mike Nahan.

Page 6: WA’s most prestigious university has opened up about its decision to axe a world-renowned water research centre, saying it operated at a loss, lacked academic grunt and was not collaborative.

Page 11: Farmers would be asked to take out income protection insurance under a Federal Government proposal to prevent taxpayers being exposed to massive payouts in times of natural disaster.

A landmark legal battle between Kojonup neighbours over the use of genetically modified crops has taken a twist and could come down to a debate over harvest methods.

Page 13: WA could lose up to 26 full-time doctors in areas of critical need because the Federal Government has scrapped funding for a GP training program, a report warns.

Business: Hundreds of positions at Woodside Petroleum will be made redundant and pay levels frozen across the company as the local oil and gas champion comes to grips with the savage fall in energy prices.

Saracen Mineral Holdings believes its Thunderbox project will enable it to double its annual gold production to 300,000 ounces a year by 2017 and join the ranks of mid-tier producers.

Rocked by plans for an attempted coup by its biggest investor, Tap Oil yesterday stepped up its fightback by declaring dissident 19.9 per cent shareholder Chatchai Yenbamroong was at risk of losing his stake in a lucrative Thai oil project.

Gina Rinehart has christened the inaugural fleet of Roy Hill locomotives as the $10 billion iron ore project prepares for its first export in September.