Global fundies: no crash
Global fund managers say that sharemarkets around the world will avert a crash but investors need to get ready for higher volatility in stock prices that will persist until the US manages to follow through on its promise of higher interest rates. The Fin
Roy Hill ramp-up slower than expected
The chief of Gina Rinehart’s $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore mine has admitted the project will struggle to reach its targeted 55 million-tonne-a-year run rate by the end of the year. The Fin
FMG joint venture with Vale stalls
Brazilian iron ore group Vale has poured cold water on hopes that its joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group will be up and running in the short term. The Fin
Company tax cuts to be scaled back
The Turnbull government is preparing to split its $48.7 billion company tax reform bill in order to secure an immediate gain for small employers, forcing it to shelve almost all of its core economic policy in the face of certain defeat in the Senate. The Aus
Banks brace for ‘complete free-for-all’
The first parliamentary grilling of the major bank chiefs has been set down for the first week of October, as the Turnbull government seeks to wrest the initiative from Bill Shorten and his popular call for a banking royal commission. The Aus
BHP bullish on Chinese steel despite forecasts
BHP Billiton still expects China’s steel production to continue to grow despite almost all other forecasters and the Chinese industry itself saying peak production has already passed. The Aus
Power station sell-off delay
Redevelopment of the East Perth power station will not happen until at least next decade because of the need for the expensive relocation of Western Power infrastructure, which has held up the site’s sale process. The West
Utah spanner in debt works
The Barnett Government will go to the State election with a key plank of its debt-repayment plan missing after WA Treasurer Mike Nahan yesterday conceded the sale of Port Hedland’s Utah Point facility would not happen before the March poll. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull believes the Senate will pass the two industrial relations bills that triggered the double dissolution election without the need for a joint sitting of Parliament as he indicated the government was prepared to compromise on these measures, as well as all other budget bills, to secure their passage.
Platinum Asset Management has moved to defy the short sellers taking aim at the prestigious fund manager by buying back up to 10 per cent of its outstanding shares on the open market.
Page 3: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chief Rod Sims warns gas prices will rise because of uncertainty over supply and regulatory uncertainty, after the Northern Territory government announced the start of its moratorium on fracking.
Page 7: The Tax Office has stepped up the pressure on multinationals with a new taxpayer alert that for the first time warns Big four accounting firms of the dangers of promoting tax avoidance schemes.
Page 9: The risks of a Big Short-style meltdown in the Australian property market could be on the rise despite a crackdown by regulators after a $7 billion jump in the value of interest-only loans.
BBY chief executive Arun Maharaj ignored warning signs and promised more capital injection as the corporate regulators were closing in on the stockbroker, a court was told.
Page 15: Global fund managers say that sharemarkets around the world will avert a crash but investors need to get ready for higher volatility in stock prices that will persist until the US manages to follow through on its promise of higher interest rates.
Page 17: Legg Mason Asset Management chief investment officer Reece Birtles has played down concerns over the apparently low level of synergy benefits forecast by JB Hi-Fi when it announced the transformational $870 million acquisition.
One of the competitors to JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys in Australia’s $4.6 billion appliances market says suppliers to both these chains will be the big losers from the merger deal, as his own firm prepares to expand to Canberra for the first time.
Woolworths may give up control of the iconic Hills clothesline brand early to save an extra $10 million in the demise of Masters after pursuing it as a ‘‘hero’’ brand in the $75 million clothesline category in 2014 in an ultimately futile fight against Bunnings.
Page 19: Medibank’s chief financial officer will leave the company in a sweeping management restructure announced by new chief executive Craig Drummond.
Page 20: Superloop chief executive Bevan Slattery wants to seriously challenge the National Broadband Network’s pitch to enterprise customers, who he says require more bandwidth than households.
Online graphic design start-up Canva has closed another $19.8 million capital raising and doubled its valuation in the past 12 months to almost $500 million.
Page 21: The chief of Gina Rinehart’s $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore mine has admitted the project will struggle to reach its targeted 55 million-tonne-a-year run rate by the end of the year.
Brazilian iron ore group Vale has poured cold water on hopes that its joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group will be up and running in the short term.
Investors and miners are increasingly confident that iron ore prices will not fall to the dire levels predicted earlier this year, despite prices slipping by more than 9 per cent over the past three weeks.
The Samarco iron mine is facing higher costs than previously calculated from a tailings dam spill after a Brazilian judge ordered independent damage assessments, according to federal prosecutor Eduardo Aguiar.
The Australian
Page 1: The Turnbull government is preparing to split its $48.7 billion company tax reform bill in order to secure an immediate gain for small employers, forcing it to shelve almost all of its core economic policy in the face of certain defeat in the Senate.
Page 4: Universities, retailers and the travel industry fear a costly backlash after Pauline Hanson yesterday poured fuel on the often fiery debate over immigration and multiculturalism.
Page 6: Chief executives might have legitimate reason to feel more paranoid than usual. New research investigating the ambitions of chief financial officers finds one in five want the CEO’s job.
Page 8: Indigenous business is booming, with the latest top 500 snapshot of the sector showing an 8.2 per cent income rise to $1.88 billion a year.
Page 19: The first parliamentary grilling of the major bank chiefs has been set down for the first week of October, as the Turnbull government seeks to wrest the initiative from Bill Shorten and his popular call for a banking royal commission.
Page 21: Australia’s life insurance industry will front a parliamentary committee which will investigate whether the $44 billion sector needs even more oversight from regulators and the corporate watchdog.
Page 22: Australia is sacrificing major economic opportunities because of “political equivocation” about onshore gas drilling, Chinese-controlled infrastructure company Jemena will declare today.
BHP Billiton still expects China’s steel production to continue to grow despite almost all other forecasters and the Chinese industry itself saying peak production has already passed.
US seeds and pesticide giant Monsanto has agreed to a sweetened takeover bid from the German pharmaceutical and chemical group Bayer, Bloomberg reported.
Page 23: Australia is set to be in the box seat for the development of blockchain with yesterday’s selection of Standards Australia to help oversee the development of new international standards for the technology.
John Symond’s confirmation that he is stepping back from a “fulltime” executive role at Aussie Home Loans has prompted speculation the broker’s majority owner, the Commonwealth Bank, may hasten its decision on whether to take out the entire business.
Page 25: Ikea is thinking outside the big box. The world’s largest furniture retailer said it had opened more click-and-collect locations in fiscal 2016 than traditional stores, marking a shift in the company’s expansion strategy.
The West Australian
Page 1: Redevelopment of the East Perth power station will not happen until at least next decade because of the need for the expensive relocation of Western Power infrastructure, which has held up the site’s sale process.
Page 14: Liquor authorities have ruled in favour of Woolworths’ Dan Murphy’s over Coles’ Liquorland in the latest battle between the shopping giants.
Page 45: The Barnett Government will go to the State election with a key plank of its debt-repayment plan missing after WA Treasurer Mike Nahan yesterday conceded the sale of Port Hedland’s Utah Point facility would not happen before the March poll.
Page 46: First Quantum Minerals has applied to the Environmental Protection Authority to expand its Ravensthorpe nickel operations, boosting hopes the south coast town will avoid a repeat of the 2009 debacle when previous owner BHP Billiton shut it down.
Fremantle-based Excelsior Gold has agreed to restructure the Kalgoorlie miner’s board after shareholders moved to oust two existing directors.
Page 47: Fledgling miner Gold Road Resources is stepping up efforts to define an underground gold resource at the remote Gruyere project in the Great Victoria Desert.