NBN fees to force telcos out of business
Excessive fees charged by NBN Co are forcing small and medium telecommunication companies to raise their prices or risk going out of business, say industry professionals, who have urged the federal government to act. The Fin
BHP expects $79b in Brazil claims to fall
More than 23,000 legal claims seeking more than $79 billion have been lodged against BHP Billiton and Vale’s Samarco joint venture following last year’s deadly dam disaster, but BHP says the actual obligations are expected to be significantly lower. The Fin
Explorers splash cash as prices improve
After enduring a sustained decline in commodity prices, Australia’s resources exploration sector is loosening its purse strings. For the first time in more than two years, the average amount of cash the companies splashed on exploration increased quarter on quarter to $418,000 in the three months to June. The Fin
Review may force funds to merge
A Productivity Commission review into a tender system for default superannuation funds may introduce a model that accelerates an APRA-led push for the consolidation of shrinking or underperforming super funds, according to senior industry members. The Aus
Staycationers fuel tourism growth in WA
The number of overnight tourists travelling to and around WA has exceeded 10 million for the first time. The growth is fuelled by a 16.6 per cent increase in “staycationers” — West Australians holidaying at home — to nearly 8 million people in the past financial year. The West
Lower rates ‘could crash the banks’
The OECD has issued a global economic warning, saying conditions are worsening with low interest rates threatening the future of the entire banking system. In its interim economic outlook report released overnight, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says governments worldwide quickly need to use current low rates to go on a borrowing binge and invest that cash in areas from childcare support to major infrastructure projects. The West
Wellard chief beats debt date
Wellard chief executive Mauro Balzarini has repaid the $16.3 million his private company owed the Fremantle-based livestock exporter inside the September 30 deadline. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Bank of Japan has bowed to pressure from its embattled banking and life insurance sectors by shifting the target of its massive monetary stimulus program to the specific level that Japanese government bonds are yielding as it refuses to give up on its inflation goal.
Excessive fees charged by NBN Co are forcing small and medium telecommunication companies to raise their prices or risk going out of business, say industry professionals, who have urged the federal government to act.
Tennis great Ken Rosewall has told a Sydney court examination into the collapse of his family’s stockbroking firm, BBY, that he didn’t do enough to arrest a decline in the fortunes of the business. ‘‘A lot of the parts of the business I didn’t really comprehend,’’ said Mr Rosewall, who was a BBY director.
White coats and dispensing etiquette are suddenly big topics of discussion among the heavy hitters at a number of private equity firms as they eye iNova Pharmaceuticals.
A senior ASIC lawyer has suffered from anxiety and depression after the corporate regulator’s senior executives unreasonably gave him a bad performance rating, transferred him to a non-management role and put pressure on him to give his team members bad performance ratings.
Page 3: The Reserve Bank of Australia says the best way to prepare for a future world ruled by automation and artificial intelligence is to teach your kids how to solve problems and give them a solid grounding in ‘‘core’’ maths and science skills that will support their ability to adapt.
Page 6: Global conflict and instability pose the greatest threat to the longest run of economic prosperity the world has seen, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said in his first address at the United Nations General Assembly.
Page 10: Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf should resign, give back his compensation and face criminal prosecution for a scandal in which the bank opened unauthorised accounts for thousands of customers, US senator Elizabeth Warren said.
Page 13: More than 23,000 legal claims seeking more than $79 billion have been lodged against BHP Billiton and Vale’s Samarco joint venture following last year’s deadly dam disaster, but BHP says the actual obligations are expected to be significantly lower.
The ASX has been accused of unnecessarily trapping billions of dollars of market liquidity during its outage on Monday by locking up open orders, which prevented stockbrokers going to its competitor Chi-X.
Page 15: Crop protection company Nufarm wants to swoop on assets that Bayer and Monsanto may have to cut free as part of its $US66 billion ($87 billion) mega merger.
Adventure-wear chain Kathmandu is taking a leaf out of the playbook of online retailer Surfstitch, using social media and digital content to encourage customers to spend more on fleeces, hiking boots and sleeping bags.
The tax and royalties bill for BHP Billiton’s controversial Singapore marketing operation has hit close to $1.4 billion and ongoing audits are likely to push the total higher.
Page 17: The board of ASX-listed internet of things company IoT Group has fired its chief executive and company founder, Simon Kantor, amid an ongoing legal dispute in which Mr Kantor is accused of selling his former business, ROAM Systems, to IoT Group without permission.
Page 18: Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer will warn of the limits to monetary and fiscal stimulus in a speech on Thursday, ahead of a critical period for the big four bank, its CEO and his rivals.
Retail investors may be underestimating the risks of bank hybrid instruments being converted into equity by the regulator in a crisis, a move that could lead to a run on bank deposits, says one of the members of the financial system inquiry committee, Professor Kevin Davis.
National Australia Bank has formed a strategic alliance with Bank Leumi of Israel and CIBC Bank of Canada which will result in the sharing of some design and development costs for new banking products and digital services and provide access to each other’s fintech relationships.
The Australian
Page 1: Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has declared he wants to right the “corruption’’ at the heart of the Gonski funding model, as new analysis reveals Labor’s sweetheart deals delivered Tasmanian schools almost 30 per cent more federal money than West Australian schools with the same needs.
Page 2: Treasury has abandoned the “wellbeing framework” that guided its strategy under secretaries Ken Henry and Martin Parkinson, and which looked beyond managing the economy to environmental and social sustainability, and is instead giving top priority to fixing the budget.
Page 19: A Senate committee examining the Turnbull government’s landmark media reforms has set a deadline of tomorrow for media executives and other stakeholders to provide an eleventh-hour view on the bill that, if passed, could trigger a wave of mergers across the sector.
China’s Fosun Group has set up an online shopping-style platform to sell overseas properties, including Australian homes, to the Chinese middle class seeking a safe haven outside of the country to protect their wealth.
Page 21: The twin disasters of plunging coal prices and an accounting scandal at Target have combined to snuff out nearly $10 million in bonuses, payments and share incentives for Wesfarmers’ executives, including boss Richard Goyder, whose remuneration dropped by 50 per cent.
Analysts are split on whether the savage rerating of TPG Telecom is over after the group was on the receiving end of another brutal sell-off yesterday.
Page 23: A Productivity Commission review into a tender system for default superannuation funds may introduce a model that accelerates an APRA-led push for the consolidation of shrinking or underperforming super funds, according to senior industry members.
Page 25: The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how ExxonMobil values its assets in a world of increasing climate-change regulations, a probe that could have far-reaching consequences for the oil and gas industry.
The West Australian
Page 12: The number of overnight tourists travelling to and around WA has exceeded 10 million for the first time. The growth is fuelled by a 16.6 per cent increase in “staycationers” — West Australians holidaying at home — to nearly 8 million people in the past financial year.
Page 16: The OECD has issued a global economic warning, saying conditions are worsening with low interest rates threatening the future of the entire banking system. In its interim economic outlook report released overnight, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says governments worldwide quickly need to use current low rates to go on a borrowing binge and invest that cash in areas from childcare support to major infrastructure projects.
Page 17: Maritime Union of Australia WA secretary Christy Cain has declared his opposition to building a new port at Kwinana, saying Fremantle’s inner harbour had plenty of room for expansion if infrastructure is used more effectively.
Page 57: The WA Government is leading Australia in promoting forestry and the expansion of softwood plantations, according to the industry’s peak lobby group.
Page 58: Wellard chief executive Mauro Balzarini has repaid the $16.3 million his private company owed the Fremantle-based livestock exporter inside the September 30 deadline.
A solution to the running stoush over lithium offtake deals at Pilbara Minerals Pilgangoora project could rest on whether Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources would be required to take an equity stake in the Ken Brinsden-led lithium rival.
Debt-ridden mining equipment supplier Emeco Holdings is again involved in discussions regarding a corporate merger.
