Business ‘needs to do more’
The federal government’s chief innovation adviser, Bill Ferris, has scolded business for not trying as hard as universities on collaboration and flagged changing the $3 billion research and development tax break to encourage companies to work more closely with public sector researchers. The Fin
Labor plays hard ball on budget
Labor and the Turnbull government are headed for a crippling budget stalemate as credit agency Moody’s expressed fresh concern at the economic impact of the Coalition’s ‘‘very thin’’ majority and a ‘‘splintered Senate’’. The Fin
Perth firm claims first Australian blockchain
Perth company Ledger Assets says it has created the first Australian blockchain and slashed the amount of energy used by the revolutionary technology. The Fin
Orica execs courted for Moly-Cop
Two former Orica executives, Andrew Larke and Patrick Largier, are being courted by the administrators of Arrium to become directors of its $1.5 billion subsidiary Moly-Cop, indicating plans for a stockmarket listing of the business are accelerating. The Aus
Evolution doubles payout and profit
The country’s second-biggest listed gold producer, Evolution, has doubled its final dividend and has tipped more is on the way, assuming the Australian dollar gold price holds on to its higher levels. The Aus
Court freeze on Macro chief
The Federal Court has ordered Macro Realty boss Veronica Macpherson to surrender her passport and has moved to freeze her assets as part of a growing financial scandal engulfing the Pilbara property developer. The West
Spurned tycoon turns to Wheatbelt sell-off
A Hong Kong billionaire whose company had its bid for NSW electricity assets rejected on national security grounds is one of the overseas investors being tempted by a $100 million sale of WA Wheatbelt farms. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Wrap Page 1: The federal government’s chief innovation adviser, Bill Ferris, has scolded business for not trying as hard as universities on collaboration and flagged changing the $3 billion research and development tax break to encourage companies to work more closely with public sector researchers.
The head of the CSIRO, Larry Marshall, has warned our politicians to stop point scoring over science and climate change and focus on ‘‘Team Australia’’ or risk falling even further behind in the innovation race with the rest of the world.
Page 1: Labor and the Turnbull government are headed for a crippling budget stalemate as credit agency Moody’s expressed fresh concern at the economic impact of the Coalition’s ‘‘very thin’’ majority and a ‘‘splintered Senate’’.
QBE has ousted its Australian country head and local customers are facing price rises and higher excess charges as the company moves to improve ailing profit margins.
Page 3: Wages growth has stayed at a record annual low of 2.1 per cent, with the average pay packets of mining workers rising by just 1.3 per cent over 12 months.
Page 6: Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has stressed that Australia welcomes Chinese investment and will listen to the concerns of frustrated failed Ausgrid bidders as new figures show the trade relationship between the two countries is just getting stronger.
Page 9: Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon wants the federal government and regulators to check private health insurers’ increasingly aggressive behaviour that he says puts profits above patients.
Page 10: Perth company Ledger Assets says it has created the first Australian blockchain and slashed the amount of energy used by the revolutionary technology.
Page 13: Cisco Systems, the largest maker of networking equipment, will cut as many as 14,000 employees worldwide, or 20 per cent of its workforce, technology news website CRN reported, citing people close to the company.
Page 17: CSL chief executive Paul Perreault shrugged off fears about competition and growth at the blood products and vaccines company after its shares fell 5 per cent on a mixed full-year result.
BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie says debt reduction is an ‘‘important priority’’ for the natural resources giant, after a difficult year in which its gearing levels rose.
Page 19: James Packer’s Crown Resorts has received positive feedback from regulators and the government in its push to break up its casino to separate its solidly performing Australian operations from the struggling Macau business.
Page 20: BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie has pointed to the $US10 billion ($13 billion) Mad Dog 2 oil project in the Gulf of Mexico as one of the most attractive developments outside the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries now that costs have been slashed.
Page 22: QBE Insurance Group boss John Neal questioned the world’s embrace of negative interest rates as a tool to defeat ultra-low inflation but still thinks central bankers are doing a ‘‘reasonable’’ job.
Page 23: The man running BlueScope Steel’s China operations does not see any sign of a dramatic uplift in iron ore prices in the near term. Bernie Landy, one of the most senior Australian executives on the ground in China, should know.
Page 24: Australia’s second largest salty snacks maker Snack Brands Australia has been swallowed up by Philippines food company Universal Robina, delivering a big pay-day for a group of investors who bought the business from Arnott’s for a song eight years ago.
The Australian
Page 1: Bans on coal-seam gas projects would be relaxed and a “use it or lose it’’ threat would force pipeline operators to keep gas flowing, under a national plan to prevent a predicted east-coast gas shortage that would cause prices to skyrocket.
Page 3: Planes in Jetstar’s Dreamliner fleet are flying with a known engine problem that could trigger a mid-flight engine shutdown such as the one that recently forced one of its Boeing-787s to divert to the Pacific island of Guam.
Page 4: Nationals parliamentarians have enthusiastically embraced the call by Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens for a debate on what kind of foreign investment Australia wants to attract but his comments have received a cooler reception from Scott Morrison and former RBA board member Warwick McKibbin.
Page 21: Two former Orica executives, Andrew Larke and Patrick Largier, are being courted by the administrators of Arrium to become directors of its $1.5 billion subsidiary Moly-Cop, indicating plans for a stockmarket listing of the business are accelerating.
Page 25: BHP Billiton shareholders could be set for substantial dividend growth over the next couple of years if chief executive Andrew Mackenzie can continue a productivity drive he says is just getting started and commodity prices hold up, with the company flagging increased free cash.
The country’s second-biggest listed gold producer, Evolution, has doubled its final dividend and has tipped more is on the way, assuming the Australian dollar gold price holds on to its higher levels.
The West Australian
Page 3: Thousands of residents in the Mandurah area have lost almost $31 million in superannuation as billions of dollars in retirement nest eggs across the nation go missing.
Page 7: West Australians are set to be hit with an extra 10¢ on the price of most drinks after the State Government announced a new container deposit scheme yesterday.
Page 16: The Federal Court has ordered Macro Realty boss Veronica Macpherson to surrender her passport and has moved to freeze her assets as part of a growing financial scandal engulfing the Pilbara property developer.
Page 17: A Hong Kong billionaire whose company had its bid for NSW electricity assets rejected on national security grounds is one of the overseas investors being tempted by a $100 million sale of WA Wheatbelt farms.