Morning Headlines

Result reveals the divided states of ailing America

The social and political fissures that have left Americans walled off from one another along lines of race, class, education, gender and religion played out in stark ways in this election, a contest that has left people pessimistic about the future of their country and uninspired with their choices of who should lead it. The Fin

Trump shock ‘wake-up call’ for Australia

Leading company director Diane Smith-Gander says Donald Trump’s victory in the US election is a ‘‘wake-up call’’ for Australian business, which must show it can help reduce the numbers of ‘‘have nots’’ in society. The Fin

Gold rises most since Brexit

Gold soared by the most since Britain’s Brexit vote in June as the prospect of Donald Trump as the next US president reverberated through global markets, prompting a rush to havens and a flight from risky assets. The Fin

Many unconscious to ethical problems

The finance sector is under scrutiny, especially big banks, and consumers, regulators and politicians are asking when the industry will develop an ethical culture that enshrines fair dealing. Evidence of ethics culture problems inside banks have been surfacing regularly in the past few years. The Fin

BHP urges suppliers to join tax fight

BHP Billiton has issued a rallying call to mining services companies, urging them to help fight the Western Australian National Party’s proposal for a new iron ore tax. The Fin

Online ads don’t deliver: Stokes

Kerry Stokes has launched an impassioned defence of traditional media, accusing the big four banks and other major advertisers of harming brand value and sales by shifting too much money online. The Aus

Grylls to cut payroll tax with ore fee

WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls has declared his party the natural home of small business because of his plan to cut payroll tax for two years for 10,000 businesses, paid from money raised by his $5-a-tonne mining charge. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 2: Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s shareholders have revolted over senior banker pay packets, delivering a historic ‘‘first strike’’ on the remuneration report and forcing the nation’s largest company to rethink its communications strategy with investors sceptical of using ‘‘soft targets’’ to set bonuses.

Page 3: Rio Tinto has suspended the head of its African operations and its top lawyer has stood down after a fraud investigation was sparked by the discovery of a payment made at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

Page 4: A series of ploys being planned by opposition Senate parties means it could be some weeks before the future of the government’s plans to cut superannuation tax concessions and amend the backpackers tax are known.

Page 5: The High Court has dismissed a claim by former Glencore trader Vaughan Blank that $200 million in bonuses should be taxed as capital gains and not ordinary income.

Page 7: The Turnbull government says the alliance with America will stay strong but a regional effort is needed to persuade the Trump administration to keep the US engaged in the Asia-Pacific, both militarily and economically.

Page 11: The social and political fissures that have left Americans walled off from one another along lines of race, class, education, gender and religion played out in stark ways in this election, a contest that has left people pessimistic about the future of their country and uninspired with their choices of who should lead it.

Page 12: If enacted, Donald Trump’s policies would have profound implications for the structure of the US government, global trade and international security.

Page 17: Leading company director Diane Smith-Gander says Donald Trump’s victory in the US election is a ‘‘wake-up call’’ for Australian business, which must show it can help reduce the numbers of ‘‘have nots’’ in society.

Australian tech companies such as Canva, Invoice2Go and SafetyCulture, which have relied on round after round of US venture capital funding to fuel growth, may have to change their plans under a Trump presidency.

For three decades financial assets have basked in the comfort of ever-falling interest rates, high profits and strong economic growth. Now it is becoming apparent that investors have also taken the benign political environment for granted.

Page 18: Once the dust from the shock of Donald Trump’s unlikely victory to become the 45th president of the US settles, he faces many economic challenges that he inherits and will likely create.

Gold soared by the most since Britain’s Brexit vote in June as the prospect of Donald Trump as the next US president reverberated through global markets, prompting a rush to havens and a flight from risky assets.

Page 19: The Australian dollar plunged almost 2¢ on Wednesday, radically reversing a morning surge to a six-month high, as Donald Trump scored an unlikely victory in the US presidential election.

Page 21: Countries across Asia are bracing for a dramatic overhaul of America’s role in the region, as Donald Trump has vowed to review security alliances, dump global trade deals and focus on domestic issues.

Page 23: The finance sector is under scrutiny, especially big banks, and consumers, regulators and politicians are asking when the industry will develop an ethical culture that enshrines fair dealing. Evidence of ethics culture problems inside banks have been surfacing regularly in the past few years.

Page 25: BHP Billiton has issued a rallying call to mining services companies, urging them to help fight the Western Australian National Party’s proposal for a new iron ore tax.

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest says he will defend the company’s approach to executive remuneration ‘‘all day and every day’’ after proxy advisers raised concerns about the size and validity of incentives paid to senior management.

The health insurance sector is at a ‘‘tipping point’’, according to Medibank chief Craig Drummond, and the industry along with the federal government must act to ensure private cover is affordable.

Page 27: Aristocrat Leisure shareholders have reacted with concern after chief executive Jamie Odell announced he would step down from the helm of the poker machines manufacturer next February.

Optus chairman Paul O’Sullivan expects video content and downloads on mobile phones to keep accelerating beyond 75 per cent of all mobile phone traffic by 2020, with the trend to drive more large mergers between telecommunications companies and media firms around the globe.

The ASX and the corporate regulator have launched an initiative to improve the cyber security defences of Australia’s biggest companies, urging the exchange’s top 100 firms to have a cyber health check.

Page 28: There was no long, boozy Melbourne Cup lunch for Martin Fahy this year. Last Tuesday marked his first official day as chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and there was a steady roll-call of last-minute issues related to the annual conference that had to be dealt with.

Superannuation funds globally are failing to use technology in their investment processes, which could dampen returns to members.

Page 29: Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner said progress on cost cutting has not been enough to offset a soft advertising market and the company’s earnings would fall by as much as 20 per cent in 2016-17, the bottom of its guidance range.

Foxtel will cut a number of jobs after a review of the pay television company’s operations.

The News Corporation and Telstra-owned company confirmed the redundancies, which are in addition to those coming from the closure of subscription video on-demand service Presto, but would not release the number of staff leaving.

Page 30: Australia’s largest payday lender, Cash Converters, will refund $10.8 million to customers and has paid a $1.35 million penalty after an investigation found ‘‘systemic failures in responsible lending processes’’.

Page 37: Residential property valuers could soon be extinct and their data gobbled up by big data crunching firms unless they rapidly change their business model, says the head of the Australian Property Institute.

Page 40: Developer sentiment for commercial property projects is strong in NSW but slumping in Western Australia, reflecting the different economic outlooks on both sides of the nation, according to a survey by National Australia Bank.

Page 42: Listed fund manager Charter Hall has significantly upgraded its earnings outlook after this week successfully floating a spin-off trust with a $1.3 billion portfolio.

Page 43: Singapore’s Frasers Centrepoint has reported an 11.8 per cent fall in its annual earnings as it booked impairments on residential projects in Singapore and Australia.

The $174 million Elanor Retail Property Fund listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday – was one of the only stocks that fought the tide of selling amid the US election count.

Page 47: The first of the assets from the collapsed Bob Day home building empire, Homestead Homes, has been sold by liquidator McGrath Nicol to Queensland-based Metro Property Developments.

The Australian

Page 7: About $500,000 in “go away” money has been paid by companies and government departments dragged before the Human Rights Commission for racial discrimination complaints over the past five years, even in cases where they disputed the allegations.

Scott Morrison has escalated the political brawl over budget repair by labelling Bill Shorten a “serial liar” on controversial reforms, infuriating Labor in a bitter fight over tax rates for foreign workers and new imposts on superannuation.

The rollout of the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme happened so fast that “major risks” around the development of businesses and a caring workforce were heightened by a lumbering, complex, multi-government decision-making regime.

Page 10: Health insurers amassed an overall surplus of more than $1 billion last year despite slugging members with higher premiums and complaining about the cost of doctors, hospitals and prostheses.

Page 12: Clive Palmer will ask the nation’s highest court today to declare unconstitutional one of Australia’s most powerful weapons against corporate criminals: public examinations.

Union boss John Setka will take his bid to quash a blackmail charge against him to the Victorian Supreme Court after a magistrate ruled the case should go ahead.

Page 13: Kerry Stokes has launched an impassioned defence of traditional media, accusing the big four banks and other major advertisers of harming brand value and sales by shifting too much money online.

Page 16: A free-trade deal underpinning the US commitment to the Asia-Pacific region is “doomed” under a Trump presidency, as experts forecast the end of an era.

Page 21: Global financial markets were stunned by Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory and Republican clean sweep of congress yesterday, wiping $30 billion off the Australian sharemarket in a Brexit-like scramble to buy safe havens and reduce exposure to riskier assets.

Business owners, investors and policymakers will be reviewing their plans — or dusting off plan B — as Donald Trump claims the White House and advances his anti-establishment agenda.

Page 23: Chris Rex, the head of Australia’s largest private hospital operator, has called on the Turnbull government to voice a strong narrative in support of the private sector and introduce policy changes to back it.

Australian retailers are hoping for record sales to Chinese consumers at this year’s November 11 “Singles Day” on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms tomorrow, according to Alibaba’s Australia chief executive Maggie Zhou.

Page 26: South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Samsung Electronics on Tuesday as a growing political scandal surrounding the country’s leader drew attention to influential conglomerates.

The West Australian

Page 18: The government body that manages the WA TAB has warned that continuing indecision over whether it will be privatised is undermining its ability to operate commercially and harming its ability to sustain the racing industry.

Page 20: WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls has declared his party the natural home of small business because of his plan to cut payroll tax for two years for 10,000 businesses, paid from money raised by his $5-a-tonne mining charge.

Page 55: Australia’s biggest gold miners gained a collective $2.82 billion in market value during frantic trade yesterday, as buyers retreated into gold after Donald Trump’s shock US election win.

Page 56: Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes says Australia’s high broadcast licence fees and lack of incentives for local content are making production in overseas markets more attractive.

Executive salary cuts have helped Decmil Group wipe out shareholder concerns about pay policies at the contractor. About 98 per cent of votes cast at yesterday’s annual meeting backed Decmil’s remuneration report.

Page 57: A wild session on the Australian sharemarket finished with heavy early losses halved as domestic investors came to terms with Donald Trump as the next US president.