FMG mulls railway line expansion to 180mtpa
Fortescue Metals Group, which blasted its rivals for boosting production when iron ore prices were low, has been studying the feasibility of expanding its rail network to transport 180 million tonnes a year. The West
Union threat to China free trade deal
Pressure is building on the Abbott government to water down its trade agreement with China from the federal opposition, which says the deal does not adequately protect Australian jobs. The Fin
WA wants two-thirds of Bell’s $1.7bn
The Western Australian government has a litigation funding agreement in place that aims to give the government two thirds of the net proceeds from the $1.7 billion Bell Group liquidation. The Aus
Barnett casts blame for rates
Colin Barnett has used big council rate rises to suggest ratepayers think again about local government amalgamations, blaming increases on small councils that rejected reforms. The West
Miner flags job losses in Lanfranchi shake-up
Kambalda nickel miner Panoramic Resources will give workers the option of transferring to its Kimberley operations to reduce redundancies during an operational restructure at its Lanfranchi mine. The West
Paladin dives as grades decline
Shares in uranium miner Paladin Energy have fallen back towards their lowest level in a decade after a drop in uranium grades at its flagship Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia. The Aus
Atlas scrambles to make up shortfall
Atlas Iron will be hoping for a final flood of interest in its crucial $180 million equity raising, as lead manager Hartleys turns to fund managers to try to make up the shortfall. The Fin
Cut rate call as Sunday is ‘norm’
Sunday could soon become a more popular shopping day than Saturday if current trends continue, a new analysis suggests, sparking fresh calls to liberalise retail trading hours.
The trend has also reignited demands by retailers for a reduction in Sunday penalty rates. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Pressure is building on the Abbott government to water down its trade agreement with China from the federal opposition, which says the deal does not adequately protect Australian jobs.
Page 5: The Business Council of Australia, which represents the 100 largest companies, says it wants the same things as small businesses, which complain workplace and competition rules give an unfair advantage to large companies.
Page 10: Groups representing companies including Google, Telstra and Singtel-Optus, have slammed the Abbott government’s proposed cyber security laws as intrusive, detrimental and lacking in transparency.
Page 11: Chinese billionaire Xingfa Ma has snapped up Wollogorang and Wentworth cattle stations on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory for $47 million.
Page 13: Rio Tinto will be in no hurry to make up for the iron ore production it lost to wild weather in the first half of the year, but the miner will still have to eat into its stockpiles to hit its new, lower, full year target.
The Good Guys will no longer promote discounts for cash payments because of the popularity of electronic payments.
A 35 per cent dive in Woodside Petroleum’s liquefied natural gas revenues in the June quarter has highlighted the risks of a shortfall in the country’s expected earnings from gas exports, even though production is being boosted by the start-up of four new LNG plants this year.
Page 15: Atlas Iron will be hoping for a final flood of interest in its crucial $180 million equity raising, as lead manager Hartleys turns to fund managers to try to make up the shortfall.
Page 17: Apple Pay and a host of online payments players are steadily taking customers and profit from the banks, Bain & Co’s payments gurus say – but Australia’s lenders are still in a good position to fend them off.
Page 19: The lobby group for private hospitals has injected some inflammatory rhetoric into a stoush over the cost and quality of patient care, accusing insurer Medibank Private of acting like a ‘‘schoolyard bully’’ in its negotiations with Calvary Health Care.
The Australian
Page 1: Labor has watered down its language on the US-Australia alliance, abandoning references to the ANZUS Treaty as “one of Australia’s great national assets’’ and “the bedrock of regional stability’’ as part of its policy blueprint for government.
Page 2: Sunday could soon become a more popular shopping day than Saturday if current trends continue, a new analysis suggests, sparking fresh calls to liberalise retail trading hours.
The trend has also reignited demands by retailers for a reduction in Sunday penalty rates.
Page 3: Children as young as seven will be forced to type their essays in the national literacy exam, putting pressure on teachers to revive the “old-school’’ skill of touch-typing.
Page 6: Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett has confirmed he intends to lead the Liberals to a third election in 2017, declaring a day after his 65th birthday that “65 is the new 50”.
Page 7: A key aviation figure has called on Airservices Australia to drop its opposition to having its firefighters provide pilots with potentially life-saving air traffic and weather information, as their US counterparts do at regional airports.
Page 8: A crackdown by three federal agencies on foreign bookmakers exploiting a live-betting loophole in Australia appears to have claimed its first scalp with Britain-based gambling giant Ladbrokes taking down its Quickcall feature.
Page 19: The fall in the dollar to near its post-float average is beginning to lift the economy, according to Reserve Bank board member John Edwards.
Page 20: The Andrew Forrest-backed Poseidon Nickel has shelved plans to restart mining and will slash salaries of senior employees and directors by 20 per cent in response to the continued weakness in nickel prices.
Shares in uranium miner Paladin Energy have fallen back towards their lowest level in a decade after a drop in uranium grades at its flagship Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia.
Page 21: Australia’s heavily regulated TV industry can take heart from Netflix’s second-quarter results as the cost of international expansion weighs heavily on the streaming giant’s bottom line.
Page 27: The Western Australian government has a litigation funding agreement in place that aims to give the government two thirds of the net proceeds from the $1.7 billion Bell Group liquidation.
The West Australian
Page 7: Ambulance ramping has continued at Perth’s three main hospitals, and spiked on Tuesday, despite a “ban” on the practice from the start of this month.
Page 13: Colin Barnett has used big council rate rises to suggest ratepayers think again about local government amalgamations, blaming increases on small councils that rejected reforms.
Page 26: Property groups and the Abbott Government have backed the retention of negative gearing in the face of growing concerns from the Reserve Bank that the system is threatening the entire economy.
Business: Fortescue Metals Group, which blasted its rivals for boosting production when iron ore prices were low, has been studying the feasibility of expanding its rail network to transport 180 million tonnes a year.
Western Australians are among investors trapped in the country’s biggest mortgage debenture fund by an unexplained decision to freeze redemptions until the end of 2016.
Kambalda nickel miner Panoramic Resources will give workers the option of transferring to its Kimberley operations to reduce redundancies during an operational restructure at its Lanfranchi mine.
