Capital gain tax splits Coalition
The Coalition is split over whether to cut capital gains tax concessions for property investors, prompting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to douse expectations any change will be adopted. The Fin
Loans from ‘bank of mum and dad’ double
The proportion of first-home buyers relying on help from their parents to enter the property market has more than doubled since the 1970s, helping keep steady the size of loans relative to the value of dwellings, Reserve Bank of Australia research shows. The Fin
Confidence in Goyder to wear two hats
Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney is confident Richard Goyder can straddle two demanding roles as his chief executive prepares to assume the helm of the AFL. The Fin
Labor retreats on 50pc RET
Labor has been accused of a political retreat after caving in to pressure over its commitment to a 50 per cent renewable energy target, as Malcolm Turnbull sought to sharpen his attack against Bill Shorten on electricity prices. The Aus
Medibank deal to keep experts honest on fees
Australia’s largest health fund will take a harder line on out-of-pocket expenses, signing a deal with a clinical software provider that will allow GPs to identify specialists who leave patients with significant gap fees. The Aus
More trouble ahead, warns Telstra chief
Telstra shareholders should brace for further turbulence and little dividend growth after chief executive Andrew Penn warned that fiercer mobile competition and the faster rollout of the National Broadband Network would keep pressure on its numbers. The Aus
Outrage at Greens’ man over graffiti on footpath
Shop owners have blasted the Pilbara’s Greens candidate after he was allegedly caught red-handed writing political slogans on the footpath outside the Wickham Newsagency. The West
Renegades told to back Lib deal
One Nation WA head Colin Tincknell has issued a final warning to renegades in the party, telling them to back the preference deal with the Liberals or run as independents. The West
Lithium to China a WA first
Mineral Resources could be shipping raw lithium ore to China by April, with the company about to close an off-take deal from its Pilbara project. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Coalition is split over whether to cut capital gains tax concessions for property investors, prompting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to douse expectations any change will be adopted.
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has moved to quell investor nerves about long-term damage to its profits from the national broadband network, declaring a strategy to put itself at the centre of Australia’s ‘‘internet of things’’ will help plug the earnings gap.
Page 3: Former Reserve Bank of Australia chairman Bernie Fraser has admitted that industry superannuation funds are running out of skilled directors from within their ranks, but this was no reason to force schemes to appoint independent trustees.
Page 4: Removing the the capital gains tax discount for investment properties would save the budget about $4 billion a year, according to Grattan Institute analysis.
Page 5: The federal government has put Hewlett-Packard and other vendors behind technology failures such as the Australian Taxation Office outage on notice, announcing a review of all IT projects with a capital expenditure above $10 million.
Page 6: The proportion of first-home buyers relying on help from their parents to enter the property market has more than doubled since the 1970s, helping keep steady the size of loans relative to the value of dwellings, Reserve Bank of Australia research shows.
Page 9: The federal Nationals are fuming over a deal in which Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will chair a parliamentary inquiry into the lending practices of banks to farmers.
Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney is confident Richard Goyder can straddle two demanding roles as his chief executive prepares to assume the helm of the AFL.
Page 12: The construction union is refusing to ‘‘roll over’’ and is threatening work stoppages nationwide in response to Australian Building and Construction Commission changes that Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says will smash ‘‘cartel-like behaviour’’ by major builders.
Page 19: Fears of a full-blown price war have reemerged after Coles ploughed $50 million into reducing grocery prices in the December quarter in response to increased competition from Woolworths and Aldi.
Page 21: Origin Energy has fielded acquisition interest from third parties for its circa $1.5 billion conventional oil and gas business, but nothing attractive enough yet to sway it from its float plan.
Embattled law firm Slater & Gordon says it is in talks with lenders to recapitalise the group as it recognised for the first time that the debt it owes exceeds the value of the business.
The Australian
Page 1: Labor has been accused of a political retreat after caving in to pressure over its commitment to a 50 per cent renewable energy target, as Malcolm Turnbull sought to sharpen his attack against Bill Shorten on electricity prices.
Malcolm Turnbull has left open lifting the Medicare levy, as the government faces a $13 billion budget writedown and the potential loss of the AAA credit rating following Labor and Senate crossbenchers’ blocking of critical savings measures.
Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes failed to disclose chief executive Tim Worner’s workplace affair with Amber Harrison to three independent directors who joined his board in June 2015.
Page 2: Federal Innovation Minister Arthur Sinodinos is to consult with executives of $6 billion software giant Atlassian and other leaders of the tech industry over the government’s review of 457 visas.
The share of underemployed workers — those who want to work more hours but can’t — has risen to the highest level since the 1970s, as the economy struggles to create full-time jobs.
Page 4: Australia’s largest health fund will take a harder line on out-of-pocket expenses, signing a deal with a clinical software provider that will allow GPs to identify specialists who leave patients with significant gap fees.
Page 6: The Turnbull government has dismissed a long-awaited review of superannuation governance by former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser as a “let-down” and a stalling “lobbying document”, as it vows to push ahead with controversial reforms mandating independent directors on fund boards.
Page 7: Scott Morrison has warned Labor against sabotaging the budget, saying it would be a “dog act” to force a downgrading of the country’s AAA credit rating for its own political gain.
A candidate for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in Western Australia who attacked gays, Muslims and “ugly” black people on social media was a member of the Liberal Party at the time he made the offensive comments.
Page 19: Telstra shareholders should brace for further turbulence and little dividend growth after chief executive Andrew Penn warned that fiercer mobile competition and the faster rollout of the National Broadband Network would keep pressure on its numbers.
Ten Network has slashed its half-year earnings forecast, blaming a weak advertising market and increased content costs.
The shock departure of senior QBE executive Colin Fagen from chief executive John Neal’s executive ranks looks bound for the courts, with negotiations between Fagen, his lawyers and the insurance giant in danger of running off the rails.
The bidders who missed out on Anglo Australia’s Queensland coal assets are expected to have their sights firmly set on Rio Tinto as it becomes likely a new deal is about to unfold.
Page 22: The corporate regulator is reviewing the latest disclosures by Jan Cameron confirming her link to major Bellamy’s shareholder The Black Prince Private Foundation (BPPF), as the dissident director last night admitted her previous public comments on her connections to the foundation failed to “pass the pub test”.
Page 24: A bumper financial result from South32 has not shaken the diversified miner’s conservative approach to dividends, with a modest interim payout setting the stage for more deal speculation or a bigger capital return later in the year.
The West Australian
Page 3: The leafy riverside electorate of Bicton has emerged as one of Perth’s hotspots for alcohol-fuelled serious assaults.
Page 4: Shop owners have blasted the Pilbara’s Greens candidate after he was allegedly caught red-handed writing political slogans on the footpath outside the Wickham Newsagency.
It’s getting to that point in the election campaign where parties start running out of ideas and cash — and so fall back on nostalgia to pull through another week.
Page 5: One Nation WA head Colin Tincknell has issued a final warning to renegades in the party, telling them to back the preference deal with the Liberals or run as independents.
Page 6: Colin Barnett will go to the March 11 election with WA holding the unwanted mantle as the worst place in the country to find a job.
Page 14: Julie Bishop will soon meet US Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington DC, becoming one of the first foreign ministers to secure an audience with the top-ranking Trump administration officials.
Page 18: The Turnbull Government has been accused of rushing its changes to the Native Title Act through Parliament without proper consultation to clear the way for Australia’s biggest coal mine.
Page 20: Malcolm Turnbull has ruled out changes to capital gains tax, denying reports the Government had been looking at the option in its desperate hunt for cash for the Budget bottom line.
Page 48: Mineral Resources could be shipping raw lithium ore to China by April, with the company about to close an off-take deal from its Pilbara project.
Chinese-backed Hanking Australia has announced the $330 million sale of its Southern Cross Gold Operations to a company owned by the chairman of Minjar Gold — the company trying to buy half the Kalgoorlie Super Pit.
China’s CITIC has flagged big impairments to the value of its Pilbara magnetite project for the third year in a row, saying it expected to write down the value of Sino Iron by between $US800 million and $US1 billion in next month’s annual results.
Australia’s corporate watchdog is embarking on a campaign of shadow shopping of financial advisers amid fears property spruikers are behind some people setting up self-managed superannuation funds.
Page 49: South32 is on hunt for new joint venture and farm-in partners for early-stage resource projects as the company looks to fill its project pipeline through deals with exploration juniors.
Page 50: Contractor consolidation such as CIMIC Group’s takeover bid for Macmahon Holdings is good for the industry, NRW Holdings boss Jules Pemberton says.