Morning Headlines

Brexit forces IMF to clip growth outlook

The bombshell Brexit vote and other geopolitical risks have forced the International Monetary Fund to scrap plans to upgrade its global economic growth outlook, although the Reserve Bank of Australia appears relieved that financial markets have proven resilient to the shock. The Fin

News Corp in undisclosed $75m tax fight

News Corporation Australia was secretly fighting a new tax bill over $75 million in disputed income when senior News executives testified before the Senate inquiry into tax avoidance last year. The Fin

Super to overtake property as best asset ‘by 2029’

Superannuation is set become the average Australian’s greatest asset in just over a decade, overtaking the family home for the first time. The Fin

Business blows up as turbines suck more power than they generate

Wind turbines in South Australia were using more power than they generated during the state’s electricity crisis, which has prompted major businesses to threaten shutdowns and smaller firms to consider moving interstate. The Aus

Stokes in tycoons’ cattle land race

Billionaire Kerry Stokes has bought his second big cattle station in the Kimberley as he competes with fellow West Australian tycoons Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest in a buying spree for northern pastoral land. The Aus

Ruling puts CCC convictions in doubt

The validity of more than 100 convictions secured by WA’s Corruption and Crime Commission have been thrown into doubt after a landmark Court of Appeal ruling that indicated the prosecutions may have been “unlawful”. The West

Gorgon on again ‘shortly’

Chevron insists LNG production at its $US54 billion ($71.9 billion) Gorgon project on Barrow Island will resume “shortly” after a longer-than-expected second shutdown at Australia’s biggest resources project. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: South Australian senator Nick Xenophon has written to federal Treasurer Scott Morrison to raise concerns about the possible sale of NSW electricity distributor Ausgrid to China’s largest state-owned utility in a flare-up of security and national interest worries over what is likely to be the country’s biggest privatisation.

The bombshell Brexit vote and other geopolitical risks have forced the International Monetary Fund to scrap plans to upgrade its global economic growth outlook, although the Reserve Bank of Australia appears relieved that financial markets have proven resilient to the shock.

Page 2: The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept open the prospect of another official interest rate cut next month after questioning the strength of the labour market and signalling that inflation is set to remain below its target range for longer.

Former Seven Group chief executive Don Voelte will be forced to foot the legal bill for the ABC after he lost his defamation case against the national broadcaster.

Page 3: News Corporation Australia was secretly fighting a new tax bill over $75 million in disputed income when senior News executives testified before the Senate inquiry into tax avoidance last year.

Page 5: The new federal Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg says a meeting of federal and state energy ministers is his ‘‘top priority’’ as he seeks to avoid South Australia’s power crisis from spreading to other states.

Page 6: A senior Chinese Foreign ministry official has warned of ‘‘serious measures’’ if Australia ups the ante in opposing Chinese seizure of islands and coral reefs in the South China Sea.

Page 9: The great Australian dream of owning a home is slipping out of reach, with fewer than half of adults expected to own a home in the next few years, according to the nation’s largest and most comprehensive household survey.

Superannuation is set become the average Australian’s greatest asset in just over a decade, overtaking the family home for the first time.

Page 10: Wall Street has descended into a state of shock after Donald Trump’s campaign revealed the Republican presumptive presidential nominee would push for the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall banking law to effectively break up the big banks.

Page 12: Grant Thornton, the nation’s seventh largest accountancy firm in terms of revenue, has returned to positive growth – its sales have risen 0.6 per cent to $223.2 million, based on preliminary data for the year ended June 30.

Deloitte Australia’s long-time chief marketing officer, David Redhill, has moved on, signalling a pivot in the professional services group’s branding strategy to a greater focus on business development and sales.

Page 13: Metamako, which makes cutting-edge computer switches in Sydney and exports them to some of the world’s largest banks, says the Australian Securities Exchange will use the fintech start-up’s hardware in its new trading systems.

Page 15: South African investment company Coast2Coast Capital is looking for acquisitions in a sector where many Australian investors fear to tread – wholesaling.

Page 16: Equipsuper and Energy Super are in talks about a potential merger that would create a $13 billion industry superannuation fund with 100,000 members.

Page 18: Netflix came up short on Tuesday when it reported its second-quarter financial results that missed analyst expectations.

The Australian

Page 1: Wind turbines in South Australia were using more power than they generated during the state’s electricity crisis, which has prompted major businesses to threaten shutdowns and smaller firms to consider moving interstate.

Universities enjoyed a $2.8 billion taxpayer-funded bonanza in just five years after the uncapping of undergraduate places by the Rudd government in 2009, with 11 institutions increasing their revenues by more than $100 million each.

Page 2: Billionaire Kerry Stokes has bought his second big cattle station in the Kimberley as he competes with fellow West Australian tycoons Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest in a buying spree for northern pastoral land.

Page 4: Malcolm Turnbull is being forced towards a deal with Labor or the Greens on superannuation tax hikes after being rebuffed by the new powerbrokers in the Senate, making it increasingly difficult to secure a crossbench deal on the $6 billion budget reform.

Page 8: The Chinese company at the centre of a national asbestos scare has had its containers stopped from entering the country for the past five days as the Australian Border Force checks construction materials for evidence of contamination.

Page 19: Two of the most powerful figures in global banking regulation have taken aim at the rules Australian regulators apply to the big four banks, arguing they need to be higher to protect taxpayers and withstand external shocks.

Westpac business banking chief David Lindberg says any downgrade of bank credit ratings will lead investors to give the sector a “negative mark”, tightening credit conditions across the economy as funding costs rise.

Page 21: Construction giant CIMIC has recorded a 3 per cent rise in net profit to $265.2 million, despite revenues falling nearly a third in the first six months of this year.

Page 28: Budget mobile provider Amaysim will start selling NBN plans next year after it agreed to buy Australian Broadband Services for between $4 million and $5.4m.

The West Australian

Page 1: The validity of more than 100 convictions secured by WA’s Corruption and Crime Commission have been thrown into doubt after a landmark Court of Appeal ruling that indicated the prosecutions may have been “unlawful”.

Page 14: The way men in WA work is changing, with part-time jobs growing six times faster than overall employment.

WestBis1: St Barbara has set a cracking pace for local mid-tier gold miners, chalking up $275 million in cash last financial year thanks to record production and falling costs.

WestBus2: A $50 million-plus transformational deal is set to write a new chapter for 30-year-old WA mortgage lender and broker Homeloans.

WestBus3: About 10,000 homes, or 10 per cent of the rollout in WA, are connected through fibre-to-thenode — the form of the Turnbull Government’s multi-technology mix which uses Telstra’s ageing copper network to connect from a “node” to the home.

Chevron insists LNG production at its $US54 billion ($71.9 billion) Gorgon project on Barrow Island will resume “shortly” after a longer-than-expected second shutdown at Australia’s biggest resources project.

WestBus4: WA nickel and gold hopeful Rox Resources is poised to sell its Reward zinc project in the Northern Territory to ASX-listed IM Medical for $14.8 million in cash and scrip.