Banks reject Turnbull demand
The big banks have rejected as unaffordable Turnbull government demands that they pass on Tuesday’s interest rate cut in full but have agreed they need to do a better job explaining themselves. The Fin
Weak commodity prices drag down Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto’s new chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the miner will focus on value rather than volume in its iron ore division, after it reported its lowest underlying earnings for a first half since 2004. The Fin
Western Australia’s EPA rejects uranium mine plan
An environmental regulator in Australia on Wednesday recommended the rejection of a proposal by Cameco of Canada to mine uranium in the country’s far west because it fails to protect underground fauna. The Fin
Chinese cattle station buy a spur to Kimberley
The $100 million sale of Carlton Hill cattle station to Chinese-owned Kimberley Agricultural Investment is set to be the catalyst for a boom in the East Kimberley town of Kununurra and the surrounding Ord irrigation region. The Aus
WesTrac confidence lifts Seven
Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group is expecting the WesTrac mining equipment unit to deliver earnings growth this financial year as confidence returns to the resources sector and says it will use its stake in Adelaide’s Beach Energy for exposure to more oil and gas acquisitions. The Aus
State eyes tax on sports bets
The State Government is considering a “punters tax” on West Australians who bet on sports, with politicians studying the success of a new levy in South Australia. The West
Hong Kong rules halt spin-off
Hong Kong-listed China Hanking Holdings was forced to abandon a planned float of its WA gold mines because of regulatory issues with the Hong Kong exchange, according to Hanking Gold boss Mark Yumin Qiu. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The big banks have rejected as unaffordable Turnbull government demands that they pass on Tuesday’s interest rate cut in full but have agreed they need to do a better job explaining themselves.
Rio Tinto’s new chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the miner will focus on value rather than volume in its iron ore division, after it reported its lowest underlying earnings for a first half since 2004.
ANZ Banking Group says it could not have distorted the bank bill swap rate even if it had wanted to because it was not as powerful as market forces.
Page 3: Online sales exceeded $20 billion for the first time in 2016 as strong domestic growth offset flat sales at offshore retailers and double-digit gains in fashion and takeaway food countered weakness in department stores and daily deals sites.
It has taken four years to bury the hatchet but Qantas Airways has patched things up with the nation’s peak tourism body following a bitter falling out that saw the airline end a 40-year marketing deal worth tens of millions of dollars.
Page 4: The alternative of investing more money in risky assets, such as equities, might be worse for retirees because they stand to lose capital permanently if markets fall, financial planners warn.
Page 6: Less than a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the cash rate to 1.5 per cent, property agents and brokers were fielding calls from vendors wanting to sell and first home buyers scouring for homes in a market where ‘‘interest rates could not get any lower’’.
Page 8: Australia’s big four banks have poured almost four times as much money into the fossil fuel industry than the renewable energy sector since the landmark Paris climate accord in December, according to campaign group Market Forces.
Page 13: President Barack Obama dismissed Hillary Clinton’s opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement on Tuesday and suggested her disapproval of the deal may be politically motivated.
Page 15: Former and current executives from the Snowy Mountains Engineering Company have become multimillionaires following the sale of the group to Singapore’s Surbana Jurong, which comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Australian Federal Police into alleged foreign bribery.
Seven Group Holdings chief executive Ryan Stokes has his eye firmly fixed on opportunities arising from the tight east coast natural gas market, which he is confident will deliver returns for shareholders despite the global downturn in oil prices.
Page 20: The companies that service the mining sector, long battered by the downturn in commodity prices, say they are seeing the first signs of an improvement in conditions but the recovery remains patchy, with many adopting creative approaches to secure work from cautious miners.
The major consolidation flagged for the Chinese steel industry would be a positive move for both global steel and iron ore producers, Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says.
Page 21: An environmental regulator in Australia on Wednesday recommended the rejection of a proposal by Cameco of Canada to mine uranium in the country’s far west because it fails to protect underground fauna.
Page 29: The procession of Israeli technology companies backdoor listing on the ASX is in part due to Israeli venture capitalists’ reputation as ‘‘unfriendly partners’’, says the chief executive of the latest Tel Aviv-based debutant on Australia’s bourse, Weebit Nano.
Page 31: Sydney’s CBD office towers are finally filling. The vacancy has fallen to 5.6 per cent, tenants are competing for space, rents are rising and investors are keen to get set. In Perth, the opposite is happening. The towers are emptying. Across the city the vacancy rate is 21.8 per cent, the worst in 20 years. Rents are falling and building values are on the slide.
The $1.5 billion Viva Energy REIT, the only listed trust owning purely service station sites, has made a strong debut on the stockmarket, trading up more than 16 per cent.
The Australian
Page 1: Companies importing goods riddled with deadly asbestos are not being fully investigated by Australian Border Force due to “time and resources” constraints and the uncertainty of prosecution, a review of Australia’s asbestos border controls has found.
Page 2: The sale price for the lease on the Port of Melbourne, Australia’s busiest container port, could be reduced by as much as $1 billion after doubts over a Chinese consortium’s ability to execute a successful bid and the withdrawal of one consortium because of regulatory concerns.
The $100 million sale of Carlton Hill cattle station to Chinese-owned Kimberley Agricultural Investment is set to be the catalyst for a boom in the East Kimberley town of Kununurra and the surrounding Ord irrigation region.
Page 6: A surprise Senate victory has given Malcolm Turnbull a clear chance to legislate the union crackdown he put at the heart of the federal election campaign, as the government opens talks with Pauline Hanson and other key crossbenchers to overcome fierce objections to the reform.
Page 21: Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group is expecting the WesTrac mining equipment unit to deliver earnings growth this financial year as confidence returns to the resources sector and says it will use its stake in Adelaide’s Beach Energy for exposure to more oil and gas acquisitions.
Australia Post has splurged nearly $100 million to take a 4.5 per cent stake in Dubai-based logistics and transportation company Aramex.
Page 23: Wealth managers were hammered by investors yesterday amid market fears that they will have to match the big banks’ term deposit rate increases following the Reserve Bank’s historic rate cut on Tuesday.
Page 25: Biotechnology giant Biogen has drawn takeover interest from drug companies including Merck and Allergan, raising the possibility of another huge deal in the healthcare industry.
The West Australian
Page 3: The State Government is considering a “punters tax” on West Australians who bet on sports, with politicians studying the success of a new levy in South Australia.
Page 6: Doctors have blamed a lack of resources for a surge in ambulance ramping at Perth public hospitals, with more than 630 hours reported over nine days.
Page 12: The big four banks have siphoned billions of dollars out of the pockets of Australian homeowners — and undermined the efforts of the Reserve Bank to prop up the economy.
Page 20: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang could be on his way to WA’s north to see farms being developed by the new owners of Carlton Hill station.
Page 41: Hong Kong-listed China Hanking Holdings was forced to abandon a planned float of its WA gold mines because of regulatory issues with the Hong Kong exchange, according to Hanking Gold boss Mark Yumin Qiu.
