Morning Headlines

BP eyes Woolworths service station chain

Oil supermajor BP has flown executives to Australia in recent weeks, as it considers an offer for Woolworths’ extensive network of petrol stations. The Fin

9000 businesses in student deal

Business students at Curtin University will soon have a new way to get an internship experience following an arrangement between the university and the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Fin

Clean transport push may soak up LNG glut

A move to cleaner transportation fuels could mop up the surplus in the global liquefied natural gas market more quickly than anticipated and open up a new growth market for producers such as Woodside Petroleum.

Western Power a drain on State: Nahan

Western Power cost the State’s bottom line more than $250 million last year and has not provided a net return to WA taxpayers for almost a decade, according to Treasurer Mike Nahan. The West

Anger over $135 private tours of Quay

Developers are charging up to $135 a head for a private tour of publicly funded Elizabeth Quay, featuring Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority staff as tour guides. The West

Rebate freeze 'unfair', new AMA president

The new president of the Australian Medical Association has stepped straight into the political fray, siding with Labor's stance to end the six-year freeze on Medicare rebates. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Japan is resorting to more fiscal stimulus to fire up its moribund economy just as the US moves closer to another interest rate rise, underlining the growing divergence in financial markets over the limits of low rates.

Oil supermajor BP has flown executives to Australia in recent weeks, as it considers an offer for Woolworths’ extensive network of petrol stations.

Page 2: Stockbrokers face new rules on conflicts of interest and handling confidential information as part of an industry crackdown to be announced by the corporate regulator at a stockbroking conference in Melbourne this week.

Page 4: Labor may need to dump its support for an energy payment to welfare recipients, as shadow finance minister Tony Burke flagged further spending cuts, to announced ahead of the July election.

Page 8: Australian wheat farmers are losing market share in key Asian markets, prompting industry warnings for urgent improvements to railways and other infrastructure to ward off aggressive competition from Black Sea growers.

Miner Alumina has been hit with a lawsuit from joint-venture partner, Alcoa, who has accused the Melbourne-based company of menacing to block the US aluminium giant’s planned business split.

Page 10: The largest ever study of Australian leadership has issued a clear fail mark to business, finding more than 40 per cent of companies are not hitting key performance targets, a chronic underinvestment in the next generation of leaders, and concerns that local executives are relying too much on gut instinct to make decisions.

Page 14: Business students at Curtin University will soon have a new way to get an internship experience following an arrangement between the university and the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Page 15: Murray Goulburn and Blackmores are struggling to break into the $600 million local infant formula market, as personal shoppers sending Australian products to China shun their new ranges.

Page 17: Ports and rail giant Asciano will face the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday as the commercial dispute with its container logistics joint venture partner threatens to spoil the $9 billion takeover by Qube and Brookfield Infrastructure.

A move to cleaner transportation fuels could mop up the surplus in the global liquefied natural gas market more quickly than anticipated and open up a new growth market for producers such as Woodside Petroleum.

The Australian

Page 1: Bill Shorten’s claim that the opposition has “excellent relations” with corporate Australia has been dealt a sharp blow, with former Queensland Labor treasurer Keith DeLacy decrying the party’s stance on tax cuts as “the most anti-business policy I’ve ever seen federal Labor put to an election”.

A clash over superannuation sharpened the election fight last night as Malcolm Turnbull promised voters there would be no further changes to the system after the controversial reforms in this month’s budget while Bill Shorten attacked the “poison” of retrospective tax laws.

Page 2: The head of one of Australia’s largest defence contractors has argued against the blanket subsidisation of manufacturers to help them compete against cheaper foreign products and labour.

Page 8: Bill Shorten says he does not know whether the Labor Party costed the Schoolkids Bonus before last week accepting the savings measure it long opposed.

Page 19: Some homeowners are up to 2½ years ahead on their mortgage repayments following record low interest rates and rising prices, giving them and their banks a buffer to any collapse in prices.

Cultural change is starting to sweep through the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, as the watchdog’s staff adopt time recording to help the process of allocating costs for the proposed industry funding model.

Page 20: The effects of climate change will drive significant and increasing losses for owners and buyers of properties, posing a risk for regulators, insurers and banks.

Page 21: Australia’s agitated junior resources sector wants clarity from the corporate regulator over whether they may fall foul of insider trading rules due to new restrictions on forward-looking statements.

Online retailer Kogan is to boost its boardroom ranks ahead of its mooted sharemarket float later this year, lining up former Visy Group chief executive and Costa Group boss Harry Debney and high-ranked manufacturing executive Greg Ridder as a non-executive directors.

Page 26: Fairfax Media has suffered a devastating setback in its marathon legal battle to protect the identity of the person who persuaded the publisher to run articles about Chinese spies based on documents that are alleged to be forgeries.

The West Australian

Developers are charging up to $135 a head for a private tour of publicly funded Elizabeth Quay, featuring Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority staff as tour guides.

Western Power cost the State’s bottom line more than $250 million last year and has not provided a net return to WA taxpayers for almost a decade, according to Treasurer Mike Nahan.

Renowned geologist Gerard Tripp has declared the Kalgoorlie gold district ripe for new discoveries, amid this year’s price rally.

A Perth company in a three-way race to build a multimillion-dollar fibre optic internet cable between Perth and Singapore is claiming market leadership once again after securing funding and announcing the appointment of two well-known telco executives to its board.

The new president of the Australian Medical Association has stepped straight into the political fray, siding with Labor's stance to end the six-year freeze on Medicare rebates.

Colin Barnett has consigned regional tourism operators to “second best” by pivoting the State’s tourism marketing from a statewide focus to “brand Perth”, according to Opposition Leader Mark McGowan.