Top fund managers tell business it must earn its growth
Australia’s top fund managers have warned the business world against expanding overseas too aggressively, especially in China, and say there’s been a breakdown in communication between companies planning big investments and their shareholders. The Fin
Coles workers may lose pay rise after Fair Work veto
The Fair Work Commission’s refusal to approve a controversial pay deal at Coles could lead to tens of thousands of supermarket employees losing a previously agreed pay rise.
New China rules help Bellamy’s, a2
Infant formula makers like Bellamy’s Organic and a2 Milk are set to benefit from new Chinese regulations, which could see more than 1000 small brands blocked from selling products on the mainland.
Rich-Lister calls on $100m Fairfax buyback
Billionaire Rich-Lister Alex Waislitz has called on Fairfax Media to undertake a $100 million share buyback program and aggressively pursue the divestment of non-core assets.
Greens win business from labor
An influential small business group has delivered a devastating blow to Labor, declaring that the party has “regressed” under Bill Shorten and is now less supportive of small enterprise than the Greens.
Overseas companies ‘can game the system’
Scott Morrison has warned that a Labor plan to liberalise foreign investment rules would be “just throwing the doors open” to overseas companies, earning a caution from business about the signals being sent by the Treasurer to the marketplace.
Demerging Alcoa slams ‘opportunistic’ Alumina
Relations between Alcoa and Melbourne’s Alumina continue to sour ahead of a legal shootout in September on Alumina’s rights to force a reworking of the global alumina alliance, known as AWAC, between the pair because of Alcoa’s planned demerger.
Metals X waits on Aditya close to make gold call
Metals X will wait until closing out its acquisition of Aditya Birla Minerals before making a call on the spin-out of its gold operations, according to executive director Warren Hallam.
The Financial Review
Page 1: Australia’s top fund managers have warned the business world against expanding overseas too aggressively, especially in China, and say there’s been a breakdown in communication between companies planning big investments and their shareholders.
Labor has agreed to billions of dollars in new spending cuts, including accepting or compromising on welfare cutbacks it has opposed for years, in a bid to bolster its economic credentials and meet its target of a budget balance in five years.
Page 2: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s largest lender, is planning to cut investment property interest rates and slash minimum loans on some mortgage products by more than 90 per cent, triggering claims by rivals of a price war between property investment lenders.
Page 7: The Fair Work Commission’s refusal to approve a controversial pay deal at Coles could lead to tens of thousands of supermarket employees losing a previously agreed pay rise.
Page 12: Ultra low interest rates and money printing may be harming chances of a sustainable global recovery by spurring investor short-termism and hampering the collapse of outdated business models, the OECD says.
Page 16: Japanese banks, known for the risk-aversion that spared them the worst of the credit crisis, have quietly grown into some of the world’s largest energy lenders.
Page 17: Ian McPhee, the independent overseer of the banking industry’s culture review, says moves to eradicate misaligned pay incentives for selling retail banking products transcend politics and should continue regardless of who wins the federal election.
Page 19: Diversified building materials group Brickworks has signalled better than anticipated earnings for the current financial year, thanks to buoyant building activity coupled with a higher contribution from its property development arm.
Page 20: Online retail entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has distanced Kogan.com from e-commerce sharemarket flops, saying the business has been in the black ‘‘from day one’’ despite being capital-constrained.
Page 21: House prices are forecast to continue rising in Australia’s two biggest cities this year and next, a trend that Moody’s says is raising the level of risk in the major banks’ mortgage portfolios.
Page 27: Gas pipeline developer Jemena has insisted it can still fill the new $800 million pipeline it is building between the Northern Territory and Queensland, despite the threat of a Labor moratorium on fracking.
Page 28: Billionaire Rich-Lister Alex Waislitz has called on Fairfax Media to undertake a $100 million share buyback program and aggressively pursue the divestment of non-core assets.
Page 33: PwC Australia and KPMG are expanding their legal practices, increasing the threat to major sources of work for top law firms.
The Australian
Page 1: An influential small business group has delivered a devastating blow to Labor, declaring that the party has “regressed” under Bill Shorten and is now less supportive of small enterprise than the Greens.
Page 6: Bill Shorten will move today to counter claims that he is not tough enough to impose unpopular budget cuts, revealing savings on Family Tax Benefits and other programs after a damaging political fight over his plan to increase the budget deficit during the next four years.
Wealthy families would pocket up to $176 million more in day-care rebates at the expense of the working poor under Labor’s childcare policy, the Coalition claims.
Scott Morrison has warned that a Labor plan to liberalise foreign investment rules would be “just throwing the doors open” to overseas companies, earning a caution from business about the signals being sent by the Treasurer to the marketplace.
Page 19: Outgoing Asciano boss John Mullen has attacked the federal government’s lack of commitment to investing in rail infrastructure and has called on both major parties to fully commit to building the dedicated freight line linking Melbourne and Brisbane, known as inland rail.
Page 22: Relations between Alcoa and Melbourne’s Alumina continue to sour ahead of a legal shootout in September on Alumina’s rights to force a reworking of the global alumina alliance, known as AWAC, between the pair because of Alcoa’s planned demerger.
The International Energy Agency has given a sobering near-term outlook for the nation’s gas exporters, slashing global gas demand expectations over the next five years, just as $200 billion of Australian boom-time LNG projects come on line and help flood the market.
UBS head of investment banking Guy Fowler says although deal flow during the first half of the year has been lacklustre, fund managers are sitting on war chests of cash ready to fire at floats.
The West Australian
Page 6: There was further evidence of Colin Barnett being kept at arms-length from the Federal Liberal campaign yesterday when Treasurer Scott Morrison toured the State Government’s signature rail project without the Premier.
Page 13: Work on the roof of HBF Stadium where a scaffolder fell to his death on Wednesday has been suspended until WorkSafe ends its investigation.
Page 24: WA’s slow income growth could be worse because it is part of a correction in the economy, a senior government economist says.
Page 69: Metals X will wait until closing out its acquisition of Aditya Birla Minerals before making a call on the spin-out of its gold operations, according to executive director Warren Hallam.
Page 71: Government 10-year bond yields dived to a record low yesterday, triggering a late rebound on the Australian sharemarket, as global deflationary pressures sparked safe-haven yield demand.
