Morning Headlines

Power prices to surge

WA Energy Minister Ben Wyatt has indicated household electricity prices could have to rise by up to 15 per cent within two years as part of moves to allow people to choose where they buy their power from. The West

Senate wall traps $14bn in reforms

At least $14 billion in key budget measures faces a Senate blockade, undermining the Turnbull government’s attempt to reset its reform agenda as crossbenchers begin talks with Labor in a bid to expand the controversial big banks tax. The Aus

Maccas spends big to enhance WA offering

Fast food chain McDonald’s will spend $25 million building and upgrading WA restaurants this year as it continues to expand in the State. The West

Crude oil cuts to be extended

Oil producers are likely to agree to extend crude output cuts by nine months, according to Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister. The West

Interest-only loans our ‘sub-prime’

High-risk mortgage loans to young families, professionals and other overextended borrowers amounting to more than six times household incomes could wipe out 20 per cent of the major banks’ equity base, institutional investment fund JCP Investment Partners has warned. The Fin

Tax rates send capital, talent overseas

Flight Centre co-founder Geoff Harris and Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey have called for corporate and personal incomes taxes to be lowered, as the prospect of a 49.5 per cent top income tax rate delights those, such as fellow BRW Rich Lister Patrick Grove, who are competing for talent elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. The Fin

Tabcorp-Tatts merger will ‘cost punters’

Punters will be charged more to bet on worse odds if the $11 billion Tabcorp and Tatts Group merger is allowed to proceed, a big competitor to the two wagering giants has claimed. The Fin

Future Fund puts its foot down

Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the $130 billion Future Fund, tried to block the elections of Canadian billionaire Jack Cowin to the board of Fairfax, multi-millionaire Robert Millner as a Brickworks director and Sydney Airport chairman Trevor Gerber to the board of Regis Healthcare. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: High-risk mortgage loans to young families, professionals and other overextended borrowers amounting to more than six times household incomes could wipe out 20 per cent of the major banks’ equity base, institutional investment fund JCP Investment Partners has warned.

Page 3: AGL Energy has put itself at the forefront of corporate support for electric vehicles, committing to buy 36 Mitsubishi plug-in vehicles as it works towards a goal of electrifying 10 per cent of its car fleet and challenging others to do better.

Page 6: Clearance rates surged in Sydney and Melbourne on the sixth-biggest auction weekend of the year, suggesting talk of a downturn in the housing market may be premature.

Page 9: Flight Centre co-founder Geoff Harris and Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey have called for corporate and personal incomes taxes to be lowered, as the prospect of a 49.5 per cent top income tax rate delights those, such as fellow BRW Rich Lister Patrick Grove, who are competing for talent elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region.

Page 15: Punters will be charged more to bet on worse odds if the $11 billion Tabcorp and Tatts Group merger is allowed to proceed, a big competitor to the two wagering giants has claimed.

The Australian

Page 1: At least $14 billion in key budget measures faces a Senate blockade, undermining the Turnbull government’s attempt to reset its reform agenda as crossbenchers begin talks with Labor in a bid to expand the controversial bigbanks tax.

Page 2: TAFE and private college courses give workers higher starting salaries and better job prospects than do degrees, according to research that raises questions about the value to students of pursuing a long and increasingly expensive university education.

Page 4: At least 15 areas in Australia have become welfare enclaves where residents collectively receive more in benefits than they pay in income tax, according to an analysis of 40 postcodes that received the most government benefits.

Page 6: Urgent changes to electricity market rules are needed to reduce the risk of power blackouts and restrictions across southeastern Australia next summer, a Grattan Institute report says.

At least $14 billion in key budget measures faces a Senate blockade, undermining the Turnbull government’s attempt to reset its reform agenda as crossbenchers begin talks with Labor in a bid to expand the controversial bigbanks tax.

Page 17: Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the $130 billion Future Fund, tried to block the elections of Canadian billionaire Jack Cowin to the board of Fairfax, multi-millionaire Robert Millner as a Brickworks director and Sydney Airport chairman Trevor Gerber to the board of Regis Healthcare.

Australian billionaire James Packer has continued his exit of international assets and abandoned his dream of owning a casino on the world’s most famous gambling strip after putting his Las Vegas land on the market.

Page 19: US giant Amazon has made its biggest and most aggressive grab for territory in Australia’s $300 billion retail sector by securing a string of trademarks for its private label AmazonBasics that will pave the way for it to flood consumers with everything from cheap batteries and computer cables to bags and bedding.

Page 21: Lendlease’s international construction pipeline is swelling with a partnership between the Australian developer and a US group short-listed on a $US2.4 billion ($3.2bn) airport terminal development in the New York area.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA Energy Minister Ben Wyatt has indicated household electricity prices could have to rise by up to 15 per cent within two years as part of moves to allow people to choose where they buy their power from.

Senior members of WA’s business community have lined up to defend its integrity in the face of Liberal Party claims the sector was bearing similarity to the WA Inc era.

Page 8: Perth is Australia’s cheapest capital city to insure the family car, saving motorists up to $880 a year.

Page 12: A crackdown on welfare recipients and an end to a string of tax office investigations are combining to reduce spending and help bring the Budget back to surplus.

Page 13: Pauline Hanson has rejected claims of One Nation underperformance at the State election as she arrived in Perth to welcome three new MLCs to politics.

Page 14: Australian Medical Association WA president Andrew Miller says it appears the new State Government is being lobbied by medicinal cannabis producers to spruik what he describes as an unproved treatment in WA.

Page 58: Fast food chain McDonald’s will spend $25 million building and upgrading WA restaurants this year as it continues to expand in the State.

Oil producers are likely to agree to extend crude output cuts by nine months, according to Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister.