AFL’s deal of the decade
Rupert Murdoch has directly intervened and pushed the value of Australian Football League broadcast rights to unprecedented heights, agreeing for News Corporation to pay about $1.3 billion of a record $2.508 billion six-year deal the league has struck. The Fin
Aurizon hits out at rail access fees
Brookfield Rail’s monopoly control of the WA freight network faces more scrutiny after Aurizon and SCT Logistics joined CBH in fighting big increases in access fees. The West
Brockman adds to Pilbara asset writedown list
Brockman Mining has joined this year’s Pilbara writedown rush, yesterday flagging a $HK1.3 billion ($222 million) impairment of its mining assets in this year’s annual accounts. The West
Damning report for freight link
The Perth Freight Link will cost more, deliver fewer benefits than promised and poses a substantial risk to WA’s finances, a damning audit by Infrastructure Australia has revealed. The West
Dick Smith decision on Apple hits shares
Retailer Dick Smith stunned investors by deciding to reduce discounts on Apple products that helped drive a 164 per cent jump in earnings over three years. The Fin
Economy rises on foreign funds
Australia’s economy is shrugging off the slump in commodity prices and falling business investment thanks to a flood of foreign money pouring into the country looking to take advantage of our higher interest rates and AAA credit rating. The Aus
Iluka mum on its Kenmare bid
Iluka’s pitch to become the world’s biggest producer of the titanium ore ilmenite through a takeover of London-listed Mozambique producer Kenmare is proving to be a drawn-out affair. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Rupert Murdoch has directly intervened and pushed the value of Australian Football League broadcast rights to unprecedented heights, agreeing for News Corporation to pay about $1.3 billion of a record $2.508 billion six-year deal the league has struck.
One of the country’s most successful private equity executives, TPG managing partner Ben Gray, is preparing to set up his own firm focused on investment opportunities in an already crowded Australian market.
Page 3: Evidence that assaults against children and other human rights violations are occurring inside camps housing asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru are being covered up has led a $32 billion superannuation fund, HESTA, to sell shares in Transfield Services, which helps run the facilities for the Australian government.
Page 4: The regulatory crackdown on banks is expected to ease risks in the housing market, increasing the Reserve Bank of Australia’s scope to keep the official interest rate at its current record low.
Page 7: An internal debate within the Abbott government about its approach to the national disability insurance scheme has moved from the expenditure review committee to the full cabinet, as Disabilities Minister Mitch Fifield insists the scheme will go ahead as promised.
Labor has stepped up the pressure to remove Dyson Heydon from the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption by trying to have the Senate petition the Governor-General to revoke his commission.
Page 10: Brookfield Infrastructure is likely to get rid of the Asciano brand and cut jobs in the company’s corporate headquarters if it completes its proposed takeover of the ports and rail group.
Page 15: Retailer Dick Smith stunned investors by deciding to reduce discounts on Apple products that helped drive a 164 per cent jump in earnings over three years.
Page 17: Big Chinese companies are starting to bid against each other for major Australian trophy assets under a shift in approach by a key Chinese regulator.
Page 18: Glencore’s financial troubles have not prevented the Swiss giant from swooping on the remaining offtake from Sirius Resources’ Nova mine in WA.
Page 21: Historically low commodity prices across the resources industry have taken their toll on the full-year profit of engineering and maintenance group Monadelphous and are expected to continue to squeeze its margins.
Page 22: Spotless Group chairman Margaret Jackson says the company’s appetite for acquisitions is far from diminishing after it appointed Martin Sheppard, a partner at corporate advisory firm KPMG, as its new chief executive.
The Australian
Page 1: Tony Abbott has escalated his attack on anti-coal activists and challenged Labor to stand up for jobs, by moving to ban green groups from using the courts to stop major developments such as the Adani coalmine.
Page 2: Australia’s economy is shrugging off the slump in commodity prices and falling business investment thanks to a flood of foreign money pouring into the country looking to take advantage of our higher interest rates and AAA credit rating.
Page 3: Senators last night alleged an “incestuous” relationship among consultants, contractors and Airservices Australia executives involved in the ambitious $1.5 billion program to integrate the nation’s civilian and military air traffic control systems.
Page 7: A hybrid “people’s vote” is being considered to settle a federal cabinet split over same-sex marriage as Tony Abbott and his colleagues examine the idea of a plebiscite that includes equal funding for “no” and “yes” cases and possibly compulsory voting.
Page 21: Incoming News Corp Australia chief Peter Tonagh has trumpeted a new era for the Australian Football League on the back of a record $2.508 billion TV rights deal, and warned rival code the National Rugby League that it could struggle to eclipse the jaw-dropping figure.
Page 22: Iluka’s pitch to become the world’s biggest producer of the titanium ore ilmenite through a takeover of London-listed Mozambique producer Kenmare is proving to be a drawn-out affair.
Page 23: QBE Insurance will funnel up to 65 per cent of its cash profits into dividends from 2016 after the global insurer posted a 24 per cent surge in its first-half net profit and announced yesterday it would target another $100 million in savings next year to prop up its future earnings.
Page 29: Fund manager JPMorgan Asset Management is stepping up its exit from a $330 million-plus regional property portfolio assembled by Aviva Investors that it took control of when it bought the business last year.
The West Australian
Page 11: The head of one of WA’s most decorated dairies says a lack of a work ethic in young people is driving the industry to employ foreign workers.
Page 13: A late winter surge in respiratory illnesses is being blamed for Perth hospital emergency departments bursting at the seams in the past three days.
Page 16: The Perth Freight Link will cost more, deliver fewer benefits than promised and poses a substantial risk to WA’s finances, a damning audit by Infrastructure Australia has revealed.
Page 18: The University of WA has defended its reputation after student ratings gave it just one star for teaching quality for the third year in the Good Universities Guide.
Page 22: The cost of having a comfortable retirement has jumped one quarter after Abbott Government changes to the age pension, the superannuation industry says.
Business: Brockman Mining has joined this year’s Pilbara writedown rush, yesterday flagging a $HK1.3 billion ($222 million) impairment of its mining assets in this year’s annual accounts.
Trading giant Glencore, the owner of the Murrin Murrin laterite operation near Leonora, has broadened its exposure to WA’s nickel sector by striking an offtake deal with Sirius Resources.
ANZ boss Mike Smith says the bank cannot count on improving credit quality to boost profitability from here on in, as tough economic conditions lead it to focus on keeping costs under control. Brookfield Rail’s monopoly control of the WA freight network faces more scrutiny after Aurizon and SCT Logistics joined CBH in fighting big increases in access fees.