Morning Headlines

BC’s Nullagine on knife edge

About 200 staff at BC Iron’s Nullagine mine in the Pilbara are facing a nervous lead-up to Christmas amid mounting speculation the iron ore producer will fall victim to the savage collapse of the steelmaking commodity’s price. The West

Brookfield opens $9b bid for Asciano

Brookfield Infrastructure has formally opened its $9 billion takeover offer for Asciano shareholders but warned they should not accept it immediately if they want to consider a rival bid from the Qube consortium. The Fin

Metcash momentum at risk from Aldi, price war

Metcash’s improving sales could be derailed by the launch of Aldi in Western Australia and South Australia as concern builds that Woolworths’ aggressive bid to reclaim market share will trigger a potentially damaging price war. The Fin

Tabcorp takes on UK betting rivals with News Corp deal

Betting giant Tabcorp will launch into British and Irish markets, tapping into a $7 billion online gambling industry, after signing an offshore partnership deal with News Corp’s British arm that could spread to Australia. The Aus

Atlassian founders rocket up rich list

Former University of NSW classmates Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar have a combined wealth of about $US4 billion ($6.1 billion) following the listing of their enterprise software company, Atlassian, on the Nasdaq overnight, ranking them among the 20 richest Australians. The Fin

Port bidders face tougher Federal test

Potential buyers of Fremantle Port will be vetted under tighter foreign investment rules to try to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment of the sale of Darwin Port. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The federal government and the states have agreed to look at giving the states a percentage of income tax for the first time since World War II in return for the Commonwealth keeping all the extra proceeds from an increased GST.

Page 3: The competition regulator sued Woolworths for unconscionable conduct by trying to force suppliers to plug a $50 million hole in its second-half 2014 profits by demanding more than $60 million in extra payments in the weeks before Christmas.

Page 7: Queensland resources owner turned federal MP Clive Palmer took the state’s Under-Treasurer, Jim Murphy, with him to meetings with banks to prove they would not lend him any money to keep Queensland Nickel afloat.

Page 8: Malcolm Turnbull says the federal government has put $26 million into the University of NSW project to build the world’s first practical quantum computer because the government is determined the ‘‘enormously valuable’’ technology should stay in Australia.

Page 9: Australia is positioning itself as the major supplier of liquefied natural gas to Europe as Germany takes the lead in slashing its reliance on coal-fired and nuclear power stations.

Page 13: More than 65 per cent of the world’s coal production is estimated to be unprofitable as prices for thermal and coking coal face their fifth consecutive year of declines.

Westpac Banking Corp may find it hard to justify lending to new oil, gas and coal projects after it promises lending practices to help limit global warming below 2 degrees.

Former University of NSW classmates Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar have a combined wealth of about $US4 billion ($6.1 billion) following the listing of their enterprise software company, Atlassian, on the Nasdaq overnight, ranking them among the 20 richest Australians.

Page 15:   Depressed thermal coal prices are bouncing along the bottom and will improve modestly in 2016 as the world’s largest exporter, Indonesia, continues to cut output.

Page 24: Brookfield Infrastructure has formally opened its $9 billion takeover offer for Asciano shareholders but warned they should not accept it immediately if they want to consider a rival bid from the Qube consortium.

Junior exporter BC Iron and Fortescue Metals Group will spend the weekend debating whether their Nullagine iron ore joint venture has a future amid depressed iron ore prices.

Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong has stepped down from the Virgin Australia board in favour of his alternate, in a move that leaves Air New Zealand’s Christopher Luxon as the only chief executive representative of Virgin’s three airline shareholders.

Page 27: Metcash’s improving sales could be derailed by the launch of Aldi in Western Australia and South Australia as concern builds that Woolworths’ aggressive bid to reclaim market share will trigger a potentially damaging price war.

The Australian

Page 4: Australia has assured Japan that the diplomatic row over the resumption of whaling will not be a factor in deciding whether Japan wins its bid to build the navy’s new submarine fleet.

Page 7: Students will have to pass a basic numeracy test before graduating from school under a new national strategy that aims to boost Australia’s performance in maths and science.

Page 19: Betting giant Tabcorp will launch into British and Irish markets, tapping into a $7 billion online gambling industry, after signing an offshore partnership deal with News Corp’s British arm that could spread to Australia.

Page 21: Sharemarket debutant Wellard is confident of strong Asian demand for its cattle in coming years as the livestock exporter expands its global reach.

Page 30: Civil Aviation Safety Authority boss Mark Skidmore has urged the industry to keep working with him as he moves to restructure the regulator by the middle of next year, addresses problems with existing rules and introduces new regulations.

The West Australian

Page 6: Gina Rinehart has finally fulfilled the decades-old dream of her family mining dynasty, waving goodbye to Port Hedland from the bridge of the ship carrying her first load of ore to Asia yesterday.

Page 10: Scott Morrison has opened the door to sharing income tax revenue with the States in return for Canberra getting its hands on cash from a bigger GST.

Page 15: Kim Hames has held out hope he may retain the Health and Tourism portfolios despite announcing he will step down as Deputy Premier early next year.

Page 17: Perth is in line to host the world junior athletics championships after the 2016 titles were stripped from Russia.

Page 24: Funding for a new spinal injury facility to replace WA’s rundown Quadriplegic Centre in Shenton Park is expected to be included in next year’s State Budget, a parliamentary committee has been told.

Page 26: Potential buyers of Fremantle Port will be vetted under tighter foreign investment rules to try to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment of the sale of Darwin Port.

Business: About 200 staff at BC Iron’s Nullagine mine in the Pilbara are facing a nervous lead-up to Christmas amid mounting speculation the iron ore producer will fall victim to the savage collapse of the steelmaking commodity’s price.

Specialist parts company AMA Group has struck a deal to sell Perth Brake Parts to an undisclosed buyer. AMA said the undisclosed sales price would cover the Welshpool business’ book value.