Morning Headlines

Inflation rise could blindside investors

Investors and households betting that official interest rates are still on a downward path could be blindsided by a potential rebound in third-quarter inflation driven by higher commodity prices. The Fin

States say look at negative gearing

The states have welcomed the prospect of federal government payments in return for increasing housing supply but argue Canberra must also do its bit for affordability by looking at curbing capital gains tax exemptions and negative gearing. The Fin

After Ausgrid, ex-ANZ chief calls for ‘no-go’ list

Former ANZ chief executive Mike Smith has called for a list of critical infrastructure that Australia is unlikely to sell to foreign investors, following decisions to block Chinese bids for Ausgrid and S. Kidman & Co. The Fin

NAB may hold the line on dividends

Banking analysts are split over whether or not National Australia Bank will move to cut its dividend when it hands down its full-year results on Thursday. The Fin

Leaked sub secrets key to Aussie fleet, says builder

The Turnbull government’s claim that the $50 billion future submarine project will not be hurt by the massive leak of confidential data from French submarine builder DCNS has been undermined by the architect who will build the boats. The Aus

Casinos hit as arrests rattle $10bn plans

Australia’s casino operators hit new lows on the local bourse yesterday as fresh questions were raised about the impact the arrest in China of 18 staff from the James Packer-backed Crown Resorts will have on a planned $10 billion outlay on new and upgraded local resorts. The Aus

Gold rush on again as price lures explorers

The first concrete sign has emerged that WA’s mining industry is shaking off the malaise at the heart of the State’s economic troubles, with exploration activity surging. The West

Unions say WA power cheaper

Unions have hit back at Treasurer Mike Nahan’s claim that their opposition to privatisation of Western Power is hypocritical, saying retail power prices are higher in States with private utilities than in WA. The West

$5.2b price tag put on Alinta sale

Alinta Energy has been valued at up to $5.2 billion ahead of its planned float, with brokers citing Kleenheat’s grab for customers and a lawsuit from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project among the investment risks. The West

 

 

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is proposing to force residential mortgage lenders to extract more detailed information on borrowers’ incomes and expenses and to toughen the requirements for interest only loans and property investments in self-managed super funds.

Page 2: Silicon Valley has lost its way, the pace in Australia is too slow, and the corporate model of research and development is broken, Adrian Turner, chief executive of Data61, the big data unit of the CSIRO, says.

Page 3: Investors and households betting that official interest rates are still on a downward path could be blindsided by a potential rebound in third-quarter inflation driven by higher commodity prices.

Australia’s post-war level of inequality is at a historical high and public policy should be geared towards addressing the widening inequality, says a French economist and author of best-selling economics book Capital in the Twenty-First Century.

Page 4: The states have welcomed the prospect of federal government payments in return for increasing housing supply but argue Canberra must also do its bit for affordability by looking at curbing capital gains tax exemptions and negative gearing.

Page 5: Family First senator Bob Day will postpone his resignation for several weeks, ensuring he can vote for the government’s bills to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and to establish a Registered Organisations Commission.

One Nation will back the Coalition’s bills to cut so-called ‘‘double-dipping’’ of paid parental leave, handing the government the largest share of votes from the new Senate crossbench.

Page 7: Crown Resorts has hired a small corporate law firm in Shanghai to defend its 18 detained staff against likely criminal charges in China, a move that has surprised many in the legal fraternity.

Former ANZ chief executive Mike Smith has called for a list of critical infrastructure that Australia is unlikely to sell to foreign investors, following decisions to block Chinese bids for Ausgrid and S. Kidman & Co.

Page 8: IT services giant Accenture has won a contract valued at $19.9 million to provide new data collection systems for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as part of a broader transformation program under way at the agency.

Page 10: For Rupert Murdoch the news of AT&T’s $US85 billion ($112 billion) deal to buy Time Warner is a sharp reminder of what pursuing his family succession plan has cost him.

Page 11: The chief executives of Australia’s biggest television broadcasters say the shockwaves from AT&T’s blockbuster bid for Time Warner will reverberate in Australia as telecommunications companies up the ante in the battle for content.

Bravura Solutions is proof that fintech is one of Australia’s unheralded export successes. At least that’s the view of chief executive Tony Klim, who says his company’s return to the ranks of the ASX will show it is possible to build an internationally successful fintech business based in Australia.

Page 14: Uncompetitive prices for transporting gas on the east coast are preventing gas flowing to customers that need it and putting a damper on trading, Shell says.

Amit Lodha, a global portfolio manager at Fidelity, had a high conviction moment when he learnt of the effect a Kendall Jenner Instagram story had on lipstick sales at one of his holdings, the cosmetics manufacturer Estee Lauder.

Page 15: The 200-store Tradelink network may be the next hardware and building products business to have a new owner if its performance does not improve by the end of 2016-17.

Banking analysts are split over whether or not National Australia Bank will move to cut its dividend when it hands down its full-year results on Thursday.

Alison Watkins’ promise to double cost cuts to $200 million has done nothing to reassure investors, with the Coca-Cola Amatil chief unable to prevent a sharp drop in the stock on Monday.

John Skippen, the chairman of embattled law firm Slater & Gordon, has retired from the board of Super Retail Group. Mr Skippen, who was set to face opposition from proxy advisors after his re-election to the board, informed his fellow directors of his decision on Monday ahead of the company’s annual general meeting, and it was announced to the market as the meeting began.

Page 19: Telstra’s chief scientist says the telco is betting on artificial intelligence on mobile phones being huge in 2017, and believes Google and Apple are in prime position to dominate it, despite the best efforts of competitors such as Samsung, Microsoft and Amazon.

Nick Bell formed his website hosting business only a year ago, but the serial entrepreneur believes it can grow quickly to become the biggest part of his empire, already worth an estimated $68 million.

One of Australia’s largest law firms, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has struck a deal to take a 50 per cent stake in the Asia Pacific operations of Canadian artificial intelligence start-up Beagle, which automates contract analysis.

Page 20: A new ‘‘Instagram for cars’’ app created by an Australian entrepreneur is preparing to list on the ASX early next year, after a planned $5 million to $8 million capital raising.

Peer-to-peer marketplace for elderly and disability care services, Better Caring, has closed a $3 million funding round, which will help it take advantage of regulatory changes in the space to give the disabled more control over their finances.

 

 

The Australian

Page 1: The Turnbull government is moving to stop vexatious litigation blocking Australian resources projects and to clamp down on environmental “charity” groups as revelations of a foreign-funded, orchestrated activist campaign against development spreads to India.

Page 2: The Turnbull government’s claim that the $50 billion future submarine project will not be hurt by the massive leak of confidential data from French submarine builder DCNS has been undermined by the architect who will build the boats.

Almost all members of teams in China hired to promote casino resorts have left the country since the arrest 11 days ago of 18 Crown employees, an industry source has revealed.

Page 4: Welfare recipients did not lose a cent last year for flouting rules that require them to look for jobs when they have the capacity to work, according to a government analysis that intensifies a row over the obligations on jobseekers.

Page 5: Labor Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen will launch major policy plans to tighten Australia’s $15 billion relationship with Indonesia, backing a free-trade deal and a new annual dialogue out of concern at the “scandalously low” engagement between the countries.

The battle by four large cattle families to buy the Kidman empire is intensifying, with the all-Australian consortium accusing the S Kidman and Co board of favouring the earlier rival bid by mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and China’s Shanghai CRED.

Page 6: Fears over the imminent closure of Victoria’s Hazelwood power station have deepened with a French newspaper reporting that the board of majority owner Engie has agreed to shut the Latrobe Valley coal-fired plant.

The system of distributing revenue from the goods and services tax should be changed to reward states that make economic reforms, according to a senior NSW minister.

Page 19: Australia’s casino operators hit new lows on the local bourse yesterday as fresh questions were raised about the impact the arrest in China of 18 staff from the James Packer-backed Crown Resorts will have on a planned $10 billion outlay on new and upgraded local resorts.

Banks have been warned against chasing home loans by emulating the relaxed lending policies of rivals as the regulator locks in a string of stricter policies unveiled in recent years.

Seek chief executive Andrew Bassat and former Telstra CEO and now CSIRO chairman David Thodey have taken strategic stakes in a Melbourne health technology company allowing corporations, doctors and insurers to share medical records online.

Page 21: Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood is eager to explore possible mergers and acquisitions that would be made available to the publishing and digital company if parliament passed a landmark reform bill tabled by the Turnbull government.

Super Retail Group has outed itself as one of the first casualties of the $500 million fire sale triggered by the planned closure of Woolworths’ failed hardware chain Masters, telling investors yesterday its Supercheap Auto retail chain had witnessed a sales slowdown in tools.

Wesfarmers has pushed ahead with the restructure of its newly acquired British hardware chain Homebase by kicking out 22 concessions operated by homewares and fashion group Laura Ashley, to closer match the successful operating model forged by its local hardware juggernaut Bunnings.

Shares in private hospital operators Healthscope and Ramsay Health Care continued to be dumped on the Australian market yesterday on concerns of a weak outlook.

Page 22: Genworth Financial, the US-based parent company and major shareholder of Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia, has received a $US2.7 billion ($3.5bn) takeover bid from China Oceanwide Holdings Group, which plans an injection of capital to rescue the troubled insurance conglomerate.

The head of the financial system inquiry has blamed the narrow performance standards in the $2 trillion superannuation industry on its lack of investment in infrastructure compared with other countries.

Page 23: AT&T’s blockbuster $US85.4 billion ($112.2bn) deal to buy Time Warner promises to reshape the media landscape — if the companies can navigate a series of obstacles, including possible opposition from US antitrust authorities and objections by politicians and media and telecom rivals.

 

 

The West Australian

Page 1: The first concrete sign has emerged that WA’s mining industry is shaking off the malaise at the heart of the State’s economic troubles, with exploration activity surging.

Page 6: Much of the $1 billion expected to be saved by clamping down on paid parental leave “double-dippers” will never eventuate as private employers dump their own schemes, the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry says.

Page 7: Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called on the Prime Minister and Treasurer to “get off their bottoms” and speed up WA’s NBN rollout as a report shows the State’s economy is the nation’s weakest.

Page 10: Malcolm Turnbull has declared the country has failed to build enough homes to keep a lid on prices — in the middle of the nation’s biggest house building boom.

Page 12: Australia risks becoming an “outer suburb of Los Angeles” with fewer locally made programs on television screens unless media reform is more wide reaching than what the Federal Government has proposed, a network executive has warned.

Page 14: Unions have hit back at Treasurer Mike Nahan’s claim that their opposition to privatisation of Western Power is hypocritical, saying retail power prices are higher in States with private utilities than in WA.

Page 21: Alinta Energy has been valued at up to $5.2 billion ahead of its planned float, with brokers citing Kleenheat’s grab for customers and a lawsuit from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project among the investment risks.

Veteran uranium executive John Borshoff says he plans on getting the old band back together, after taking control of Namibia-focused Deep Yellow and bringing one of Paladin Energy’s early institutional investors on to the explorer’s register.

Arguably one of the country’s most excruciatingly protracted private equity exits looks to be finally in train. Having tried unsuccessfully a couple of times over the past two years to offload Alinta via a trade sale, US giant TPG will soon be looking at WA mum and dad investors to help transition the energy company back into public ownership.

Page 22: Port Hedland’s $152 million Spoilbank Marina is set to go ahead after the Barnett Government resolved to fund the long-delayed project.

Macmahon Holdings has defied its biggest shareholder by making no major changes to executive pay despite the threat of a spill motion at next month’s annual meeting.

Page 47: Doray Minerals is expected to emerge from a trading halt tomorrow having raised $25 million at 54¢ a share.

 

Page 48: Housing affordability in WA has improved — just not for those who need it most, according to Rachel Ong, deputy director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is proposing to force residential mortgage lenders to extract more detailed information on borrowers’ incomes and expenses and to toughen the requirements for interest only loans and property investments in self-managed super funds.

Page 2: Silicon Valley has lost its way, the pace in Australia is too slow, and the corporate model of research and development is broken, Adrian Turner, chief executive of Data61, the big data unit of the CSIRO, says.

Page 3: Investors and households betting that official interest rates are still on a downward path could be blindsided by a potential rebound in third-quarter inflation driven by higher commodity prices.

Australia’s post-war level of inequality is at a historical high and public policy should be geared towards addressing the widening inequality, says a French economist and author of best-selling economics book Capital in the Twenty-First Century.

Page 4: The states have welcomed the prospect of federal government payments in return for increasing housing supply but argue Canberra must also do its bit for affordability by looking at curbing capital gains tax exemptions and negative gearing.

Page 5: Family First senator Bob Day will postpone his resignation for several weeks, ensuring he can vote for the government’s bills to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and to establish a Registered Organisations Commission.

One Nation will back the Coalition’s bills to cut so-called ‘‘double-dipping’’ of paid parental leave, handing the government the largest share of votes from the new Senate crossbench.

Page 7: Crown Resorts has hired a small corporate law firm in Shanghai to defend its 18 detained staff against likely criminal charges in China, a move that has surprised many in the legal fraternity.

Former ANZ chief executive Mike Smith has called for a list of critical infrastructure that Australia is unlikely to sell to foreign investors, following decisions to block Chinese bids for Ausgrid and S. Kidman & Co.

Page 8: IT services giant Accenture has won a contract valued at $19.9 million to provide new data collection systems for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as part of a broader transformation program under way at the agency.

Page 10: For Rupert Murdoch the news of AT&T’s $US85 billion ($112 billion) deal to buy Time Warner is a sharp reminder of what pursuing his family succession plan has cost him.

Page 11: The chief executives of Australia’s biggest television broadcasters say the shockwaves from AT&T’s blockbuster bid for Time Warner will reverberate in Australia as telecommunications companies up the ante in the battle for content.

Bravura Solutions is proof that fintech is one of Australia’s unheralded export successes. At least that’s the view of chief executive Tony Klim, who says his company’s return to the ranks of the ASX will show it is possible to build an internationally successful fintech business based in Australia.

Page 14: Uncompetitive prices for transporting gas on the east coast are preventing gas flowing to customers that need it and putting a damper on trading, Shell says.

Amit Lodha, a global portfolio manager at Fidelity, had a high conviction moment when he learnt of the effect a Kendall Jenner Instagram story had on lipstick sales at one of his holdings, the cosmetics manufacturer Estee Lauder.

Page 15: The 200-store Tradelink network may be the next hardware and building products business to have a new owner if its performance does not improve by the end of 2016-17.

Banking analysts are split over whether or not National Australia Bank will move to cut its dividend when it hands down its full-year results on Thursday.

Alison Watkins’ promise to double cost cuts to $200 million has done nothing to reassure investors, with the Coca-Cola Amatil chief unable to prevent a sharp drop in the stock on Monday.

John Skippen, the chairman of embattled law firm Slater & Gordon, has retired from the board of Super Retail Group. Mr Skippen, who was set to face opposition from proxy advisors after his re-election to the board, informed his fellow directors of his decision on Monday ahead of the company’s annual general meeting, and it was announced to the market as the meeting began.

Page 19: Telstra’s chief scientist says the telco is betting on artificial intelligence on mobile phones being huge in 2017, and believes Google and Apple are in prime position to dominate it, despite the best efforts of competitors such as Samsung, Microsoft and Amazon.

Nick Bell formed his website hosting business only a year ago, but the serial entrepreneur believes it can grow quickly to become the biggest part of his empire, already worth an estimated $68 million.

One of Australia’s largest law firms, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has struck a deal to take a 50 per cent stake in the Asia Pacific operations of Canadian artificial intelligence start-up Beagle, which automates contract analysis.

Page 20: A new ‘‘Instagram for cars’’ app created by an Australian entrepreneur is preparing to list on the ASX early next year, after a planned $5 million to $8 million capital raising.

Peer-to-peer marketplace for elderly and disability care services, Better Caring, has closed a $3 million funding round, which will help it take advantage of regulatory changes in the space to give the disabled more control over their finances.

 

 

The Australian

Page 1: The Turnbull government is moving to stop vexatious litigation blocking Australian resources projects and to clamp down on environmental “charity” groups as revelations of a foreign-funded, orchestrated activist campaign against development spreads to India.

Page 2: The Turnbull government’s claim that the $50 billion future submarine project will not be hurt by the massive leak of confidential data from French submarine builder DCNS has been undermined by the architect who will build the boats.

Almost all members of teams in China hired to promote casino resorts have left the country since the arrest 11 days ago of 18 Crown employees, an industry source has revealed.

Page 4: Welfare recipients did not lose a cent last year for flouting rules that require them to look for jobs when they have the capacity to work, according to a government analysis that intensifies a row over the obligations on jobseekers.

Page 5: Labor Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen will launch major policy plans to tighten Australia’s $15 billion relationship with Indonesia, backing a free-trade deal and a new annual dialogue out of concern at the “scandalously low” engagement between the countries.

The battle by four large cattle families to buy the Kidman empire is intensifying, with the all-Australian consortium accusing the S Kidman and Co board of favouring the earlier rival bid by mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and China’s Shanghai CRED.

Page 6: Fears over the imminent closure of Victoria’s Hazelwood power station have deepened with a French newspaper reporting that the board of majority owner Engie has agreed to shut the Latrobe Valley coal-fired plant.

The system of distributing revenue from the goods and services tax should be changed to reward states that make economic reforms, according to a senior NSW minister.

Page 19: Australia’s casino operators hit new lows on the local bourse yesterday as fresh questions were raised about the impact the arrest in China of 18 staff from the James Packer-backed Crown Resorts will have on a planned $10 billion outlay on new and upgraded local resorts.

Banks have been warned against chasing home loans by emulating the relaxed lending policies of rivals as the regulator locks in a string of stricter policies unveiled in recent years.

Seek chief executive Andrew Bassat and former Telstra CEO and now CSIRO chairman David Thodey have taken strategic stakes in a Melbourne health technology company allowing corporations, doctors and insurers to share medical records online.

Page 21: Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood is eager to explore possible mergers and acquisitions that would be made available to the publishing and digital company if parliament passed a landmark reform bill tabled by the Turnbull government.

Super Retail Group has outed itself as one of the first casualties of the $500 million fire sale triggered by the planned closure of Woolworths’ failed hardware chain Masters, telling investors yesterday its Supercheap Auto retail chain had witnessed a sales slowdown in tools.

Wesfarmers has pushed ahead with the restructure of its newly acquired British hardware chain Homebase by kicking out 22 concessions operated by homewares and fashion group Laura Ashley, to closer match the successful operating model forged by its local hardware juggernaut Bunnings.

Shares in private hospital operators Healthscope and Ramsay Health Care continued to be dumped on the Australian market yesterday on concerns of a weak outlook.

Page 22: Genworth Financial, the US-based parent company and major shareholder of Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia, has received a $US2.7 billion ($3.5bn) takeover bid from China Oceanwide Holdings Group, which plans an injection of capital to rescue the troubled insurance conglomerate.

The head of the financial system inquiry has blamed the narrow performance standards in the $2 trillion superannuation industry on its lack of investment in infrastructure compared with other countries.

Page 23: AT&T’s blockbuster $US85.4 billion ($112.2bn) deal to buy Time Warner promises to reshape the media landscape — if the companies can navigate a series of obstacles, including possible opposition from US antitrust authorities and objections by politicians and media and telecom rivals.

 

 

The West Australian

Page 1: The first concrete sign has emerged that WA’s mining industry is shaking off the malaise at the heart of the State’s economic troubles, with exploration activity surging.

Page 6: Much of the $1 billion expected to be saved by clamping down on paid parental leave “double-dippers” will never eventuate as private employers dump their own schemes, the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry says.

Page 7: Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called on the Prime Minister and Treasurer to “get off their bottoms” and speed up WA’s NBN rollout as a report shows the State’s economy is the nation’s weakest.

Page 10: Malcolm Turnbull has declared the country has failed to build enough homes to keep a lid on prices — in the middle of the nation’s biggest house building boom.

Page 12: Australia risks becoming an “outer suburb of Los Angeles” with fewer locally made programs on television screens unless media reform is more wide reaching than what the Federal Government has proposed, a network executive has warned.

Page 14: Unions have hit back at Treasurer Mike Nahan’s claim that their opposition to privatisation of Western Power is hypocritical, saying retail power prices are higher in States with private utilities than in WA.

Page 21: Alinta Energy has been valued at up to $5.2 billion ahead of its planned float, with brokers citing Kleenheat’s grab for customers and a lawsuit from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project among the investment risks.

Veteran uranium executive John Borshoff says he plans on getting the old band back together, after taking control of Namibia-focused Deep Yellow and bringing one of Paladin Energy’s early institutional investors on to the explorer’s register.

Arguably one of the country’s most excruciatingly protracted private equity exits looks to be finally in train. Having tried unsuccessfully a couple of times over the past two years to offload Alinta via a trade sale, US giant TPG will soon be looking at WA mum and dad investors to help transition the energy company back into public ownership.

Page 22: Port Hedland’s $152 million Spoilbank Marina is set to go ahead after the Barnett Government resolved to fund the long-delayed project.

Macmahon Holdings has defied its biggest shareholder by making no major changes to executive pay despite the threat of a spill motion at next month’s annual meeting.

Page 47: Doray Minerals is expected to emerge from a trading halt tomorrow having raised $25 million at 54¢ a share.

Page 48: Housing affordability in WA has improved — just not for those who need it most, according to Rachel Ong, deputy director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.