ASIC urges more bank competition
Corporate regulator Greg Medcraft has called for more competition in Australia’s banking system, urging the big four banks to help borrowers compare their home loans by introducing mortgages that track the Reserve Bank’s cash rate. The Fin
New attack on Grylls’ mine tax
Mining industry leaders have used their annual dinner in Canberra to attack WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls’ mining tax plan. A day after his memo to iron ore managers criticising the Nationals’ mining tax was revealed, Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Chris Salisbury doubled down in front of an audience that included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Resources Minister Matt Canavan. The West
Joyce open to all-Australian syndicate bid
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has pledged to keep out of the sale process for Australia’s largest landholder S.Kidman & Co because of his relationship with Gina Rinehart. The Fin
Forrest: The worst is behind us
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest has declared that the nation is close to the end of a five-year slump in commodity prices that has skewered successive government efforts to repair the federal budget. The Fin
Metcash vows to share hardware merger wins
Metcash chief executive Ian Morrice has flagged a new era of growth in the independent hardware sector as the wholesaler reaps the benefits of merging Mitre 10 and Home Timber & Hardware, creating a $2 billion network capable of holding its own against Bunnings. The Fin
Macmahon hit by Nigeria exit
Shares in beleaguered mining services company Macmahon Holdings tumbled 8 per cent after it informed investors of plans to exit Nigeria, while it continues to struggle to contain costs at Newcrest’s Telfer gold project in Western Australia. The Aus
Freight route limbo until poll
Colin Barnett says it is unlikely the Government will decide on the route of the Perth Freight Link west of Stock Road until after the March State election, opening the door for Labor to mount a scare campaign in the critical seat of Bicton. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Corporate regulator Greg Medcraft has called for more competition in Australia’s banking system, urging the big four banks to help borrowers compare their home loans by introducing mortgages that track the Reserve Bank’s cash rate.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken a thinly veiled swipe at plans by the West Australian Nationals to impose a $5 levy on every tonne of iron ore, saying it would reduce the competitiveness of the mining sector and cost jobs and investment.
Page 3: The legislated objective of the $2 trillion superannuation system should not include references to achieving ‘‘comfort’’ or ‘‘adequacy’’ because it would open the way to constant political interference, David Murray says.
On Wednesday, the High Court sent the balcony hopes of former Thiess boss Martin Albrecht crashing when it ruled his body corporate was entitled to refuse his bid to take common air space to join two balconies of his unit in the Noosa Heads complex.
Page 5: Life insurance companies will be forced to release data on the number of claims they reject as part of an Australian Investment and Securities Commission crackdown on the troubled industry.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has pledged to keep out of the sale process for Australia’s largest landholder S.Kidman & Co because of his relationship with Gina Rinehart.
Page 6: Coal prices are soaring and so is the optimism in the Queensland coalfields, but don’t think the people of Collinsville will be getting carried away by news that Glencore will reopen their local mine.
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest has declared that the nation is close to the end of a five-year slump in commodity prices that has skewered successive government efforts to repair the federal budget.
Page 7: Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Australia and Singapore have a joint economic interest in ensuring regional tensions between the United States and China do not spiral out of control.
Page 10: Construction union leader Brian Parker has been re-nominated to head the NSW union and promoted accused official Darren Greenfield to assistant secretary, despite the pair facing potential criminal charges as a result of adverse findings by the Royal Commission into union corruption.
Page 11: Twitter has signed a deal to live-stream the Melbourne Cup next month – the first sports rights deal outside the US for the technology company – and has flagged acquiring more content in Australia and around the world.
Page 12: Double-digit growth in car sales, the first pick-up in rail freight volumes for almost three years and an upbeat speech from Premier Li Keqiang has set the scene for better than expected Chinese data due out next week.
Samsung Electronics needs to quickly find the cause of the fires that led to it pulling its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and get a new model to market, investors said on Wednesday, as shares in the company slipped to a one-month low.
Page 14: The generation that has grown up with digital technologies has a preference for tech investments and trades investments from their smartphones rather than a PC or laptop. But when it comes to trading volumes, it’s the Baby Boomers with their vast resources that are leading the investment pack.
Page 15: Markets appear to be less than concerned about a potential victory by Republican candidate Donald Trump in the coming US presidential election after his troubles during the campaign.
Page 17: Metcash chief executive Ian Morrice has flagged a new era of growth in the independent hardware sector as the wholesaler reaps the benefits of merging Mitre 10 and Home Timber & Hardware, creating a $2 billion network capable of holding its own against Bunnings.
Investors say incoming Commonwealth Bank of Australia chairman Catherine Livingstone’s experience as a political operator makes her a solid choice to lead the board of the nation’s largest bank at a time of heightened scrutiny by governments and regulators.
It was 3.30pm on Tuesday when the Vocus Communications board of directors descended on the company’s Flinders Street headquarters in Melbourne’s CBD.
Page 19: Private equity firm TPG could pocket as much as $1.1 billion dollars from floating the nation’s biggest chicken producer, Ingham’s, on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Listed law firm Slater & Gordon is facing a class action that is $100 million bigger than its market cap, but it is unlikely to drive the law firm to insolvency, says Maurice Blackburn.
Page 20: The ANZ and NAB are the best bets for investors in the banking sector over the next 12 months in an overall sharemarket which may only creep ahead by about 5 per cent by late 2017, says the head of Australian equities for global investment giant T.Rowe Price.
Strong interest in Australia’s first 30-year bond has raised $7.6 billion from investors after the historic issue attracted bids totalling almost double that amount.
Page 21: The Bank of Hangzhou, a regional Chinese lender 20 per cent owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has been forced to scale back its sharemarket listing as regulators push for smaller floats and investors shy away from the sector.
Banks should extend whistleblower protections to service providers, suppliers and staff who assist with investigations initiated by whistleblowers, according to a review of bank policies commissioned by the Australian Bankers’ Association as part of its efforts to improve industry culture.
Magellan Financial chief executive Hamish Douglass has withdrawn a $10 million crazy or death payout, amid an investor backlash ahead of the company’s shareholder meeting on Thursday.
Page 22: Profit margins in Australian supermarkets are double those at British retailer Tesco even though Coles and Woolworths have invested more than $1 billion into food and grocery prices over the last year.
The Queensland Competition Authority has knocked back coal miner Glencore’s request to lower the cost of using rail links running into the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal, arguing it would discourage future investment in infrastructure.
Page 23: The grains of optimism starting to filter through oil markets are doing little for Santos, where investor sentiment is being increasingly clouded by concerns that the new $US18.5 billion GLNG project in Queensland will run short of gas.
BHP Billiton says it does not believe there is a need for a new levy to help support coal miners who have contracted black lung, after the first case of the disease discovered at an open-cut coal mine in Australia was confirmed at one of its mines.
Virgin Australia’s two big Chinese shareholders, HNA Group and Nanshan Group, have nominated representatives to join the airline’s board.
The Australian
Page 1: The federal government is preparing the next step in its mammoth welfare overhaul after receiving early proof that its stricter rules on payments are delivering results, with a confidential report showing reductions in alcohol-fuelled violence and other social gains from the new approach.
Page 4: The federal department that is meant to help Australian business is pouring almost half its budget into its own administration, leaving taxpayers with a $150 million annual bill before a cent has been spent on expanding local employment opportunities.
Page 6: The Liberal Party’s falling-out with the Business Council of Australia has taken a new turn, with a party powerbroker pushing to establish a pro-business enterprise unit within the Menzies Research Centre, blaming the BCA’s failure to influence public opinion during the federal election campaign.
Page 19: Lachlan Murdoch’s key lieutenant Siobhan McKenna will be appointed to the Foxtel board, a move that comes at a critical time for the subscription TV major as it positions itself to better compete against internet-based streaming services such as Netflix.
CSL chairman John Shine and chief executive Paul Perreault have closed out the company’s centenary year by arguing the case for more generous executive salaries, after shareholders logged a protest vote against the board’s remuneration plans.
Page 21: British oil giant BP has begun discussions with federal authorities on what commitments it needs to make to preserve its good standing in the Australian oil exploration and production industry after its shock withdrawal from a $1.4 billion exploration program in the Great Australian Bight.
The chief executive of one of the world’s biggest lithium companies says the wave of new supply being developed to meet the red-hot lithium market will take longer to materialise than expected.
The nation’s power market operator is advancing work on the effect of Australia’s emissions reduction commitment and renewable energy target on electricity grid infrastructure, amid fresh predictions that big investments will be needed as wind and solar farms proliferate.
Page 22: Australia’s leading media executives will be dragged before a senate hearing for the second time in six months, as a new committee examines the Turnbull government’s industry reform bill.
Shares in beleaguered mining services company Macmahon Holdings tumbled 8 per cent after it informed investors of plans to exit Nigeria, while it continues to struggle to contain costs at Newcrest’s Telfer gold project in Western Australia.
Oil production by OPEC hit a record 33.6 million barrels a day last month, reviving concerns a global glut could persist well into next year unless the cartel acts decisively to curtail output next month.
After several months of major international news stories, newspaper readership tailed off in August. The figures come after a bounce a month earlier when issues such as the federal election, Brexit and terrorist attacks in Europe boosted readership at the nation’s major mastheads.
Page 24: Japan’s parliament has passed an extra spending package to get Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic revival plan back on track, but the Japanese leader is already facing calls to do more.
Aluminium maker Alcoa has cut its forecast for its aero-space focused division and reported a decline in revenue, sending its shares tumbling and underscoring challenges facing the company as it prepares to split into two firms.
The West Australian
Page 7: Colin Barnett says it is unlikely the Government will decide on the route of the Perth Freight Link west of Stock Road until after the March State election, opening the door for Labor to mount a scare campaign in the critical seat of Bicton.
Perth homeowners could face another two years of pain with predictions house prices will not stabilise until 2019 and an oversupply of properties will weigh on the market even longer.
Page 18: Hillary Clinton’s campaign was worried about the “hard balance” she would need to strike as the presidential candidate prepared to oppose a Pacific trade pact she once supported, according to leaked emails.
Page 20: A surging gold price drove the Perth Mint to a record pre-tax profit of more than $41 million last year and there is now more than $3 billion of precious metal locked in the Mint’s vault.
Page 45: The Building Commission has taken the unusual step of engaging a professional services firm to help investigate Diploma Group.
Mining industry leaders have used their annual dinner in Canberra to attack WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls’ mining tax plan. A day after his memo to iron ore managers criticising the Nationals’ mining tax was revealed, Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Chris Salisbury doubled down in front of an audience that included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Resources Minister Matt Canavan.
Page 46: The laws governing who pays what for their electricity need to be changed urgently before any market reform can be achieved, according to the people who control WA’s energy market.