BHP throws $4.5bn shale surge at Elliott
BHP Billiton has hit back at claims from activist fund Elliott Management that US shale ground trading has destroyed value, with the miner revealing it spent $US200 million in a series of small-scale West Texas acreage acquisitions that are now valued at up to $US3.6 billion ($4.83bn). The Aus
Miners fight over lithium deposit
The managing director of junior explorer Marindi Minerals warned his counterpart at Kidman Resources that it would release a damaging announcement claiming ownership of Kidman’s $200 million-plus Earl Grey lithium deposit unless Kidman came back to Marindi with a “positive proposal”, the WA Supreme Court has heard. The Aus
Wyatt floats iron ore cash-out to big miners
WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt met executives from Rio Tinto yesterday as the State Government pursued a multibillion-dollar, lump-sum payout to help fix the State’s finances. The West
Glencore threat over power costs
Mining giant Glencore has handed the Queensland Labor government a fresh election-year headache by threatening to wind up its extensive copper operations in the state’s north in a year in a move which could cost up to 2000 jobs. The Fin
Premier softens on plan to tax miners
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will seek clarification about the future of iron ore taxes in meetings with the West Australian government over the next 48 hours, after Premier Mark McGowan softened his stance on extracting ‘‘billions of dollars’’ from the miners on Monday. The Fin
WA college under scrutiny before Careers Australia crash
A Perth business college caught up in last week’s collapse of vocational education and training group Careers Australia has been in the sights of the industry regulator since March. The West
Altair, the fund that’s selling everything
Altair Asset Management has made the extraordinary decision to liquidate its Australian shares funds and return ‘‘hundreds of millions’’ of dollars to its clients, citing an impending property market ‘‘calamity’’ and the ‘‘overvalued and dangerous time in this cycle’’. The Fin
Rio chief loses his ‘go-to’ man
It was, of all places, at a soiree in Perth to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rio Tinto’s iron ore business, that Colin Barnett shared with the miner’s boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques a scheme for Western Australia to collect mining royalties in advance. The Aus
No hospital funds scare: Hunt
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has had to rule out sweeping changes to hospital funding after embarrassing revelations that his own department continues to explore scrapping the private health insurance rebate. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Mining giant Glencore has handed the Queensland Labor government a fresh election-year headache by threatening to wind up its extensive copper operations in the state’s north in a year in a move which could cost up to 2000 jobs.
Company directors need to ‘‘selfregulate’’ on excessive executive compensation before the government does it for them, an adviser to Wesfarmers remuneration committee has warned.
Page 3: Industrial gas buyers such as Arrium and other big players are being used as a bargaining chip in hard-nosed negotiations between Santos and the federal government on the structure of the domestic gas security mechanism.
Page 4: Treasury Secretary John Fraser has pushed back at the big banks, saying the new tax to be imposed on the sector was not made up at the last minute, will raise the $6.2 billion as budgeted and will have a ‘‘trivial’’ impact on interest rates.
Page 6: AMP and other property lenders have lifted rates on interest-only loans of up to 28 basis points and doubled mortgage minimum deposits in the latest round of tightening.
Page 7: Australia Post is facing court action over allegations its outgoing chief executive Ahmed Fahour unlawfully cut the superannuation benefits of thousands of workers by as much as $100 million.
Page 15: Wesfarmers chief executive-elect Rob Scott has aired plans to grow the conglomerate’s non-retail businesses after signing off on a new pay package which is almost 30 per cent less than that of outgoing chief Richard Goyder and which more closely aligns his pay with shareholder returns.
Altair Asset Management has made the extraordinary decision to liquidate its Australian shares funds and return ‘‘hundreds of millions’’ of dollars to its clients, citing an impending property market ‘‘calamity’’ and the ‘‘overvalued and dangerous time in this cycle’’.
Page 17: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will seek clarification about the future of iron ore taxes in meetings with the West Australian government over the next 48 hours, after Premier Mark McGowan softened his stance on extracting ‘‘billions of dollars’’ from the miners on Monday.
The Australian
Page 1: Top-level talks are under way between the Turnbull government and the Catholic Church to hose down the rhetoric of “war” over the Coalition’s $18.6 billion school funding reforms facing a Labor deadlock in the Senate.
Page 2: A proposal to pay hospitals in a similar way to Medicare’s funding of GPs has been ruled out as Turnbull government policy, despite a taskforce having spent $55,000 considering the concept.
Page 4: The Australian economy is on the cusp of a fresh burst of growth powered by rising business investment and households running down their savings, Treasury secretary John Fraser believes.
Page 6: The US-based Tides Foundation has donated millions of dollars to Australian green groups including members of an alliance aimed at killing off the giant Adani mine, reigniting calls to tighten rules on foreign funding of politically active charities.
Page 17: BHP Billiton has hit back at claims from activist fund Elliott Management that US shale ground trading has destroyed value, with the miner revealing it spent $US200 million in a series of small-scale West Texas acreage acquisitions that are now valued at up to $US3.6 billion ($4.83bn).
It was, of all places, at a soiree in Perth to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rio Tinto’s iron ore business, that Colin Barnett shared with the miner’s boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques a scheme for Western Australia to collect mining royalties in advance.
ExxonMobil and BHP have applied to delay development of one of the biggest Bass Strait gas discoveries of recent times for another five years, in an application that federal and Victorian resources ministers are considering whether to allow under their “use it or lose it” powers.
Page 18: The Australian retailing sector’s fortunes are showing no signs of improving any time soon, which has prompted Quadrant to shelve its Super Amart sale until next year at the earliest.
Page 19: Department store owner Myer could face short-term disruption in its youth fashion strategy in the wake of last week’s collapse of the Australian arm of British retailer Topshop and Topman.
Page 20: The managing director of junior explorer Marindi Minerals warned his counterpart at Kidman Resources that it would release a damaging announcement claiming ownership of Kidman’s $200 million-plus Earl Grey lithium deposit unless Kidman came back to Marindi with a “positive proposal”, the WA Supreme Court has heard.
The West Australian
Page 3: Treasurer Scott Morrison’s war on the banks just got personal — with tough new rules to crack down on highflying executives who take drugs or engage in criminal behaviour.
Page 4: WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt met executives from Rio Tinto yesterday as the State Government pursued a multibillion-dollar, lump-sum payout to help fix the State’s finances.
Quarantining one-quarter of all WA mining royalties from the annual GST distribution would deliver almost $1 billion to WA over four years, under modelling by the State Government.
WA’s position for seeking financial contributions for the Perth Stadium from the AFL and the Federal Government is not strong, Treasurer Ben Wyatt believes.
Page 6: Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has had to rule out sweeping changes to hospital funding after embarrassing revelations that his own department continues to explore scrapping the private health insurance rebate.
Page 12: Homebuyers will have to eventually pay higher interest rates on their mortgages, a Reserve Bank board member has warned, suggesting the improved global economy would boost Australia.
Page 18: A State Government cash grab from cutting vehicle licensing concessions that could lead to higher council rates is likely to be retained by the new Labor administration.
Page 48: Marindi Metals chairman Ross Ashton sought the help of a journalist to get Kidman Resources back to the negotiating table over lithium tenements at the Mt Holland project because litigation was “not in his DNA”, a court was told yesterday.
A Perth business college caught up in last week’s collapse of vocational education and training group Careers Australia has been in the sights of the industry regulator since March.