Morning Headlines

Robo-adviser Future Penny to launch

Perth-based financial planner David Pettit has teamed up with well-known Australian bitcoin entrepreneur Zhenya Tsvetnenko to fund and develop a new robo-advice platform that will advise users how to plan their financial lives. The Fin

Double production push for MZI’s mineral sands

MZI Resources’ Keysbrook mineral sands mine has been operating for a matter of months, but managing director Trevor Matthews said it was already planning to substantially extend its 110,000-tonne-a-year production capacity. The West

Caltex has dinner plans for commuters

Under a plan to reinvent convenience retailing, Caltex Australia service stations will sell ready-made meals, bottles of wine, online purchases and drycleaning. Haircuts may follow. The Fin

Grylls calls out leaders over RFR

Brendon Grylls has challenged Colin Barnett and Mark McGowan to take any changes to Royalties for Regions to the next election as he made a strident defence of the program’s half-full Pilbara housing projects. The West

NBN to offer provider discounts

The company building the National Broadband Network will give discounts on a controversial usage charge in a move expected to improve the quality of high-speed internet services during peak periods. The Aus

Barnett warns of NDIS blowout

Colin Barnett has warned of a funding black hole in the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme and the risk of it being exploited by profitfocused corporates. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will insist the states overhaul their tax systems before asking Canberra for more money, including possibly replacing stamp duty with land taxes, a change the federal Treasury calculates will deliver a big economic boost.

Under a plan to reinvent convenience retailing, Caltex Australia service stations will sell ready-made meals, bottles of wine, online purchases and drycleaning. Haircuts may follow.

Page 3: Treasurer Scott Morrison says the states would never have agreed to a proposal giving them control over income tax, no matter how thoroughly it was canvassed with them, and that the federal government had ‘‘called their bluff’’.

Page 5: Optus will cut up to 480 jobs as part of a restructure of its consumer and enterprise divisions in an attempt to trim costs for ‘‘sustainable growth’’.

Page 11: Arrium’s Whyalla steelworks and thousands of South Australian jobs are hanging in the balance after the company’s irate bankers knocked back a $US927 million ($1.21 billion) lifeline from US vulture fund GSO Capital.

Page 13: The $16 billion liquor retailing industry won’t end up like the hardware sector, where single-store operators have virtually no chance of survival against bigbox chains such as Bunnings.

The battle for market share in the $90 billion grocery sector could turn into a full-blown price war next year if Woolworths’ attempts to restore sales growth in supermarkets fail to gain traction, UBS says.

Page 14: Telstra is prepared to pull the pricing lever and change its mobile plan offers to fend off its competitors looking to take advantage of the telecommunications giant’s recent network outages and lure customers away.

Page 19: Leaked internal planning documents confirm significant parts of the fibre to the node (FTTN) part of the Coalition’s multi-technology-mix national broadband network have fallen behind schedule, despite recent assurances by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield that earlier reports of problems were incorrect.

Page 20: Perth-based financial planner David Pettit has teamed up with well-known Australian bitcoin entrepreneur Zhenya Tsvetnenko to fund and develop a new robo-advice platform that will advise users how to plan their financial lives.

The Australian

Page 1: The Coalition has surrendered its lead to Labor for the first time since Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister, with the latest Newspoll revealing the Bill Shorten-led opposition has pulled ahead, 51 per cent to 49 per cent, in two-party terms.

Page 2: A US election victory by Donald Trump and reduced American involvement in Asia could force Australia to more than double defence spending to protect itself, the head of a key think tank has warned.

Page 19: China could grow to represent two-thirds of Blackmores’ business within a decade, says the company patriarch, who also warned his rivals that those “opportunistically making hay while the sun shines’’ by selling products to Chinese consumers could be set for a big fall.

Page 21: The company building the National Broadband Network will give discounts on a controversial usage charge in a move expected to improve the quality of high-speed internet services during peak periods.

Page 22: Australia’s biotech and medtech sectors are ramping up pressure on the Turnbull government to not just talk innovation but implement an incentive to support growth in the industries.

Page 28: Microsoft’s augmented reality glasses HoloLens wants to put a whole new spin on how we see the world and while holograms aren’t ready for prime time just yet the technology holds promise.

The West Australian

Page 3: A radical approach that involves applying a heated tube inside the airways of asthmatics is being hailed as a revolution in treatment.

Page 4: Treasurer Scott Morrison says Malcolm Turnbull was calling premiers’ “bluff” with his proposal to reinstate State income taxing rights.

Page 6: It has been revealed Australian companies funnelled almost $110 billion in and out of low-tax Singapore in one year as tax authorities globally ramp up focus on the world’s richest.

Page 9: Colin Barnett has warned of a funding black hole in the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme and the risk of it being exploited by profit-focused corporates.

Page 10: A $5 million overhaul of Cottesloe’s landmark Indiana restaurant is under a cloud, with the Town of Cottesloe weighing whether to walk away from a deal struck last year.

Brendon Grylls has challenged Colin Barnett and Mark McGowan to take any changes to Royalties for Regions to the next election as he made a strident defence of the program’s half-full Pilbara housing projects.

Business: Woodside Petroleum shares have slumped to a near 11-year low, dragging energy stocks with them, as investors lost hope for a sustained recovery in crude oil prices above $US40 a barrel.

MZI Resources’ Keysbrook mineral sands mine has been operating for a matter of months, but managing director Trevor Matthews said it was already planning to substantially extend its 110,000-tonne-a-year production capacity.

Chinese-owned Premier Coal now owes taxpayers more than $5 million under the contentious convertible loan agreed nearly 18 months ago to help stiffen the miner’s finances.

Ausdrill has taken legal action against client Senex Energy, demanding about $7 million compensation over a drilling contract dispute.