Morning Headlines

NXT nixes big business tax cuts

The Turnbull government’s plan to deliver a 25 per cent company tax rate within a decade appears doomed with South Australian senator Nick Xenophon confirming his team will not back a reduction for any firm with an annual turnover of more than $10 million. The Fin

Lowe maps out his low-inflation battle

Philip Lowe has used his first speech as Reserve Bank of Australia governor to express growing certainty Australia won’t fall into the low inflation trap that has left Japan and Europe at risk of perpetual economic weakness. The Fin

Grylls turns up heat on BHP and Rio

Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls has accused BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto of failing to meet investment obligations required in state agreements as he ratchets up pressure to impose a $7.2 billion mining tax on the world’s two biggest miners. The Fin

Investors want value in Tatts-Tabcorp merger

Investors say any merger talks between gaming giants Tabcorp and Tatts Group need to finds ways to unlock the value of Tatts’ strongly performing lotteries business. The Fin

Coles hits Woolies with new LiquorMarket

Coles has thrown down the gauntlet to Woolworths’ Dan Murphy’s, launching a new liquor store format that promises to take the guesswork out of buying cheap booze while beating advertised prices at rival chains. The Fin

CFMEU stung for $8m over worksite tactics

The nation’s peak construction union has incurred a huge $8.3 million in fines from its illegal behaviour on building sites, according to court rulings that heighten the dispute over laws that could curb its power and leave it exposed to more powerful sanctions. The Aus

Grain glut to hit global market

Harvests are under way of what are projected to be the largest corn and soybean crops in US history, which soon will hit a global market already sitting on the largest ever grain stockpiles. The Aus

Western Power in share float

WA mums and dads could buy shares in Western Power under a privatisation plan that would lead to the poles and wires company being listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The West

Deadline for Ponzi accused

The Federal Court has ordered a Pilbara property developer accused of running what may be a $190 million Ponzi scheme to hand over financial details of her business within a week. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Turnbull government’s plan to deliver a 25 per cent company tax rate within a decade appears doomed with South Australian senator Nick Xenophon confirming his team will not back a reduction for any firm with an annual turnover of more than $10 million.

The Crown Resorts staff detained for ‘‘gambling crimes’’ in China are facing around 16 months in jail based on sentences in an earlier case against foreign casino operators.

Page 2: Former Treasurer Peter Costello has bought into the Liberal Party’s falling out with the Business Council of Australia with a withering review of the BCA’s calls for company income tax cuts, which he described as lacking funding, balance or coherent policy.

Page 3: The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is becoming more sophisticated in its unlawful behaviour and is increasingly targeting major builders in multiple sites across all cities, the industry watchdog says.

Page 4: Low interest rates are one of the biggest drivers of social inequality and are seriously distorting the housing market in Australia, according to a distinguished panel in Sydney on Tuesday.

Philip Lowe has used his first speech as Reserve Bank of Australia governor to express growing certainty Australia won’t fall into the low inflation trap that has left Japan and Europe at risk of perpetual economic weakness.

Page 5: Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour has come under fire for complaining that his 50-year-old workers are more interested in retirement than learning new skills.

Apartment prices are headed for a major shakeout that will almost certainly create contagion into the broader property market, says Stephen Walters, one of Australia’s most experienced economists.

Page 6: Uncertainty is clouding the government’s two industrial relations bills, with a new Family First contender warning he will not be a rubber stamp and crossbencher David Leyonhjelm saying his support is in question after Malcolm Turnbull ruled out his demand to lift the importation ban on the rapid-fire Adler shotgun.

Page 7: Trade creditors are owed at least $12.5 million in the collapse of Bob Day’s Home Australia group of building companies, with the $2 billion ASX-listed Brickworks among the hundreds of suppliers and trades people facing a grim outlook.

Page 8: Changes to regulatory hurdles to encourage fledgling banks to challenge the dominance of the big four are among the recommendations a parliamentary committee is likely to put to the government.

Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls has accused BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto of failing to meet investment obligations required in state agreements as he ratchets up pressure to impose a $7.2 billion mining tax on the world’s two biggest miners.

The prudential regulator will investigate the pay structures of senior banking executives after finding that some banks’ strategy of chasing growth and market share allowed mortgage loan standards to slip.

Page 10: The Weet-Bix brand of breakfast cereal is getting the chop in China and will be rebadged as Nutri-Brex as owner Sanitarium takes a punt that a sharp spike in sales driven by the same ‘‘clean and green’’ demand for Australian vitamins will continue to accelerate.

Page 13: Investors say any merger talks between gaming giants Tabcorp and Tatts Group need to finds ways to unlock the value of Tatts’ strongly performing lotteries business.

Michael Hintze, the billionaire founder of London-based credit hedge fund CQS, said Britain faced risks if it chose to leave or stay but his support of the controversial vote was "all about sovereignty and the ability to control one's destiny".

Page 15: New Aurizon chief executive Andrew Harding has been charged with slashing costs further at the rail group, chairman Tim Poole says, warning it is ‘‘hard to tell’’ if rebounding coal prices are sustainable.

Nathan Tinkler says a fall in the coal price to below the break-even price of Chinese coal miners convinced him to make the investments that have, on paper at least, made him a millionaire once more.

Chinese high rollers will be put off visiting James Packer’s Crown Resorts properties in the next 12 to 18 months, but Monday’s share price slump was an overreaction, analysts have said.

Page 16: Energy companies are on the cusp of ‘‘an epic battle’’ with technology companies, thanks to the inexorable rise of renewable energy and smart home systems, says Citigroup’s global head of energy strategy.

Pressure to raise more capital from an arms race with banks overseas is easing, say treasurers from two of the big four banks, as global bank regulators put a higher priority on boosting economic growth.

Page 17: Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief executive Ian Narev says the application of monetary policy by global central banks has created ‘‘endemic volatility’’ in financial markets that makes it even more important for Australia’s banks to maintain strong profits in order to buttress the economy from heightened risks.

‘‘Close-minded’’ proxy advisers are stripping Australia’s top companies of vital know-how by insisting on a majority of independent directors at the expense of industry expertise, outgoing chairman of Mortgage Choice and veteran businessman Peter Ritchie warns.

Page 18: Coles has thrown down the gauntlet to Woolworths’ Dan Murphy’s, launching a new liquor store format that promises to take the guesswork out of buying cheap booze while beating advertised prices at rival chains.

Vodafone Hutchison Australia will launch its own fixed-line services on the national broadband network now the rollout is nearing a scale that makes sense for the telco to enter the market.

Caltex Australia has revealed it could lose its 3.5 billion litres per year contract to supply petrol and diesel to Woolworths unless it is successful in beating off rivals to acquire the supermarket’s circa $1.6 billion fuels retailing network.

Page 27: One of the world’s top sharemarket strategists sees the ‘‘dividend cash cows’’ – utilities and telco stocks – arriving at an inflection point but not an obvious sell signal as yields in the bond market rise.

Scott Farquhar-backed operational health and safety mobile app start-up SafetyCulture has closed a $30 million capital raising led by international venture capital firm Index Ventures.

The Australian dollar is likely to hit US85¢ within five years and could trade as high as US90¢ because interest rates in the United States aren’t going to rise as much as expected, according to one of the world’s bigger private equity funds.

Super funds are reducing their exposure to local equities amid uncertainty about the outlook, instead favouring cash and searching for yield elsewhere including offshore, in infrastructure and unlisted property.

Page 29: Westfield Corporation should start to grow its earnings per share in the 2017 calendar year ‘‘after a decade of false starts’’ according to Morgan Stanley.

Page 31: US data centre giant Equinix is stepping up its expansion through Australia, with a $100 million plan to build a facility at Melbourne’s Fisherman’s Bend.

The Australian

Page 1: Health funds will be under pressure to rein in insurance premiums after Health Minister Sussan Ley today reveals cuts of $86 million a year to the price of medical implants such as artificial knees, hips and pacemakers.

Page 2: Pay rises are becoming rarer and smaller with more than a third of jobs having increases of less than 2 per cent or actual pay cuts over the past year, new Reserve Bank analysis shows.

Page 4: The nation’s peak construction union has incurred a huge $8.3 million in fines from its illegal behaviour on building sites, according to court rulings that heighten the dispute over laws that could curb its power and leave it exposed to more powerful sanctions.

Page 7: Customers of Family First senator Bob Day’s collapsed Home Australia building group have called on the corporate regulator to investigate whether the company traded while insolvent.

Page 19: The prudential regulator has started risk-culture pilot reviews in a bid to minimise industry losses and threats to financial stability, foreshadowing yesterday that it would scrutinise firms much more closely if they have shortcomings in their risk management practices.

Page 21: Junior mining and exploration companies are still capital-constrained despite the boost to commodity prices since mid-January. And because more than half expect they will need to raise funds within the next six months, competition for investor capital is expected to remain “very tight”, according to the latest annual survey of the sector (Jumex) by Grant Thornton.

Australia’s army of self-managed super funds are increasingly turning to rare Argyle pink diamonds as an investment as prices for the stones continue to rise.

Page 22: Cochlear chairman Rick Holliday-Smith has warned the global hearing specialist could look overseas for future research and development investment if the Turnbull government accepts changes to a tax incentive.

Telstra is keeping the executive head-hunters busy, with another senior executive leaving the company. The latest talent to walk out the door is chief information security officer Mike Burgess, who will finish his three-year tenure on November 4.

Page 23: Almost 80 per cent of Mortgage Choice shareholders voted against the board’s remuneration report yesterday, the strongest vote recorded against an ASX300 company in history and the third “strike” in as many years for the nation’s biggest mortgage broker.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has left the door open to a further interest rate cut, saying coming inflation data remains important for policymakers, while expressing concern over falling inflation expectations.

Page 24: Caterpillar chairman and chief executive Doug Oberhelman will retire early, leaving company veteran Jim Umpleby to battle a historic sales slump after ill-timed bets on China and mining equipment.

Page 25: Harvests are under way of what are projected to be the largest corn and soybean crops in US history, which soon will hit a global market already sitting on the largest ever grain stockpiles.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA mums and dads could buy shares in Western Power under a privatisation plan that would lead to the poles and wires company being listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Page 6: WA is rebelling against Commonwealth attempts to close a big area of the State’s shark fishery, arguing it would increase the risk of shark attacks and slash the availability of locally caught seafood.

Page 10: Brendon Grylls has pledged to foist his new mining tax on BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto without their consent, claiming the miners breached their State agreements by allowing Pilbara towns to fall into disrepair.

Page 11: Three South West farmers are being investigated by the Department of Environmental Regulation over allegations of dumping milk.

Page 14: Malcolm Turnbull has belatedly ruled out trading the relaxation of gun laws for a crossbench senator’s support to reinstate a union-busting watchdog.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is likely to be in Perth next month, with local businesses to use the historic event to press for new export deals for cattle, resources and agriculture.

Page 16: Live music promoters have slammed a Federal Government plan to increase visa fees for big international acts, warning the “fun tax” will jack up ticket prices and could prevent artists from touring Australia.

Page 31: The Federal Court has ordered a Pilbara property developer accused of running what may be a $190 million Ponzi scheme to hand over financial details of her business within a week.

Australia’s peak boardroom body says it needs to get better at explaining the role of company directors if they are to overcome persistent negative stereotyping as cigar-chomping fat cats.

Three dissident shareholders of Empire Oil and Gas have put themselves up for election to the company’s board at next month’s annual meeting.

Page 33: Enforceable undertakings have opened Co-operative Bulk Handling to further competition, loosening its hold on the State’s lucrative grain freight business.

Page 34: Telstra is pushing hard to take the lead in the long-running race to build a new Perth-to-Singapore submarine internet cable, hinting it is ready to hit the accelerator on the project.

Page 35: Poorly designed multi-level residential eyesores are officially over under flexible design guidelines to be released for public comment by Planning Minister Donna Faragher today.

Embattled industrial property owners have added flexibility to their cache of tenant touting techniques, with JLL’s Brett Mathanda conceding industrial owners in the badly affected northern corridor had been forced to adapt.

Page 86: Perth’s CBD office market has the dubious distinction of being the nation’s worst third-quarter performer, with JLL Research showing its 24.7 per cent vacancy rate at double the national average of 12 per cent.