China rout stirs growth concerns
China's new growth model is showing signs of stress as Beijing again on Thursday marked its currency sharply down and was forced to suspend stock trading for the second time this year after shares plunged 7 per cent at the opening. The Fin
Last race for high-rollers in WA
Gaming giants Tatts Group and Tabcorp have held talks with the Western Australian government over a potential $1 billion deal to buy Australia's last remaining state-owned betting agency as pressure grows on WA to prop up its ailing economy. The Fin
Karara doubt, Ansteel cash stops
The future of the multi-billion Karara magnetite project is again unclear with the company's chief executive this week telling workers its Chinese majority shareholder could no longer afford to bankroll the project's losses. The West
Unit owners to lose sale veto
New rules for WA apartments will crack down on wealthy owners who invest in rundown complexes to stymie development to protect their views. The West
BHP behind Redman spat with Premier
Lands Minister and WA Nationals leader Terry Redman still refuses to sign a lease renewal for mining giant BHP Billiton's Kurra Village work camp on the outskirts of Newman. The West
Wellard says horrible week won't sink its finances
Livestock exporter Wellard's horror run has continued with revelations a second vessel in its fleet has engine problems and that its abattoir near Kojonup shut down for two days this week because of equipment failure. The West
Clean up unions, shake up ties to Labor: Crean
Simon Crean has urged a shakeup of Labor's structural relationship with unions and counselled the CFMEU and others to “clean up their act” or accept intervention to deal with “substantial evidence of wrongdoing”. The Aus
The West Australian
Page 3: New rules for WA apartments will crack down on wealthy owners who invest in rundown complexes to stymie development to protect their views.
Page 4: Fire crews were last night battling raging fronts of a “powerful” and “dangerous” bushfire in the South West that will keep residents from their homes for several days and create widespread traffic disruption.
Page 9: The annual Southbound weekend music festival in Busselton has been cancelled.
Page 13: The WA Nationals are red-faced after torpedoing an “inappropriate” $1,000-a-head political fundraiser it planned aboard a Royal Australian Navy warship.
Page 16: Rottnest authorities hope to feed off extraordinary growth in visitor numbers by attracting more weddings and honeymooners to the island during its quieter months.
Page 17: Chevron remains in talks with the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority about the timing for its tower at Elizabeth Quay after missing last month's deadline to submit a development application.
Page 19: Perth mayors and councillors took more than 150 ratepayer-funded trips last year at a cost of nearly half a million dollars.
Page 21: Lands Minister and WA Nationals leader Terry Redman still refuses to sign a lease renewal for mining giant BHP Billiton's Kurra Village work camp on the outskirts of Newman.
Business: The future of the multi-billion Karara magnetite project is again unclear with the company's chief executive this week telling workers its Chinese majority shareholder could no longer afford to bankroll the project's losses.
Livestock exporter Wellard's horror run has continued with revelations a second vessel in its fleet has engine problems and that its abattoir near Kojonup shut down for two days this week because of equipment failure.
Fledgling thermal energy play Enerji has signed up one of the state's biggest gold producers, Northern Star Resources, as the maiden client for its waste heat capture technology.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: China's new growth model is showing signs of stress as Beijing again on Thursday marked its currency sharply down and was forced to suspend stock trading for the second time this year after shares plunged 7 per cent at the opening.
Gaming giants Tatts Group and Tabcorp have held talks with the Western Australian government over a potential $1 billion deal to buy Australia's last remaining state-owned betting agency as pressure grows on WA to prop up its ailing economy.
Interest in the federal government's $5 million visa targeting wealthy Chinese has slumped since the introduction of new rules requiring applicants to invest in higher-risk venture capital products.
Page 2: A number of multinational clients will pay fines rather than open their books to the tax office as new transfer pricing regulations kick in over the next 12 months, tax advisers warn.
Page 4: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has called on China to pull North Korea into line and warned that its companies risked undermining United Nations-imposed sanctions after the rogue state's nuclear bomb test, saying it needs to use its influence to calm tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Former cities minister Jamie Briggs, who resigned over an incident in a Hong Kong bar, says he believes he has the strong support of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to stay on as an MP and confirmed he will recontest the seat of Mayo.
Page 6: Companies accused of issuing bogus invoices in cahoots with the Australian Workers Union are staying silent, despite being referred to police.
Page 13: Professional investors who deserted poolside lounge chairs to turn on Bloomberg screens this week were confronted with a sea of red, but have stopped short of declaring this New Year sell-off an outright buying opportunity.
Flight Centre Travel Group has sealed its first ever deal to offer inventory from budget airline Tigerair Australia as the travel agency looks to better compete against rivals like Webjet that have gained market share as consumers take more flights on low-cost carriers.
Page 15: A gulf between buyers' and sellers' views on valuation after the plunge in crude oil prices depressed merger and acquisition activity in 2015, but that gap is likely to close as oil remains weak, so deal-making should pick up this year, according to global consultancy IHS.
The Australian
Page 1: A loss of confidence in the ability of Beijing to manage the downturn in the Chinese economy has sent shares plunging for the fifth successive day, amid fears it will spark a new bout of global instability.
Simon Crean has urged a shakeup of Labor's structural relationship with unions and counselled the CFMEU and others to “clean up their act” or accept intervention to deal with “substantial evidence of wrongdoing”.
Clive Palmer's nephew and the manager of his struggling nickel refinery has admitted to employees he can only promise they will be paid for another month, inflaming tensions with the plant's 800 staff.
Page 2: Barnaby Joyce is in prime position to become deputy prime minister as soon as next month as the Nationals prepare for a generational change that could see a new leader elected unopposed.
Page 4: Private hospital insurance would be standardised, providing a minimum level of cover to attract the government rebate, in a proposal being pushed by a leading healthcare advocate.
Page 5: A bushfire that moved fact and changed directors trapped residents of the West Australian town of Yarloop late yesterday and residents of four other towns were evacuated as the blaze destroyed more than 21,000ha of bush and farmland in the South West.
Business: A fresh wave of fear swept through global financial markets yesterday after Chinese regulators halted trading for the second time this week and ordered a major devaluation of the yuan as concerns rose over the health of the world's second-biggest economy.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon has criticised the new Qantas alliance with American Airlines, claiming the Australian carrier drew the short straw with its plan to fly direct daily Sydney-to-San Francisco services – a market it has failed to previously conquer.
Budget carrier Tigerair Australia is the latest in a string of low-cost carriers to capitulate to the power of travel agency sales networks, yesterday signing a three-year joint venture deal with Flight Centre to market its low airfares.