Li offers more trade, at a price
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged Australia not to take sides as happened during the Cold War, warning strategic tensions in the region threatened prosperity, as he held out the prospect of greater access for Australian products and services to China. The Fin
Well-paid parents lose childcare rebates
High-income couples earning more than a combined $350,000 are to lose all childcare rebates after the Turnbull government agreed to demands by crossbench members David Leyonhjelm and Derryn Hinch that these people should get nothing. The Fin
Banks could need $40b for risk weightings
Higher risk weightings designed to slow the rate of property price growth being considered by the regulator may require banks to hold up to $40 billion in additional capital against loans to property investors, weighing heavily on return on equity and bank profits. The Fin
States still bickering over GST carve-up
Scott Morrison faces a new push to overhaul the GST as state treasurers clash over how to divide $60 billion in tax proceeds, amid fears of a backlash from West Australians and others who feel cheated of revenue. The Aus
Turnbull urged to deliver on taxes
Senior Westpac executive Brad Cooper has warned that Australia will be “out of sync” with the rest of the world if the proposed $50 billion cut in corporate taxes does not proceed. The Aus
Short-selling attack intensifies
The short-selling attack on sandalwood group Quintis has intensified the focus on short positions in other Australian stocks, amid growing expectations that similar raids could be in the works. The Aus
Housing fear as population rise slows
Population growth in WA has fallen to its slowest rate on record as people head to other parts of the country for work. The West
McGowan backs no jab, no play plan
Mark McGowan says he backs tough action that could ban unvaccinated children from childcare or preschool centres. The West
Small businesses join forces to get ship work
Fear of missing out has led smaller businesses in WA’s maritime hub to band together to target work from the $89 billion naval shipbuilding program. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged Australia not to take sides as happened during the Cold War, warning strategic tensions in the region threatened prosperity, as he held out the prospect of greater access for Australian products and services to China.
Page 3: The Turnbull government has appointed three new members with business backgrounds to the workplace tribunal, including ex-Howard government staffer and former head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Peter Anderson.
It looms as the investment version of a small rugby union winger collecting the ball and looking up only to see a fearsome pack of All Blacks bearing down, with a mixture of pain and loss of faculties potentially to come.
Page 5: High-income couples earning more than a combined $350,000 are to lose all childcare rebates after the Turnbull government agreed to demands by crossbench members David Leyonhjelm and Derryn Hinch that these people should get nothing.
Page 7: Hairdressers, restaurants and cafes are preparing another push for cuts to Sunday penalty rates after missing out in the landmark Fair Work Commission ruling last month.
Page 10: Australia could get an extra 2 gigawatts of electricity – the boost Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants from an expanded Snowy Mountains hydroelectricity scheme – through batteries and connecting a quarter of the houses that already have solar panels.
Page 12: It’s been described as the most significant tax case ever litigated in Australia. The Australian Taxation Office is pursuing Chevron over a $US2.5 billion ($3.7 billion) inter-company loan.
Page 17: Higher risk weightings designed to slow the rate of property price growth being considered by the regulator may require banks to hold up to $40 billion in additional capital against loans to property investors, weighing heavily on return on equity and bank profits.
Analysts predict a drawn-out decline in the iron ore price as Chinese regulatory moves against property speculation hit steel prices.
Page 19: A New York hedge fund registered in the Cayman Islands has emerged as Spotless’s second-biggest shareholder following Downer EDI’s $1.2 billion takeover bid.
The Australian
Page 8: Premier Li Keqiang has warned Australia not to “take sides” in the increasing tensions between the China and the US, saying it could lead to a Cold War situation.
Scott Morrison faces a new push to overhaul the GST as state treasurers clash over how to divide $60 billion in tax proceeds, amid fears of a backlash from West Australians and others who feel cheated of revenue.
Page 9: Newly appointed ABC chairman Justin Milne has received the government’s blessing to remain on the board of the $50 billion NBN but is expected to relinquish at least two other board positions.
Page 10: Federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert and a former adviser to Tony Abbott head the list of witnesses subpoenaed to appear at corruption watchdog hearings into “possible criminal offences’’ before last year’s local government elections in Queensland.
Page 13: The Australian Republic Movement has signed an ambitious “strategic plan” for Australia becoming a republic that sets benchmarks for a plebiscite by 2020, followed by a referendum in 2022.
Page 21: Senior Westpac executive Brad Cooper has warned that Australia will be “out of sync” with the rest of the world if the proposed $50 billion cut in corporate taxes does not proceed.
The east coast construction boom is proceeding at such a pace that the supply of building products can’t keep up with demand, according to one of the nation’s biggest manufacturers of bricks, roofing and timber.
Page 23: The short-selling attack on sandalwood group Quintis has intensified the focus on short positions in other Australian stocks, amid growing expectations that similar raids could be in the works.
Page 24: Woodside Petroleum’s $US446 million ($582m) entry into the big SNE oil discovery off Senegal, which continues to expand after recent drilling, is still not 100 per cent secure, according to the field’s Melbourne-based discoverer, FAR Ltd.
The West Australian
Page 9: McGowan Government minister Peter Tinley had to surrender his mines and petroleum portfolio because his wife works for resources giant Chevron.
Page 10: Children escaping or being left behind on buses are the most common reasons for action against WA childcare centres for breaching regulations this year.
Page 14: Population growth in WA has fallen to its slowest rate on record as people head to other parts of the country for work.
Page 16: New Treasurer Ben Wyatt says a collapse in the relationship between the Liberal and National parties ushered in a “fiscal scorched earth policy” of budgetary lawlessness that crippled the former government’s final years.
Page 17: Mark McGowan says he backs tough action that could ban unvaccinated children from childcare or preschool centres.
Page 21: A drug that could reverse ageing and make space travel possible will be tested on humans this year and could be available in 2020.
Page 26: Ben Wyatt says he is prepared to draw on his Aboriginality as political capital to make the tough decisions needed to overhaul indigenous affairs in WA.
Page 53: The US military says it is investigating claims that it bombed a school in northern Syria, killing dozens of civilians.
Page 56: Shares in rebranded sandalwood producer Quintis have been hammered for the second day in a row after a damaging research report by a US shortseller.
Fear of missing out has led smaller businesses in WA’s maritime hub to band together to target work from the $89 billion naval shipbuilding program.
A US energy group is suing administrators from Pitcher Partners after missing out on a bid for a collection of undeveloped oil and gas fields off northern WA.
The chief of Britain’s biggest hardware chain has taken a swipe at new rival Bunnings by questioning the level of customer service at the Aussie import.
Page 57: The Australian Shareholders Association has called for companies to publish a pay ratio to compare their executive salaries with average weekly wages.
Drug distributor and pharmacy services firm Sigma Pharmaceuticals plans to build a $55 million WA distribution centre.