Rivals circle Rinehart’s Kidman bid
Some of Australia’s wealthiest graziers including BRW Richlisters Tom and Pat Brinkworth and Sterling Buntine are challenging Gina Rinehart’s bid to secure Australia’s largest landholder, cattle company S.Kidman & Co. The Fin
Company tax cuts vital but senate to resist
The federal government is pushing its company tax package as key to the long-term salvation of the budget but admits privately it is likely to be severely curtailed by the Senate. The Fin
Super funds to enter activist investor game
Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz says superannuation funds are preparing to flex their financial muscle by using shareholder activists as a conduit to influence corporate outcomes for the first time, adding to the pressure on under-performing companies that are increasingly being targeted by offshore activist funds. The Fin
Investors back BHP on shale hedging
BHP Billiton shareholders have welcomed the company’s decision to trial hedging in its US shale division, with some saying they would be happy to see the tactic deployed across more of BHP’s shale business. The Fin
Fortescue picks up $1 mine from BC
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group will pay the Kerry Stokes-backed BC Iron just $1 for a 75 per cent interest in the mothballed Nullagine iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara, less than four years after it sold BC a 25 per cent stake in the project for $190 million. The Aus
3D data firm gets format right
Perth-based 3D data start-up Pointerra may not be a household name, but this relatively new entrant to the ASX is hoping its data as a service (DaaS) solution has what it takes to make a name for the outfit in the big, bold world of geospatial data. The Aus
GST woes ‘WA’s fault’
Two State treasurers have accused the Barnett Government of overseeing a “protected” economy, dramatically misreading the mining boom and now wanting the rest of the country to bail it out. The West
Spanish firm in $524m bid for UGL
UGL, the engineering and construction business taken under the wing of Italian-Australians in Kwinana in 1970, was last night mulling a $524 million takeover bid by the Spanish-controlled CIMIC. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The government’s prospects of passing two key industrial relations bills – including one to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission – have escalated after One Nation indicated it would support them on the basis that individual freedom should come before control.
Some of Australia’s wealthiest graziers including BRW Richlisters Tom and Pat Brinkworth and Sterling Buntine are challenging Gina Rinehart’s bid to secure Australia’s largest landholder, cattle company S.Kidman & Co.
Page 2: State treasurers have boasted about their healthy budgets before complaining that the federal government does not give them enough money.
Page 3: Life insurance companies will be less able to get out of claims based on out-of-date medical definitions, and surveilling children will be banned under the industry’s first code of conduct.
Unions are calling for the Fair Work Commission to set four-year targets for minimum wage increases to arrest growing inequality, with a ‘‘floor’’ proposed as 60 per cent of the median earnings by 2020.
Page 5: The federal government is pushing its company tax package as key to the long-term salvation of the budget but admits privately it is likely to be severely curtailed by the Senate.
Australia needs to improve the productivity of its health and aged-care sectors if it is to avoid them becoming a drag on national income growth, and to allow an increase in the income of workers in the sector, the head of the Prime Minister’s Department, Martin Parkinson, says.
Page 6: The Coalition government has suggested mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s joint bid for the Kidman empire has a good chance of receiving foreign investment approval due to the proposed structure of the bid and a commitment to developing the property.
It has taken three offers, sponsorship of an AFL team and 18 months of work for property developer Shanghai CRED to emerge as the final Chinese bidder for cattle company S.Kidman & Co.
Page 9: The power blackout that caused the Whyalla steelworks to be without full power for 12 days is understood to have cost the administrators up to $30 million in extra imposts, but serious damage has been averted.
Page 10: Samsung has suspended production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following reports of fires in replacement devices, South Korean media said on Monday, a further setback for the tech giant trying to manage its worst phone recall crisis.
Page 12: When Australian businesses operating in South-east Asia were surveyed about the economic outlook earlier this year they came back with a paradoxical result on the region’s infrastructure.
Page 13: Sydney-based chemical engineer Jord International has turned into a globe-trotting business from its initial success with small scale metal fabrication partnerships in south-east Asia.
Page 14: After taking over our private lives, Facebook is now invading businesses in an attempt to counter enterprise social media platforms such as Microsoft’s Yammer, Slack and Salesforce’s Chatter.
Page 15: Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz says superannuation funds are preparing to flex their financial muscle by using shareholder activists as a conduit to influence corporate outcomes for the first time, adding to the pressure on under-performing companies that are increasingly being targeted by offshore activist funds.
The fate of a $524 million takeover bid for engineering contractor UGL will rest on whether the company is past the worst of cost blowouts associated with its contracts to build the Ichthys LNG plant in Darwin.
A $600 million reversal in fortunes at Wesfarmers’ resources business may enable the conglomerate to exit the volatile coal industry at a respectable price and focus on its retail operations.
Page 17: Shares in medical technology firm LBT Innovations surged on Monday after the company received an important approval from the United States.
The country’s second-largest wine company is making a return to bottling wine in South Australia with a $40 million investment in a winery at Berri in the state’s Riverland as it heads towards a $1 billion-plus ASX listing early in 2017.
Page 18: The gas pipeline industry is stepping up its fight against the threat of increased regulation, arguing that new gas trading hubs and plans to start trading spare pipeline capacity should be given a chance to help ease the east coast supply squeeze.
Rio Tinto has hinted that the problems plaguing its autonomous haulage equipment are being overcome, with the miner’s new iron ore chief saying the technology is now performing as expected.
A majority stake in a small Pilbara iron ore mine once worth as much has $570 million has been sold to Fortescue Metals Group for $1.
Page 19: National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn said he was ‘‘paranoid’’ about ensuring the next banking scandal did not rear its ugly head after continuing to insist there was no systemic cultural problems at the bank.
The Treasurer is right to acknowledge that the effectiveness of monetary policy is almost exhausted, according to economists weighing up potential fiscal policy steps.
Page 20: BHP Billiton shareholders have welcomed the company’s decision to trial hedging in its US shale division, with some saying they would be happy to see the tactic deployed across more of BHP’s shale business.
The head of Telstra’s networks business says the company’s 5G network will be crucial to underpinning the next phase of growth in areas such as cloud computing, augmented and virtual reality, and the internet of things.
The Australian
Page 2: After rejecting an offer to keep the state’s only coal-fired baseload power station operating because it would have cost tens of millions of dollars in subsidies, the South Australian government is offering $10 million in grants for companies to develop driverless car technology.
Page 4: Employer groups say the Fair Work Act is making it extremely difficult to deal with thousands of people arriving at work under the influence of ice every day.
Page 5: An ugly fight over who should pay to stop fraud in the family day-care sector threatens to swamp the next education ministers council, with one state minister warning rorts worth more than $1 billion will continue unless the federal government invests in prevention.
Australia’s trucking magnate says our politicians need to take some risks Lindsay Fox has urged Australia’s political leaders to take greater risks and adopt a Moneyball approach towards fixing one of the most intractable and costly problems facing our capital cities: road congestion.
Page 6: The superannuation liabilities of state governments have blown out almost 20 per cent over the past year to more than $125 billion.
Page 19: Big companies make bad decisions, a top fund manager warns. The big end of town should increase the proportion of profits paid to shareholders in dividends so investors can allocate the capital rather than suffer the pain of watching boards make more poor investment decisions, according to Regal Funds Management’s Phil King.
Page 21: BHP Billiton has identified stronger growth in renewables and the rise of electric vehicles as key changes in the past 12 months in its long-term business impact assessment of climate change policies.
One of the Australian stockmarket’s most reclusive and enigmatic figures, Rand Mining and Tribune Resources managing director Anton Billis, will share in a $700,000-plus payout after winning a defamation action against an online troll.
A small Australian stem cell company is leading the world in the race to develop cells on a commercial scale and its chief Ross Macdonald says he is proud to “wave the flag” to show the country has a seat on the global stage.
Page 22: Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group will pay the Kerry Stokes-backed BC Iron just $1 for a 75 per cent interest in the mothballed Nullagine iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara, less than four years after it sold BC a 25 per cent stake in the project for $190 million.
Page 23: Moody’s has sounded the alarm on “pockets of distress” in the commercial property sector, potentially seeing the big banks’ renewed interest backfire at the same time an apartment building boom threatens inflated residential property prices.
Page 24: China has vowed to cut red tape and ease rules for foreign investors in a bid to boost the economy and counter a decline in private investment.
Page 27: Australia’s ETF sector shows no signs of slowing. In fact, Australian investors can now access more international markets and investment thematics than ever before through close to 130 ASX-listed exchange-traded funds.
Page 29: Perth-based 3D data start-up Pointerra may not be a household name, but this relatively new entrant to the ASX is hoping its data as a service (DaaS) solution has what it takes to make a name for the outfit in the big, bold world of geospatial data.
The West Australian
Page 1: Two State treasurers have accused the Barnett Government of overseeing a “protected” economy, dramatically misreading the mining boom and now wanting the rest of the country to bail it out.
Page 12: Treasurer and Energy Minister Mike Nahan says it is “hypocritical” for WA Labor and unions to campaign against privatising Western Power because union-controlled industry superannuation funds have invested in privatised energy assets in other States.
Page 20: A WA businessman whose company is in liquidation owing $16 million has emerged as the fly in the ointment of a $300 million deal by Chinese gold play Hanking Holdings.
Page 41: UGL, the engineering and construction business taken under the wing of Italian-Australians in Kwinana in 1970, was last night mulling a $524 million takeover bid by the Spanish-controlled CIMIC.
Michael Fotios has given up on his hopes of securing a sizeable stake of Windward Resources after his proposed investment was trumped by a takeover offer from Independence Group last week.
Oil and gas producer Origin Energy has shipped the first cargo from the second of its two production trains at its Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas facility in north Queensland.
Page 42: Australia’s migration policy is too rigid and nowhere near responsive enough to the needs of business, a group of industry experts has warned. Recent figures reveal 21,877 skilled migrants came to WA in 2015-16, when the State’s unemployed hit 44,700.
Page 44: Aircraft anti-crack technology company Structural Monitoring Systems continued its stellar share-price run yesterday after declaring it was ready to “exploit” commercial opportunities.