IMF warns nation on debt ‘binge’
Global public and private debt has blown out to a record $US152 trillion ($199 trillion) and Australian households are bingeing on borrowed money at a ‘‘fast pace’’, exposing the economy to a future crisis, warns the International Monetary Fund. The Fin
BHP rediscovers the good oil of US shale
BHP Billiton has restated its commitment to its troubled US shale business, predicting it will generate more cash than conventional oil within five years as oil markets improve. The Fin
Dick Smith’s ‘magic’ rebate whiteboard
Electronics retailer Dick Smith copped criticism from auditor Deloitte for having a ‘‘whiteboard process’’ for accounting, which literally involved recording rebates on a whiteboard in an employee’s office. The Fin
In one fell swoop, Gina Rinehart becomes Wagyu beef baroness
Australia’s richest businesswoman Gina Rinehart is further expanding her cattle empire, buying 1000 of Australia’s most expensive breeding cows from globally renowned Victorian Wagyu breeder and meat producer David Blackmore. The Aus
FIRB boss puts new job on ice as political heat grows
Foreign Investment Review Board chairman Brian Wilson has bowed to political pressure and delayed the start of a new job at the $180 billion Carlyle private equity group, and he will not be seeking reappointment to the body that blocks or approves foreign investment moves. The Aus
Synergy to sell home battery power packs
State-owned power provider Synergy will start selling household battery storage devices from early next year but it will be more than a decade before customers make their money back. The West
Miners start online fight to kill off tax
The mining industry has struck back at the WA Nationals’ proposed $7.2 billion mining tax with the launch of a new website encouraging users to lobby their local MPs against it. The West
Windward stalked by Bradford in Fraser play
Independence Group has finally broken cover over its big plans for the Fraser Range, yesterday confirming long-running rumours it is stalking Windward Resources. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Global public and private debt has blown out to a record $US152 trillion ($199 trillion) and Australian households are bingeing on borrowed money at a ‘‘fast pace’’, exposing the economy to a future crisis, warns the International Monetary Fund.
ANZ Banking Group chief executive Shayne Elliott said he would support a new regime to allow customers to move account numbers between banks and require banks to provide transaction data to rivals to boost competition in the industry.
Page 3: Matthew Grounds, the powerful boss of UBS Australia, has a word of advice for investors: don’t buy the index. Mr Grounds argues that next month’s Hearts & Minds Investment Leaders Conference – at which top global and local fund managers will share their best investment ideas with attendees – recognises that investors can no longer hope to make money simply from a rising market.
Page 4: SEEK chief executive Andrew Bassat warned on Wednesday that his company could be caught by an unintended consequence of the federal government’s crackdown on the disastrous VET FEE-HELP student loan scheme.
Page 6: The International Monetary Fund has issued its most trenchant criticism of the aggressive monetary policies of the world’s major central banks, arguing that prolonged low interest rates are undermining the resilience of European and Japanese banks and insurance companies and raising the risk of global financial instability.
Page 8: Malcolm Turnbull has suggested it could take several years for the parliamentary committee grillings to change the culture of Australian banks as he continued to fend off demands by Labor for a royal commission into the sector.
ANZ Banking Group will consider cutting interest rates on its credit cards and introducing a pricing regime based on borrower risk, after members of the committee quizzing bank CEOs this week suggested banks were making excessive returns from the product.
Page 10: Less than 1 per cent of the 10,000 companies that take part in the research and development (R&D) tax incentive scheme would be affected by a proposed $2 million cap on cash refunds, Innovation and Science Australia chairman Bill Ferris says.
Page 11: Rental growth in major capital cities has plummeted and experts are predicting falls in many areas within two years.
Page 18: Previewing in Sydney this week at Deutscher and Hackett, and on view at the firm’s Melbourne gallery from Thursday next week, is a large collection of Aboriginal art formed by US electronics executive Stephen Luczo, chairman of major disc drive producer Seagate Technologies in Silicon Valley, and active in charity and environmental issues.
Page 19: BHP Billiton has restated its commitment to its troubled US shale business, predicting it will generate more cash than conventional oil within five years as oil markets improve.
Hydropower giant Snowy Hydro is planning to shift 28 megawatts of diesel power plants from NSW to South Australia to reduce exposure to spiking power prices in the state, where the last baseload coal plant closed earlier this year.
Page 21: The outgoing managing director of much-hyped graphite player Syrah Resources says he does not have the skills to oversee the company’s transition from junior explorer to an operating miner.
The chief executive of $307 million takeover target Hellaby Holdings has labelled Australia’s largest car parts maker Bapcor a cheapskate and warned it needs to be prepared for a long and drawn-out tussle in the takeover battle for the New Zealand group.
Page 22: Electronics retailer Dick Smith copped criticism from auditor Deloitte for having a ‘‘whiteboard process’’ for accounting, which literally involved recording rebates on a whiteboard in an employee’s office.
South African retail giant Woolworths Holdings will roll out concession outlets in David Jones of men’s fashion chain Politix, in direct competition with Myer, after buying the Melbourne-based rag-trader for about $60 million.
Page 23: The most authoritative source of retail customer bank satisfaction data, which shows that Commonwealth Bank of Australia has been the big four leader almost exclusively since 2013, also reveals CBA is underperforming in the eyes of its mortgage customers.
Henderson Group’s $6 billion merger with Janus Capital has met a mixed reaction from analysts, who are questioning whether the combined group’s scale is enough to counter fee pressures facing the asset management industry.
Page 24: BHP Billiton has been named as a defendant in a new lawsuit in the US that alleges that nooses and Ku Klux Klan symbols were placed around work stations at a copper mine in Arizona.
Australia’s biggest iron ore producers shipped less than expected in the past three months, jeopardising their ability to meet full-year guidance, according to Macquarie Group.
Page 25: The rebalancing of the global salmon market has unlocked an opportunity for Australian producers to capitalise on recent supply disruptions and bring Tasmanian salmon to the world stage.
Page 26: Building the world’s next major iron ore hub has Vale SA investors applauding the prospect of higher earnings and a group of scorned politicians plotting to oust the company’s leader.
The Australian
Page 1: Australia’s big four banks are staging a dramatic retreat from making direct donations to political parties in a move that could deprive Labor and the Coalition of millions of dollars amid a growing dispute in parliament over regulating the finance industry.
Page 2: Foreign Investment Review Board chairman Brian Wilson has bowed to political pressure and delayed the start of a new job at the $180 billion Carlyle private equity group, and he will not be seeking reappointment to the body that blocks or approves foreign investment moves.
Page 3: Australia’s richest businesswoman Gina Rinehart is further expanding her cattle empire, buying 1000 of Australia’s most expensive breeding cows from globally renowned Victorian Wagyu breeder and meat producer David Blackmore.
Page 4: Independent contractors would be legally represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union under a plan to arrest the union’s declining membership by seeking rule changes.
Page 21: Troubled dairy processor Murray Goulburn is reconsidering plans to build a $300 million infant formula and nutritional powders plant at Koroit in Victoria’s western district.
Macquarie Media, home to shock jocks Alan Jones and Ray Hadley, is at risk of being pushed into a fire sale of its 2CH Sydney AM radio station, after breaching media control laws by failing to divest the asset.
Page 22: Australian private health insurers paid more than $1 billion to public hospitals last year, a jump of almost $100 million on the previous year.
Page 24: Twitter is expected to field bids this week, and Marc Benioff has been building a case to Salesforce.com, Salesforce.com investors and others that his company should be the buyer, sources say.
Samsung has revealed details of an initial public offering that could value Samsung BioLogics at up to $US8.2 billion ($10.7bn), as its drug-development subsidiary sought regulatory approval for a new cancer treatment.
Page 25: A little-known energy exploration company claims it has made a world-class oil discovery in remote Alaska, potentially breathing new life into the state’s declining North Slope.
The West Australian
Page 1: Five boards set up to oversee WA’s health services could cost more than $2.3 million a year, raising concerns the money would be better spent on cash-strapped hospitals.
Page 3: The State Government has rejected calls to reopen Perth’s shark fishery as a way of thinning out great white numbers, saying it would not work.
Page 4: State-owned power provider Synergy will start selling household battery storage devices from early next year but it will be more than a decade before customers make their money back.
Page 7: A 1477sqm slice of land in Fremantle has been earmarked for a new type of housing project that will sideline developers. The City of Fremantle-owned land will be sold to the group of people who can come up with the best plan for a new multi-home development for them to live in.
Page 9: The mining industry has struck back at the WA Nationals’ proposed $7.2 billion mining tax with the launch of a new website encouraging users to lobby their local MPs against it.
Page 10: One Nation senator Rod Culleton has failed in an “unusual” bid to stop a former Wesfarmers director from recouping the $205,000 he is owed over a farming deal.
Page 47: Independence Group has finally broken cover over its big plans for the Fraser Range, yesterday confirming long-running rumours it is stalking Windward Resources.
WA gold miners were last night holding their breath, hoping a rally in the price of the precious metal was not a dead-cat bounce.
Page 48: Lenders have given struggling resources contractor AusGroup a lifeline by extending $105 million debt for another two years.
Pakistani meat producer Tariq Butt has extended his buying spree in Wellard, snaring another 1.7 per cent of the live-export trader.
Page 49: Suncorp customers with a preference for face-to-face service will soon have no choice but to head into the central business district, with the Queensland lender all but quitting over-the-counter banking in WA.