Morning Headlines

BHP looks to Venus to keep nickel project alive

BHP Billiton has flagged lifting the freeze on capital at its lossmaking Western Australian nickel operations, declaring it is studying new mine developments, including the big Venus deposit, to keep its Kalgoorlie nickel smelter running a decade past its slated 2023 life end. The Aus

Elizabeth Quay, Perth Link cost thousands to sit idle

WA taxpayers are spending $220,000 a month to run Elizabeth Quay, prompting concerns of a similar bill at Perth City Link after the collapse of a key land sales deal. The West

Target loss a bad look for Goyder

Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder conceded the conglomerate’s reputation as one of Australia’s best-managed companies has been dented by more than $2 billion in writedowns and losses on its Target stores and coal mines. The Fin

Crowd-funder CoAssets seeks ASX listing

Perth and Singapore-based fintech player CoAssets has announced plans to list on the ASX in July alongside a capital raise of between $5 million and $10m. The Aus

Penfolds rolls out the barrels for $198,000

Asian high rollers with a spare $198,000 are being courted by Treasury Wine Estates in a new luxury goods push where they can buy a barrel of prestige wine regarded as the slightly eccentric offspring of the flagship Penfolds Grange. The Fin

$800m cost of offshore pensioners

The number of Australians being paid pensions while living overseas has almost tripled in two decades, costing taxpayers nearly $800 million a year to maintain. The Aus

Stadium comes with $60m a year bill

WA’s shaky finances will help underwrite the operation of the new Perth stadium to the tune of at least $60 million a year, it emerged yesterday. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder conceded the conglomerate’s reputation as one of Australia’s best-managed companies has been dented by more than $2 billion in writedowns and losses on its Target stores and coal mines.

Page 3: Australia’s major banks receive an implicit subsidy worth between $1.9 billion and $3.7 billion from the market’s assumption that taxpayers would come to the rescue in a crisis, the Reserve Bank has estimated.

Page 5: Asian high rollers with a spare $198,000 are being courted by Treasury Wine Estates in a new luxury goods push where they can buy a barrel of prestige wine regarded as the slightly eccentric offspring of the flagship Penfolds Grange.

Page 7: Labor’s environment spokesman Mark Butler says the Turnbull government’s direct action policy could be converted to an emissions trading system, but the government lacks the will and its policy settings will do nothing to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Page 9: The Turnbull government has pledged more than half a billion dollars in low interest loans to dairy farmers as part of a larger farm finance scheme criticised for putting farmers at greater risk of default, providing little cost benefit and subsidising some businesses at the expense of others.

Page 15: Businesses have become much more open to their employees hiring Uber drivers rather than taxis now the ridesharing service has been legalised, according to one of Australia’s biggest corporate travel agencies.

Page 23: Painting, building repairs and laying turf are shaping as a new economic driver for Australia as the mining boom fades, with investors piling into the beaten-down labour hire and maintenance firm Programmed as demand for basic services rises.

The $9 billion battle for control of Asciano is likely to be delayed by another month with the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission expected to outline fresh concerns over elements of the joint takeover bid made by Qube, Brookfield Infrastructure and six international investment funds.

Page 31: German potash and salt giant K+S Group has revealed plans to expand into Australia with a $350 million Pilbara salt project.

The Australian

Page 1: The number of Australians being paid pensions while living overseas has almost tripled in two decades, costing taxpayers nearly $800 million a year to maintain.

Page 3: The big four banks are enjoying an implicit taxpayer subsidy worth almost $4 billion because their creditors know they will be bailed out in a crisis, the Reserve Bank says.

Page 8: Barnaby Joyce has linked the 2011 live cattle export ban to Indonesia to the increased number of refugee boats that arrived in Australia after the suspension, during a regional leaders debate in Goulburn last night.

Page 19: The wealth management industry is set for a rough ride over the coming decade as fund inflows wane, with superannuation managers staring down a generational shift where baby boomers begin to draw down on savings while government reforms discourage voluntary contributions.

Page 21: The first signs of recovery at Australia’s largest cattle and land company have sent shares in Australian Agricultural Company to a seven-year high, after it notched up a record after-tax annual profit of $67.8 million.

Perth and Singapore-based fintech player CoAssets has announced plans to list on the ASX in July alongside a capital raise of between $5 million and $10m.

Page 22: BHP Billiton has flagged lifting the freeze on capital at its lossmaking Western Australian nickel operations, declaring it is studying new mine developments, including the big Venus deposit, to keep its Kalgoorlie nickel smelter running a decade past its slated 2023 life end.

The West Australian

A flood of new hotel rooms in Perth has raised concerns about the city’s capacity to fill them.

WA’s shaky finances will help underwrite the operation of the new Perth stadium to the tune of at least $60 million a year, it emerged yesterday.

WA taxpayers are spending $220,000 a month to run Elizabeth Quay, prompting concerns of a similar bill at Perth City Link after the collapse of a key land sales deal.

Labor has assembled a hit list of 20 seats where it wants to enlist the help of minor party candidates to beat the coalition and the Greens.

Microsoft’s smartphone experiment with Nokia experiment looks to be all but over, with the company cutting 1850 jobs and writing off a further $950 million.

Politicians hoping to tap into the WA youth vote on July 2 face an uphill battle.

The State Government will launch a “one-stop shop” website where Western Australians can pay for bills, look at their health records and access Government information under a new plan unveiled Wednesday.

The egg farmer at the centre of cruelty claims says he was doing nothing wrong and acting within industry guidelines by using a poisonous gas to kill chickens in a skip bin.

More than 20,000 Australians, including 2500 in WA, have signed up as “flu trackers” to monitor influenza around the country this winter.

Tony Abbott is in Perth to support Tangney candidate Ben Morton, who vanquished incumbent MP Dennis Jensen in preselection.

A Salvation Army report has found Western Australia is the worst jurisdiction in the nation for extreme housing stress.