Baraka in dispute, stock crash
Baraka Energy & Resources shares crashed 40 per cent yesterday as worried investors deserted the explorer amid fears it could lose its flagship project. The West
MinRes rolls out rail plans
Mineral Resources is set to take the first step on its path to taking control of rail haulage from its Yilgarn iron ore operation, with the miner to receive the first of several hundred Chinese-made wagons in the next few weeks. The West
Royalty ramp hurt review, say miners
Western Australia’s Liberal government pre-booked $180 million in annual profits it claimed would result from a still-uncompleted review of mineral royalty rates before last year’s state election to encourage the impression that worrying debt levels were under control. The Fin
Tax breaks lure IT firms offshore
Australia risks missing out on the digital investment boom as local technology companies increasingly move their operations overseas in search of better regulatory incentives, tax experts have warned. The Fin
TPG joins race for Shell petrol stations
Private equity firm TPG is in the final stages of a $3 billion auction for Royal Dutch Shell’s refining and retail business in Australia, along with a consortium involving Macquarie Group. The Fin
States ‘win from asset sales’
The Abbott government’s infrastructure tsar has stepped up its push for public asset sales, revealing privatisations would leave governments at least $64 billion better off even though they could no longer siphon off dividends from their ports, electricity and water utilities. The Aus
Woodside tipped to pay more for less
Speculation is mounting that Woodside Petroleum will agree to pay more than originally expected for a smaller piece of the Leviathan gasfield off Israel, with news of a gas sales agreement from the field further complicating the already protracted negotiation process. The Aus
The West Australian
Page 9: Outsourcing giant Serco is having to defend its running of health services in Britain, amid claims it is cutting corners and failing to meet performance targets.
Page 10: A family-owned Perth butcher regularly named one of the State’s best has closed its doors after nearly four decades. Dubrovnik Butchers, which attracted queues of loyal customers some weekends and was named WA’s “sausage king” in 2012, has appointed liquidators after running into financial difficulties.
Page 14: WA is losing another senior health bureaucrat, with the head of the health service that will oversee Fiona Stanley Hospital announcing he is quitting after only five months in the job.
Page 27: Euroz chairman Andrew McKenzie says he’s “mildly optimistic” about the prospects for the new year, after the broking house said it expected to post an improved $12.4 million after-tax profit for the first half of the financial year.
Page 28: It is the new multimillion-dollar business battleground in WA — and it’s all underwater. The race to build a subsea fibre optic cable from Perth to Asian internet hot spot Singapore — through Jakarta — is set to hit fever pitch this year as three competitors fight it out for the rights.
Page 29: BP’s Kwinana refinery is being prepared for a major scheduled shutdown within months to undergo a multimillion-dollar maintenance program, a sign, sources close to the British giant say, of its commitment to the plant.
Financial Review
Page 2: The sale of the $4 billion Australia Post has been backed by former chairman David Mortimer and former competition boss Graeme Samuel, who say it is a key reform.
Page 4: The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has urged the Abbott government to deregulate coastal shipping, saying Labor’s laws have increased costs and hurt jobs.
Page 4: Australia’s trade deficit narrowed more than expected in November, as imports fell while exports remained flat.
The trade deficit reached a seasonally adjusted $118 million in November, falling from a revised $358 million gap in October. Economists had been forecasting a deficit of $300 million.
Page 5: The Abbott government could penalise big polluters if their carbon emissions breach historical baselines, so long as no revenue is raised as a result, Environment Minister Greg Hunt says.
Page 12: China will allow a batch of three to five banks funded by private investment this year to operate under a trial as part of the country’s financial reforms, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
Page 15: The competition regulator has questioned Murray Goulburn’s claim that its acquisition of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter will create a globally competitive business, arguing it is not clear a merged group would boost dairy exports. Murray Goulburn is locked in a fierce $500 million-plus takeover battle for control of WCB with Canadian dairy giant Saputo.
Page 17: Investors must wait until later this month to get a better understanding of the impact of cyclone Christine on BHP Billiton and RioTinto’s burgeoning iron ore operations despite early reports that the companies appear to have weathered the worst of the storm with only minor damage.
Page 17: Analysts have downgraded their earnings forecasts for Crown Resorts’ domestic properties after the Victorian government proposed a tax hike for poker machines in the state.
Page 22: The local share market was dragged down by mining stocks as new data showed exports of iron ore and coal to China declined.
The Australian
Page 1: Qantas is gaining ground in its quest for government help to fend off its rivals as Coalition MPs speak up for reforms to foreign ownership laws that keep the airline in Australian hands.
Page 1: The controversy over wind farms is set to flare again with the Abbott government preparing to commission fresh research on the impact the giant turbines have on nearby residents.
Page 2: Australia’s tax revenue has fallen further since the global financial crisis than in any but the most severely affected countries such as Spain and Iceland.
Page 13: Australian companies should have greater confidence in the security of cloud computer networks as they look to cut costs and boost productivity, according to one of the world’s largest suppliers of encryption technology to governments and corporations.
Page 14: Boart Longyear’s appointment of Rio Tinto executive Jeffrey Olsen to the role of chief financial officer has been applauded by investors after a tough year for the company.
Page 14: Surging resource exports and a flat domestic economy are bringing Australia’s trade closer to balance for the first time in three years.
Page 15: GPT Group is likely to turn its attention to another target after this week striking a deal to carve off nearly $1.2 billion of property in the battle for Commonwealth Property Office Fund, according to market sources.
Page 16: Bad loans in India have jumped to a record high, hurting profits and stocks of state-owned banks and threatening to curb lending in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Page 17: The Australian sharemarket suffered its first three-day fall in almost a month as miners declined in generally quiet trading yesterday.
Page 19: While their current focus is on making the most of the post Christmas sales, which make the second quarter the most crucial in any financial year, department stores David Jones and Myer have an even more important job ahead of them — finding new chief executives.