Gloss comes off Teoh’s TPG as NBN costs bite
The high cost of delivering data over the national broadband network as customers switch to super-fast broadband, a softer than expected outlook and rising costs sent shares in David Teoh’s TPG Telecom plunging more than 20 per cent. The Fin
RBA allays fears of overheated property market
The Reserve Bank of Australia has played down fears of a property bubble, saying housing market conditions have eased since last year because of a regulatory crackdown on investors and a surge in apartment construction. The Aus
Alliance to crack down on banking bad apples
The eight biggest bank-aligned financial planning businesses in the country have agreed to share more information in staff reference checks to stop ‘‘bad apples’’ shuffling from one job to the next. The Fin
Murray warns Canberra to back off banks
The author of the government’s financial system inquiry, David Murray, says ongoing political intrusion into the operation of the banks could end up restricting the flow of credit through the economy and ‘‘breaking the banking system’’. The Fin
Woolworths tried to ‘flip’ Masters
A month before pulling the plug on its failed home improvement business, Woolworths tried to convince joint-venture partner Lowe’s to buy half its stake for $580 million and to sell its wholesaling business for $100 million more than it was worth. The Fin
Tax office puts BHP on notice over $1bn bill
The Australian Taxation Office has hit BHP Billiton with fresh tax assessments over the mining giant’s Singaporean marketing office, pushing the total claimed to more than $1 billion. The Aus
Legal big guns join WA’s $1.8b Bell hunt
The State Government’s third-party insurer yesterday wheeled out the legal big guns for a global but potentially personal battle over $1.8 billion locked in Alan Bond’s collapsed Bell Group. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Productivity Commission is considering throwing out the existing default super fund rules that benefit union-backed industry funds, to allow employers to choose from any of the 115 licensed products for their employees.
The high cost of delivering data over the national broadband network as customers switch to super-fast broadband, a softer than expected outlook and rising costs sent shares in David Teoh’s TPG Telecom plunging more than 20 per cent.
The ASX is under pressure to reveal what went wrong when the exchange failed on Monday as Treasurer Scott Morrison and David Murray, the former head of the government’s financial system inquiry, expressed their frustration with the outage.
Page 3: Real estate executives and the Property Council have warned against putting more limits on foreign investors after Scott Morrison flagged possible proof of residency checks to halt illegal sales.
Page 4: United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has told Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull he is optimistic Congress can ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement before the next US president is sworn into office.
Page 5: The Reserve Bank of Australia has played down fears of a property bubble, saying housing market conditions have eased since last year because of a regulatory crackdown on investors and a surge in apartment construction.
Page 6: Collapsed stockbroking firm BBY faced a capital squeeze, but the Rosewall family passed up an 11th hour opportunity to salvage the company, a court has heard.
Page 8: The powerful superannuation lobby is putting pressure on the government to lock in higher spending on retirement savings by passing laws referring to the provision of a ‘‘comfortable’’ lifestyle, which in today’s dollars means a lump sum of $545,000 for singles and $640,000 for couples.
Page 12: Gauging how workers are feeling could soon be a matter of simply assessing the frequency of smiley versus sad faces for EY managers.
A survey of 500 small- and medium-sized (SME) business owners found their biggest concerns were planning, succession and stress. Yet, the same study also found that 72 per cent of the owners didn’t have a formal business plan in place, more than 90 per cent did not have a succession plan and only 30 per cent believed their business could operate without them.
Page 13: Australia’s No.3 vitamins company, Nature’s Care, is attempting to reposition its top-end range as a luxury good by opening high-end retail stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Page 15: Thermal coal prices have rallied by 45 per cent this year on the back of supply cuts in China, but New Hope chief executive Shane Stephan says he is more focused on future increases in demand for the bulk commodity.
Page 16: The eight biggest bank-aligned financial planning businesses in the country have agreed to share more information in staff reference checks to stop ‘‘bad apples’’ shuffling from one job to the next.
A former Credit Suisse vice-president has pleaded not guilty to insider trading less than three months after his close friend and jogging partner went to jail for trading on his tip-offs.
Page 17: The author of the government’s financial system inquiry, David Murray, says ongoing political intrusion into the operation of the banks could end up restricting the flow of credit through the economy and ‘‘breaking the banking system’’.
The new head of risk management of Australian Prudential Regulation Authority says maintaining the faith of the public in a heated political environment will be one of its key challenges.
Page 18: A month before pulling the plug on its failed home improvement business, Woolworths tried to convince joint-venture partner Lowe’s to buy half its stake for $580 million and to sell its wholesaling business for $100 million more than it was worth.
The Australian
Page 1: The Australian Taxation Office has hit BHP Billiton with fresh tax assessments over the mining giant’s Singaporean marketing office, pushing the total claimed to more than $1 billion.
Page 3: Former Fair Work Commission vice-president Michael Lawler has launched legal action against Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, six months after he quit his post rather than face a likely ousting by parliament.
Page 7: In a high-stakes example of a government picking winners, Canberra has lined up with corporate giants to bankroll Australia’s leading contender in the global race to build a quantum computer.
Page 19: The Bank of Japan’s trillion-dollar determination to kick-start the Asian nation’s economy is disrupting Australia’s short-term money market, according to the Reserve Bank, with economists concerned that today’s meeting of Japan’s central bank could make things worse.
Banks are benefiting from companies’ increasing management of working capital by offloading their supplier contracts to reduce the risk that payments fail to come through.
Page 21: BBY’s chief executive, Arun Maharaj, started inflating the broker’s daily settlement requirements reported to St George Bank to increase its funding requirements, a court has heard.
NBN Co boss Bill Morrow pocketed $3.6 million in total remuneration in fiscal 2016 with the executive tripling his bonus from $483,000 to $1.2m and extending his lead as the highest-paid public servant in Australia.
Page 22: Australia welcomes rising Chinese investment despite its decision in August to block Hong Kong and mainland China bidders from buying the country’s largest electricity network, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said.
Page 23: Three of the major banks have suffered a fresh credit ratings blow after Standard & Poor’s lowered their insurance arms, concerned about weaker financial support amid asset sales and major reviews of operations.
The West Australian
Page 3: More than 690,000 people will next month receive letters from the Federal Government warning them they could lose all or part of their age pension.
Page 15: Virgin Australia has announced a new service between Perth and Abu Dhabi that will give Perth travellers excellent connections into Europe.
Page 17: In a coup for Perth scientists, American drug regulators have approved a breakthrough treatment for the devastating disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Researchers from the University of WA and Murdoch University discovered the first effective drug to treat DMD, a fatal and muscle-wasting disease that affects one in 3500 boys.
Page 20: A Federal Court judge has ruled that police who raided the offices and home of property tycoon Allen Caratti acted unlawfully when they seized laptops, hard drives and storage devices as part of a massive tax probe.
Page 75: The State Government’s third-party insurer yesterday wheeled out the legal big guns for a global but potentially personal battle over $1.8 billion locked in Alan Bond’s collapsed Bell Group.
Page 76: NRW Holdings has taken advantage of a resurgent share price to tap institutional investors for $20 million.
Page 77: Perth Stadium operator VenuesLive has appointed a sport administrator seasoned in cricket and AFL to run the $1.4 billion venue. Mike McKenna will take on the inaugural role in late November after 11 years as an executive at Cricket Australia, where he was a driving force behind the popular Big Bash League.
Page 78: A massive 6271sqm Northbridge site, extending from Aberdeen to Francis streets, is expected to fetch up to $35 million. It has potential for education, child care, hotel, accommodation, residential and retail development.