Valuations for BHP spin-off head south
BHP Billiton spin-off South32 is headed towards a sombre debut on the ASX in early June due to the crash in the prices of its key metals, prompting analysts to begin winding back valuations for the new company from $15 billion to $10bn. The Aus
Miners brace as prices tumble
Australia’s iron ore miners are bracing for prices to slide below $US50 a tonne as the wall of supply shows no sign of easing and Chinese steel demand shows no signs of picking up. The Aus
Google tax a ‘slap in face’
A new Google tax to try to catch multinationals that siphon profits offshore could derail global efforts to address the issue and trigger copycat laws around the world, imposing high costs on companies without any guarantee of raising revenue, tax experts say. The Fin
Govt to pursue pension option
The federal government is prepared to restrict access to the part pension for wealthier retirees in return for dumping its controversial plan to inflict CPI increases on all pensioners. The Fin
Eyes on RBA as prices soar
City house prices accelerated in the first three months of the year, rising 3 per cent and potentially complicating next week’s Reserve Bank decision to cut or hold interest rates. The Fin
Local tech incubators sync space
The rapid wave of news coming out of Perth’s fledgling start-up tech scene continued yesterday, with two of Perth’s premier co-working spaces, Spacecubed and Sync Labs, joining together. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 4: The federal government is prepared to restrict access to the part pension for wealthier retirees in return for dumping its controversial plan to inflict CPI increases on all pensioners.
The federal government is planning to have the Senate reject its plans to deregulate university fees one more time to give itself a trigger for a double dissolution election.
Page 7: A new Google tax to try to catch multinationals that siphon profits offshore could derail global efforts to address the issue and trigger copycat laws around the world, imposing high costs on companies without any guarantee of raising revenue, tax experts say.
Page 9: A Chinese Australian property developer, who sought refuge in Melbourne after being targeted by a State Security official now under investigation for corruption, says the case ‘‘destroyed’’ him.
Page 10: Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder has hit out at the Harper review’s proposal for an ‘‘effects test’’ for misuse of market power rules, warning there is a significant risk consumers will be worse off if it is adopted by the government.
Page 12: Clive Palmer says he is planning to sue former Palmer United Party senators Glenn Lazarus and Jacqui Lambie seeking $9 million in compensation for money spent to help get them elected.
Page 27: Two of Australia’s largest banks are warning that interest rates on loans could rise if they are made to carry more capital, suggesting they will favour shareholders over customers as global regulators consider creating larger equity buffers in banks to protect the financial system from future crises.
The Australian
Page 1: The federal government is considering a breakthrough proposal to trim the Age Pension for wealthy Australians who can fund their own retirement, setting up a way to overcome a blockade in the Senate and achieve savings worth $20 billion over a decade.
The savage plunge in iron ore prices is threatening to strip about $3 billion a year from the budget, widening the deficit and adding to government’s financial woes.
Page 2: City house prices accelerated in the first three months of the year, rising 3 per cent and potentially complicating next week’s Reserve Bank decision to cut or hold interest rates.
Page 3: As many as 1000 Defence jobs, including those of senior managers and uniformed officers, will go as part of a major restructuring of the Defence Department.
Kids who play video games in moderation are not at risk of antisocial behaviour, but rather do better at school, are less aggressive and are more emotionally stable, a landmark study from Oxford University has found.
The lives of Australians are converging ever further into their mobile phones, with data downloading almost doubling in a single year and mobile phone ownership reaching population saturation point.
Page 4: Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten has suffered a setback in his home state with the weekend’s party conference in Victoria voting down his preferred “70-30” reforms to reduce union power in ALP pre-selections.
Page 5: Estimates of the number of workers needed in the aged-care sector over the next decade are “seriously flawed” and do not take into account a rapidly shifting model of delivering services, according to the peak community provider body.
Page 7: Lobbying has intensified for Australia to increase dramatically its carbon emissions cut targets after the US formally submitted its revised 2025 plan yesterday in preparation for this year’s Paris climate summit.
Page 19: Australia’s iron ore miners are bracing for prices to slide below $US50 a tonne as the wall of supply shows no sign of easing and Chinese steel demand shows no signs of picking up.
BHP Billiton spin-off South32 is headed towards a sombre debut on the ASX in early June due to the crash in the prices of its key metals, prompting analysts to begin winding back valuations for the new company from $15 billion to $10bn.
Page 20: Sliding oil prices are expected to cut Asian demand for gas-fired power, putting further pressure on LNG prices just as Australia starts ramping up its gas exports through new LNG plants.
Page 21: Telstra’s health arm has expanded its list of services with the purchase of Medibank’s Anywhere Healthcare, adding to the almost $200 million the telecoms group has spent on the sector in the past 18 months.
Page 22: Any new campaign to clamp down on Australian superannuation accounts holding multi-million-dollar balances ignores the fact that it hasn’t been possible for almost 10 years to salt away big amounts of assets in super, according to David Knox, a partner at Mercer and senior actuary for Australia.
Page 27: Development and construction giant Lend Lease is carrying through on its aim to increase international revenue, with the group and a joint venture partner paying $1.6 billion for an urban regeneration site in Singapore.
The West Australian
Page 5: Health Minister Kim Hames has conceded that a Perth man treated at Fiona Stanley Hospital was prescribed medication that appears to have killed him.
Page 13: East Fremantle’s historic Leeuwin Barracks could be sold for private housing as part of the biggest shake-up of the Defence Department since the 1970s.
Page 14: The Opposition has offered to help the Federal Government increase tax on superannuation for wealthy retirees.
Page 18: Perth businessman Nick Tana is demanding the Barnett Government allow him to grow what he calls the “holy trinity” of vegetables — carrots, onions and potatoes.
Page 22: A recent review of the program commissioned by Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister Mike Nahan found about 80 per cent of its $1 million annual budget went to just one language — Italian.
Business: The WA Government’s royalty relief program to help keep the State’s small iron ore producers alive delivered first rebates yesterday, worth almost $12 million in cash deferrals to BC Iron.
The rapid wave of news coming out of Perth’s fledgling start-up tech scene continued yesterday, with two of Perth’s premier co-working spaces, Spacecubed and Sync Labs, joining together.
Speaking at a business lunch in Perth yesterday, Rio Tinto managing director, Pilbara Mines, Michael Gollschewski said the company did not yet have an automated mine system that was “fully functioning”.
The looming loss of its Macquarie University contract together with tougher student assessments have weighed on Navitas’ opening enrolments for the year.
Triton Minerals has set the sharemarket alight and burst back through the $100 million market value barrier after trumpeting a binding offtake deal that should underpin development of its Mozambique graphite project.