Morning Headlines

Savings could pay for tunnel

The Perth Freight Link is almost $300 million under budget, freeing up cash for the State Government to tunnel the most contentious part of the project through parts of Fremantle. The West

Low oil prices won’t stop LNG boom

Weaker oil prices won’t derail Australia’s liquefied natural gas export boom and will give a lift to major economies such as China and Europe, according to the global head of commodities at the world’s largest trade bank. The Fin

Rinehart refuses to hand over documents

Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart is refusing to hand over documents to her eldest children in court proceedings over a $5 billion family trust, claiming they were private communications with her lawyers, a court has heard. The Fin

Northern falls on exec’s sell-off

Northern Star managing director Bill Beament has offloaded more than $13 million worth of shares in the company, reducing his stake by almost a third and appearing to prompt a drop in the goldminer’s shares. The Aus

Perth charges into bear market

According to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, house prices in Perth plunged 4.2 per cent in September, the biggest quarterly price drop since REIWA began tracking the market 21 years ago. The Fin

El Nino threatens to dry up GrainCorp profits

GrainCorp has slashed its full-year profit forecast and warned that dry El Nino conditions in eastern Australia are likely to eat into future earnings. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Prospects of another official interest rate cut faded sharply when Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens expressed confidence that a resurgence in business investment will revitalise the economy.

Page 5: According to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, house prices in Perth plunged 4.2 per cent in September, the biggest quarterly price drop since REIWA began tracking the market 21 years ago.

Page 6: The federal Labor Party would not try to unwind any increases to the GST should the Coalition win the next election and secure Parliament’s support to increase the rate of the tax or broaden its base, party sources say.

Page 7: One of the world’s largest crowdfunding investors and a confidant of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned the shortage of women in IT poses a major risk to growth prospects in the technology industry.

Page 8: Opposition to the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link, a road project designed to link the city’s industrial suburbs to the Fremantle port, is intensifying as affected residents and environmental campaigners threaten to disrupt works.

Page 9: Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart is refusing to hand over documents to her eldest children in court proceedings over a $5 billion family trust, claiming they were private communications with her lawyers, a court has heard.

Page 15: Weaker oil prices won’t derail Australia’s liquefied natural gas export boom and will give a lift to major economies such as China and Europe, according to the global head of commodities at the world’s largest trade bank.

Page 17: Woolworths’ dividends and credit rating are at risk after the retailer cut profit guidance and flagged it would accelerate a three-year turnaround plan to arrest declining supermarket sales.

Page 20: A senior BHP Billiton executive says there is no light at the end of the tunnel for depressed iron ore prices, which will gradually deteriorate before finding a new normal well below $US50 a tonne.

The Australian

Page 3: Young people will not be allowed to get their driver’s licence or proof-of-age cards unless they’re enrolled to vote, under a bold proposal from independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich.

Page 4: Former competition tsar Allan Fels has urged Malcolm Turnbull to link competition reform to any overhaul of the GST to ensure states meet new performance benchmarks in return for larger revenues.

Page 19: Asciano has urged shareholders to back Canadian giant Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’ $8.9 billion takeover bid, despite it facing almost certain defeat at a meeting in Melbourne next week.

Page 20: Alcoa will curtail its smelting and refining capacity in a bid to remain competitive in the downbeat global resources environment.

Page 21: Seven West Media acting chief financial officer Warwick Lynch is the frontrunner to nab the job on a permanent basis, as the search to fill the role draws to a close.

Northern Star managing director Bill Beament has offloaded more than $13 million worth of shares in the company, reducing his stake by almost a third and appearing to prompt a drop in the goldminer’s shares.

The West Australian

Page 3: The Perth Freight Link is almost $300 million under budget, freeing up cash for the State Government to tunnel the most contentious part of the project through parts of Fremantle.

Page 14: WA’s environment watchdog has compared the devastating effect of dieback in the South West to the problems hitting the Murray River system.

Page 19: Two leading academics have accused the University of WA of destroying their reputations and careers when it sacked them over corruption allegations.

Business: An independent expert has turned up the pressure on Discovery Parks by backing Aspen Group’s rival $140 million bid for the disputed Aspen Parks Property Fund.

Games giant Activision Blizzard has agreed to buy King Digital Entertainment for $US5.9 billion ($8.2 billion), unifying console and PC games Call of Duty and World of Warcraft with leading mobile game Candy Crush Saga.

Besieged land developer Allen Caratti and his partner Tina Bazzo have secured temporary reprieves as they fight Federal authorities over $175 million-plus in allegedly unpaid tax.

Ertech Holdings has widened its reach on the east coast as it seeks out new jobs to offset weakness in its home State.

GrainCorp has slashed its full-year profit forecast and warned that dry El Nino conditions in eastern Australia are likely to eat into future earnings.

Developers are being offered the chance to buy two of the last three apartment sites at the award-winning Perry Lakes residential estate in Floreat.

Construction company Pindan has started work on the large format retail centre at The Shops at Ellenbrook, one of the two shopping centre assets for sale in the Insurance Commission of WA’s portfolio sale.

Shopping centre owner Federation Centres, which owns or partly owns 14 WA shopping centres, has been renamed Vicinity Centres.

Dexus Property Group said construction of the office towers at Kings Square was on track and nearing completion but the handover may not include a tenancy for engineering firm John Holland.