Morning Headlines

Barnett urged to act on power

The former head of Western Australia’s state-owned power generator has urged Premier Colin Barnett to privatise the state’s electricity assets, saying she learned from experience that the government should not be running such businesses. The Aus

Private Medicare will improve service: PM

Malcolm Turnbull says he is “totally committed” to Medicare, asserting a looming privatisation of government health payments was about bringing the system into the 21st century. The West

Aussies could win Kidman empire

The prized Kidman cattle empire could remain in Australian hands after revelations yesterday that any new bidder will have four weeks to trump the final price tag offered by China’s Shanghai Pengxin Group, the widely acknowledged preferred bidder. The Aus

Imputation query as company tax cut gives biggest bang

Business has made a bid to keep alive the prospect of company income tax cuts by suggesting the government fund them by abolishing dividend imputation. The Fin

ABC may hold key to media law change

The ABC has told Federal Parliament it invests almost $400 million in rural and regional audiences – though this may be under threat from continuing budget cuts – and hinted this may hold the solution to a dilemma blocking changes to media-law ownership rules. The Fin

Small-change investment app Acorns makes a lot of cents

Spare-change investment app Acorns is launching in Australia today after amassing more than two million downloads in the US. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Australian banks led a rout that wiped more than $40 billion off the sharemarket Tuesday, driven by fears that lenders around the world will be hit by higher funding costs, rising bad debts, and slower growth in China and other emerging economies.

Business has made a bid to keep alive the prospect of company income tax cuts by suggesting the government fund them by abolishing dividend imputation.

Page 4: The ABC has told Federal Parliament it invests almost $400 million in rural and regional audiences – though this may be under threat from continuing budget cuts – and hinted this may hold the solution to a dilemma blocking changes to media-law ownership rules.

Page 6: Cash rewards for dobbing in multinational tax cheats and greater protection for whistleblowers are being considered by the Turnbull government to reduce tax avoidance.

Page 7: The Coalition has not denied it is pursuing an outsourcing plan that would mean that Medicare, pharmaceutical and aged-care benefits would be processed by the private sector, saying the Health Department is looking at digitising payments.

Page 15: Veteran investor John Sevior is set to invest in resources stocks for the first time since he started Airlie Funds Management in 2012, but he remains concerned about the big miners’ poor track record on capital management.

Page 17: Despite the success of The Martian, starring Matt Damon, 21st Century Fox expects little growth in earnings this financial year as disappointing performances in its film business and an expected negative currency effect of $US350 million ($494.4 million) for the year are expected to hit earnings.

Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial is reviewing its $715 million hostile takeover offer for Broadspectrum, saying a delay in the renewal of the company’s detention centre contracts has reduced its value.

Page 20: Much of Australia’s mining services sector and other businesses that rode the resources boom might be getting by on ‘‘life support’’, but this year is shaping as a tipping point that will see company collapses increase, insolvency and industry experts say.

The Australian

Page 1: Scott Morrison has been offered a Senate deal on two of the leading options in the federal government’s tax reform plan in a move that heightens the prospect of cuts to concessions on negative gearing and superannuation.

Page 2: The navy has slapped the first secret classification on the number of Australian submarine commanders and crew, claiming that revealing the figure would give foreign intelligence services too much information about the nation’s defence during growing strategic tension in the region.

Page 7: Housing stress is the most crucial predictor of poor quality of life for elderly Australians who are being pushed to the fringes of the nation’s cities, according to the first index of wellbeing for people aged over 65.

Page 8: The former head of Western Australia’s state-owned power generator has urged Premier Colin Barnett to privatise the state’s electricity assets, saying she learned from experience that the government should not be running such businesses.

Page 21: The prized Kidman cattle empire could remain in Australian hands after revelations yesterday that any new bidder will have four weeks to trump the final price tag offered by China’s Shanghai Pengxin Group, the widely acknowledged preferred bidder.

Page 22: Spare-change investment app Acorns is launching in Australia today after amassing more than two million downloads in the US.

The West Australian

The Barnett Government will not detail why Stadium Australia Operations was awarded preferred-operator status for the Perth Stadium at Burswood until after the parties finalise and sign a deal.

“Inept” Government bureaucrats mangled a “once-in-a-lifetime” West Perth property deal that could have secured the future of WA’s ageing Parliament House, Legislative Council President Barry House has fumed.

Malcolm Turnbull says he is “totally committed” to Medicare, asserting a looming privatisation of government health payments was about bringing the system into the 21st century.

Swan Valley families who have called the wine and tourism hotspot home for decades fear becoming “trapped” on their land or forced to sell if proposed restrictions come into effect.

Battered contractor NRW Holdings has been given a boost by securing a $40 million contract at a Queensland coal mine that is set to reopen this year.

More than 100 jobs are at risk following the collapse of Revolution Brands, the Australian and New Zealand licensee of Jeep Apparel and Footwear.