Chinese turmoil's $20bn hit to budget
The Commonwealth budget is exposed to a hit of as much as $20 billion over the next two years if the slump in commodity prices and losses on the sharemarket are not arrested. The Aus
Large caps feel the pain from China
The fear of a Chinese slowdown that spooked investors across the region has had an unusual impact in Australia: of the $100 billion that has been lost from the Australian sharemarket since the start of trading this year, large companies have been the hardest hit. The Fin
Deadly bushfire hits farming, mining in WA
The bushfire ravaging Western Australia's South West has taken its toll on the state's key industries, with farmers and miners scrambling to resume operations in an effort to minimise losses. The Fin
Senator bids to alter gift voucher laws
Financially stricken retailers would be forced to honour gift cards and company directors made personally liable under proposed changes floated after electronics chain Dick Smith's collapse. The West
Sims power push runs into trouble
Former competition tsar Graeme Samuel says consumers could miss out on cheap milk, bread and other deals if his successor, Rod Sims, is allowed to sue big business for taking any action that might reduce competition. The Fin
Gold a rare bright spot for WA miners
The WA gold sector is off to a flyer this year, as Paul Kopejtka's MHM Metals plots a production return for the Brightstar gold project and three key mid-tier producers surge on upgraded production guidance. The West
Grains innovation body gets dismal report card
Grains industry stakeholders have delivered a damning assessment of a not-for-profit company funded by grower levies and the WA government. The West
The West Australian
Page 3: Record numbers of prison officers are being sacked or choosing to quit before they are forced out as a result of increased efforts to stamp out corruption in WA's jails.
Page 6: The state government has put off enacting sweeping changes to WA's emergency services legislation to reduce statewide fuel loads until after the next election.
Fire authorities admit Yarloop was only specifically named in an emergency alert about 25 minutes before a firestorm all but wiped out the historic South West town on Thursday evening.
Page 9: The Department of Fire and Emergency Services was offered and rejected one of the world's largest and most effective water bombers to combat last week's devastating fires because it said it would not have made any impact.
Page 11: Farmers have admitted taking the law into their own hands to save livestock at risk of dying of starvation and thirst.
Page 12: Financially stricken retailers would be forced to honour gift cards and company directors made personally liable under proposed changes floated after electronics chain Dick Smith's collapse.
Page 13: The Kimberley is now considered Australia's most diverse area for freshwater fish after University of Melbourne researchers uncovered 20 new species in the region's remote river systems.
Business: Austal shares slumped to a 15-month low yesterday on the surprise news that chief executive Andrew Bellamy, the driver of the Henderson shipbuilder's quest to pick up lucrative Australian navy work, had quit.
The WA gold sector is off to a flyer this year, as Paul Kopejtka's MHM Metals plots a production return for the Brightstar gold project and three key mid-tier producers surge on upgraded production guidance.
Grains industry stakeholders have delivered a damning assessment of a not-for-profit company funded by grower levies and the WA government.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Former competition tsar Graeme Samuel says consumers could miss out on cheap milk, bread and other deals if his successor, Rod Sims, is allowed to sue big business for taking any action that might reduce competition.
The fear of a Chinese slowdown that spooked investors across the region has had an unusual impact in Australia: of the $100 billion that has been lost from the Australian sharemarket since the start of trading this year, large companies have been the hardest hit.
The Turnbull government has started a charm offensive on key senators to pass industrial relations changes for a third time, hoping the findings of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption will sway the handful of votes it needs.
Page 4: The bushfire ravaging Western Australia's South West has taken its toll on the state's key industries, with farmers and miners scrambling to resume operations in an effort to minimise losses.
The mass evacuation of communities in the path of bushfires this summer has the support of insurers even as the costs from the latest catastrophe in Western Australia passed $60 million.
Page 5: Landlords across the country can expect little improvement in residential rents in the coming year after growth fell to a record low of 0.3 per cent in 2015.
New tax incentives are needed to encourage retirees to invest in annuities and other retirement income products rather than hoarding superannuation savings that are then passed on to the next generation through wills, retirement policy experts and financial planners argue.
Page 6: Australia will reap fewer benefits from the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal than most of the other members, according to the first comprehensive research on the economic impact of the deal since it was agreed in October.
Page 13: Billionaire investor Kerr Neilson says fears about plunging China markets are overblown and takes the contrarian view that the United States market should be a bigger worry for investors.
Dick Smith's official eBay store was in such disarray in the month before the retailer's collapse that it breached the online sales platform's standards for sellers.
The Australian
Page 1: The Commonwealth budget is exposed to a hit of as much as $20 billion over the next two years if the slump in commodity prices and losses on the sharemarket are not arrested.
Page 2: Mining giant Glencore has cried foul after the government rejected its attempt to have competition authorities oversee prices at the world's biggest coal export port, warning that exporters could not rely on the competition law to protect them against “unjustified” price increases.
Page 4: Labor's fractured Right faction in Victoria is within one step of reunification, in a move expected to have ramifications for the Wills and Chisholm federal preselections and future debates on policy and personnel.
Page 5: Western Australian fire chief Wayne Gregson is in a war of words with residents of the razed town of Yarloop who claim authorities failed to convey the danger they faced before the deadly bushfire struck last Thursday night.
Business: Investors were bracing for more turbulence in financial markets after global jitters caused by China's currency devaluation and stockmarket rout wiped more than $100 billion off the Australian sharemarket in the past seven days – its longest losing streak since mid-2010.
The global energy market may be doing it tough but there is no shortage of funding for the two Australians running New York-based Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners.
Restructuring specialists are positioning themselves for a major pipeline of work in the coming months with bankers for McAleese transport understood to be on the verge of announcing a recapitalisation deal and Arrium also in the sites of corporate advisers.
James Packer's mooted privatisation of Crown Resorts is likely to act as a prop under the companys share price, with broker CLSA upgrading its rating on the belief the casino operator's assets are undervalued and could be an attractive buyout target.
A “midlife crisis” has prompted Austal chief executive Andrew Bellamy to walk away from the top job, triggering a sharp sell-off in the shipbuilder's shares.
