Morning Headlines

Alcoa Portland smelter hangs on Hazelwood

As many as 3000 Victorian jobs hang in the balance as Alcoa seeks to lock in a viable power supply deal for its Portland aluminium smelter against the background of Hazelwood power station’s likely closure. The Fin

Dreamworld to stay closed as profit hit

Ardent Leisure’s Dreamworld is no closer to reopening after the company announced it had begun an independent safety review of all 40 rides at the Gold Coast theme park. The Fin

Banks on S&P negative watch over hot property

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s is attempting to get ahead of potential problems in Australia’s property market by revising the outlook on the ratings of 25 lenders to ‘‘negative’’. The Fin

Woodside plays down $US5 billion Wheatstone cost blowout

Woodside Petroleum has played down the impact of a $US5 billion ($6.6 billion) cost blowout at Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia but analysts warn that with the collapse in gas export prices the extra spend will put further pressure on returns. The Fin

ANZ cuts back Asian footprint

ANZ chief Shayne Elliott has flagged he will not shy away from making more difficult decisions to “reshape” the bank after booking a $265 million hit from the sale of retail and wealth operations across Asia to Singapore’s DBS Bank. The Aus

China’s Crown probe seen as warning shot

China’s surprise detention of 18 employees from casino operator Crown Resorts is reverberating from Macau to Las Vegas and beyond, with gambling concerns — and some business consultants in general — advising foreign executives to steer clear of mainland China for now. The Aus

Cosmetics queen hits sale jackpot

The Perth founder of the BECCA global cosmetics empire stands to make tens of millions of dollars after it was sold to one of world’s top cosmetic companies, Estee Lauder, for an estimated $US200 million ($270 million). The West

Lanco puts Griffin sale damages claim at $500 million

India’s Lanco Infratech claims it overpaid more than $500 million for Collie miner Griffin Coal because of insolvency firm KordaMentha’s alleged misleading and deceptive conduct. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: ANZ Banking Group chief executive Shayne Elliott insists ANZ remains Australia’s most outward-looking bank despite selling its retail and wealth operations in five Asian countries.

Cattle buyers who refused to help rig saleyard auctions faced physical intimidation and even violence, according to a new report by the competition watchdog into the $11 billion cattle industry.

Page 3: Former trade minister Andrew Robb, who has been criticised for taking a job with Darwin Port owner Landbridge, led a delegation of Australian government officials to Beijing to convince them of the benefits of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature strategic ‘‘One Belt One Road’’ policy last week.

Page 4: The federal government may limit the time big projects can be delayed by third-party legal action rather than ban challenges altogether, as a compromise to end so-called environmental ‘‘lawfare’’ by green groups.

Page 5: As many as 3000 Victorian jobs hang in the balance as Alcoa seeks to lock in a viable power supply deal for its Portland aluminium smelter against the background of Hazelwood power station’s likely closure.

Page 6: The federal government’s commitment to a continuous naval building program is producing a steady stream of new corporate defence industry arrivals in Australia with the massive US military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries opening an office in Canberra.

Page 8: Ardent Leisure’s Dreamworld is no closer to reopening after the company announced it had begun an independent safety review of all 40 rides at the Gold Coast theme park.

Page 11: Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s is attempting to get ahead of potential problems in Australia’s property market by revising the outlook on the ratings of 25 lenders to ‘‘negative’’.

In a case that could have long-term ramifications for the supermarket sector, Woolworths is facing a showdown with the competition regulator over the nature of relationships between retailers and suppliers.

Any kind of surprise outcome in the late stages of the United States presidential race could prolong an already drawn out capital spending recession in the US.

Page 13: Qantas Airways says first-half earnings will decline this year due to fierce competition, which is driving down international airfares, and subdued domestic demand but says cost cuts and a lower fuel bill will offset much of the pain.

While prices may still be woeful, there is no complaint about the production performance of Origin Energy’s $25 billion Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.

Woodside Petroleum has played down the impact of a $US5 billion ($6.6 billion) cost blowout at Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia but analysts warn that with the collapse in gas export prices the extra spend will put further pressure on returns.

Page 14: Dramatic changes are taking place within the high-end car industry, including Tesla’s experiments with selling cars in shopping centres, while soon to be ASX-listed Autosports says a fragmented market is throwing up substantial opportunities for expansion.

Page 15: The fees for investment banks, lawyers and independent experts associated with the takeover of Vitaco will soak up more than a third of the annual profit of the vitamins company.

Vodafone Hutchison Australia and Nokia will develop a security prototype that can detect movement of people and vehicles via existing CCTV cameras and generate alerts about abnormal activity.

Page 16: Explanations will be demanded from UGL’s board at its annual meeting next week after the engineering group suddenly lost a director, with investors calling for more disclosure on the reasons for John Cooper’s departure.

Page 19: ACCC chairman Rod Sims has warned legislative changes may be required to increase the competition regulator’s scope to police the acquisition of tech start-ups by larger incumbent firms.

Optus has invested $8 million to create a new Advanced Security Operations Centre, which it hopes will position the telecommunications giant as a leading cyber-security player.

Page 20: When Brad Couper, the chief executive of Brisbane-based software-as-aservice company simPRO, was toasting a $40 million capital raising from New York venture capital firm Level Equity earlier this month, he couldn’t help but shake his head at the lack of support from his local bank.

Former Melbourne AFL footballer Joel MacDonald will take his logistics management platform, GetSwift, public via an ASX listing to raise $5 million.

A group of high-profile Israeli tech entrepreneurs, including the cofounder of $US10.9 billion ($14.3 billion) Mobileye and the inventor of the USB stick, are set to descend on Sydney in a trade delegation to meet with leading lights of the Australian tech startup scene.

Page 21: Australian organisations’ technology spending is growing by 5 per cent this year, but chief information officers and top technology executives are having less influence on what is bought, a study by research firm Telsyte has found.

Former Macquarie Bank chief executive Allan Moss and WorleyParsons founder John Grill have invested in travel experiences start-up Leezair, which has created a mobile app that uses location-based technology to offer deals on experiences including wine tasting and sky diving.

Page 27: Indonesians’ growing appetite for red meat needed to make rendang curries and flavour noodle soups is putting the world’s biggest seaborne cattle trade at risk.

The sell-off in yield stocks that plagued the sharemarket last month is set to ease, despite ongoing volatility as interest rates remain forefront of investors’ minds, strategists say.

Page 29: Governance experts say Estia Health’s new chief executive Norah Barlow should quickly remove herself from several directorships and chairmanship of alternative listed companies to make sure the struggling aged care operator can lift itself up again after a tough year.

New York-listed Blackstone Group has acquired a near $650 million portfolio of logistics properties from local powerhouse Goodman Group as it moves to become a major industrial owner in its own right.

The Australian

Page 1: Households face higher bills and the largest electricity retailers stand to make tens of millions of dollars in windfall gains from a spike in renewable energy prices caused by concerns Australia will not reach its 2020 renewable energy target.

Australia’s eight most active environmental groups with tax-exempt charity status pulled in $83 million last year and received almost three-quarters of a billion dollars in the past decade,

Page 4: Investors are returning to the housing market in greater numbers, lured by rising prices and the Reserve Bank’s cuts to interest rates.

Page 5: Rebekha Sharkie, the Nick Xenophon Team MP charged with overseeing paid parental leave policy, says she ideally wants to see the scheme “expanded” so Australian women are not deterred from having babies.

Page 7: The enormous power of social media is helping to drive discontent with big business, according to one of the nation’s leading businessmen, David Gonski.

An Australian-British banker has been found dead in a Johannesburg apartment room with his hands tied together, according to South African police.

Page 21: ANZ chief Shayne Elliott has flagged he will not shy away from making more difficult decisions to “reshape” the bank after booking a $265 million hit from the sale of retail and wealth operations across Asia to Singapore’s DBS Bank.

As Australian punters get ready to take a gamble on the $6 million race that stops a nation, wagering giants Tabcorp and Sportsbet are set for their biggest day of the year, on which the two are expected to take more than seven million individual bets on the Melbourne Cup.

Page 23: When international clients contact King & Wood Mallesons to ask whether a deal requires Foreign Investment Review Board approval, its lawyers turn first to a computer to generate a response, rather than relying simply on human brainpower.

Embattled co-operative Murray Goulburn says China remains a “huge opportunity’’ for its Devondale brand despite the headwinds that have hit its Australian rivals following a regulatory crackdown and slower than expected demand for infant formula products.

Page 24: The average time it takes the corporate watchdog to finish a criminal investigation has blown out from 16 months to two years, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s annual report shows.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has attempted to handpass responsibility for chasing down companies that fail to pay determinations against them to the corporate regulator.

Page 25: China’s surprise detention of 18 employees from casino operator Crown Resorts is reverberating from Macau to Las Vegas and beyond, with gambling concerns — and some business consultants in general — advising foreign executives to steer clear of mainland China for now.

Page 26: If hard coking coal was a runner in today’s Melbourne Cup the stewards would already have called an inquiry into how a 100-1 long shot six months ago has become a short-odds favourite.

Page 28: Within 100 years very few will be able to read the cursive handwriting we mastered in bygone centuries. It’s on the way out and very rarely do I use it now, except for signatures and writing Christmas card greetings.

Page 29: Nokia may have stopped making phones a long time ago but the company is still very much a part of the mobile conversation across the world and looks set to play a crucial role in ushering in the next big transformation wave for telcos in Australia.

Page 30: South Australian powerhouse Commercial & General and Chinese-backed construction major John Holland Group have won preferred bidder status for the $1 billion project to transform the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site into a mixed use development.

The West Australian

Page 1: West Australians have sent a clear message to Canberra — they believe they are being ripped off by the carve-up of the $61 billion national goods and services tax pool.

Page 3: Dodgy doctors have been caught milking millions of dollars from taxpayers by overservicing their patients. In one “egregious” instance uncovered by the Medicare watchdog, a doctor was paid almost $100,000 by claiming $240 in rebates for chronic disease management more than 400 times in one year.

The average price of unleaded petrol will hit a 10-month high today. FuelWatch reports the average price across the metropolitan area will jump to 130.1¢ a litre, the highest since it hit 130.7¢ on December 22.

Page 5: The Perth founder of the BECCA global cosmetics empire stands to make tens of millions of dollars after it was sold to one of world’s top cosmetic companies, Estee Lauder, for an estimated $US200 million ($270 million).

Page 12: Perth’s bars and restaurants could be allowed to open pop-up style services under a plan to combat the popularity of mobile vendors and bring a festival atmosphere to the city.

Page 21: Fresh from hearing it faces a bigger-than-expected bill for the Wheatstone LNG project, Woodside Petroleum was yesterday digesting more bad news after a Melbourne explorer tried to derail its much-hyped purchase of a big oil field off Senegal.

The Federal Court has banned property spruiker Jamie McIntyre from corporate life for a decade. The ban was imposed in the fallout from the collapse of a series of land banking schemes across the Eastern States.

India’s Lanco Infratech claims it overpaid more than $500 million for Collie miner Griffin Coal because of insolvency firm KordaMentha’s alleged misleading and deceptive conduct.

Page 22: MigMe shares plummeted to their lowest level for two years yesterday, with the social media player hit hard on the back of heightened fears about its high cash burn as its monthly users dropped.

The world’s biggest untapped deposit of iron ore has fallen into Chinese hands after Rio Tinto yesterday agreed to sell its stake in the Simandou project in Guinea to partner Chinalco.

Page 55: Shares in Emmerson Resources soared yesterday after the explorer released bonanzagrade gold intersections for its Edna Beryl prospect within the company’s Tennant Creek project in the Northern Territory.