Morning Headlines

China cash lining up for Fortescue

Chinese-linked companies have applied to the Foreign Investment Review Board seeking permission for an investment involving Fortescue Metals Group. The Fin

Woodside signs on for Watson

Woodside Petroleum will take the plunge into futuristic cognitive computing, signing on to use IBM’s Watson system to analyse 30 years of its internal data to help predict the future and learn from the mistakes of past generations. The Fin

Tap ready for investor revolt

Tap Oil’s bitter battle with its biggest shareholder is likely to spill over into today’s annual meeting in what many see as a proxy for relations between the Perth company’s board and disgruntled investors. The West

La Mancha clout gives Evolution Cowal’s gold

Evolution Mining has taken the mantle from Northern Star Resources to become Australia’s gold mine acquisition king, yesterday paying $US550 million ($702 million) for Barrick Gold’s Cowal project in NSW. The West

Retirees get $20b in tax-free income

The cost to the budget of giving tax breaks to self-managed super funds has continued to soar, putting fresh pressure on the Abbott government to reconsider its refusal to examine generous incentives for wealthy retirees. The Fin

‘Unsolicited offers’ for Healthscope arm

Healthscope boss Robert Cooke says there is no formal sale process being run for his struggling Australian pathology business but he admits he often gets ‘‘knocks on the door’’ about possible transactions, amid reports the unit could be sold for more than $100 million. The Fin

‘Skin in game’ to drive UBS spin-off team

The chief executive of the new wealth management business to be spun out of UBS in Australia claims no local rival will be able to match the group’s global reach and platform combined with its independence, which will see all of its staff have “skin in the game’’. The Aus

TAB bonus for racing industry

WA racing’s governing body has backed the long-term viability of the TAB after yesterday revealing an extra $10.3 million funding bonanza for the local industry. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Chinese-linked companies have applied to the Foreign Investment Review Board seeking permission for an investment involving Fortescue Metals Group.

A senior Chinese foreign policy expert believes the Chinese central government will use its trade relationship with Brazil to pressure Australia not to move even closer to the US.

Page 4: The cost to the budget of giving tax breaks to self-managed super funds has continued to soar, putting fresh pressure on the Abbott government to reconsider its refusal to examine generous incentives for wealthy retirees.

Tony Abbott has not discounted taking welfare cuts to the next election as part of a package to boost childcare funding, saying Labor ‘‘hates’’ people who aspire to get off welfare and work.

Page 5: Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has raised no objection to a conscience vote on same-sex marriage, as pressure builds on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to allow the Liberal Party to resolve its position on the issue before the end of the year.

Page 6: The Reserve Bank of Australia’s main economic forecast and analysis units – key drivers of official interest rate decisions – are bracing for the outcome of a closely held review of the central bank’s forecasting practices.

Page 15: A little more than 20 years after selling two gold deposits to Joe Gutnick for $123 million, British-born mining engineer Mark Creasy increased his wealth to $630 million by merging his nickel and copper miner Sirius Resources with Independence Group.

Insurance group Greenstone plans a $1 billion raising that fund managers say could make or break confidence in the IPO market.

Page 17: Facing executive exits in restructure Woolworths is facing an exodus of senior executives as Australia’s largest food retailer slashes costs and simplifies management structures in a bid to restore sales and earnings growth.

OZ Minerals chief executive Andrew Cole says the copper and gold company has four potential acquisitions it is doing due diligence on but will only proceed if the price tags are at a level that deliver good value.

Page 19: UBS Australia is spinning off its wealth management unit through a management buyout, giving advisers a short two-day window to decide whether to join the new entity after many months of uncertainty over the division’s future.

Page 21: Healthscope boss Robert Cooke says there is no formal sale process being run for his struggling Australian pathology business but he admits he often gets ‘‘knocks on the door’’ about possible transactions, amid reports the unit could be sold for more than $100 million.

Aurizon is considering whether to return more cash to shareholders to address investor concerns about the rail group’s weak growth prospects following the weakening in commodity prices.

Page 23: Woodside Petroleum will take the plunge into futuristic cognitive computing, signing on to use IBM’s Watson system to analyse 30 years of its internal data to help predict the future and learn from the mistakes of past generations.

The Australian

Page 1: The Abbott government is set to announce a new frontbench position to combat Islamic radicalisation and improve consultation with Muslim leaders and “at risk” communities.

The federal government has opened the door to a compromise on a $3.6 billion cut to family tax benefits, amid an escalating political fight over budget savings, with Tony Abbott hitting back at new claims his reforms will punish households on average incomes.

Page 2: The government’s tenuous path back to surplus relies heavily on harmful increases in income tax, undermining the perception that proposed cuts to family welfare payments are doing the work, new Grattan Institute analysis shows.

Page 4: Malaysia Airlines has reassured passengers their reservations and frequent flyer points are safe after an administrator was appointed as part of a restructure under its government owners.

Page 19: The chief executive of the new wealth management business to be spun out of UBS in Australia claims no local rival will be able to match the group’s global reach and platform combined with its independence, which will see all of its staff have “skin in the game’’.

The Australian Taxation Office’s takeover of residential real estate applications by foreigners will help deter people from trying to get around the law, according to Foreign Investment Review Board chairman Brian Wilson.

Page 21: Online retail success story Ruslan Kogan has weighed into the supermarket price war, backing bricks and mortar disrupter Aldi in the battle against the Coles-Woolworths duopoly.

Page 29: The company building the government’s National Broadband Network and Britain’s No 1 telco British Telecom have struck an agreement under which the two companies share information on how to better connect their respective nations with superfast broadband networks.

The West Australian

Page 7: Families are copping an expensive double whammy, at bowsers and in shopping centres, that threatens to get worse and undermine the economy.

Page 9: Staff at Western Power are defensive, unmotivated, don’t know what they are supposed to do and mistrust their bosses, an internal document has revealed.

Page 11: WA racing’s governing body has backed the long-term viability of the TAB after yesterday revealing an extra $10.3 million funding bonanza for the local industry.

Business: Outgoing Sirius Resources boss Mark Bennett admits he still has some emotional attachment to the Nova project but says the spin-out of Sirius’ gold assets promises plenty of interest for holders.

Tap Oil’s bitter battle with its biggest shareholder is likely to spill over into today’s annual meeting in what many see as a proxy for relations between the Perth company’s board and disgruntled investors.

Agribusiness accounted for just one per cent of $9.46 billion of Chinese investment in Australia last year, according to a new study by KPMG Australia and the University of Sydney.

Evolution Mining has taken the mantle from Northern Star Resources to become Australia’s gold mine acquisition king, yesterday paying $US550 million ($702 million) for Barrick Gold’s Cowal project in NSW.